08x03 - Bow-Mo

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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08x03 - Bow-Mo

Post by bunniefuu »

DRE: Ever since Bow arrived
at Pacific General,


she's been making moves.

She's taken her position

as the hospital's
first Black female partner


and gone from improving things
inside the hospital

to influencing the best and brightest.

♪♪

But making change takes a village,

and you don't get to pick your village.

Ah, well, see,
if it smells, it's too wet.

Ew!

What are you guys talking about?

- Oh, composting.
- Oh.

Yeah, I swear, my carnations
have never looked so good.

Honestly, it has changed my life.

- It's amazing.
- Ohhh, nice. Very good for you.

Well, I have been volunteering

at the free health clinic
downtown, and we...

we need a couple more hands.

What do you guys think?

- It... uh...
- It's a no-go for me, Bow.

I just got my boat waxed,
and the sea... she calls!

- [Chuckles]
- Oh, okay, you guys.

All right, you know,
you need to get with the times.

Hmm?

Look over there. Look at that.

Diversity has really increased
here at the hospital

because of a little...

a little extra effort and outreach

from senior doctors like us.

So... we can do the same

for low-income community outreach.

What do you guys think, huh?

Some free skin-tag removal?

Prostate exams?

That's what I'm talking about.
What do you think?

I'm good.

Yeah. The sea.

[Chuckles] Yeah...

So when your village
is full of idiots...


You know what?

It's fine.

...it's time to change villages.

Hey, ladies!

[Singsong voice] Hi!

[Chuckles]

How's lunch?

Oh... ooh, okay,

Vanessa wasn't afraid
to order that tostada bowl.

You know my name?

Of course I do!

Vanessa...

Asia...

Jasmine.

I came over here

because I wanted to know
if you guys wanted to join me

tomorrow volunteering
at the free health clinic.

I just figured it's our way
to give back, you know...

Oh, yeah. Count us in.

- Really?
- Yeah.

It sounds really worthwhile.

I mean, yeah, it's really nice of you

to think of us, Dr. Johnson.

Oh, my God. I knew it. This is great.

Thank you. This is gonna be so much fun.

Oh, yeah, yeah!

And, hey, make sure you wear shoes

that you're not afraid to get fluid on.

So... okay, enjoy lunch.

While Bow was building her relationship

with young doctors,

I was putting in
some quality time with Diane.


Thanks for driving, baby girl.

I want the other drivers
to think I'm driving you

because your license got
revoked, so, of course.

[Scoffs] Yeah, okay.

- Uh...
- Ah-ah-ah-ah.

- [Radio turns on]
- What are you doing?

It's still my car,
and I want to listen to my show.

STEPHEN A. SMITH: "Stephen A's
Worl... W-W-W-World"


right here back on ESPN+.

Let's open the phone lines.
We're talking NBA playoffs.


It's right around the corner.

I want to know which team
you think we're sleeping on.

Let's go to the lines.

Which team? People are always
sleeping on the Clippers.

- [Line rings]
- Hit me!

Dre! You're on the line
with Stephen A. What's up?

Yeah, hey, man! This is
Clipper Dre from Compton!

Clip city, chip city, baby!
This is our year!

Hey, and you know what?

All we've got to do
is tighten up and play defense

because defense wins championships.

"Defense wins championships."

- Really?
- Yeah.

- Word?
- Word!

Let me guess...

you also got to
put the ball in the basket...


score more points than the other
team, hydrate before the game,

make sure your shoes are laced up.

You got anything else you want to share

about the world of basketball,
Clipper Dre?

No, I'm... I'm...
I'm... I'm just saying,

once we tighten up on "D,"

the Clippers are "indomit-able-ble."

"Indomit-able-ble-ble-ble-ble-ble"?

Ple... What... Wh... Get... W...

Get him off my phone line now!

- [Line disconnects]
- Hey.

What did that idiot say?

DRE: "Indomit-able-ble."

"Indomit-able-ble."

Stephen A.: [ Laughs]

Maurice, keep that one
on the soundboards, please.

