05x02 - Don't You Be My Neighbor

Episode transcripts for the TV show "blackish". Aired September 2014 - current.*
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A family man struggles to gain a sense of cultural identity while raising his kids in a predominantly white, upper-middle-class neighborhood.
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05x02 - Don't You Be My Neighbor

Post by bunniefuu »

DRE: It's often been said,
"A man's home is his castle."


We do everything necessary

to maintain and protect our property.

[Sword strikes]

[Cellphone chimes]

The only problem is,

you can't control what other
people do with their castles...


[Indistinct shouting]

...which can really suck

if you happen to be
the castle-owner next door.


- [Sword clatters]
- Yep.

That's what's been happening
in my kingdom.


Ugh, will you look at this?

Hey, Dre, what ya doing?

- Come on, Janine!
- Oh, I'm sorry.

I wanted to talk to you,

and sometimes when I knock on your door,

I feel like you guys
pretend not to be home.

We don't pretend not to be home.

We pretend we can't hear the door.

All right, uh, is this...
Is all this Airbnb people?

Yeah, the Kellys really screwed us

when they decided to
rent out their house.

I mean, these people leave
pizza boxes on the lawn,

they... they park in front
of my driveway.

Last weekend, there was a party.

I found human poo in my garden.

It could've been an animal.

Ohh, Dre, I think I know the difference.

[Chuckles]

I can't believe I'm agreeing
with you, but...

[sighs] this does need to be handled.

That's why I'm talking
to all the neighbors,

- and we are gonna call the police.
- Nope!

Good luck with your white-people fight.

Keep my name out of it.

You guys wouldn't believe what
Janine just asked me to do.

She tried to get you to call
the police about those renters.

How'd you know?

Blond hair? Always outside?

I know a snitch when I see one.

She's right to want to do
something, though.

You know, I was running by that
house this morning,

and a couple of the guys
were catcalling me...

- Hmm.
- ...saying I was sexy.

Hmm.

You've just been waiting
for a way to get that story out?

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Laughs]

And I'm gonna tell it
when I get to work,

but seriously, that house is a problem.

Okay, well, calling the cops
is not an option.

- Okay.
- The Johnsons don't snitch.

- That's right.
- Okay.

Wait, I thought Johnsons
don't eat leftovers.

No, that's just because
Dad doesn't leave

enough for leftovers.

Junior, I wanted Cheddar Bunnies
instead of Goldfish.

Ooh, that new kid, Wyatt, he
loves Cheddar Bunnies, too.

[Scoffs] What?!

Shut up. I don't even know Wyatt.

I don't even know if he eats.

All right, I got to go to
the hospital, guys.

There's been a horrible
bus accident. Bye.

- POPS: All right, Bow.
- JUNIOR: Bye, Mom.

- Bye.
- Yeah, you do.

You gave Wyatt all of
your snacks yesterday.

[Whispering] Shut... up!

Oh, my God.

Oh, my God.

My baby girl... has a crush on a boy.

[Baby talk] Yes, she does.

[High-pitched]
You've got a crush on a boy!

- Kindly unhand me, Mother.
- Unhanding.

Hey, sorry I'm late, guys.

My neighbor won't leave me alone.

Oh-ho! Been there.

But lookit, Dre, you got to tell her,

say, "Hey, we're both married.
This has got to end, Jocelyn.

You know, eventually,

your husband's gonna
come home from w*r."

Okay, your life is disgusting.

And it's not that.

She wants me to call the police
on an Airbnb on our block.

- No, she don't. [Scoffs]
- Yes, she does.

What's the big deal about
having renters on your street?

Yeah, and where do you have to be from

to think that your neighborhood is
a vacation destination? [Laughs]

Really, just call the cops.

I'm not gonna do that, all right,

because Black people, we don't snitch.

That's right. We do not.

I once was tied up in
a basement with a phone

that only dialed ,

and I still refused to snitch
on my captors.

- Mm-hmm.
- They say, "Snitches get stitches."

