Black-ish Review: Bow Knows (Season 4 Episode 12)

On Black-ish Season 4 Episode 12 “Bow Knows” the Johnsons learn about the delights and the pitfalls of modern communication. While these two plots don’t have much to do with each other, they both tell us important things about how we talk to people in this modern age.

Bow runs the full gamut of finding a community on the internet and then later being rejected by strangers on the internet. When Bow joins a mommy group online, she finds a well of support and advice from other moms all over the world.

Anyone who’s ever been in a fandom or found a community of peers on the internet knows the joy and delight that Bow feels when she first finds this group. She feels like she has a whole community of support that she can’t find at home or in her neighborhood.

But when Bow has a different (and more scientifically accurate) opinion on vaccinations, the moms in her group turn on her and become hateful trolls. Because the internet takes away virtual all physical interaction, people can hide behind their usernames, and profile pictures and say things that they may not say in real life.

Because this is Bow’s first deep involvement in the internet world she gets caught up in trying to change the minds of the anti-vaxxers in the mommy group. Her intentions are noble and I hope that she did change at least one mind.

Ruby is right when she points out that there will always be people that disagree with you on the internet and ultimately you just have to let things go.

The internet can be great place to find a community that you belong in, but when it comes to people who start fights with you over a difference of opinion it’s always better to let it go and move on.

Meanwhile, at the office Dre is assigned a campaign about “The Talk.” No not that one. This “The Talk” is the one that black parents have with their kids about the bias they’re going to face in the world. (Olivia and Papa Pope’s “twice as good” conversation comes to mind.)   

Dre: The more connected we are, the less we wanna hear what anyone has to say.

While the ad campaign they are focusing on at work revolves entirely around this conversation among black families, Dre finds a way to make his co-workers understand.

Most people who have been marginalized in one way or another have their own version of “The Talk.” With Lucy, and most women, “The Talk” is about avoiding situations where you could end up in danger or someone could take advantage of you.

Dre: Rich white men don’t need the talk since most “the talks” are about them.

The crux of this storyline isn’t really about “The Talk” so much as it’s about how most people have more in common than they realize, even in the things that they believe make them different from everyone else.

OTHER THOUGHTS:

• The kids learning to love puzzles so much when Bow takes away their screens is really pure. I love that they all come back for more at the end of the episode.
• That Pointer Sister’s song is pretty great.
• Bow is writing a book! Where can I preorder it?

 

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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