Just pathetic.

Back with more "Stephen A."

[Theme music plays]

You know, Black folks is always playin'.

You know, we... we was just playin',

you know, because Stephen A. Smith

is always playin', you know?

Um, how about we just
play the quiet game

until we get home?

- Yeah.
- Okay.

There you are, Pops.
I've been looking for you.

Then you doin' better than
the FBI, CIA, and the USDA.

So, what's up?

Okay, I need you to teach me
poker fast, okay?

Kendall Akopian invited me

to her Vegas-themed
Sweet party this weekend,

and I got to make sure
I'm comin' in super sweet.

- You feel me?
- Oh, Jack.

Look, the men in our family,
we have two weaknesses...

all-you-can-eat shrimp and gambling.

Now, I've seen you at Red Lobster, son.

I know you already halfway there.

Look, I just don't want to be the guy

who's too lame to gamble, all right?

People are gonna start lumping me in

with the kids who sit outside
while we talk about evolution.

I don't want this kind of life
for you, Jack.

Believe me, I wish somebody
had given me a choice.

But once you get on that riverboat,

you cannot get off until she docks.

Okay, well, if you don't teach me,
then I'll just learn on the streets.

Hmm.

[Clicks tongue] Okay, fine.

But I'm not gonna go easy on you.

We're gonna play for real money.

Not marbles, not hard candy,
not Bitcoin.

You want to play with the big boys,

you got to put up or shut up.

Okay, I'm ready to play
with the big boys.

- Mm-hmm.
- I'm gonna go grab a Capri Sun.

- You want one?
- Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

All right.

DRE: Bow was riding high
because she was doing good,


and she wasn't doing it alone.

Ahh!

There's my girls!

So, how was your first day
at the clinic?

Whaaat?

So fulfilling.

We met so many different kinds of people

with such incredible stories.

See? Oh, gosh, you guys get it.

Thank you for the opportunity.

No, thank you! Are you kidding me?

So, same time next week?

Oh. You want us to do this
again next week?

Uhh, yeah.

But not in a, like, "I'm making
you do it" kind of way.

This is, like, a fun thing
for us to do together.

Ugh! So this was optional.

See, Vanessa? I told you.

She thought we had to come since you're,
like, our boss and all.

Oh. Oh.

So... So you guys are only here
because I'm your boss?

Ooh, I'm so glad you get it!

A lot of people would not
be cool with that.

Thanks for clearing that up,
because next weekend,

I'm having an experience in the desert.

Ooh! In the De... Okay!

Bye, Dr. Johnson.

- Bye.
- Bye.

Turned out,
Bow didn't have a g*ng at all.


She was just a lonely woman
who spent her whole day


with her fingers in strangers' butts...

or whatever the hell they do over there.

I don't know.

I can't believe that they only came

because they thought they had to.

Ugh, don't underestimate the
power of obligation, Rainbow.

[Chuckles] That's how I turned
multiple fake pregnancies

into cash, jewelry, and, well,
Daewoo Motors stock.

[Chuckles] Yeah, I mean,

I didn't want to play paintball
with Mr. Stevens,

and I definitely did not
want to be hunted.

But, you know,
there are just certain things

that you have to do
to get ahead at work.

Sure. I mean, they look up to me.

But I am not just any boss, all right?

I'm cut from the same cloth as them.

We're all Black women trying
to change the medical field

with our... our beauty, brains,
and... and body-ody-ody-ody.

You know, I don't know, Dr. Johnson.

I think they just don't
[bleep] with you.

This should be a familiar
feeling by now.

Okay, well, you know what?

I am going to do something about this.

I am going to invite all of them
to a happy hour.

And we are not gonna talk
about work at all,

and the only sh*ts
that are gonna be given

are by the bartender.

[Laughs]

Of course, unless somebody
has an allergic reaction.

Then, I'm legally obligated
to administer an EpiPen

'cause, you know, I'm a doctor.

DRE: Guys, I need your opinion
on something.

I have a situation with my daughter.

