Tag Archives: Rochelle Cross

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Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 5 : The Fifth Day…

Hello World,

With all that’s going on in this world, I’m so glad that I have a show that that provides an enthralling escape. So let’s get into another exhaustive and entertaining Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 5: The Fifth Day…And be clear on this…Any.Other.Recap just doesn’t compare…

The Fifth Dimension…

This episode begins with Grace opening the door to her suite and heading into Sophia’s room where Sophia is still in bed. “What are you still doing in bed?” Grace asks her daughter. “It’s eight minutes until your grandmother’s service.” It’s the last Sunday before Calvary is demolished into smithereens and Lady Mae plans to honor the occasion with a worship service at home.

Sleepily, Sophia groans and tells her mother she’s been up all night texting with “stupid girls at Hampton.” So glad texting was not available when I was in college, I imagine there would have many more sleepless nights than I experienced at the University of Georgia. Go DAWGS! Sophia is still sour on faith so she says, “I’ll do the family, not the faith.” Grace says, “I’m sorry. You’re a Greenleaf. It’s the same thing.”

Meanwhile in Jacob’s suite, as he puts on a blazer, Kerissa brings up the fact that they plan to tell Zora about their pending divorce after the service. He makes some kind of joke to which Kerissa responds with, “You make jokes while you’re planning to destroy your children’s lives.” Jacob asks her if she and Fernando were looking at pictures of their children while they had their afternoon delights. Touche, Jacob although I still think he is wrong to not forgive Kerissa for her entanglement while he was a straight philanderer. That’s how some men are though…But at the end of the day, I don’t think they make the best couple anyway, but I will move on from that for now.

On the main floor, Charity is leading the family plus Karine in a song entitled “Starting All Over.” Charity is really in her element when she sings which is why I don’t get her desire to preach. Lady Mae praises her daughter telling her, “That was beautiful.” I’m glad that Lady Mae is forgiving Charity for her lack of allegiance to the family at a critical time. I think Charity has learned her lesson. Then, Lady Mae begins. “Good Morning Family. Every day is a gift full of possibilities even a day like today.” All of the family including A.J. and Noah there.

Since the family is worshiping at home, Lady Mae points out that the first friends of Jesus met in home churches following his ascension. Her sermon is appropriately titled “New Beginnings.” Bishop wonders aloud what is going on at Calvary. He concludes that a conjuring must be happening as Phil and Judee are attempting to “breathe unholy life into a corpse.”

As all of this unfolds, Jacob and Kerissa continue to bicker and pick at each other. But when Bishop reminds Kerissa that ever since he met her, she was a woman of impeccable devotion, she calms down for a bit.

Once Lady Mae’s sermon is over, Sophia and Zora attempt to have a private conversation about the fact that Sophia’s topless photos are still circulating on the Internet. That’s why I never post anything on the Internet that I wouldn’t mind being there forever because that is typically what happens. Charity interrupts the clandestine conversation between the cousins. (I was going for a nice alliteration…How’d I do?)

Through her grandmother, Karine is getting updates about what is going on at Calvary  and tells Charity. Apparently, Judee is singing “I Believe” which causes the two to cackle.

As it is the last Sunday at Calvary, Noah reminisces about the first Sunday at Calvary, Consecration Sunday. Grace says, “I lost my virginity in that church.” And apparently, it happened on that first Sunday. Talk about consecration…(So I had my first kiss in the parking lot of my father’s former church…chalk it up to being a PK.)

Following the worship service, Lady Mae plans to pay a visit to Tara James herself. She tells Bishop that two Greenleaf men caused problems and that she hopes that, “With the help of God, one Greenleaf woman will solve the problem.”

