Greenleaf Recap Season 4 Episode 3: Visions and Dreams…

Hello World,

There’s levels to this… That’s what I got from tonight’s episode of “Greenleaf.” So let me explain why in this Greenleaf Recap Season 4 Episode 3: Visions and Dreams…

Vision of Love…

This episode begins in Phoenix, Arizona at the Desert Hope Work Release Center. Right after touching down in Arizona, Grace takes a cab to the work release center to see her son A.J. Delahaye. I notice a set of double doors have crosses etched in them. Hopefully, that means it is a Christian-oriented work release center. Grace goes straight to the person working at the counter and asks to see A.J. When the man asks her about her identity, Grace says, “I’m his mother.” Although visiting hours are over, the man calls for A.J. to come and see his mother. He is surprised to see her. “I thought you were just going to send the money.”

Then the young man practically recites a soliloquy. He tells her that he is not her “science experiment,” that she can’t leave him in a drawer until she is ready to take him out and how she didn’t want him the first time he came looking for her. He then tells the man at the front desk to not let her back in should she wander in there again. All of that simply meant that A.J. still loves his mother Gigi despite the fact that she gave him up for adoption. If he didn’t care, he would have said nothing and had no reaction.

Back in Memphis, Bishop and Lady Mae, who are slowly finding their way back to love, discuss a dream that Lady Mae had. “The Lord gave me a dream,” she tells Bishop. Apparently, the setting was a museum. She heard a scream and followed a guard to find out the cause of the outburst. Bishop was standing next to a painting of Jesus Christ that had been ripped down the middle. Blood dripped from the blade of the knife that Bishop held in his hand. In the dream, Bishop said he was sorry to Lady Mae. After that, she woke up, Lady Mae said. She says to her ex-husband, “You have to apologize to the church for everything.” But as much as Bishop is trying to please Lady Mae, he aine tryin’ to do that. He says, “I’m going to tell you like Reuben told Joseph. Keep your dreams to yourself.”

Kerissa tracks her husband down at Calvary since he is an associate pastor now. Although Jacob has told her he doesn’t want to sell the land the two own across from Calvary, Kerissa is determined to wear him down. A commercial developer is interested in buying the land from Jacob and Kerissa and is willing to pay more than what they paid for the land, she says. Although Jacob asked for a week to pray about his decision, Kerissa has declared and decreed that the commercial developer’s offer is the answer to prayer.

In another part of Calvary, Charity meets with Carlton, the choir director. They listen to a song that Judy Whitmore, Bob’s daughter, has mandated that all of the Harmony & Hope churches sing. Charity is not amused, calling it the “whitest piece of ear trash.” In addition to the melody of the song, which kind of has a country twang, the words are disturbing to Charity. “He comforts me with his rod,” she says in disbelief. I’m not sure why she is so upset, that line is in the Bible.  Well, Charity aine having it. She wants to get Judy told via e mail immediately, but Carlton tells her about Grace’s mandate. Grace has said that before anyone “bother” Judy, Grace must be told first. I’m sure that made Charity want to contact Judy even more because “Grace is not the boss of me,” I’m sure Charity was saying in her mind. Charity loves her sister, but right now, her vision is elsewhere.

And in yet another part of Calvary, a distraught Misty Williams shows up and approaches Karine regarding her appointment with Grace. Karine tells her that Grace is out of town and Misty is perplexed as to why Grace didn’t tell her she was going out of town. And then Phil DeMars shows up. He spirits Misty away to his office! But Karine still has love for her former pastor Lady Mae and tells her what happened.

You Make My Dreams…

One of the good things about Jacob and Kerissa and their family moving back to the Greenleaf estate is that Jacob has a chance to get close to his father again. Jacob probably never thought in his wildest dreams that he and his father would be the enemies they were in a previous season, but now they are friends again. Jacob shares with Bishop about Kerissa wanting to sell their land so they can buy a house in Germantown. Bishop refers to the land as  a “Piece of Paradise” that Jacob “boldly acquired” when Jacob raged against his father and mother. He tells his son to just tell Kerissa no. “Land is the closest thing to having faith in this life,” he says. He explains that having land is how “the rich stay rich.”

But Jacob is ready to do anything to just Kerissa quiet. Still, Bishop tells his son that buying a home is not what Kerissa is really dreaming of although she thinks that is the case. “She wants to know that she has a home with you” after that Tasha Skanks scandal. “Love her more and let her know it,” Bishop advises.