Unfortunately, so do non-snitches.

- Oh, my God. They stabbed you?
- Worse.

When I finally got home,
I tried to cut a bagel.

Six stitches in my palm.

But I never snitched on that bagel.

Calling law enforcement
is not snitching.

And besides, as a landowner,

it's actually one of your
constitutional rights.

Just doesn't feel right.

Okay, let's say your house
catches on fire. What do you do?

- You call the fire department, right?
- Mm-hmm.

If your son falls and breaks his leg,

you call the ambulance, right?

If your yacht ran aground

full of cocaine and prostitutes,
you'd call a Senator.

I'm just saying.

Make the system work for you.

- Ooh, I am slaying in this one.
- Uh-huh.

Ugh, but my eyes are closed.

Oh, no, I got you, sis.

Just use that Top sh*t thing.

All right. And boom. Check it out.

It automatically loses
the sleepy-slay pic

and chooses the best one.

- Crisis averted.
- Thank you!

- [Chuckles]
- Mm-hmm.

Boy, bye... boy, hi.

- Right.
- What are we doing?

Ooh... hi.

Are we posting pictures for Wyatt?

[Chuckles] Let me see.

[Grunts] Let me get in here.

I'm coming, I'm coming. [Chuckles]

Let me see, let me see, let me
see, let me see, let me see!

- [Gasps] That one's beautiful.
- What?!

How you gonna put me out
there like that?

I didn't put you anywhere!

You don't see that wonky eyebrow?

Diane, you have Mommy's eyebrows.

You do.

So just delete that one that Mom liked

and post that one.

- Um...
- [Cellphone chimes]

[Gasps] He liked it already!

- No way! [Gasps]
- Yeah!

Oh, my God! Ah, ah, okay.

Everybody calm down.
You know what you need to do?

You need to like one of his pictures.

[Gasps] Oh, should she, Mom?

- Yes!
- One or two or maybe all?

- Oh, two.
- Why not all of them from this year?

- Right?
- Oh, my God! Yes, yes!

And that way, he will know that
you are interested. [Laughs]

- Are you messing with me?
- Yes, I am.

- What?
- Okay, Diane, if you really want this

to work with Wyatt, just do what I say.

- Okay.
- Text, "You're so funny."

No, that's weird.

But next, you text him,
"Sorry, wrong person."

- Ooh, yeah.
- No, that's... No, don't.

- That's manipulative.
- [Cellphone chimes]

- That's weird.
- [Gasps] Shh!

- Wait, what?
- He texted back.

- No, he did not!
- Already?

And he asked if I wanted to go
to ice cream on Saturday!

Oh, my God! Oh, my God!

[Screeching laughter]

Ice cream! Ice cream!

Ice creeaaam!

Ice cream.

[Singsong voice] We... are going...

to ice cream... with a boy.

We are... You're closing the door.

- Wait.
- Congratulations.

Thank you so much!

DRE: What the hell?

Hey, Dre, someone's blocking
your driveway.

Pretty aggravating, huh?

Maine plates, too.

[Groaning] Aahh!

I wish there was something we could do.

What do you want me
to do about it, Janine?

I'm just saying.

I mean, they're right over there.

They gave that guy a ticket for
putting his trash in my can.

Seems extreme.

All right, maybe, maybe.

Look, if you wanna keep your sweet ride

parked on the street tonight,
you know, fine by me.

Hope no one tries to key it.

Anything else we can
help you with, ma'am?

No, no, I'm okay. Thank you.

Unless my friend Mr. Johnson
needs something.

Uh...

Well, this guy's kinda
blocking my driveway.

Kind of? You can't even
access your property.

This is some real Maine [bleep].

You want it towed or ticketed?

I thought that was your choice.

You're the homeowner.

You're the boss.

♪♪

What are you doing?

Can you believe how far this Airbnb lady

parked her car in the street?

It's got to be over feet.

Hey, want to help me measure it

before I call it in to the police?

Whoa. I-I thought Johnsons don't snitch.