After everything is over, Bishop and A.J. see that Jacob and Kerissa are back to squabbling. “All of this food and all of this family and they still find a way to be miserable.” A.J. says that he learned in the hospital that “some people like to take things apart and see how things work but they don’t mean anything by it.” That was insightful of A.J., right? Sometimes, he seems to be on another dimension…I’m still convinced though that we don’t know all there is to know about about him…And I wonder if Bishop knows about his grandson’s health condition…

Fifth Harmony…

So Lady Mae goes to see Tara woman to woman at New Revelations Memphis Mission. As she watches Tara conduct her ministry, you can see that Lady Mae reflect on her own ministry. She asks her how many children she is able to feed on a typical Sunday. Tara says 20-30. She also inquires about how long Tara has been in the building and Tara says two years. Apparently, she moves quite a bit due to the increasing costs of rent. Once Lady Mae has the answers to her questions, she says, “It never occurred to you to do something more. Saving 1,000 and feeding 10,000?” Lady Mae loves the Lord, and she is also about leveling up.

Tara tells her that she has a more humble approach. “Jesus never built a temple, never asked for donations. But He helped people who came to him.” “But now you want my house,” Lady Mae throws out. Tara tells her she is not after her home but if Mrs. Davis meant for her father to have the home, she can use it as a shelter or a foster home.” And then it hits Lady Mae. “I should have known better,” she says. “I asked God for a new beginning. Well God, has quite a sense of humor. You’re doing good work.” I get what Tara is thinking to a certain extent, but I just don’t think a shelter or a foster home is the best use of the estate. I know I sound bougie at best and worldly at worst, but I just don’t like the idea. What say you?

A.J.’s statement to Bishop made Bishop remember something. The two of them head to an old garage on the Greenleaf property. They stand near a humongous wooden box which apparently contains a GTO Pontiac, Bishop’s dream car. Bishop tells his grandson that when he was 16 years old, he kept asking his father for a GTO Pontiac. Rather than give him the car, his father told him to pray for the car. Six months later, Bishop’s father said that his prayers were answered. His father had bought his dream car for him. The catch was that the car was in pieces inside of the box. He tells A.J. that he was trying to teach him that faith without works is dead. At the time, Bishop never attempted to put the car together. But the time has finally come for him to exercise his faith. He says to AJ, “If you help me put this together, the car is yours.” I love that Bishop is finding a way to bond with his grandson. It was A.J.’s remark about taking things apart that reminded Bishop of this long overdue project.

It looks like Noah is trying to find a way to bond with Grace beyond the fact that they are A.J.’s parents. But first they do have discuss their son. She asks him how did it go with A.J. at his place the night before. “He’s 24. I don’t feel like his Dad.” Grace understands what he means. They discuss Bob Whitmore and Mrs. Davis potentially leaving the Greenleaf estate to Darryl James. “Why would Mrs. Davis have left the house to Darryl to begin with?” I’ve been wondering that too, but Grace doesn’t know the answer to that question.

Also, Noah sees that Grace is fatigued as she hasn’t slept much in the past few weeks. Ordinarily it’s no bueno to tell a woman she looks tired but in this case, I guess it’s okay.  He puts one of the sofa cushions on his lap and invites her to lay down. She says, “This is not Consecration Sunday!” She laughs a little but then she does take him up on his offer.

In another part of the house, Karine tells Charity that Phil and Judee are taking selfies with a wrecking ball that is already on the Calvary campus, although the demolition is scheduled for two days later. Karine’s grandmother, who attended the last service at the church, is telling her everything that is happening. After that, Karine must have gone to the bathroom or something because Charity asks her nieces to watch Nathan for a bit.

But right then, Jacob and Kerissa tell Zora that they need to speak with her. The couple takes her into their suite and breaks the bad news. Zora is hot about it. She blames her father as he was a serial cheater, but Kerissa tries to tell her that she is also at fault. “We both missed the mark,” Kerissa says. But Zora asks what did she do wrong. “Cook too many dinners while waiting for you to come home from Alexa?” Wow. And she even wonders what is going to happen to her mother after the divorce. “Who is she going to get now? Some old dude.”

Zora tries to act hard, but it’s easy to see that the news of her parents’ pending divorce is devastating to her. She storms off, leaving her parents alone. They plan to tell Winkie the next day in a child psychologist’s office. They elected to tell Zora without a child psychologist because she doesn’t like them. Kerissa is on the verge of tears, but she says “I’m still willing to drop this whole thing. But after we tell Winkie tomorrow, it’s over. I will not put him through this for nothing.” She is really, really, really trying to keep them together…

Charity has excused herself to call Marcus DeMars aka Yusef Shabazz. He says, “I told you pastor you’ve got three strikes.” But Charity tells him she is not Grace and was almost Charity DeMars. He tells her that she has two minutes. What’s his deal? Why is he so standoffish?