She lost respect for me
after I got roasted

by Stephen A. Smith on the radio.

Look, man, kids today,
they're so addicted to TikTok,

video games, dr*gs, that I'm
quite sure she forgot by now.

Uh, I'm not so sure.

Yo, that jacket is dope!

You're gonna be stuntin' on 'em
at school today.

Oh, you think so,
"Clip City, Chip City"?

♪♪

I saw her hero die in her eyes,

just like when I saw Mr. T
at Food Less.

I remember you told me that.

Dre, there's only one way
to handle this.

- Crying.
- Revenge.

- Mm-hmm.
- Revenge?

Yes, Dre, revenge.

Think of all the things
we wouldn't have in this world

without revenge, hmm?

The "John Wick" trilogy,
the second Iraq w*r.

- Ben and Jennifer, part two?
- He's right.

Even though the Buddha once said,

"Revenge is like drinking poison

and expecting the other person to die."

[Laughs] But all I know
is that the Buddha

never had his girlfriend stolen
by his brother after prom.

You know what?

You guys are starting to make sense.

All Diane needs to do

is see me get revenge
on Stephen A. Smith.

This is what you do...
you find out what bar

Stephen A. Smith's wife
hangs out at after work.

Introduce yourself as
Reverend Kadar Lewis.

Tell her that you're there
for her testimony.

Tell her that she is better off
without her husband.

I'm available. I also go to dinners.

- Okay. Okay...
- I pay for...

I'm not feeling that.

But I will come up with something.

I have ideas, too.

Hot, fresh ideas.

- Yeah, I'm gonna show him.
- Mm-hmm.

[Chuckles]

You know, all this talk about
revenge makes me nostalgic.

Maybe now's the time to call my brother

and tell him that his son is mine.

He should never have cut in front of me

at the chairlift at Gstaad.

♪♪

[Indistinct conversations]

[Vocalizing]

Oh, there you guys are!

Hi! Come on over!

Thanks for inviting us, Dr. Johnson.

Oh, my God, it's my pleasure.
And, please, call me "Rainbow."

"Dr. Johnson" is what I make
my mother-in-law call me.

[All laugh]

Asia, come on.

Asia, sit next to me! Sit next to me!

I know, no one wants to sit
next to the boss, right?

[Clicks tongue]
But I promise, I don't bite.

And we are all bosses here, right?

Come on, we're some boss-ass physicians!

Oh, wait, you know what?

We're BAPs... "Boss-Ass Physicians."

We are taking BAPs back, okay?

Can I get you ladies something to drink?

Oh, I'll just have a water.

Oh, no, no, no. No, it's happy hour.

We're not here to hydrate.
We're here to celebrate.

We're gonna turn up, and then we're
gonna get to know each other, okay?

I'm gonna have a rosé.

- I guess I can have a glass.
- Okay, you know what?

We'll actually have two bottles of rosé.

And what do you guys want?

[Laughs] I'm joking.

The two bottles are actually
for the table.

I'm not Dr. Barrett, I promise.

[Laughter]

You brought cash.

$ from shining dad's shoes
every day last summer.

Oh, okay.

So... you got to look at your hand.

What do you want to do?

Oh, I'm all-in.

- Are you sure?
- Oh, I'm sure.

All right. Well,
I caught a pair of kings.

- Oh.
- Oh, you caught garbage.

- All right. Uh...
- [Laughs]

Let's see how this plays out.

- [Laughs]
- Okay.

- Oh! Not so good for you.
- Um...

Which means you are
going to need a miracle

to pull... this... off.

- What?
- [Laughs]

Call this hand the ' Lakers,

'cause I just k*lled the kings.

- All right.
- Give me that.

Hol... Hold up, hold up.

Now, let me just get another run at it.

You're out of cash, Pops. I-I know,

but, uh, look, I got this, uh...

I got this lotto scratcher
and a Social Security check

that will arrive by
the first of the month.

Yeah, I'm good. Thank you, though.

You're a great teacher.

Wow. I'm gonna k*ll it
at the poker party.

