Family Reunion: Season 2 Episode 1 “Remember The Dance Battle” [Season Premiere] – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

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Part 2 of “Family Reunion” reveals Daniel isn’t as dumb as you may think and has Shaka competing with his special friend.

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Directed By		Morenike Joela
Written By		Anthony C. Hill
Aired (Netflix)		1/20/2020
Introduced This Episode
Candy	Brittany Perry-Russell
Dr. Janine Carter	Taivon McKinney

Episode Recap

Grading On A Curve: Dr. Carter, Daniel, Jade

Dr. Carter, Jade’s Algebra II teacher, is no joke. But, at the same time, Jade isn’t taking her class seriously so her getting Ds should be expected. However, in that usual, “All the teacher need is a man” thought pattern, when Dr. Carter dates Jade’s uncle Daniel, she becomes quite nicer. But that’s short-lived because Daniel’s initial charms fade and she realizes, while potentially brilliant, Daniel is not worth her time.

Which may lead you to believe Jade ends up failing her next test, which happens to be her midterm, but with Daniel showing how he got a 750 on the Math section of the SATs, Jade, a D student, ends up getting a B.

Stepping Right Along: Brooke, Candy, Shaka, Cocoa

Being that Shaka was raised in Seattle, and apparently Cocoa and Moz didn’t do too much to make sure he and his siblings were exposed to Black culture, him seeing stepping, live, for the first time is eye-opening. So, to connect with his roots, it is only natural he wants to join the team with his special friend Brooke.

However, things get complicated when they are told there is only one spot, and their parents, Candy and Cocoa, get involved and pit them against each other. But, thanks to the work Brooke and Shaka’s mom force them to do, they become too good to choose between and end up both get to join Salt and Steppers.

Review/ Commentary

Highlights

The Representation

With there not being a notable amount of family programming created for Black children, there is a bit of a vacuum. One which makes it so between “The Proud Family” and shows older than that, you have to go more than 10 years to find a major show, featuring Black people and characters that had a notable budget.

Which is why, even with its faults, you have to appreciate “Family Reunion.” It features legendary actors like Loretta Devine, talks about stepping, shows a Black doctor who isn’t a medical doctor but one in math, and features people like Perry-Russell who actually have danced next to or behind top acts like Rihanna, Ciara, Michael Jackson, and Cher.

But for this episode specifically, it touching upon why stepping is so important and a cultural thing reminds you why it is important to have productions made for a culture, by people of that culture, to teach the youth of different aspects of what it means to be who they are.

Being Reminded There Are Multiple Intelligences

From what we’ve seen of Daniel, you’d be right to call him an idiot. Yet, with seeing him break down that math problem, we’re reminded that he is an idiot depending on the subject. Math, he is a whiz kid. Common sense? Well, he is not the brightest bulb in the box. And that’s important to show since it proves that it is okay not to be the best in every single subject. Also, considering how many struggle with math, it pushes the idea that being good at the subject doesn’t necessarily mean you will be set for life – as shown by how Daniel struggles.

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