Speaking of knowing, Karine lets Charity know that her big sister is in Phoenix, Arizona and Charity wonders if she is in Phoenix meeting with Bob Whitmore. Since Karine also told Lady Mae about Misty Williams, Lady Mae wants to go up to the church and meet with Misty and Fred Williams. Bishop, who says his ex-wife is looking “like the girl I married,” wants to accompany Lady Mae there. He tells her he will be ready in 15 minutes, but Lady Mae tells her son that Bishop won’t take a mere 15 minutes. And when he does reappear, he will come out looking like Billy Dee Williams! LOL Billy Dee was very handsome back in the day.

Charity, who doesn’t rely on the wisdom of her parents nor the advice of her co-worker, emails Judy.

In Phoenix, Grace and A.J. still continue to feel each other out. The two go to an apartment where AJ hopes he can stay. He notes that he will be the only one staying there. “I haven’t been alone in a long time. I used to dream about it.” But before he can get his hopes up to high, he is told that he cannot move in as he is an ex-con. He hopes to find someplace decent as an ex-con. He explains that the reason he went to jail in the first place is that he broke into a house to find something to sell. He wanted to sell the item to have money to buy food…How sad…And then, since he knew the owners were on vacation, he took a nap. He was caught while he was sleeping. The matter cost him 5 years in jail. Grace says something that up until now has only been said by Grace in A.J.’s dreams probably. She says she will continue to help A.J.  find a place. “I won’t leave until we find a place for you to stay.” A place that is “cold, quiet and safe.”

I don’t know if Zora’s new dream is to wife an NBA baller but she is acting like that’s the case as she waits for Dante Saunders of the Memphis Red Devils to show up at her father’s office at Calvary. But when he does show up, he’s got his girl Nicki, a tough-looking young lady who wears swinging cornrows, with him. Nicki stares at Zora like she knows Zora wants her man, but once Dante steps away to speak with Jacob, the atmosphere between the young women changes. Zora mentions that she lives in a cabin on her grandparents’ estate and Nicki, who has the “juice and the sauce,”according to Dante, wants to see for herself. Once at Zora’s place, Zora shows off her natural hair styling talent on her new friend. Nicki says she should host a class entitled “Lay Them Edges 101” and calls her a “boss.” After Zora’s relationship with abusive boyfriend Isaiah, her confidence isn’t what it once was, she tells her new friend. And then Nicki reaches out and touches Zora’s hair and necklace. I think Nicki likes boys and girls, but before my suspicion is confirmed, Dante shows up at Zora’s cabin.

Speaking of house calls, Lady Mae and Bishop opt to stop by the home of Fred and Misty Williams to determine what did Misty speak with Phil DeMars about for two whole hours. But since Misty has already shared her heart with Phil DeMars, she doesn’t feel like rehashing the scenario with Lady Mae. Believing that Misty needs some privacy before she shares with Lady Mae, Lady Mae sends Bishop outside to warm up their vehicle. Misty does share that she is disappointed that Grace didn’t tell her she was going out of town as Grace had promised to come to a drug intervention for her daughter. But in her place, Phil DeMars will be there. But Lady Mae continues to push until Misty shares it all.

She tells Lady Mae that she prefers Phil to Lady Mae, who wanted to stand in for Grace at the intervention. She says one of the reasons that she voted for Harmony & Hope is that Lady Mae had to know that her brother Mac was molesting those girls. Speaking for herself and her husband, she says, “It was you we wanted gone.” Lady Mae had envisioned that the church loves her, but now she realizes that not every person is rooting for her as a pastor.  In a near panic, Lady Mae calls her daughter. “When are you getting back here?” she asks. “Aside from Karine, nobody is minding the store. Phil DeMars is one wrinkly-eyed smile from taking over this church – my church.”

Speaking of Phil, he confronts Charity about emailing Judy. She explains that the song sounds like it “came straight from satan.” Phil DeMars reminds her of her dream. “Do you want to be AP or not? Then grow up.” However, Phil is pleased when Charity shares that she knows that Grace is in Phoenix.  Phil DeMars ponders whether Grace went to see their boss Bob Whitmore in Arizona.

Runnin’ Down A Dream…

After Bishop has had some time to think about Lady Mae’s dream, he goes back to her to discuss it. But Lady Mae says, “You weren’t wrong. The dream was for me. It was a warning.” While looking at picture of Faith on a slide, she shares what happened at Misty’s house. “Do you think I knew what Mac was doing with Faith and those other girls and the money?” “Of course not,” Bishop says. Lady Mae wonders if on some level she knew even if she did not know consciously. She cries on Bishop’s shoulder. I think she did know at some level, but she did but did not want to admit it. And I think she was abused too as a child although that detail hasn’t been focused on in a while.

