Black-ish (2014) s06e21 Episode Script

1 This fall, Pops surprised us all when he said that he was getting married to Lynette.
And as gross as it was to see an old man in love, we were happy for him.
But then came Christmas I love you.
But I need him.
I knew that one hurt, and I felt for Pops, but I know that he gets through things in his own way.
See, Pops has always had his own version of self-care.
Can't believe I lost my job.
Drinks on me! I just lost 10 grand on the Buffalo Bills.
What time you get off? Ohh! Doctors say something wrong with my heart.
I say road trip! - Road trip.
- Road trip! As long as I can remember, Pops has gotten through the dark spells with a little time, a lot of booze, and help from his best friends, Loose Craig and Billy Blade.
Why do you want to know how I got the name Loose Craig? You from the government? I was born Billy Smith, but they called me Billy Blade.
What does the "Blade" stand for? Beer, Liquor, And Drugs Everyday.
Pops' buddies were helping him through the pain, and we were happy to let them.
Well, most of us.
Oh, no.
Okay.
Sir? Please say he's not dead.
Oh, hello, pretty lady.
I'll have, uh, two eggs and bacon and some black coffee.
You need to flip those cushions and set them on fire.
That thing smells like unpaid child support, and you know it! Morning, Mama.
Hey, baby.
- Hey, Dre.
- Yeah? When do you think your father's gonna stop acting like an Arizona State freshman? We have been very generous with him, and this morning, I found his friend Loose Craig sleeping on our couch.
There's gotta be somewhere else for that man to sleep.
- Okay, well, Pops was sleeping in his bed.
- Mm-hmm.
All right? Billy Blade was sleeping on Pops' couch.
You can't ask an old Black man to double up.
Okay It's not just about the couch, Dre.
Uh Eight the hard way.
Play it! Ronnie wants to know where the best place around here to throw up is.
Is it cool if I ash my cigar in this cactus? Damn, Rainbow! Now my money's all wet! My Pops is just getting over a breakup, okay? This is how men deal with things.
No, it's not.
No Look, I love your father, and I also love grown men who sleep at hotels, not on my couch.
He's got to find a more constructive way to deal with his pain.
Bow, that's exactly what he's doing.
I promise you, all right, we are doing the right thing for Pops.
Look at that.
Uh-huh.
Walk of shame.
He's doing great.
- Good morning, everybody.
- Hey.
Okay, Ishma, feel free to take something for the road, baby.
I would get you an Uber, but I don't know how that works.
Okay.
- Morning.
- Talk to your father.
Okay, I will talk to him.
Watch her.
She's raiding the good liquor.
- Hey, Pops? - Bye.
How you doing? How's it look like I'm doing, son? You see that? Everything's all right.
All right, so please, don't try to understand this, okay, babe? Just let Pops have his fun.
And if that means an old dude is sleeping on that couch a few more weeks, so be it.
Junior, have you seen my purse? My God, this is the worst day ever.
Pops had some sort of frat party last night, and now everything's missing or it's sticky.
Oh.
Hate to hear that.
Roll of pennies for your thoughts? No, Junior, I got to take Jack and Diane to school.
And there's this dad, Jeremy, he makes drop-offs a nightmare.
Every start of the week, he's like, "I got a case of the Mondays.
You got 20 ccs of Friday?" That doesn't sound so bad.
Junior, has anyone ever made your skin crawl? Have you ever wished that someone didn't exist, in in a non-violent way? - I have.
- Yeah.
But I don't want to say who.
Seriously, if you lock eyes with that guy, he is like the Terminator.
I got a late start to work.
Why don't I drop the twins off at school? Thank you, Junior.
I am gonna go and look for my bag.
You do that.
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! You be sure to wash your hands, sweetheart.
Pennies are like little toilets.
- You remember that.
- Okay.
- That's a tip from Mom.
- I will.
I was wondering what was on this one.
That is exactly why I keep none of my real estate but all of my guns registered in Connor's name.
Mm.
It should be so much easier to steal the rest of this company from you.
Oh.
Oh, Dre, what's going on, huh? Let me guess you were not fast enough to buy a sneaker with a 600% markup? It's 800%.
- Ooh.
- All right? And Bow is mad at how my father is handling his breakup.
How is he handling it? If it's anything like I do, he's having a good old-fashioned cry.
