Vivian Zink / NBC
The family holds an intervention prevention intervention for Nekeisha after she punches Bobby in the face but it quickly turns into a debate about how best to handle the stresses of life.
First, let me get my issue with this out of the way, it could’ve done without the Nekeisha punching Bobby opener. They all laugh at him for getting hit by a girl and victim blame and then just blow past the incident altogether. It just felt a little dismissive to not address that Bobby was assaulted by his ex. If the tables were turned, imagine how weird it would look to blame the woman for getting beat.
Anyway, aside from that, the episode made a point of saying that everyone has different ways to cope and deal with their stress, and that one way isn’t necessarily better or worst than the other. Maxine meditates & takes Xanax, Jerrod smokes weed, and Nekeisha drinks.
Vivian Zink / NBC
We get some more background into Nekeisha’s history, she becomes more than just Bobby’s ex-wife. Her mom is back on drugs, her sister is in jail, and she’s been taking care of her adorable but demanding nephew – hence the increase in drinking, she’s dealing with a lot!
While Maxine is teaching Bobby & Nekeisha about meditation, the nephew finds her Xanax in her purse. N & B are like well why are you taking away our booze if you yourself are a pill popper. To convince them that she doesn’t need the pills, Maxine gives them up to her ex-sorta-sister-in-law.
That night, she’s all stressed out and anxious, and watching documentaries about the 8 active genocides going on in 2017 and the child soldiers in Sudan. She wakes Jerrod up in the middle of the night and he literally says: “I love you but you’re insufferable without Xanax so I’m going to get high and go to sleep.” He also gets her her Xanax back the next day, before she breaks completely.
At the end of the day, we all have so much going on and so many daily stressors that maybe we should be allowed to enjoy – with moderation – something that makes us happy and keeps us from throwing something against a wall.
Vivian Zink / NBC
Not many more of these recaps left as NBC betrayed us all by cancelling this gem of a show, come back next week for more rambling from me! And remember, listen to that PSA at the end of the episode; know your limits – use, don’t abuse substances.
“If the tables were turned, imagine how weird it would look to blame the woman for getting beat.”
Well yeah. That’s why Bobby was the one who got hit. In the Current Year, it’s still OK to mock a male victim of domestic violence.