Bishop and A.J. return to the home. He tells his grandson that some have turned “religion into a rule book” when it isn’t. “It’s an experience. Jesus is real.” I concur. He knows how to reach his grandson. A.J. has had to live by so many rules that a rule-oriented faith wouldn’t appeal to him at all. Smart move Bishop.  As they talk, Lady Mae arrives and Bishop asks her how it went. “I think we have to give her the house.” Bishop is stunned.

An hour later, Grace wakes up from her nap on Noah, and she apologizes for sleeping so long. But that time allowed Noah to recall a journal that the caretaker kept in the cabin where Noah once lived. The journal contained plans and sketches that indicated to Noah that maybe the caretaker thought he would one day inherit the house. Also, Mrs. Davis was white and so was the caretaker. However, periodically Darryl James would stop by, and the caretaker referred to him as “That Negro” in the journal. Anywho, Noah thinks the journal could be of use to her. The two seem to be in harmony with one another for a change…

Fifth Avenue…

Since Lady Mae seems to be ready to just hand over the house, Bishop is back on the case. He approaches Grace about using her inheritance money to buy Tara off. She asks him how much does he need. He replies, “How much do you have?”

Charity has been able to keep Yusef Shabazz on the phone for more than two minutes, but she still doesn’t know how his wife was involved with Eden Vale Lending. And Yusef aine trying to share what he knows. “The river only flows one way, and it has nothing to do with the river.” Huh?

Still upset about the topless photos, Sophia discusses her options with her brother. She’s scared to go back to Hampton because she is pretty much the talk of the campus. Having been abandoned by his parents and spending time in jail, A.J. isn’t all that sympathetic about her apprehension. Exasperated, he finally asks her, “What do you want that you can have?” Sophia says that she would like to stay at the Greenleaf estate with him and Zora. But A.J. tells her that it’s weird that grown adults still live with their parents. “People this old don’t live at home.” You know what, living apart from your family even as an adult is overrated. If you have a home that’s big enough (like an estate) to accommodate extended family, what is wrong with that? You can share expenses and responsibility.

Zora, on the other hand, has returned to her cabin where she cries about her parents’ divorce as she sits on her sofa alone. Grace comes into the cabin and tries to comfort her niece but Zora has to be hard. Once Grace tells her that she came to the house to find an old journal, Zora tells her she can find all of the older stuff in a wooden box in another room.

Speaking of older stuff, Lady Mae’s old wounds are opened up again when Bishop tells her that Grace has offered to give him her inheritance money to pay off Tara. She tells Bishop that the money is evidence of her “biggest mistake” and that as a result, she lied every day for 40 years about her affair with Grace’s real father. She says that their new church will be “founded on truth and built sturdy like every well made thing.” She doesn’t want Grace’s money.

As Bishop and Lady Mae discuss whether they will be giving the house to Tara, Charity shows up and asks if they would like to go over to Calvary. At first Lady Mae is apprehensive about her request, but Charity says, “We’re not going to say good-bye. We’re going to say, ‘thank you.'”

The family minus Noah and A.J. go to Calvary and walk through various rooms until they come to the sanctuary. Bishop recalls the first baptism at the church. The woman who had just turned 92 years old danced on stage following her baptism. Bishop expected to be sad to walk through Calvary one last time, but that was not the case. It was like that “awful Friday that can be called good.” “This visit has been a balm to my soul. Let’s seal this tomb and wait for our miracle,” he says. A little while later, he whispers to Lady Mae, “give her the house if you want to.”