In Arizona, A.J. believes he is about to wake up from his dream when Grace tells him she has to fly back before the two have a chance to find a place for A.J. to stay. He tells her that he is “sorry I called you and bothered you. I’m sorry I exist.” A.J. really needs Grace and she needs him too although she may not fully realize that yet. Phil calls someone to find out if Grace was seeing Bob Whitmore in Arizona, but we know that was not the case.

Back at the Greenleaf estate, Jacob brings a bouquet of flowers to Kerissa before explaining that they will not be selling their land. Later that evening, the family gather to look at old family slides, which includes plenty of their photographs from when Grace, Jacob, Faith and Charity were children. The first slide is of Faith. Despite this, the gathering is a jubilant one. Lady Mae asks Gigi,”Is there anything going on that you should tell me?” Gigi says no. The two are so much closer than they were in seasons past.

And maybe now that Gigi and Lady Mae finally have a good relationship, Gigi is hopeful the same thing will happen with her estranged son. After the family gathering, she calls A.J. and says, “I want you to come home.”

I had been thinking about this all along. It’s time that A.J. meet his family…It would be a dream come true and a vision to behold if the Greenleafs, all of them, finally united. And maybe that is what has to happen before Calvary can be returned to their care.

Thank you sooo much for reading my Greenleaf Recap Season 4 Episode 3: Visions and Dreams… and my other recaps so far. If you would like to keep up with OWN’s “Greenleaf,” and my recaps, please click on this link to subscribe to my blog 🙂!

Any thoughts?

 

Comments

comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

13 thoughts on “Greenleaf Recap Season 4 Episode 3: Visions and Dreams…

  1. I’m seeing a pattern with Grace: she tends to make promises that she can’t keep; then, she seems surprised when people get upset with her. She promised Charity she would fight to make her AP only to cave in and settle for just Jacob being hired. She promised AJ she would stay with him, only to run home as soon as her mother called. She promised Ms. Williams she would help with her daughter’s intervention,but completely forgets, leaving Ms. Williams open to the clutches of Rev. Phil. If only she could be more realistic about her boundaries and limitations.

    Zora is beginning to see how sheltered a life she has led. What made her think Dante would be single and just waiting for her with open arms?

    Charity, Charity, Charity…(sigh). It’s very disappointing to see her follow through with this alliance with Rev. Phil to spy on her family. Is being AP worth selling her soul?

    • I hadn’t noticed that pattern with Grace, but I do know she is coming across as hypocritical this season…But I still have faith that she will realize her errors in judgment and correct them. As for Zora, I can’t call it. She is such a wild card. It may just be in her nature 🙂

      Charity is the spoiled last child of every family. If she wants to treated as an adult, she needs to act that way…smh…she is not even equipped to be a pastor. Just because someone in your family is a pastor doesn’t make you automatically qualified..

      • What if A.J is MAC son? That would be a kicker…. Please somebody put Charity and Kerisa in a CORNER! Jacob is such a MAN of indecision of life. Lady Mae should leave and let the Family get the church back, they already divorce.

        • I don’t think that Mac got to molest Grace, but that would be a crazy plot twist! Yes, Charity and Kerissa are showing out this season already! I don’t know why Jacob can’t seem to man up on a consistent basis…But I have to disagree with you on Lady Mae. She’s the heart of Calvary 🙂

  2. Sister Jackie, there’s so much to express. First off I’m lucky to have some coworkers who watch Greenleaf, and one of them said that she thinks that this “AJ” is a fraud and not really Grace’s son. Could you imagine the scam of it all if it’s true that he isn’t Grace’s real son? My coworker flat out said, he’s too ugly to be Grace’s son, and I shook my head. Then again, what she said planted a seed of reasonable doubt because some people do claim to be “another” person, and they’re not that person after all. All he wanted was money which is a red flag too. Did she do DNA test to confirm that’s really her son or is her emotions taking the best of her judgment? Here we go again, Grace is brining another major storm towards the family. SMH…

    That dream is a very POWERFUL premonition. Lady Mae is being prepared for the betrayal that the Bishop is about to do in the future. You said it yourself Jackie that the Bishop is steering away from his godly ways and losing faith. He is practically on a path to destroy his relationship with God, and Lady is definitely in for a surprise when she witnesses it. I take dreams seriously. There is a reason why my middle name is Danielle. So that dream sequence really resonated to me.

