Greenleaf: Season 4, Episode 5 “Unwanted” – Recap, Review (with Spoilers)

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AJ presents himself as a possible lost cause as Kerissa shows her whole ass to Lady Mae. Also, Charity gets to know Phil and sees whether it is worth being on his side.

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Network
OWN
Director(s)	Allan Kroeker
Writer(s)	Jenna Wycoff, Steven Fulcher
Air Date	10/1/2019

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Recap

There Is More To Me Than Petty Schemes: Charity, Phil

With learning she ended someone’s marriage, Charity is starting to question her work with Phil. She even calls the man the devil to show you how seriously she is considering ending their arrangement. However, once he exposes that he is the writer behind Bob Whitmore, she sees the light. She sees Phil as a kindred spirit. At least in terms of living in the shadow of someone less deserving of the spotlight.

The Rattling Of Bones In The Closest: Grace, AJ, Aaron

There is a need to question if AJ is going to use Grace’s guilt to finance his lifestyle. The boy claims he is struggling to find work, and when Grace uses her connection to Aaron, he walks away because the man praises Grace too much. Yeah, because Aaron talks about Grace like a saint, rather than someone who abandoned her child and left him to be abused, discarded, and alone, he decides to walk away from a job opportunity.

Then to add insult to injury, he shuns Grace and says he will reveal their secret to anyone who asks.

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. Where is Kevin?

You Shouldn’t Have Shown Your Ass: Jacob, Zora, Dante, Nikki, James, Mae, Kerissa

Kerissa is having a hard time right now. Mae refuses to give her furniture for when her family moves, and when she asks James to help, he goes to Mae and then gets blamed for causing issues between the two. Which, by the way, Kerissa only added wood to the fire. James, with him talking about guest preaching in Atlanta, he was already riling up Mae. So Kerissa trying to use him was just a shot of gasoline.

But, what really causes a whole lot of issues for Kerissa is Dante. How? Well, he has a party, which Zora is invited to by Nikki, and Dante gets it into his head to burn a confederate flag. Zora tells Jacob what is going on and with him showing up and there being a brawl, Jacob gets fired. Thus, he can no longer afford moving out.

Now, this would have been unfortunate, but not a big deal, if Kerissa didn’t go off on Mae. I’m talking blaming her the way most do Grace for all that is wrong in the household. Leading to Mae, in the fakest slap I’ve ever seen, hitting Kerissa.

So now between an apology or being forced out, it should be interesting to see how Kerissa handles Jacob’s news.

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. Kerissa talks about having a sour relationship with her mom, but how are things with her father? Assuming she is aware of who he is.
2. Why didn’t Nikki try to stop Dante or did she set him up?

Collected Quote(s) & .Gifs

In a house full of sleepwalkers, the one person awake is bound to seem a bit vivid by comparison.
— Lady Mae

It’s the ones that think they’re good you gotta worry about ‘cause they can’t even see their own shadow.
— AJ

Review

Highlights

Phil Revealing That He Is Bob Whitmore

While the way Bob talked to Phil made it clear he was involved in his speech writing, it wasn’t until this episode you realized Bob is using his whiteness to make Phil’s messaging commercial. Which, when you think about it, says a lot.

Take note of James, Grace, and Mae’s conversation about megachurches usually ran by men. Usually, when speaking of inequality, things do often tend to be a men vs. women thing, and not a breakdown of inequality amongst men. This is a prime example. For outside TD Jakes, unless you are someone religious, there aren’t many well-known pastors, with megachurches, who are Black. You can find a lot of white ones, both famous and infamous, but Black leaders of the faith? A much more limited batch.

So with learning Phil is the man behind Bob, it puts into perspective how Phil, due to lack of opportunity, ended up in the position he is in. For Phil notes he had a church, yet it didn’t grow to the point he could swallow other churches like Bob’s company. And if Phil is the one bolstering Bob’s position, that makes it clear there is only one legitimate factor to Bob’s success – his skin tone.

 

Now, as for why Phil hasn’t tried to branch off after seeing Bob’s massive success, or why he failed previous to Bob, that isn’t revealed. However, it could present a reason to invest in Phil rather than see him as Bob’s lackey.

Us FINALLY Learning About Kerissa’s Family

Despite not getting to meet Kerissa’s mom, at the very least we learned she has a toxic relationship with her, one that made Kerissa feel like her mom saw her as competition. This explains so much in terms of Kerissa’s relationship with damn near everyone. Like Sofia in The Color Purple, all Kerissa’s life she had to fight. All just to get some love and attention and then when you factor in the Greenleaf family, you begin to understand why she put up with Jacob, Mae, and will try to dress down Grace despite not doing much beyond complaining.

In essence, Kerissa doesn’t have a safety net or someone to run to. Her life is so dependent on the Greenleaf family that she’d have to go into a shelter if she abandoned them. And considering her taste in homes, decor, and living the high life, there ain’t no way in hell she’d make such a grand sacrifice to get away from them.

Pushing us to believe, when it comes to Mae, and dealing with the fact she can’t move out, Kerissa will likely humble herself.

 

On The Fence

AJ’s Struggles

With Charity having a sob story, Kerissa as well, basically everyone having a rough childhood or last couple of years, it makes AJ just another name in a pile. Granted, thus far, no one else has dealt with going to prison, being homeless, or starving – so we know. However, while the writing is ace, I don’t feel like AJ’s actor is being pushed to explore more than the anger that comes from being abandoned. Making it so the way he lashes out is way too similar to everyone else and almost presents his performance as the standard to expect than what is uniquely AJ.

Mae’s Crusade Against Bob Whitmore & Expectations For James

What is a growing problem with Mae in her fight for the church is that she is helpless. All she can do is push people to fight for her benefit for no one at Calvary necessarily wants her to lead. Also, rather than start a new church or lead elsewhere, she refuses to at least show her worth. Leaving you to question whether the longevity of this storyline will ultimately hurt or help Mae?

Mind you, Whitfield still owns every scene she is in, and the writers still give her the best dialog of the show. The problem is, however, if fans ever build up a tolerance to her comebacks, what is left? Her back and forth with James? Don’t get me wrong, they make for a cute couple, but there is this vibe they both should seek out dating other people. Especially since they seemed to have grown apart more than closer, and Mae is no longer the girl James once knew or seems to want.

So one can only hope Mae escapes the house and finds something beyond pining over Cavalry to take up her time.

 

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