Don't be ignorant.

All right, it's not snitching

when you're a homeowner.

Oh, uh...

Okay, cool.

[The Isley Brothers'
"It's Your Thing" plays]

Here you are. Drive safe out there.

♪♪

♪ It's your thing ♪

♪ Do what you wanna do ♪

♪ I can't tell you ♪

♪ Who to sock it to ♪

♪ It's your thing ♪

Go, Dre, go!

♪ Do what you wanna do ♪

[Alarm beeping]

- Time.
- ♪ I can't tell you ♪

- [Ringing]
- ♪ Who to sock it to ♪

- DISPATCHER: , what's your emergency?
- ♪ If you want me to love you ♪


- ♪ Maybe I will ♪
- Uh, oh, hell no!

- Light 'em up.
- All right.

♪ It ain't no big deal ♪

♪ You need love now ♪

♪ Just as bad as I do ♪

♪ Makes me no difference now ♪

♪ Who you give your thing to ♪

All right. Everybody say "lemonade"!

- Lemonade!
- Lemonade!

[Camera shutter clicks]

As I drove my steel steed
through my kingdom,


I heard the much-too-loud
merriment of peasants.


[Music plays in distance]

But I was secure in the fact
that my castle


would always be protected
by my ever-ready knights


of Sherman Oaks, who were only
a three-digit call away.


A three-digit call I could not
make in this instance.


♪♪

Hi, Mom.

Oh, hey, sweetie.

Hi. Aah! Bloop, bloop! Look.

I found a couple of options for you

that might be great for
your ice cream situation.

- That's okay.
- Oh.

Zoey already picked
something out for me.

Okay, I mean, that's fine. It's so cute.

Okay. Let's see.

Oh, yeah.

I guess that's cuter.

Maybe I could do something cute
with your hair.

Zoey already told me what
to do with my hair, so...

Oh.

Got it.

It's a sister thing. Yeah.

I-I thought we were doing the, like,

communal female empowerment
"sister"... pbht! thing.

[Chuckles] I'll head out, then.

Sounds like Zoey's got it under control.

I'll close this. Yep.

- Yeah. It's fine. You can close it.
- Okay.

Okay. Okay, sweetheart. Love you.

[Door closes]

[Cellphone chimes]

_

_

What?!

Um... [Sighs]

[Ringing]

Hey, this is Zoey. Leave a message.

- [Voicemail beeps]
- Hi, Zoey.

He just asked if we should split
it or if he should pay.

What do I say?

You know what? Just call me back.

Bye.

New problem... I started
chatting, and then I bailed,

and I'm pretty sure he saw the bubbles,

and then I saw his bubbles,
and then they went away.

So... please help me.

I mean, he should pay, right?

Yeah. He should be able
to take care of a woman.

Well, you know, I don't want that!

I don't want him to take care of me.

I'm an independent woman!

I am, right?

Zoey, just please tell me
what kind of woman I am!

[Sighs]

[Quietly] This is Diane.

[Indistinct conversations,
music plays in distance]

- Ah, hey, neighbor.
- [Chuckles]

- How's everything?
- Uh, pretty loud, don't you think?

So, when did the cops say
they were gonna get here?

Uh, they didn't...
because I didn't call them.

Dre... we have to call them.

I-I have to get up early
tomorrow for my Tinder date.

No, just going hiking...

and then we're gonna have sex. [Laughs]

No, here, seriously, blow up the spot.

You know you love to call
the police, Drop-A-Dime Dre.

Yeah, drop the dime like it's hot!

- Come on.
- What, you don't like free music?

Oh...

Oh, I got it, I got it. Right.

Don't want to call the cops
because they're...

Because they're... ashy?

- No! No.
- What?

Because they're African-American Blacks.

Okay, okay. All right, you're right.

All right, I don't want
to call the cops on them

- because they're Black.
- All right, I get it.

You grew up with them. Okay.

- I got your back. I will call for you.
- No, you don't.

