Though it had a few hilariously shady moments and a couple of revelations, season 2, episode three of “Greenleaf” (titled “A Mother’s Love”) mostly felt like filler. To be fair, I believe that this episode is setting us up for the next several episodes, which are probably going to be jaw dropping.
The episode opens with Grace getting a troubling phone call. She rushes to the hospital, and we find out that Danielle, the young girl Grace was able to convince to come forward and testify against her Uncle Mac for sexual assault, has tried to kill herself. Somehow (even though she’s a minor) her name has been leaked to the public, and the students at her high school are making her life a living hell. The young girl can’t seem to understand why Mac is still out roaming the streets as a free man and neither can I. Seeing Danielle again shocks Grace into action. We know that she’s been littering Mac’s new neighborhood with sex-offender fliers, but after seeing Danielle, it looks like Grace is finally ready to go to war.
Away from his mama and the Greenleaf mansion for the first time in his life, Jacob is finally standing on his own two feet. Desperate to get her son to return home, Lady Mae tells Jacob that Pastor Skanks is out for revenge. She reveals to him that Skanks is the son of the caretaker who died in the church fire. Jacob doesn’t seem all that concerned; he is determined to press forward carving out a path for himself away from his family, even if it is under Skanks’ direction. However, that doesn’t mean he’s going to be a puppet. When Skanks tries to convince Jacob to go con a wealthy dying woman out of her money for some costly unforeseen work on the Triumph 2.0 site, Jacob sticks to his scruples. For the first time, he’s also super present at home scolding his teenage daughter Zora, after she sneaks out of the church to hang out with the worship singer Isaiah. Jacob might survive all of this after all, but I can’t say the same for his wife, Kerissa.
Kerrisa is just miserable. But, what else is new? Though Pastor Skanks’ wife desperately tries to befriend her and offer her help with decorating their new home, the Ice Queen is having none of it. When Grace visits Jacob and Kerrisa’s new house to offer some well wishes, Kerissa flat out tells her that she and Jacob wouldn’t even be there if Grace hadn’t come home. Whatever happened to that teacher who was grinning in Kerrisa’s face? Perhaps she needs to give him a call. Either way, Pastor Skanks’ wife and Kerissa are definitely going to have some words in the future, and it will probably get really ugly.
Still, perhaps the most pivotal storyline that dominated this episode was the one between Kevin and his mother. After putting off her visit for months, as he and Charity tried to come to some understanding about his sexuality, Kevin’s mother finally pays them a visit. The woman is basically Judge Judy. She’s obviously and rightfully hurt that Charity and Kevin have seemingly excluded her from her grandson’s first months. However, her shady remarks and side comments were clearly not needed, ESPECIALLY since she’s known Kevin’s secret all along. Also, I knew it was only going to be a matter of time before that “pray the gay way” group took a very dark turn.
So what did you think about this episode of “Greenleaf”? I have several questions.
1. How long do you think Kevin is going to last, taking that substance that makes him violently ill when he thinks about a man in a sexual way?
2. Do we really think that Darius is being sincere with Grace, or are all of those “off-the-record” comments she’s giving him going to wind up in the newspaper?
3. What’s going to be the final straw between Zora and Sophia? Technically, Zora isn’t in the wrong here, Isaiah simply wasn’t checking for Sophia, but they’re sixteen, which means everything is messy and dramatic.
4. Kevin’s mother has clearly known for a time that her son has been questioning his sexuality; why did she turn a blind eye for so long?
5. Grace just DESTROYED Mac’s car; how and how long do you think it’s going to take for him to retaliate?
“Greenleaf” airs Wednesdays at 10 PM ET on OWN.