Whoo!

♪♪

What the [bleep] just happened?

After a couple of drinks
and some bacon-wrapped dates,


Bow and her young colleagues
were like old friends.


She could feel the sisterhood
in her grasp.


I'm so glad that we did this. So glad.

You guys, it's so nice to just
be with a group of doctors

that know what we go through.

For real. It's so nice not
having to worry about

somebody asking me whether
my hair is real or not.

Dr. Hines been wearing
a toupee for months.

Go ask him if his hair is real.

VANESSA: I saw him
when I was driving past

the "reserved" doctor spaces
to the resident parking lot,

and that thing
was flapping in the breeze.

- Oh, my God!
- [Laughter]

Oh, don't even bring up
that parking lot.


- It's so far.
- ASIA: It makes no sense.

I mean, we get the worst shifts anyway.

At the very least,
they could let us park

in the same continent as the hospital.

Right? That part.

But, you guys,
the whole parkingspace thing

is a rite of passage.

Look, you will get your
parking spot. You will.

And they make everything
so complicated at the hospital.

Just getting stickier Band-Aids
requires committee meetings.

Meetings. "Meetings."

There... There is a, um...

There's, like, a complex web
of contracts, though,

that really saves the hospital
a lot of money.

ASIA: I'll take all the money I can get.

I spend every day elbow-deep in organs

- to pay off my med school loans.
- Mm.

Meanwhile, the people at the top
get paid a fortune

to go to meetings
and have fancy parties.

Yeah, I imagine that
it can look like that

if you don't know
what you're talking about.

I mean, the people
that go to the meetings

and the fancy parties,

I mean, they started out just like you.

You know, just worked our entire
careers trying to make it easier

for the people
that are coming behind us.

But, you know, maybe that's
not enough for some people.

So...

- Who do I give this to?
- Me.

I am the boss, so here you go.

That's what bosses do.

So... [Clears throat]

Uh...

Um, actually, you can
go ahead and sign it

and just cut the credit card up.

I don't need it anymore. It's fine.

I'm gonna go. It's awkward.
I feel really awkward.

Okay, um...

[Sets glass down]

Well, I'm gonna take that. Boss moves.

Boss moves only.

Mm-hmm.

- Hey.
- Hey.

You're still up?

I can't sleep.

Stephen A. Smith is haunting my dreams.

Okay, well, clearly,

this is part of a larger story,

but I am too tired to ask.

Hey, babe, how did your happy hour go?

- Not great.
- [Chuckles]

I mean, I can't relate to any of them

because they're not on my level,

and I don't have camaraderie

with any of the doctors
that are on my level

because they don't know what
it's like for a Black woman.

They don't know what I go through.

Yeah, I get it, babe. You want peers.

I want a group like they have.

I'm never gonna have that.

- Well...
- It's just...

It's so lonely sometimes.

It's never going to be easy

when you're in a league of your own.

But because of your hard work
and sacrifice,

those Black doctors
that you were with tonight

will have that peer group to lean on

like you always wanted to have.

Hmm.

Okay, well, the way I see it,

you're like Moses leading the Israelites

to the Promised Land.

Now, you may not be able
to get all the way there,

but you will watch
the fruits of your labor

as your people enter.

Hmm?

I love it when you talk biblical.

- Oh, there's more.
- Really?

- Genesis.
- No.

Exodus.

- Oh, boy.
- Mm-hmm.

Philippians.

Philippians.

Apollonia.

Appa... Appa... What is that?

I-I got my Bible in the parking
lot of a Prince concert.

- Oh.
- Yeah, it came wrapped in %...

All this talk about the Bible

got me thinking about my favorite verse.

Dre : ...

don't disrespect the king
in front of his daughter.


I find it weird that
you wanted to take me

to Disneyland at : A.M.
on a school day,

but I am looking to up
my truancy numbers.

Yep. Yeah, but there's something
we have to do first.

[Seat belt clicks, line ringing]

All right, caller, we're talkin' MLB.

Whatcha got for me?