When you call the cops on Black people,

things can escalate quickly.

Well, what... I'm... I'm just
supposed to do nothing?

Yeah, you're not in danger.

You're just feeling uncomfortable.

And that's how you end up
in a viral video

as the next Barbecue Becky.

I cannot go viral.

Those memes do nothing but zero in

on your weaknesses, and I'm...
I'm mostly weaknesses.

- Good call.
- Uh-huh.

Hey.

Why aren't you dressed?

Wyatt texted me, and I didn't
know how to respond.

Oh.

Zoey promised that she would help me,

but I couldn't get in touch with her.

Ah...

Okay, well...

what did you write back?

I panicked and sent some random emojis

that ended with a New Zealand flag

and a Steve Harvey mustache.

Oh. [Chuckles]

[Sighs]

He freaked out and bailed on ice cream.

Oh, honey.

Oh.

- Oh, sweetheart.
- [Sighs]

It's okay.

What does it mean

when you don't want to
seek revenge on someone?

It means that you liked them...

a lot.


It's okay, sweetheart.

[Music playing in distance]

- Uh, Dad?
- Hmm?

What are we doing?

Devante can't go down
with all this music,

and he's a little too young
for all the explicit lyrics.

Look, he's barely a year old, all right?

He doesn't even understand the words.

Oh, all right. So I guess you're fine

with his first words being...
the A-word... or the B-word.

Or "skeet skeet skeet."

Do something about this.

Look, you got two options.

One, you could do nothing.

Two, if you was a man,

you'd go out there
and you'd talk to them.

I'm a man.

- You know what?
- [Tablet thuds]

And I will go over there and I
will talk to him, man to man.

Go ahead.

Man to many men...

who have been drinking.

You know what? Uh...

maybe I'll take the dog with me.

Damn it, why couldn't I have a pit bull?

Stop watching that baby so much.

It's weird.

♪♪

Uh, hey! Hey, uh...

Is that that, uh...

That that new Lil U*i Vert?

You know, uh...

Y'all having, uh, kind of
like a... front-yard thing.

We're kind of a backyard-thing
kind of neighborhood.

But it's all good.

I'm Dre.

I'm Dre. I'm, um, from up the block.

What up, sir?

You know, I just...

You know, I just wanted to, uh,

just give you the heads-up.

You know, some of the neighbors,
they be trippin',

you know, 'cause... 'cause your music...

your music's kind of loud.

Uh, d... Damn, man.

We... We weren't even
thinking about it, man.

Uh... yo, go tell Sean to
turn it down some, all right?

Huh.

All right. Okay.

You know, appreciate this.

- Edwin.
- Oh, okay.

- What's up, Edwin?
- We're just in town for the weekend...

- pre-gaming before we hit the club.
- Which club?

You know, I might...
I might hit it, too.

[Chuckles]

Okay. All right.

Hey, uh, I just want to, uh...

thank you guys, you know,
for being, uh, so cool.

Appreciate it. Appreciate it.

Yeah, all right. Wasn't so damn hard.

I didn't even need that damn dog.

[Police siren chirps]

[Sirens wailing]

All right.

♪ Shake that... speed up ♪

- No one moves.
- Oh, okay.

♪ Breathe in, breathe out ♪

♪ Shake that... speed up ♪

♪ Go fast, slow down ♪

[Police radio chatter]

Hey, wait, Dre.

What did you do?

What did you do?!

I told you, "Don't call the cops."

I couldn't have called them!

Whenever I smoke my cataract medicine,

I always lock my phone in
the safe because of last time.

Dad, what's going on?

Son, just go back in
the house, all right?

Somebody called the police,
and we have to work this out.

Okay, just go home.

It wasn't "somebody."

I-I called the police.

♪♪

[Siren chirps]

♪♪

Why would you call the police?

I-I just did what we do
when the neighbors are loud.

But did you know that they were Black?

Describe them?

Uh... Black, Black, Black, Black.

Yeah, all Black.

Is that how you said it?!