You know, just letting it all out in a bathroom or in a Kia Sorento parked near a beach.
Okay, my father is not going to cry.
Black men do not get emotional in public.
Michael Jordan cried once, and it's a meme! - Oh, yeah.
- It's true.
When my mom passed, my dad was so afraid of someone seeing him cry that he had his tear ducts removed.
When he gets real cold, he bleeds from his eyes now.
Mm.
Still, better than crying.
Word.
Denzel Washington is one of the best actors that we ever had, and in "Glory," he was only able to drum up one tear.
Now, if my calculations serve me correctly, he should be able to do a second tear in 2033.
'33? So if you can't cry, how do Black men deal with their problems? Ah.
If I may - Nope.
- No.
Black men deal with their problems one of two ways fight or flight.
Mascot in your face? Fight.
Guy does magic in the hood around you and a bunch of Black guys and you don't understand what he's doing, probably think he's in a cult or something.
Flight.
You know, Pops is cool, right? He just needs to party to get it out of his system, and then he'll be back to normal.
So, what you're saying is that partying is the Black man equivalent of crying? Well, it's also how they express fear, relief, hopelessness, and hunger.
But in this instance, yes, it's crying.
And how many nights a week is your dad partying? Not a lot.
- Seven.
- Oh, Dre.
It sounds like your dad is crying a lot.
You know, Loose Craig has got a real gambling problem.
He tried to get me to throw my soccer game.
I like him.
He gave me a package to hold and bought my fingerprints for only 20 bucks.
- Okay, let's go, guys.
- Where do you think you're going? Oh, uh, Mom used to walk me to the door, so Uh, we ain't you, dawg.
Hey! Where's Bow? I need my Monday prescription.
Oh.
Uh, she got called in to work early.
- Oh.
- Junior.
Jeremy.
You know, I really enjoy talking with her.
One of the things I look forward to on the weekdays.
Not sure if she told you, but I work alone.
Oh.
No, she didn't.
I'm divorced, and my little Alfie's at school all day, and, uh, most of my family's in South Carolina.
Man, that's got to be tough.
Well, at least I have all my drop-off buddies.
Oh, apple fritter? Ooh! Don't mind if I do! Mmm! Not sure what's sweeter, this apple fritter or you! The guys at work had me thinking maybe Pops wasn't okay.
So I decided to do a quick welfare check.
doing pull-ups, they flipping truck tires.
The sign says "gym," but I know a White militia when I see one.
Good looking out.
Hey, Dre.
What you doing here? Uh, I thought I'd just pop up, you know, maybe buy the next round.
- All right.
- Okay.
Ah, look at this, Pops.
Sports on TV, good friends, a bar with a B health grade.
Ha! Life is good, huh? Could be worse.
- Earl, your horse is winning.
- Look! - It's what? - Look! - What? - He's got the lead! Hey! - Run! - Run, pony! - Hell yeah! - Run, pony! Come on! Your horse just won! What you win, Pops? 20, 30 bucks? Try $4,500.
He hit the trifecta.
- Mm-hmm.
- What? Pops, that's incredible! Yeah, you don't hit the trifecta every day.
Hey so, what are you gonna do? I don't know.
Hold up! My Pops should be on top of this bar right now.
Something's off.
Why isn't this making him happy? Uh, I gotta go use the head.
I-I'll be right back.
Oh, man.
Pops is struggling.
You look like you need a drink.
Give me your credit card and your mother's maiden name.
I'll take care of it.
- Hey, what's going on? - Hmm? Pops won almost 5 grand, and nothing? So? So, h-how do you think he's doing after this whole Lynette thing? What Lynette thing? She broke up with him.
She did? When? This morning? Christmas! This Christmas? Yes! Oh.
Hmm.
- Well, that's news to us.
- Mm-hmm.
The hell you mean it's news to you guys? I mean, you took a road trip to Detroit and back.
What the hell did you talk about? Sports.
Gas prices.
Y-You remember that one station in Oklahoma? Shoot, how could I forget? Premium, only $2.
25 a gallon! - Mm.
- Look Pops needs someone to talk to about how he's feeling.
I guess he could talk to the bartender when we leave.
No.
He needs to talk to you two.
You're his closest friends.
Yeah, you're right.
But I-I I think I'm gonna pretend like you never told us.