Hey, Stephen A.
More like Stephen A-minus.

Right? Right? [Laughs]

Yeah, I want to talk to you
about your garbage take

on the Clippers the other day, man.

Whoa, now, wait a minute.

I know that voice. This is Mister...

DRE: "Indomit-able-ble."

Uh... n-no, it's not.

I'm a totally different person
who can't stand yo ass.

Uh-huh. I know that voice.
This is Clipper Dre.


I know a hater's voice when I hear it.

Ladies and gentlemen,
brace yourself, brace yourself.

It's another one of
Clipper Dre's Earth-shattering,

rim-rattling takes. [Laughs]

What's up, Dre? The floor is yours!

- Uh...
- Stephen A., this is Diane Johnson.

You can Google me.

You know, you talk a whole lot
of smack for someone

who was wrong about the NBA
Finals six years in a row.

And why are you always yellin'?

That microphone got to be
wetter than KD's jump sh*t.


And, also, you look like you haven't

bought a new pair of glasses since .

- Ooh.
- Step your game up, sir.

Uh... let's go to commercial break.

- [Beep]
- Maurice, I told you to screen those calls!

You know I was gonna handle
that before you jumped in, right?

Oh, I know you had it.

Just couldn't resist an opportunity

to check somebody.

- Oh.
- That's all.

[Radio turns on, music plays]

DRE: My daughter dunked on
Stephen A. Smith... for me.


I was worried about
no longer being Diane's hero,


but I didn't realize she
could end up being mine.


Meanwhile, Pops doubled down
on teaching Jack a lesson.


Uh-huh, uh-huh. Show him the ladies!

- Bam!
- Ha ha!

[Laughs]

Looks like college is gonna have
to wait another year, slick.

Whoa, whoa. Wait, wait. [Chuckles]

Not so fast, old-timer.

RUBY: [Gasps]

Ohh, Earl! Look at that!

Impossible!
How come I can't b*at children?!

Hey, you got anything left in your bra?

Just award-winning breasts,

and, of course, a butterscotch.

Well, got to be some kind of way

for us to dig ourselves
out of this hole.

- Ruby?
- Huh?

I'm gonna need your wedding ring.

Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Pops, that is not a good look, okay?

You know what?

I don't think this gambling life
is for me, to be honest.

Come on.

I heard there's a craft room
where people are making out.

♪♪

That's right!

Glad you learned your lesson, son.

- You did it, Earl.
- Whew.

You broke a generational curse

that's plagued this family
for years, you know?

Yep, sure did.

Hey, let's celebrate.

If we leave now, we can get
to Vegas before midnight.

All right, now.

Well, I'll raid the liquor
cabinet on our way out.

[Chuckles] Come on!

[Siren wails]

So, Bow had to accept that
she didn't have any peers


where she was at right now.

That's part of the sacrifice she's made

to be in a league of her own.

But she made it so other people
don't have to be alone.


Moses has the mountaintop.

Oprah has Montecito.

And Bow has the lasting impact
she made at the hospital,


even if some don't appreciate it yet.

- [Knock on door]
- All right, here I come. I got it.

- Hey.
- Hey.

- How you doing?
- Stephen A. Smith?

Yeah. Can I come in?

Uh... s-sure! Sure, come on in, man!

- Thank you so much.
- Um... hey. [Chuckles]

Man, you know, I-I really
appreciate you stopping by.

We both said a lot of things
in the heat of battle, you know?

And I think we should just
lay the sword down, man,

and, you know, call it a truce.

Who are you?

I'm Clipper Dre.

I thought that was just some kid
who stole his mother's phone.

- Ye...
- I'm actually here to see Diane Johnson.

- What?
- Well, well, well.

I thought I heard some heavy
breathing from the other room.

There's no other way to put this.

Ever since you came and
roasted me on my own show,

my takes just haven't been that hot.

I need you to call back in to my show

and say you didn't mean what you said.

Come with me.

We can discuss my terms.

This way.

♪♪

I-I'm... I'm Clipper Dre.
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