Dre & Bow Debate Childcare From Beyond The Grave

Did you think that black-ish was scared to bring up any topic? Well, you'd be wrong, because this week's episode dove right into the biggest issue of all: what happens after you die — to parents, specifically? Dre & Bow wonder who will take care of the Johnson kids on black-ish if they were to die unexpectedly. Since the two are total opposites, of course they clash, and can't agree on any of the former guest stars to be the Johnson guardian, from Tyra Banks' Gigi, Dre's BFF from growing up, to Charlie, who may not be a good candidate to take care of the Johnson kids (he's way too scared of Diane) but is still missed nonetheless. Dre thinks that he could convince Drake to take his kids, but fantastic beard game or no, there's no way the Johnsons will hand over their kids off to a Canadian.

Meanwhile, the kids compete by revealing the hard truths that their parents have protected them from, like the truth behind lost dogs and missing stuffed animals, white lies about not eating too much ice cream and an absurd subplot about Junior believing President Obama calls him every year on his birthday. While the kids love ribbing one another, ultimately, those white lies add up to caring parents protecting their kids from the harmless stuff, like waiting in lines for hours at Disneyland or feeling the loss of a stuffed animal.

It doesn't really matter whether she's flirting with her boyfriend on FaceTime or putting a pashmina over a computer in order to send it to sleep like a parakeet, Ruby is the funniest character of Season 2. Laurence Fishburne's Pops, who I would give that honor in Season 1, hasn't appeared since the "Black Lives Matter" episode back in February. And Ruby's transformation into Donald Trump is sold very, very well by Jenifer Lewis.

I wasn't really sure if the "Mom-off" was meant to be a political commentary, but a write-in candidate winds up winning: Zoe. Zoe has suffered from some inconsistent characterization in the past. She started out as the inconsiderate, self-obsessed teenager. Eventually, she revealed some hidden depths, like good grades and the responsibility needed to handle car ownership. But it wasn't until this episode that I really realized what they show has been doing to Zoe all along. Not only did her social media obsession and vanity slowly peel away to reveal subtler layers, she's also beginning to take ownership of her position as the eldest sibling. It shows that the Johnson kids will grow older and mature as the series goes on, and that black-ish won't be afraid to change their characters as a result.

And yes, that all happened in an episode that had Ruby accidentally setting the bathroom on fire with scented candles.

Image: Ron Tom/ABC