But you said it's okay to call
the cops if you're a homeowner.

[Sighs] Man.

We really need to talk. Come on.

ZOEY: This lobster roll is insane.

I promise to never eat at
a place without wheels again.

Seafood in a hot truck
, miles from Maine.

Mm, what could go wrong?

Right?

Good evening, Zoey.

- Mom.
- Mm-hmm.

Um... w-wow.

You're...

You're at a place I'm at.

Diane has been trying to
get in touch with you.

Oh, I was gonna call her back.

Do you understand what happened tonight?

What?

Wyatt canceled.

He canceled ice cream with Diane.

Nooooo...

Who's Wyatt?

Go away.

Okay, it... it's not that big of a deal.

I figured she had it handled.

She chose you to be there for her,

and you promised that you would be.

You're just coming down on me

because she wants my help and not yours.

Okay, I get that you're
in college now, Zoey,

and you can pop by the house
and pick up clothes

and drop your little smart-ass
comments whenever you want.

Fine. But you cannot fly in
and out of your sister's life.

Do you hear me?

She's years old!

That was her first date! Zoey!

You have a responsibility
to be there for her

and treat her better than some
skirt that you just left behind!

That's what you did!

Um, Dr. Johnson?

I'm so sorry about before.

I brought you some tots.

Thank you, and... gimme
the lobster roll.

Oh, but I...

JACK: So, you're mad at me
for calling the cops?

Look...

you know, I should've
made it clear to you

that we're not just homeowners.

We're Black homeowners,
and because we're Black,

we have to look at things
through kind of a dual lens.

You know, we need to think
about every situation

and how it should go normally,

and how it could go 'cause we're Black.

Like, being asked to sit on the
curb while they checked your ID.

They didn't ask any of
the white people to do that.

- Mnh-mnh.
- Yeah, it's different for us, baby boy.

It's like those two brothers
that were handcuffed

while waiting for a meeting
at Starbucks.

Or that Ivy League student

who was harassed for
napping in a common area.

- Those were all somebody's kids.
- Just like you.

And it makes me sick to think

that someone would call
the police on you

just because they thought
you didn't belong there

- because of the color of your skin.
- Mm-hmm.

And it scares me to think
of what could happen.

See, calling the police on Black people

ain't nothing to play with.

Yeah, I-I get it now.

But can I still call
the cops on white people?

Can't say yes, but I won't say no.

♪♪

I still can't believe it.

- Hmm?
- One second, Diane's small enough

to be swaddled in the palm of my hand,

and next thing you know,

she's talking about her first date.

Well... I'm still a little shook

that I'm having one-on-one race
conversations with Jack.

Mm.

- The twins are growing up, babe.
- Mm-hmm.

- With Zoey and Junior...
- Mm-hmm.

...we can get through this
with the twins.

Now, good thing we don't
have to do that again.

[Laughs] Amen.

[Devante cries]

- [Whispering] Oh, my God...
- Ah.

Why do we keep forgetting about Devante?

No, no, it's fine, though. It's fine.

[Whispering] Junior's got it.

- That's weird.
- [Crying continues]

JUNIOR: I'm coming, Devante!

Yeah, it's weird.

[Crying continues]

You know, next time,
when I say I'll be there,

I'll actually be there. I promise.

So, what are we doing about
the whole Wyatt situation?

Well, if he can't accept me for
my Steve Harvey mustache emoji,

then he doesn't deserve me
at my dancing lady emoji.

- Boom.
- I'm out on Wyatt.

- [Chuckles] Tell it.
- [Slurping]

[Exhales sharply]

That name... Wyatt...

It's a pretty cool throwback name, huh?

Junior, that's not what we're doing.

- No.
- We're the other way.

Why are you even here?

Oh, well, you know, I'm still
doing the whole gap-year thing.

- Yep.
- All my friends are away at college.

I'm a bit lonely.

Sweetheart...

No, it's all good
'cause we've got each other.

And there is nothing weird about this.

[Slurping]
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