- What? - Look, I'm sorry, but if we talk about it once, that means we got to check back in with him again.
- We like to keep a respectful distance.
- Mm-hmm.
I didn't know he had a son till recently.
Oh, I still don't know.
You've known him for 40 years! Look, Dre, you need to bounce.
- What? - You look like you're about to tell Earl - that you told us about Lynette.
- Mm-hmm.
No wonder you ain't got no wives.
- Marriage is a tool of the patriarchy.
- Mm.
So, how did it go with Jeremy? Did he sound sick and blame it on his allergies? Don't you think you're being a little harsh? Harsh? No.
I really feel like you're the one who's not giving him a chance.
What? He's just a lonely guy going through a tough time.
You do always see the worst in people, Mom.
And that's coming from Diane.
Okay, what are you guys talking about? We're only stating facts.
Remember when I was little and you wouldn't let me be friends with Eric because you hated his mom? Uhh, she had bad vibes, Junior.
- Bad vibes? - Yes.
I did not learn math on the commune, but I learned how to read vibes.
I really feel like you're closing yourself off to opportunities to make real connections with people people who may surprise you, the way Jer-Bear surprised me with an apple fritter.
He never gave me an apple fritter.
Did you ever give him a reason to? No.
Mm-hmm.
Why don't we both go to the next drop-off? Open your mind a little.
It's never too late - to turn over a new leaf.
- Okay.
Let me show you that Jeremy's not such a bad guy.
I guess there's no harm in trying.
Wait, while you're being so open-minded, can we please revisit me getting a tat? No! That's, like, a hard no, buddy.
Well, Pops isn't getting over Lynette, and his friends are no help, either.
Aww.
They didn't even know that he had broken up with her.
Dre, I think maybe it's time to have a real conversation about his options.
Okay.
Maybe he should try therapy.
If you're not gonna offer any real solutions, I might as well go in the house and talk to Jack about this.
Okay, well, maybe his doctor could prescribe him some medication.
Unless there's a scotch with his medication blended in, it ain't gonna happen.
Okay.
Here's another idea.
Mm-hmm? - I could dig a hole - Yes.
and scream my medical advice into that.
You know, I'm starting to realize that there is only one thing left to do.
Please don't say it.
I'll fix it myself.
You know what? - I'll talk to Pops tomorrow.
- Yeah.
Dre, you can't find a ladder to fix the porch light bulb.
What makes you think that you can fix Pops' deep emotional trauma? Okay.
Look at me.
I love you.
Mm-hmm.
But you have no skills.
Ha! - You know what? - Hmm? You know who else couldn't change a light bulb? No.
Who? - Gandhi.
- Ah.
Instead, he changed the world.
Oh Ohhh.
Here comes Jeremy.
You don't have to do this, Rainbow.
Making snap judgments about other people is one of the few things I respect about you.
Guys, just go to class.
Have a great day, kids.
Okay, you can do this.
Yes.
There he is.
In a jacket covered in pins for bands he never listened to.
- Name one other Foo Fighter! - Mom.
- Okay, sorry.
I'm being superficial.
- Mm-hmm.
I will give him a chance.
- Hey, Bow.
- Hey! Nice to see you again.
You, too.
Are Are those pajamas, or? Yes.
So, Jeremy, I have been meaning to ask you, what's happening with the whole "Game of Thrones" case, huh? - Ohh.
You - I mean, is that judge still out to get you? What? Oh, my God.
Oh! I'm sorry.
I gotta go.
I gotta run.
But I'm sure Junior would love to hear about it.
- Just tell him everything.
- Th Yeah, I'm gonna get in the car.
- Yeah, "Game of Thrones" was stolen - Oh! S from my original series of eight fantasy novels, except mine had more nudity, more dragons, and more - How old are you? - 19.
more dragon nudity.
See, the story begins in the kingdom of Fazenrock, when Lord Jeremiah Dragonbone is born.
Dragons are doing it everywhere.
Hey.
Got a minute, Pops? Oh, your timing's perfect! I'm looking to, uh, invest my winnings.
What do you think the best way is to get a 200% return in about six hours? Uh, scratchers or illegal street racing? Trust your gut.
But you know what, Pops? Uh I want to talk to you for a second.
- Uh - All right.
You know, I just wanted to come over here and make sure you were good, you know, because, you know, the breakup with Lynette was tough.