    I TOTALLY understand why Charity was disturbed by the line “He comforts me with his rod!” in that song. Psalms 23:4 says “Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” That line from Psalms makes a connection between discipline and grace. Rod has been used in the bible to express disciplining us. God’s rod reminds us of his authority over all dominions. We’re reminded that the rod is used to help us stay on the path that God has for us; yet his staff is there for us to lean on, to rest, and find peace. The issue is that the song never mentioned the staff. We have to remember historically that white slave masters misused and misinterpreted the bible to express why slaves have to be disciplined and are degraded or punished by God. That was one of the rare moments that I agree with Charity and applaud her.

    Bishop said a mouthful to Jacob when he explained that having land is how “the rich stay rich.” There are so many cases of black families in the south who were provided a strong legacy of land from their ancestors after slavery and just sold their land away not understanding the true value of it and having it taken for granted. So I’m happy that Jacob actually took his father’s words seriously because that land is strong legacy. I also watch Queen Sugar by the way lol.

    I wouldn’t be surprised if Zora goes through her “bisexuality” phase and does some experimentation. Kerissa needs to stay in her lane and focus on building the family up. Misty brought Lady Mae back to reality. I agree with you Sis. Jackie that Lady Mae was sweeping Mac’s devious actions under the rug and was in extreme self denial that her brother would inflict that type of harm towards his own family members. Because of the sexual abuse that she experience with her father, Lady Mae’s thinking abilities are totally warped. It’s very common for family members to be in denial when something horrendous happens within the family.

    Great job on the review as usual Queen. You’re part of the reason why I look forward to Wednesdays. God bless you Sis. Jackie.

    • Too ugly to be Grace’s son! LOL. Now, I’m getting ready to say something controversial so brace yourself Sis. Ilyssa. Does your co-worker think AJ is not as attractive because he is not biracial? I hope not. I think AJ is attractive but he does look like he has been in jail. I bet once they clean him up, he will be very handsome. And he does resemble Grace to me…more than Noah actually…I think AJ is actually Grace’s son and not a fraud…

      As for the rod and the staff, I forgot about the staff part and I agree with you. Both are needed. I also agree that Jacob and Kerissa need to keep that land. And I also watch Queen Sugar! 🙂

      Zora cannot be contained at this point. She is a free spirit despite the fact that she was born into a visually restrictive family…because they gets down like everyone else behind closed doors as we’ve all learned. LOL. Yes, Lady Mae’s last hurdle is her turning a blind eye to her brother’s actions. She has come to grips with her calling, her relationship with Grace and once she gets through this process, she, along with Bishop (if he gets right), will be ready to lead Calvary!

      And thank you so much for reading! You’re a Queen in mine eyes as well! It takes a while to write these recaps but reading your thorough comments makes it all worth it!

      • Sis. Jackie,

        You’re gonna laugh because my coworker gagged when I showed her opinion that I posted on your blog spot. Without a doubt, you will get a reply back from her too lol. To answer your question, she doesn’t find AJ attractive because he isn’t biracial…she just flat out said “he’s ugly” *shrugging my shoulders* I think the biggest twist would be that “AJ” is not her legit son. When Grace does introduce AJ to the family, best believe Lady Mae suggest her to take a DNA test to confirm whether or not he is her legit son. See you next week 🙂 Sis. Jackie!!!

        • I will look for your co-worker’s response! LOL. AJ is gonna bring a twist to the Greenleaf family, but I’m not sure what that twist is yet. At any rate, yes, you will see me next week, God willing, Sis. Ilyssa :)!

  3. Please kill AJ off I’m so sick and tired of him making her feel bad. He doesn’t hesitate to ask for money though. Why is this even a storyline???? The character is a waste of space..get rid of him please!!!

    • Hi Weldon, A.J. is annoying but this storyline is intriguing so I’m gonna run and see what the end will be so to speak! Thanks for reading 🙂

  4. Letting y’all know watching the part with AJ telling off his mother Grace that she put him in the dark she did not wanted him; that hit me cause I was in that same situation..
    But thank God Almighty for his son Jesus I forgive and I love her ( my mother) 👍🙏🏾
    As long as Christ not in the heart there won’t be forgiveness 🤷🏻‍♀️ Jesus and the Holy Spirit to make everything be right .

  5. I love A.J. just as he is. He is so cute, he is perfect for the role. I think his story is going to be great, can’t wait to hear the rest. Intriguing is the perfect word. I am all in.