A short time later, Bishop and Lady Mae return to the mission and intend to do just that. Lady Mae assures him that the Lord will provide another home for them and they will truly be starting again like they did the first time. They knock on the door and within seconds of Tara answering it, Rochelle appears out of nowhere and with a sly smile says, “I told you these Greenleafs are like a bad penny. You can’t get of rid of them.” I KNEW TARA WAS STILL IN TOUCH WITH HER SISTER! As Rochelle talks, a few cars pull into the mission parking lot. Are they about to be ambushed? Is Basie really dead? See Lady Mae belongs on Fifth Avenue not in the midst of a bad neighborhood at night…

I wonder what’s in store now that Rochelle is back!!! I guess we have to keep on watching…

Thank you sooo much for reading my Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 5: The Fifth Day… 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?

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Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 4 : The Fourth Day…

 

Hello World,

So Charity quits her AP job and Jacob Greenleaf is a male chauvinist hypocrite, but before I break all that down, let’s get into another exhaustive and entertaining Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 4 : The Fourth Day… For real dough, any other recap just doesn’t compare…

Four Walls…

It’s time to break out A.J. out of the four walls of his hospital room as his treatment is officially over, but the issue is where will he go afterward AND with whom…Grace wants A.J. to leave with her and Noah, but the medical personnel suggests that he be placed in a residential facility in Cordova for people living with HIV. AJ walks in on the powwow and tells the group that he has been stuck with so many needles that he feels like a voodoo doll. Once he realizes what’s being discussed, he shocks Grace and Noah. He says, “I want to go with him.” I’m not really surprised though because boys typically want to spend more time with their father as they mature. I’ve read that this happens around age 13. A.J. is beyond that, but he clearly wants to make up for lost time. By her downcast disposition, it’s clear that Grace is both shocked and saddened by A.J.’s decision.

Speaking of shocked and saddened, in the next scene, Bishop is going off on Jacob at the Greenleaf estate. “What did I ever do to make you think I was capable of murder?” he says. He cannot believe that Jacob just didn’t come to him first regarding the will situation. Jacob explains to his father that Kerissa was blackmailing him so he was trying to get to the truth before it got to be a big to-do. Lady Mae is incensed that Jacob went to speak with Tara Cross, sister of Basie Skanks and Rochelle Cross, without telling them first. Although Jacob attempted to sing her praises as the leader of a mission in a bad neighborhood, Lady Mae is none too impressed, calling her God’s Florence Nightingale handing out sandwiches and needles! Ha! Jacob says she is doing good work, but Lady Mae points out that the Greenleafs have been doing good work for 40 years.

The couple points out that Tara may think she has a claim to the house because of Jacob coming to see her. “You planted something in her head.” Just as a reminder, Loretta Davis, the original owner of the Greenleaf estate, may have left the house to Darryl James and not the Greenleafs. And you know that Lady Mae is going to blame Kerissa for this. “Her bony, wiggly hand set this whole thing in motion,” she says. She says Kerissa is conniving like “David Duke in a head wrap!” LOOOL!!!

But Lady Mae and Bishop set aside that discussion for a bit to discuss Calvary’s last Sunday in the building! Apparently, they had been discussing this before Jacob showed up, but Lady Mae had to remind him of that. Obviously, Bishop is getting to be somewhat forgetful, and I’m sure more will be revealed about that later in the season. But for now, Bishop tells Lady Mae that he doesn’t want to attend the last service. I don’t blame him. Even if I could, I don’t want to attend my own funeral. Because a funeral is what will be going on at Calvary because the spirit of that church died when Grace and her family left it. Still, Lady Mae wants to hold a Bible Study at home. “This is no time to stop praising God,” she says. She’s such a force, right?

Speaking of Calvary’s last Sunday, Charity, Phil and Judee are discussing the program for that last service. Judee wants to show a video about what the new church campus will look like once it is completed while Charity wants to show a video in which the history of Calvary will be highlighted. Judee doesn’t understand her need to recount the history of Calvary as it was the location where Bishop shot a man and Charity’s uncle touched girls’ privates. I really dislike Judee but that is a valid point. Charity warns that this new church won’t survive in that “stank-foot gym without a Greenleaf.” When Judee walks off in a huff, Charity explains to Phil that she is “just trying to protect [him] from [himself.]” She points out that the 4,000 people who made the church need to be recognized or they will just leave when the “white people show up for church.” Phil is not moved. “We’re going with Judee’s idea.” Why does Charity think that she needs to protect Phil? He’s obviously not protecting her.

