If you’re a fan of ABC’s Black-ish, the current storyline might have thrown you for a loop. In this week’s episode, titled “Blue Valentine,” we went headlong into what could possibly be the beginning of the end for the show’s main couple. Dre and Bow have always been very different people. Have those differences finally become too much? And is this something we need to see? I think so.
It all started with the episode “Fifty-Three Percent,” in which the cracks really start to show in their relationship, and Dre says in his narration, “Staying happily married is hard. The odds aren’t great. How many successful marriages can you think of? Fifty-three percent of American marriages fail. That’s like playing Russian roulette with a gun that has three bullets in it.”
Now, in “Blue Valentine,” the couple seems to be going one step closer to splitsville, as you can catch a glimpse of in the above promo. This particular storyline will continue through to the end of the season, and there are two episodes left. Already Dre and Bo are starting to lead separate lives. Can this be salvaged?
I don’t know where the story is going ultimately. For a lot of people, the show going in this direction undermined the comedy. Then again, plenty of comedies throughout TV history have ventured into dramatic territory. That’s not new. And, as Dre and Bow’s relationship is at least loosely based on show creator Kenya Barris’ marriage to his wife, Rainbow, perhaps this isn’t the end for their TV counterparts. After all, the Barrises have been married since 1999, and have six children.
Then again, I don’t think it would be the worst thing in the world to have them split up. There, I said it. As several of our TMS staff agreed, “Bow deserves better.” But even beyond that, I couldn’t help but think that, while white protagonists get to go through all sorts of nuanced relationships, black protagonists tend to be forced into extremes. Either their relationships are too pure for this world (or they stick it out no matter what actually might be in their best interests, because Black Women Are Strong), or you see a dysfunctional single-parent household where one partner (usually the dad) has up and left.
I understand the need and desire to see positive representations of black couples on television. At the same time, there is also a healthy, non-dysfunctional way to process pain and the end of a relationship. From what we’ve seen so far between Dre and Bow, that seems to be the direction in which they’re headed. These are two highly intelligent, accomplished people who are realizing that perhaps their love and their history together isn’t enough, and it’s just as important to see that modeled in a healthy way as it is to see a relationship that works.
Regardless of how things go between Dre and Bow, Black-ish has always been such a well-written and thoughtful show, that I’m sure the storyline will be handled and seen through with great care and sensitivity.
And if you want squeeful portrayals of black couples, check out the OWN docu-series, Black Love. There is nothing more adorable than Sterling K. Brown talking about his wife, or Viola Davis talking about her husband.
(via Newsweek, image: screencap)
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