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Greenleaf Recap Season 3 Episode 9: Runaway Train…

Hello World,

It’s hard to believe that yet another week has passed by and once again it’s time for another OWN “Greenleaf” recap and in this case: Greenleaf Recap Season 3 Episode 9: Runaway Train…Some episodes are action packed with nary a moment for me to put down my pen and other episodes are more contemplative and I have time to consider the implications of what I’m witnessing on the screen. This episode was the latter. At long last, I think Bishop is finally starting to entertain the idea that Rochelle may not be what she claims to be, but more on that later….

Water Runs Dry…

The time has finally come for Bishop’s Silver Jubilee celebrating his 25th anniversary. It looks like it’s going to be a grand affair and shades of purple, the color of royalty, will be splashed over everything from the programs to the sanctuary. Grace realizes that some of the details that make such an occasion truly a celebration like the decorations will be lacking a certain cohesiveness without Lady Mae’s direction. “Who is helping you with this?” Grace asks her father. Bishop has to admit that he has no help even from his assistant Karine, whom he shares with Lady Mae, as she has been busy with the upcoming “A Day with Lady Mae” with Maxine. But Karine does find the time to hand Bishop the divorce papers that have finally been drawn up and delivered to Calvary via a courier. Karine specifies that both the Bishop and Lady Mae have to sign the papers. Bishop muses that he will be a “free man” upon signing the papers, but when he sits his office by himself, the expression on his face shows he is not at peace with the fact that the well that was his marriage is now dry.

Back at Percy’s house, it may not be too much longer before Bishop has worn out his welcome. Bishop tells his old friend about the divorce papers and Percy asks his living arrangements. “Now that you and Mae are done and Mae has the house, what arrangements have been made?” In other words Bishop, you don’t have to go home (because you don’t have one) but you need to raise up outta here! Bishop admits the divorce papers “threw me a bit.” Percy says, “Don’t let them sit too long. You have some living to do.”

Bishop and Gigi come together again for another discussion at the Greenleaf estate and he asks about his granddaughter Sofia. Grace tells him that she is still the same – isolating in her room. Bishop decides that he will visit her. However, but before he can do that, Grace asks him about Rochelle. “Is it true that you invested a large amount of money with Rochelle?” Apparently, Lady Mae told Grace that Bishop intends to make the money needed to pay the IRS through his investments with Rochelle. “I don’t trust her,” Grace says. Bishop asks his daughter why she is working with her on the legal defense fund if she doesn’t trust Rochelle. “I’ve accepted her help because I don’t trust her. The way she swooped in and drove a wedge between you and mama. Daddy, get that money back.” That’s right, Grace. “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” Who said that originally? Very wise statement. Another way to say that is, “Every shut eye ain’t closed and every good-bye ain’t gone.”

On the way to see Sofia, Bishop sees Charity, Kevin and Aaron playing with Nathan. “Look at the happy family,” he says. As he continues, Aaron comes up to Bishop and says, “My father has called you a few times. He has pancreatic cancer.” Y’all know Bishop ain’t been cool with Bishop Lionel Jeffries, Aaron’s father, ever since he discovered that Lady Mae and Lionel had an affair back in the day. “Are you two on speaking terms?” Bishop asks Aaron. “Barely, but he’s sick,” Aaron says.  Will Bishop reach down into his well of forgiveness and offer the water of reconciliation to a dying man?

Run To You…

Bishop finally makes it to Sofia’s room. “You got a second for an old man?” He assures her that though he and Lady Mae have their differences, he will be around. She invites him in. “I notice that Bible I gave you is out of rotation.” Sofia says, “I should give it back to you.” “Hold on to it for a while,” he tells her. She tells him that she hates her life.