Oh.
Yeah, but What you gon' do? Yeah, true.
True.
But you do know everything's gonna be all right? Yeah.
I also wanted to let you know that I'm here for you, day or night.
You know, whether you want to talk about this or anything but this, I got you, Pops.
Hey.
You are not alone.
I know.
All right.
Hey.
I'm glad we did this.
It has been harder than I thought it would be, though.
I thought I'd be all right by now, but I'm not.
Matter of fact, every day I wake up, I feel worse.
I'm not gonna lie, son.
I don't even think I'm in the middle of it yet.
Oh.
Okay.
Well, uh, you know, if, uh if ever you want to talk about it, just Just, like, this whole thing has got me thinking back on my life and all the things I've done wrong, the chances I've blown.
Now I'm getting close to the end, and I can't help but realize I wasted my life.
Dre? How'd it go? Good.
Good.
- Oh.
Okay.
- He opened up to me.
- Oh! That's great.
You had a breakthrough.
- Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah, he had a breakthrough.
He, uh He started crying, Bow, and told me he wasted his life.
Ohhh.
What did you do when he told you that? Oh, I went to Señor Sub, you know, got a carnitas footlong.
What? What was I supposed to do, Bow? It's like I saw him naked.
And I did what I would've done had I saw him naked I ran away.
I-I'm trying to think of a worse possible response, but there's nothing.
- Bow, he let down his walls.
- Mm-hmm.
Which means I have to let down my walls to comfort him, and I'm like, "No.
I'm not tearing down these walls.
" Hell, it took me too long to build these! Breaking down walls is how you create intimacy, and ultimately, that's what you want from your dad.
It's what you've always wanted.
I Okay.
All right.
I know that it's easy to talk sports and traffic with your dad, but he really needs you right now.
So if he wants to go deep, then you gotta go deep, Dre.
I know.
Sounds like you got a good angle on this.
You want to take a crack at it? Go.
Go.
Go.
Go.
Be there for your dad, Dre.
And maybe it'll fill that dad-sized hole you're trying to stuff with sneakers.
- Hey.
- Hey.
Uh who's playing? - Hobart and Ithaca.
- Oh.
You got money on the game? This is Division Three College Lacrosse.
I got Ithaca minus two.
Yeah, okay.
Come on, Logan! You gotta pass to Blake if you ain't got the shot! Hey, you, uh mind if I sit and watch with you for a bit? Oh, yeah.
Sit down.
Hey, uh, about what I said before? Hmm? I-I didn't really mean that I wasted my life.
I just I let things, you know, pile up.
No.
No, Pops, you opened up to me, which was a big moment for us, and I screwed it up.
You didn't screw it up.
I would've done the same thing.
Men crying is like sitting down to pee.
I shouldn't have been weak like that in front of you.
Hey, come on, Pops.
You gotta stop thinking like that, okay? When Bow and I were separated, uh Man, that really messed me up, and I was too proud to talk to anybody about it.
I'd stay up till 2:00, 3:00 in the morning walking around that empty house, listening to old voicemails that she left me.
Really? Yeah.
I would talk back to them, too.
I ugly-cried a lot.
I hugged a pizza delivery guy and asked him if I would be okay.
Then you killed him so nobody would ever know what happened, right? Come on, Pops, I'm trying to be just as vulnerable with you as you were with me to let you know that I'm on your side.
I'm right here with you.
Yeah, I-I know.
I know.
And I mean it.
You know, we're gonna be vulnerable with each other, and it might be uncomfortable, but it'll definitely do more for you than booze, gambling, and women.
Yeah, you're right about that.
Last week, I fell asleep in the strip club.
You know they charge you for that? Thank you, son.
I'm ready for things to get better.
You know it's not just me, right, Pops? Everyone in this family loves you.
And our door is always open, day or night.
I might just take you up on that.
I-I don't know how much of this is too much, but this here feels like enough.
I got you.
Why don't you go on inside? I'm gonna sit here and watch these White boys play grass hockey.
All right, Pops, you do that.
Mm-hmm.
It took a lot more for me to open up to Pops.
And it took even more for him to be vulnerable.
I didn't fool myself into thinking that moving forward would be easy.
But at least Pops knew that there was somebody he could always rely on.
You up? Mm-hmm.