Typically, the three bicker without an audience, but this time Grace shows up and sees the exchange. She hopes that Phil and Judee’s treatment of Charity will give her some leverage in what she is about to ask of her. She tells her that she knows that Phil DeMars’ mother, Gladys, will somehow enable the Greenleafs to get Calvary back. She interrogates her sister. Some kind of way she did a favor for Bob and Eden Vale Lending has something to do with it. But she needs Charity’s help to find out the identity of Phil’s father, who is also a piece of the puzzle. Grace says his name is Marcus DeMars. “Help us find his father.” Do you know that dizzy chick Charity fixes her mouth to say, “Look, I’m finally an AP (associate pastor).””At an H&H church,” Grace says. She then attempts another way to get at her. Grace knows that Charity still loves Phil, but a critical component is still missing. “Do you respect Phil?” And then Grace tells her that for all of her contempt for Judee, she will be like Judee in 10 months. “Let’s find a way to get her out.” Well, that’s all Grace has to say. Open sesame. Charity tells her sister that Marcus DeMars no longer exists because he changed his name to Yusef Shabazz and is now a Black Panther.

Four Letter Words…


You know that Lady Mae doesn’t lose an opportunity to unleash on Kerissa. Since Jacob told her that Kerissa is using the will to blackmail Jacob and by extension his parents, she has to get Kerissa told. After making sure that Winkie is not in Jacob’s suite, she tells Kerissa that she wants her out of the house (as long as she has it anyway…). “You are blackmailing this family for a few extra hundred dollars in a divorce settlement.” She also wants to know why Jacob and Kerissa are getting divorced in the first place. At first Kerissa doesn’t want to give up the goods, but she finally relents. Despite the fact that Jacob got down with various women including Malise, Lady’s Mae cook before Marisol came on board, he cannot find it in his heart to forgive Kerissa for her one indiscretion. Jacob is a male chauvinist hypocrite for that, right?

Lady Mae is stunned, particularly by the fact that Jacob got around even to the maid. But still Kerissa really doesn’t want to divorce Jacob. “If you can get him to forgive me and move on, I will let it go. But if he wants to play rough, game on.” I knew it. For better or worse judgment, she does love Jacob although she has a funny way of showing it sometimes. But still, I don’t think they should stay together anyway. They just don’t seem right together…Do you agree or is that just me?

In another part of the home, Aaron the attorney, Grace’s half-brother, discuss the will with Bishop and Jacob. The second will in which Loretta Davis gave the home to the Greenleafs supersedes the first will, but the court of public opinion may render a different decision. And it doesn’t help that Basie, Mac and Darryl James are dead and gone. But Bishop believes that he can reason with Tara and get her to see things his way. “I talked Basie out of killing me with a bullet in a chamber. It couldn’t be any harder than that,” he says. “Famous last words,” Lady Mae says once she joins the discussion.

Gigi has a hard task to complete as well. She calls Yusef Shabazz. She reaches the man, who is wearing a beanie and playing some sort of board game with other people, like at a home or something. She tells him she wants to ask him a few questions and tells him she is not a reporter although she used to be a pastor. Phil’s father says that is her first strike. When she mentions Phil’s mother and how she worked for Eden Vale Lending, Yusef points out that she is his ex-wife and has been dead for 20 years. Yusef says that’s her second strike. And when she mentions Phil, Yusef says that’s her third strike and then hangs up on her.  It looks like she will have to see him face to face in the Nola to find out what she needs to find out. And I’m sure that Darius will ride out with her when the time is right…

Well, now that Lady Mae has found out the deets on the impending divorce, she now has to confront her son. She mentions Mark 11:25, Romans 3:23 and John 8:7 which all suggest that you should forgive even if you can’t forget. She cannot believe that for all of his antics that Kerissa endured over the years, Jacob cannot forgive Kerissa for the one time she got entangled. “You bought all of us a ticket to the poor house,” she says. And furthermore, “You go and forgive that woman. This is about you and what you think about women and what you think about me. You forgive her and move on.” Obviously, Lady Mae is talking about the fact her oldest child is not Bishop’s child.  What she did was worse than what Kerissa did actually. At least Kerissa didn’t get pregnant by another man and pass that child off as her husband’s child for years…

But nobody makes more stupid decisions than Charity does. At Calvary, she approaches Connie the deaconness about her idea to highlight Calvary’s history in the final service. She tells her that Phil and Judee told her, “No.” “I’m saying, ‘No” too,” says Connie. “I can’t think of anything worse.” Welp. What a traitor Connie is.