He lets her know that he knows how she feels since he has to grapple with Parkinson’s Disease. Y’all, we haven’t heard anything about his condition in over a season it seems. In fact, this is the first episode since his condition was revealed that we actually see evidence of it. Throughout this episode, he is constantly stretching his hands I guess to alleviate the pain. I think it was a mistake to not address this condition in a consistent way as the story of Bishop and Lady Mae’s unraveling unfolds. We all know when someone is chronically sick, that very much determines how you interact with the person. Anyway, he tells Sofia that he understands why she stays holed up in her room as you get to avoid everyone’s “clumsily stated ‘concerns.'” He also tells her  that it’s a fact of life that the body eventually “falls apart and everything is taken away in the end.” He invites her to come to church on Sunday for his Silver Jubilee. “God has given me a special message just for you.” I must admit, as I watched this, I was  jealous remembering my own grandfather, who was also a pastor. He’s been with God in Heaven for several years now, but I can still hear his voice – booming and clear and brimming with wisdom. Sofia is lucky to have a grandfather that she can run too and I hope she realizes that before it is too late.

Bishop returns back to Percy’s place where he sees Percy’s “friend” Theresa, standing alone,  wearing a black dress that shows all of her shape. I loved her curly Afro! I’m trying to grow one myself ever since I cut my locs off. “Is Percy around,” he asks. “He’s conked out,” she replies. She tells him she can stick around, presumably to “service” him as well but Bishop is not interested in what she’s serving…

The next morning when Percy wakes up, he encourages Bishop to mend fences with his old friend Lionel despite his affair with Lady Mae. “You only get a few people in life you can work things out with. He may be one of yours.” Percy has so much wisdom to be hanging out with whores.

This is the Bishop World Tour episode because Bishop goes to see his son Jacob and his grandson at his home next. Bishop lets his son know that he sensed something when he interrupted Jacob’s meeting with Tasha. “When I came to your church the other day, it seems to me that you two were in the middle of something.” Jacob assures his father that he’s no longer the philanderer that he once was and nothing was going on. But tonight is not about Jacob’s pending downfall (and you know it’s coming), it’s about Bishop’s divorce. Bishop admits that he is conflicted about signing the papers. “It’s not about having doubts. It’s complicated. I don’t see anyway forward that looks right. The papers are sitting in my briefcase like a bomb.” Jacob encourages his father to not sign them – at least immediately- until he’s truly ready. In the end, do you think he will run back to Lady Mae?

Runnin’ (Dying to Live)…

The time has finally come for Bishop’s Silver Jubilee, but before it goes down, he has a behind-the-scenes discussion with his baby girl. Although Charity has been feeling better lately, right now, she is feelin’ some type of way about the fact that her ex and Aaron seem to be moving right along with their lives. She tells Bishop the couple is buying a home together, and they are considering marriage. “Why does everyone get their fairy-tale ending except me?” Bishop admits he has similar feelings when he sees Lady Mae not skipping a beat as their divorce is coming at a steady pace. In fact, she’s coming into her own, he says. But he cheers himself up by opening up the newspaper and seeing what “holy ruckus” Grace is causing on any given day, listening to Charity’s CD or watching Jacob’s online sermons. In those moments, he’s grateful to Mae for giving him these three children. All I could think about was Faith. He should have mentioned her in some way in this moment too. She’s dead, but she still existed. Was he not grateful for her too?

Shortly after that conversation, though, I forgive Bishop when he sings a beautiful duet with Charity. They sing, “If I Can Help Somebody,” which kicks off the service. Grace is up next. “That was some good sangin’ Daddy. Now what I can say by way of introduction, celebration and revelation about my Daddy, My Bishop…He’s a man of faith. He doesn’t walk by sight. We all owe so much to the faith the Bishop has had in us.” She encourages the congregation to welcome him with “holy enthusiasm.” When he walks up, he whispers to Grace, “Rochelle is not what you think.”

She says, “I hope you’re right.” Because you know Rochelle is there too. Bishop delivers a rousing word so much so that Deaconess Connie says that the Silver Jubilee turned out better than anything Lady Mae and Maxine have up their sleeves. Bishop points out that this is not a competition.

Bishop is really only concerned about one person, the one whom God gave him a word for, his granddaughter Sofia. When it becomes clear that Sofia was not moved by the Spirit in the service, (‘I don’t think I have a spirit,’ she says), he invites her to his office to tell her the “meaning of life.” He compares life to a runaway train and how our parents didn’t intentionally bring us into a world in which they had no control over, a runaway train of sorts, but that is the situation. He says God, the grand conductor of this runaway train, needs our help in letting people on the train know that He loves them and he’s trying to bring this runaway train to “safe and satisfactory end.” “Happiness isn’t the absence of sadness. It’s being in the adventure of life in God’s world with others.” I feel like this, as the Bible states, Remember your Creator in the days of your youth before the evil days come. In this world, we will have troubles and experience things we may never understand, but God is there to help us as we go through. Nothing separates us from His love although it feels like it sometimes. Sofia keeps runnin’ from God, but where else can she run? We are all “living to die and dying to live.”

