Black-ish Season 1 Episode 5 Review: Crime and Punishment
Stacy Glanzman
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On Black-ish Season 1 Episode 5, Dre and Rainbow struggle with the decision of whether or not to spank their son, though luckily no tree branches came into play.
Whether or not to spank your child is a dilemma that I imagine all parents must face at some point in their child's life. Even those adamantly against it probably find themselves wavering from time to time. I don't have kids, but my parents were not spankers and my brothers and I turned out all right (and not weird or creepy like the guy in Dre's office who wasn't spanked).
Speaking of the office scene, Dre's coworkers all putting in their two cents about being spanked and the severity of it (a rolling pin sounds pretty harsh) was a great way to introduce some comedy outside of the family. We really haven't spent too much time with Dre's coworkers and I enjoyed getting their inputs this week.
Rainbow starts out firmly on the side of spanking Jack. She was the one who had to feel the panic when she thought Jack was kidnapped at the mall. But, Dre has a point when he argues it shouldn't necessarily have to be him that does the spanking. He even argues she should have dragged him into a dressing room and taken care of it right there at the mall.
Interesting theory, if you're going to hit your kid, is it better to do it immediately after the disobedient act or does the knowledge of knowing its coming later make it worse?
Its not surprising that Pops was a believer in spanking when raising Dre, though it was funny to learn that's where he got the name Pops. I was definitely just assuming it was nickname for dad and didn't think anything else of it.
The kids' personalities are being fleshed out more and more with each episode. I really appreciate that all four of them are really different in how they think and handle situations. Diane is a little genius and I know she's on the road to be a doctor at the moment, but she could very easily choose to be a lawyer instead. Pops certainly thinks so:
Damn Diane I wish I had you when I divorced Grandma, mighta held onto my Lincoln.
Pops
Zoey is obviously smart too, and I suspected she's had some experience using her looks and charm to get out of trouble when she's advising Jack to use his cuteness to his advantage. Rainbow didn't stand a chance against those puppy dog eyes of his.
In the end, Dre decides against spanking Jack and instead sits him down and simply tells him how disappointed he is in him. That's enough for Jack to burst into tears and go running from the room. Not only did Dre get through to Jack, but the thought that he might have been spanked has an effect on Junior and Zoey. Dre came out the winner of that conversation in more ways than one.
What did you guys think of the episode? I thought it was really funny and there were some great lines this week which you can find on the Black-ish quotes page, or watch Black-ish online to revisit your favorites.
Stacy Glanzman was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in March, 2019.
