Black-ish Review: Mother Nature (Season 4 Episode 2)

On Black-ish Season 4 Episode 2 “Mother Nature” the Johnson’s tackle the difficult subject of Postpartum Depression. Yet again Black-ish cleverly uses its weekly 22 minutes to start important conversations about tough subjects.

At the end of Black-ish Season 3 little Devante arrived early, giving all of us a scare as concerns for his safety arose. Thankfully, the baby is just fine, but Rainbow on the other hand is struggling.

There’s a lot of stigma surrounding Postpartum Depression and as Black-ish points out, many women may not even realize that they have it.

Black-ish realistically portrays the struggles and confusions that come with Postpartum Depression. Rainbow is completely unlike herself and everyone can tell. In “Mother Nature” the humor lies in the kids storyline as they all pitch in to try and make life a little easier for their mother.

Zoey: She put sunscreen and a steak knife in Diane’s lunchbox today.

Diane: Turns out I needed both during recess.

Junior takes the lead, walking around with big ideas, no shirt, and little Devante strapped to his chest. Diane reaches a new level of wicked with her extremely blunt thank you notes, and Jack ranges from too little to too much with baby-proofing the house.

It’s heartwarming to see the kids trying so hard to help Rainbow, and it shows how much this family really does care about each other.

The climax of “Mother Nature” has actually been a long time coming, as Ruby finally goes too far and Rainbow goes off on her. For four seasons Ruby has walked all over Rainbow; she’s embarrassed her, mocked her, and undermined her for ages.

Rainbow is often the butt of Ruby’s jokes, but on “Mother Nature” she finally stands up to Ruby, and I couldn’t be more proud. She doesn’t pull any of her punches and it’s nice to see Ruby realize that she isn’t always right.

Rainbow: Do you think this is easy for me, Ruby? Motherhood is the most natural thing for a woman and I’ve had four kids and somehow I am struggling right now.

Times have changed and we know so much more about Postpartum Depression than we did when Ruby was a new mother. But her shaming of ‘Bow is still done all too often to women who are struggling today.

It’s really satisfying to see Dre side with Rainbow on this issue. Usually the arguments between Rainbow and Ruby aren’t that serious, but this one is, so it’s really comforting to see Dre make the right decision.

Ruby’s apology is genuine and loving, proving that at the end of the day she actually does love Rainbow. I’d like to see this change their relationship in the future to make them allies a little more often.

Ruby: You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of, you’re a good mother…And you’re not weak because you got help, I’m weak for not being there to help you get it.

Rainbow does get help and by the end of the episode her condition starts to improve. I’m so glad that Black-ish is breaking the silence and telling audiences that it is okay to ask for help when you need it. For help with Postpartum Depression or just more information check out Postpartum Support International.

OTHER THOUGHTS:

• The secondary characters reading Diane’s thank you notes is one of the funniest scenes I’ve ever seen.
• Diane’s feud with Charlie is one of the most hilarious continuing threads of Black-ish.
• Dre finally gets some praise from Pops! And for good reason, Dre steps up and holds everything together while giving Rainbow time to heal.
• Dre holding everything together, but also expressing how helpless he feels is such a reality for so many people who’s loved ones struggle with mental/mood disorders. I applaud Black-ish for handling this story with so much honesty.  

What did you think of this episode of Black-ish? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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Black-ish airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on ABC.

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