Nowhere to Run…

Following the Silver Jubilee, Bishop is again at his BFF’s house. Isn’t funny that you never see Percy at Calvary? True friends don’t have to be in agreement about everything as long as they share some commonalities. Bishop asks him where is his “company” for the night. Percy tells him that sometimes he has to curb that appetite out of self-respect. “You never forget your paying for it.” He tells Bishop that he’s lucky to have that young woman Rochelle who is willing to “rub his feet” and more. Again, Bishop is stretches his hands, obviously feeling the effects of his Parkinson’s Disease again.

The next time he sees Rochelle at Calvary, he confronts her. “What are you doing in my life?” He continues. “I’m an old man. My hands shake. My body is not what it used to be. What do you want from me?” Rochelle pretends to be incensed and tells Bishop to look at the app where he can see that his investment is yielding a return. He hugs her and apologizes for doubting her interest in him.

In the next scene, Bishop finally gets around to see his former friend Lionel at the assisted living facility where he’s staying now that he is sick. When he finally enters Lionel’s room, Lionel says, ” I just want to say I’m sorry. I don’t expect that you will forgive me.” Bishop tells him it was the betrayal by a friend that broke the heart of Jesus. “I forgive you but this is the last time we will see each other in this life.”

When he returns to Calvary, he finally decides to sign the divorce papers. The revelation of Lady Mae’s affair with Bishop was part of the reason that we got on this runaway train leading to the divorce of Bishop and Lady Mae. Now that he has made peace with what happened maybe there is nowhere else to go but down the road of inevitability. He takes the papers to Lady Mae’s office and tells her that he signed them. “Why did you sign them, James?” Lady Mae says.

If I’m not mistaken, this is the first time that we’ve seen her speak in this episode. Her question puzzled me. I think there was a part of her that never expected him to sign them. He says in response, “Because I know that I have no right to this marriage. Perhaps I never did. Whether you sign them is up to you.” Dressed in purple, Lady Mae does sign those papers. But both of them have tears in their eyes…

But be encouraged Saints, y’all know that Bishop and Lady Mae go together like peas and carrots. LOL. There is no separating them…

When Bishop returns to his office, he discovers the Bible that he gave to Sofia is on his desk. She still hasn’t figured out that she has nowhere to run except to God, but she will understand it better by and by…

Thank you sooo much for reading my Greenleaf Recap Season 3 Episode 9: Runaway Train 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 🙂!

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Greenleaf Recap Season 3 Episode 8: Dea Abscondita…

Hello World,

Let’s skip the buildup and get right into this Greenleaf Recap Season 3 Episode 8: Dea Abscondita! As you can tell by the title of tonight’s episode, which means Hidden Goddess in Latin, it was all about the women stepping up and taking control of their power…

Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves…

Tragically, Zora is still determined more than ever to leave with Isaiah or as I fondly call him Christian Breezy no matter what her mother and especially her father has to say about it…When Jacob tries to get at Christian Breezy because Christian Breezy knows Jacob’s father is not afraid to “lay hands” on the boy, Isaiah pulls out his cell phone, talkin’ ’bout he gon film it all for his followers to see and that he is about to be attacked! At that, Kerissa gives her cell phone to her daughter, but that boy throws it out of the window. Kerissa’s final words to her daughter are “Be careful. Please be careful.” It’s evident in her carriage that Kerissa, not Jacob, will leading the Save Zora Crusade from now on.

Kerissa, Jacob & Lady Mae return to the inside of the Greenleaf home to strategize about their next action to Save Zora. Kerissa calls Isaiah’s parents. Jacob mentions replacing her phone. Kerissa says, “My daughter is gone. I’m not going phone shopping.” For the last season or so, Kerissa has taken care to be deferential in how she speaks to her husband probably to build him up as the man of the house, but babay, she is no longer circumspect. Jacob immediately takes notice. “You can’t just ice me out,” Jacob says to her. Kerissa says, “I won’t let Zora turn into Faith.” She then pushes her hand onto his chest. “Take your phone.”

Over at Percy’s house, although Bishop says he can do it all by himself, his circadian rhythm betrays him.  Dude cannot sleep. He tells his new housemate that he didn’t get to sleep until after 3 a.m. Percy, with his country self, draws from his folksy wisdom and tells him what happened after he split from his THREE wives – Joanne, Luella & Rhonda LOL! He was fine until Rhonda, he says. After Rhonda, he had panic attacks that he felt in his heart. What does that have to do with Bishop? Bishop has only been the husband of one wife…as far as we know anyway…who knows what the writers have up their sleeves…

Grace, ever on her crusade to save the world, has bailed Coralie Hunter out of jail! Along with Rochelle, the two walk out of the jail to a feeding frenzy of journalists. Rochelle tells Coralie, “I can replace that scrawny boy you have with a beast of an attorney.”

Once again, Percy has hired Charity to be the funeral singer, but she arrives a little bit late to the funeral home. She says there was “drama at the house this morning.” Bishop asks her to explain what she means and ends up calling Lady Mae. Lady Mae says, “James, we have everything under control. Resist the urge to make meaningless activity.” Lady Mae is like, “I can do this.” Did y’all notice that Bishop had on some green-framed glasses or were they blue? Either way, they were nice…

Run the World (Girls)…

Thelma & Louise I mean Kerissa & Lady Mae stake out Isaiah’s parents’ home waiting to see if the on-the-run lovers will show up there. While waiting, Lady Mae gets Kerissa straight. “If you think I didn’t do everything I could to get my daughter back, you are mistaken.” She further explains that some children just get away from you no matter what you do. Kerissa says, “I won’t let that happen to Zora.” “You may not have a choice,” Lady Mae says to her daughter-in-law.

Since Jacob’s plan of action is no longer needed, he is at Triumph where he sees Tasha for the first time since that kiss. He tells her that “what happened between us, that kiss was a mistake.”  He tells she will need to stop texting him as well. So I was surprised by Tasha’s reaction. She is genuinely brokenhearted that he doesn’t want to continue down the road to a full-fledged affair. She starts to tear up and says, “Nothing seems to ever work out for me, Jacob.” I mean I can sympathize with her to a certain extent as her husband just up and left her. But that doesn’t mean she can just take someone else’s husband. And I really feel her plot to take down Jacob has fallen by the wayside. What we see now are genuine feelings. And if I’m not mistaken, Jacob is feeling something too. Jacob wants to be righteous but I fear he just can’t be right. Before the conversation can go even deeper though, Bishop stops by for an impromptu visit. He sees Tasha’s tears and feels the tension in the air and says,” Did I interrupt anything?” Jacob says, “Tasha just lost a friend.”

Once Bishop and Jacob are alone, Bishop suggests calling someone to help them retrieve Zora because Bishop seems to have friends everywhere. Jacob blows up at his father and says, “She is an adult. This isn’t something you can fix with a phone call.” Bishop responds with, “Kerissa wasn’t wrong to send you away. That temper of yours is not helpful to anyone especially you. I’m still your father and that girl’s grandfather.” Awww, hush up Bishop. He is feeling left out of Greenleaf business and wants to feel needed.

Back at Calvary, District Attorney Price is waiting for Grace in her office. Grace tells Rochelle to wait for her outside and she goes into her office to meet with the man. He wastes no time in telling her that she has gone against his “strongly worded advice” and lets her know that Coralie Hunter will either be charged with 2nd degree murder for which she will be in jail for 20 years or get a life sentence without parole. Of course, Grace thinks both choices are unacceptable. The D.A. tells her that if she proceeds any further, that she could find herself on trial! He brings up Mac’s murder again and says he has this “funny feeling” that what she did was actually premeditated murder. He says, “You think women should take the law into their own hands and kill men” and how what she did wasn’t even Christian. “Have Ms. Hunter take the deal.”

Coralie lawyer’s echoes what the D.A. says and tells Coralie that if she agrees to the 2nd degree murder charge, she can get parole after 15 years. Grace points out that she is a victim of abuse. The lawyer, who is clearly overworked as he points out that he is working on 12 other cases, is unsympathetic. And apparently so is the judge. “He’s not a fan of this #MeToo movement.” He gives Coralie the option to think about what is being offered and says, “I’ve got to get to places where my work is more appreciated.” In the mean time, Grace has made arrangements for Coralie to see her children.

Rochelle tells Grace that she knows someone at CPS, which I think is Child Protective Services. Grace asks how does she know someone at CPS because like Bishop, Rochelle knows people all over Memphis. She says she met this particular contact through the Big Sisters program where she MENTORED four girls! What? “I got four girls out there running the world,” she says. “I won’t stop till all the folks who try to hold them down are brought low.” Grace remarks that she sounds like she is out for revenge. This all takes place as Coralie is visiting with her children. Once Coralie’s visit is over, she tells Grace and Rochelle that she just can’t go to prison. Rochelle’s interaction with Coralie and her conversation with Grace shows that she does have a soft spot for girls in dire circumstances. It probably reminds her of how she felt after she lost her father in that church fire. Grace better watch out…

I’m Every Woman…

For the first time during this episode, Sophia shows up. As in the last few episodes, she is still in mourning and rightfully so. Marisol delivers a package to her bedroom. When she opens it up, it is a scrapbook that Roberto her boyfriend has made and includes pictures of the two of them. In one of the final pages of the scrapbook, he has placed a picture of them on top of a picture of Rhodes College, a Christian school the two had talked about attending together. She looks through the scrapbook but is unmoved.

Back at the stakeout, Isaiah and Zora finally show up! When Isaiah goes inside of his parents’ house for a moment, Kerissa runs over to the jeep and pleads with Zora to give her a minute to talk to her. Zora hesitantly agrees. Kerissa describes the moment Zora was born. She tells her that she didn’t have word to describe her and was just taken in by her wide, brown eyes. “You were everything,” she tells her daughter. And she explains to Zora that she wanted to give her everything and meet her expectations for her life. She points out that Zora has nothing now except a “boy who beats you up. A ticket to nowhere.” She also warns her that is the last time that she will try to get Zora to change her mind about the course of her life. After this, it will be “you, your bad decisions and God. And God is going to win.” Smh…You do know that you can resist God for only so long before He gives you over to yourself to reap the consequences of your actions without the safety net of His love. Oh what a perilous state is that, Saints! Zora says, “I will take my chances” like she is hard. But when her mama walks away, you can see the formation of a tear. Girl, you’re just a girl trying to be a woman…

Meanwhile Bishop is finally learning what it means to mess with Lady Mae. He returns to gate of the Greenleaf estate and tries to get in but the gate code has been changed! No time was wasted. She aine playin’ with him. Once he finally gets into the home, he discovers Lady Mae working out her frustrations at the piano. Bishop comes in there whining about the gate code and talking ’bout he is still the head of the family. Lady Mae retorts with, “You’re the head of no one” except for maybe Rochelle whom she refers to as a “pile of saggy cornbread and pantyhose you gave my money to.” Tee-hee. Bishop says that he needs Lady Mae’s assistance in “reminding these children that I exist.” Cry me a river, Bishop. Lady Mae goes into her poetry again and refers to herself and Bishop as “two faded stars that went out long ago.” It seems that she is starting to realize that she and Bishop have set things in motion that contributed to why things are the way they are for the Greenleafs. Bishop says, “You can soothe yourself with that poetry.” She tells Bishop that he has her sympathy. “Sympathy is not a currency. It is not to be traded. It is a feeling. If you want a friend, talk to Jesus.” Bishop just needs to realize that he aine runnin nathan no mo…

Upstairs, Sophia finds her mother sitting in a chair in the dark. Grace is obviously exhausted. She announces, “Mom, I don’t want to go to Rhodes.” She notes that Zora isn’t going to college and that she is almost 18 as well. “I don’t want to go to a Christian school. It’s just not where I’m at right now.” I get that. My parents encouraged me to go to a Christian college, but I never had any interest in attending one. I didn’t want to feel cloistered away from erebody and erethang. But in the end, God found me anyway. My first job after college was working at a Christian newspaper! LOL Watch out Sophia, God aine lettin’ you get away that easy 🙂

Now that his talk with his father has come to an end, Jacob can return to his tiff with Tasha. In the interim, Tasha has packed up her essentials in a box and is leaving the premises! She explains to Jacob that after Basie left, she decided to stay on at Triumph because she liked Jacob and now she more than likes Jacob. “You’re married and I’m technically married. Just know that I’m sorry for everything.” He doesn’t quite understand what she means, but he will surely learn.

Once he returns home, he discovers Kerissa wrapped up in a blanket, looking through an album of childhood pictures of Zora. She says, “I didn’t make dinner.” Jacob says, “I don’t care about dinner.” Kerissa says, “Our little girl is gone.” She gets up and leaves Jacob on the couch.

Although Bishop doesn’t believe that Charity has the chops to take over Calvary, his friend Percy believes that he has found a successor for his funeral home business in Charity! He tells her that she has a gift for comforting people. “You know what to say and what not to say…I’ve never met anyone that can take over.” She says, “Thank you. It means a lot to be seen and valued.” And that is what Charity has been seeking all along. She betta think seriously about that offer.

The next morning at Percy’s, Bishop, who is wearing red pajamas, has not gotten any sleep. Percy breaks things down for this friend. He tells him that some people, who have found themselves in a crisis, have forethought while others have hindsight. Some, sadly, discover they have neither. “Jimmy, at least you’ve got one.” I think Bishop has hindsight. He knows he needs to make things right with Lady Mae. The question is, “How?”

Once Percy leaves him on the porch by himself, Bishop whispers a prayer. “Not my will, Thy will be done. Nothing more and nothing less and nothing else.” Somebody pass the offering plate because that should be a sermon preached every day in the heart of a Christian, but we all know it’s easier said (prayed) than done.

Thank you sooo much for reading my Greenleaf Recap Season 3 Episode 8: Dea Abscondita 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 🙂!

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Greenleaf Recap Season 3 Episode 7: That Was Then…

Hello World,

Tonight’s episode was one of those turning point episodes and was aptly titled “That Was Then” so keep reading for this Greenleaf Recap Season 3 Episode 7: That Was Then…

We’ve Only Just Begun…

The episode begins with Grace reading about the Coralie Hunter murder case on her computer as she is planning to take on the case with the newly created legal defense fund for victims of domestic violence. She takes in some gory images that must have been sent to her by Darius. Photographs with blood strewn about the bed like red paint had been spilled. A bloody hammer was the focus of another one of the photographs. The blood and gore take her back to the night she squared off with uncle in a fight for her very life. She recalls the cracked bottle that she used to sink into his neck, which proved to be a fatal blow. Her daughter Sophia interrupts her thankfully, taking her away from that dark place in her memory. But Sophia is still smarting from being told she is sterile. She wants her mother to tell a pastor at Calvary that she is done teaching the Little Saints class. “I’m never going to talk to them like I used to,” Sophia says. This is a new phase in Sophia’s life, a phase that calls for her to believe in the goodness of God even though her current experience doesn’t feel good. This is not easy.

This is also a new phase in Zora’s life. It’s her 18th birthday! Lest Zora believe that her Bible reading will be postponed for the next day, Lady Mae tells her they will have less time with the text in light of her birthday breakfast but their reading will still be done. Also, to help her celebrate her birthday, Jacob & Kerissa have been invited to breakfast. Kerissa tries to give Zora tickets to a Broadway musical that they can attend together, but Lady Mae says she is not allowed to go because it’s past her curfew! “Actions have consequences,” Lady Mae says in front of Zora’s parents.

Charity and Bishop share a tender moment in her suite. Since Charity doesn’t leave her room very much at this point, Bishop updates her on the goings-on in the estate including that Lady Mae has Zora on a 7 p.m. lockdown even on her birthday! Charity says, “When is she going to get herself together?” in reference to her wayward niece. Bishop responds, “When are you?” Charity changes the subject and asks him when he is leaving, but Bishop doesn’t get offended. Instead he tells her that he misses her. While they hug, she says, “I’m gonna miss you too.”

Plans have begun for “A Day With Lady Mae” but Maxine’s assistant Gloria doesn’t believe the space at the Templeton hotel will be big enough. Karine, Bishop and Lady Mae’s assistant, clearly doesn’t like Gloria (I guess it’s because they are both assistants.), but she agrees that with Maxine Patterson, maybe a bigger venue is needed. Gloria suggests that “A Day With Lady Mae” should be held at Calvary. Lady Mae and Karine like the idea as well. However, Karine checks Bishop’s schedule and as it turns out he will be hosting a “Silver Jubilee” on the same day. Karine worries about having to run the idea of having Lady Mae’s event at Calvary instead of off-site by Bishop. Lady Mae responds by saying, “Let me caution you about overvaluing Bishop’s opinion in this time of rapid evolution.” That woman stays speaking in poetry, doesn’t she?

To make matters worse, Lady Mae tries to enlist Grace’s help in meeting with the Boys & Girls Club of Memphis. She wants this organization to be involved somehow with “A Day With Lady Mae,” but her daughter tells her she cannot meet with the organization’s representative. Instead, she has a meeting scheduled with Coralie Hunter. Lady Mae refers to her as a “murderess” and a “tawdry woman who bludgeoned her husband to death with a hammer while he was sleeping.” She is incensed that Grace is choosing Coralie over the “flagship event for the church” and accuses her of doing so out of “sadism and spite.” Calling her mother’s event a “pep rally” and with sarcasm, Grace says, “You understand me perfectly.” Lady Mae says, “You don’t understand me at all.” Somehow and in some way, these two need to begin their relationship again…

Shake It Off…

From his office, Bishop places a call to his friend, Percy Lee Thompson, the funeral home owner. Just like his name suggests, the man is country. When Percy realizes it is his friend not a business call, he says, “When you call, use your cell phone. You had me talking like white folks for nothing.” Bwaaahhaaa! For my white readers, some black people do change how they speak when they are talking to people of different races…

But before the men can continue their conversation, Lady Mae comes into her soon-to-be ex-husband’s office. Lady Mae tells Bishop that their daughter is sponsoring a murderess like she is a child from Africa! “Is this good pr?” she asks. Behind them is this magnificent cross metal sculpture that is embedded in the wall, but I digress. Speaking of cross, Bishop tells Lady Mae that Rochelle Cross is advising him to invest in crytocurrency and this is how he will get the money to pay the IRS. However, he needs more money than what is in his personal account. He also wants to take money from their shared account. Calling her a “strumpet with a bad reputation,” Lady Mae cautions Bishop about accepting her financial advice. “She’s broken our family in half. Do you have to let her take our money too?” She compares him to the old foolish king in Ecclesiastes 4:13. “Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning.” Lady Mae knows how to rightly divide the word, right?! He needs to shake off Rochelle some kind of way. That’s for sure.

Grace goes to the jail to meet Coralie Hunter, but before she is able to do, the Memphis DA, who I presume is there on official business, stops her. He reminds her that he elected not to try her for manslaughter and warns her not to help Ms. Hunter. “Coralie Hunter is no victim.” She tells him that Ms. Hunter was abused by her husband. He responds with, “There is no shred of admissible evidence that he ever abused her. That pond you are about to step into is deeper than you think.” What does he mean by that? Once Grace is allowed inside of inner sanctum of the jail to actually see Coralie Hunter, she is reminded that the jail is where she could have easily been after what happened with Uncle Mac. She can’t shake those feelings off. Ms. Hunter notices Grace’s demeanor and Grace says, “I was once very close to sitting where you are.” She explains exactly what happened to Grace and how murdering her husband was self defense.

Now we discover why Bishop called Percy. Percy reaches out to Charity after a singer cancelled on singing at a memorial service for a dearly departed grandmother to be held at his funeral home. All he has at this point is “prerecorded music and Spotify.” With an open bottle of something next to her, Charity hesitantly agrees. But once she is there and singing for the grieving relatives, it’s clear that she is in her element. Awww, that was sweet of Bishop — getting his daughter out of the house and singing, what she was born to do.

Across town at Triumph, Jacob and Kerissa are still in disagreement about Zora being discipled and disciplined by Lady Mae. Kerissa thinks Lady Mae is just too strict. Jacob asks, “Isn’t being strict your whole brand?” Kerissa says, “If she knew what she was doing, it wouldn’t have taken me 20 years to get you to straighten up and fly right!” And this line was the best line of the episode. In that once sentence, we now know why Zora is willing to accept abuse. Her own mother did and for 20 years. No, it wasn’t physical abuse, but the end result is still the same. Her mother allowed herself to be devalued. Why should she be any different? Jacob is mad that his wife cannot shake the memories of who he used to be and discusses the matter with Tasha Skanks. As expected, she sympathizes and says she wasn’t always First Lady material and that she used to get her swerve on on Saturday nights and come to church the next morning. And instead of proving that they have changed, the two kiss! We all saw this coming…The thing is I feel like Tasha is truly feeling Jacob but at same time, her last name aine Skanks for nothing! Shake Tasha off Jacob!!!

And back at Calvary, Karine tries to get Bishop to sign some papers. I think she hopes he doesn’t pay attention to what he is signing, but he does. He sees that additional security will be needed to secure “A Day With Lady Mae” to be held at Calvary. He confronts Lady Mae about the additional security and the change of venue. Lady Mae explains that with Maxine Patterson more security and space is a must. He agrees but reminds of their deal. Once “A Day With Lady Mae” is over Lady Mae must leave the building. Lady Mae says, “As for me and my future plans, I will go where the Lord leads me to go.” In other words, she aine going nowhere but Bishop is in her sanctified imagination. Bishop and Lady Mae just can’t shake off where they are in their marriage.

Bye Bye Bye…

Darius and Grace discuss her conversation with the DA. “This DA is going to use my story against her and me.” Darius says she need not worry. “That was self-defense too, right?” She flashes back to the moment Grace could have called someone to save Mac who was bleeding his life out of his neck. “I’m not going to call anybody till you tell me where my daughter is.” Self-defense? Hmmm….Will Grace have to go bye bye bye during season for the death of her Uncle Mac? She returns to the jail to tell Coralie that she is going to bail her out of jail! Coralie is astonished at her generosity. Grace says, “You should have more faith.”

I want to say “Boy Bye” when Bishop meets with Rochelle Cross. He tells her that he has more money to invest. “I trust you and your expertise.” And then they both drink something! Is Bishop actually drinking liquor, and brown likka at that, in the house of God? Where dey do dat at? Lady Mae later discovers that Bishop has emptied their shared account! He assures her that their account will be full again in two weeks. She told him NOT to take money from their account. And now he must say good-bye. “You will leave tonight and this time, you will take every last tie and purple robe and gaudy knickknack!” LOL. Bishop goes to stay with Percy the undertaker at his funeral home, which makes sense because it represents the ultimate death of Bishop’s marriage.

In another part of the house, Sophia is trying to find a way to say good-bye to her faith. She literally tears out sheets from the Bible her grandfather gave her and flushes them down the toilet. “The Bible is all lies,” she says. At the same time, she is crying hysterically when Grace finds her. She wants to flush her faith down the toilet, but she can’t forget how her faith in God made her feel. “I don’t want to love someone who treats me this badly.” (Tell that to Zora.) “Why won’t He just let me go?” Because that’s how God is. Chile, there have been times that I’ve been so mad with God, I just want to shut Him out but where else is there to go but to God, particularly when you’re heartbroken?! Sophia is starting to realize that, but she doesn’t want to. God help her.

Meanwhile, Jacob wants to forget his dalliance with Tasha, but he cannot say good-bye to his guilt just like that. Instead, he tries to make amends somehow, telling Kerissa that Zora can home after all. Kerissa is elated because now that her daughter is 18, she realizes that their parental control is coming to an end. She also apologizes for bringing up Jacob’s past.

But before Zora’s parents can tell her that they are taking her home, Zora decides to emancipate herself from her grandmother’s jail, Lady Mae refers to it as a “grand escape,” now that she is 18 years old! That’s is what she meant when she said, it won’t be much longer in a previous episode. Right in front of Lady Mae, she packs her things and flies out of the Greenleaf home where Christian Breezy aka Isaiah is waiting for her in a black BMW jeep! Bye Bye Bye Zora 🙁

Thank you sooo much for reading my Greenleaf Recap Season 3 Episode 7: That Was Then 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 🙂!

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