Four Leaf Clover…

Now that Bishop is free of Calvary’s business, he has more time to roam about and that is just what he does. He finds himself in the bad neighborhood where the New Revelations Memphis Mission (I wonder if the New Revelation has to do with the will) is located. Tara James can’t believe that Bishop came to see her. “This is the second day in a row that a Greenleaf  paid me a visit,” she says. Bishop says, “I want to set things straight once and for all.”

He tells Tara that he did not make the call that led to Darryl James being in the church the night of the fire. He believes that it was most likely Mac. “Why would he have wanted Daddy dead?” she asks. Bishop points out that Mac was the one who amended the will. “Is there any way we can get past this, the both of us, once and for all?” Bishop asks. I believe in God and not luck, but some luck wouldn’t hurt in this situation, right?

Another delicate situation is unfolding at the Greenleaf estate. Noah and Grace are with A.J. to help him gather his things to move in with Noah. Grace makes Noah promise that he will see about getting Noah to a doctor and on medication. “He’s not asymptomatic.” That’s a word we’ve become more familiar with than we’d like to be, right? AJ gets mad that Grace is talking his condition. Although he is sick, I’m kinda sick of him. I want all of his truth told, and I’m just not convinced that it has been at this point. What say you?

And I’m sick of Judee too. She confronts Charity about going to Connie and fires her for trying to usurp her authority. “I’m Bob Whitmore’s daughter.” After all the ways that she disgraced herself to become an associate pastor, of course, Charity is hot about this. She confronts Phil as if he’s going to side with her. “You’re going to let her do it?” she asks. “What you did was unproductive,” Phil says. He then says something using the phrase, “truly, madly, deeply” which is Judee’s favorite movie, he reveals. Charity says her favorite movie is, “You can’t fire my black a$$, I quit.” Okay, den, Charity. Then she compares her bosom to Judee’s less than buxom bosom and says they can have their “oreo church.” “How I wish you were the man that I thought you were.” And despite the fact that she wants to hate him, she can’t because hating him would be like hating a sponge – a “passive, porous thing.” She ends with, “What a waste.” Well, I’m glad she is developing a bit of a backbone.

Back at the estate, Bishop drives on the property where he finds Grace walking alone.  I wonder how many acres they own? The property on which the show is filmed must be huge. It’s season five and we’re still seeing new vantage points on the property. Bishop picked up some Memphis barbecue on the way home because he is feeling good after his discussion with Tara apparently. He discovers that Grace is feeling some kind of way about A.J. “You’re afraid that everything you broke will never be put back together again.” He assures her that there is still hope. “Leave some room for God.” He reminds her what she did. “You came back. Don’t forget that. After 20 years, you came home. No one saw that coming.”

Speaking of seemingly impossible impasses, Jacob approaches Kerissa with the intention of telling her that he has forgiven her, but he can’t get the words out. Kerissa tries to help him by literally telling him what to say. “Here’s all you have to say. Kerissa, I’m sorry that I left you so alone in our marriage that you defiled yourself with another man to feel something.” Still, even with the words supplied for him, he cannot fix his mouth to say that. Kerissa realizes that they can’t get past this no matter what she threatens. She says, “I will lay off of the will because Mae knows I’m right.” Still, she tells him their marriage is over. Sorry not sorry.

What a dismal episode, right? But Zora and Sophia try to lighten the mood by horsing around with A.J. until they collapse on a bed with laughter. It’s really nice to laugh with your cousins. They try to convince him to stay and tell Grace that he has decided to stay when she comes in the room. She ask the girls if she can speak with her son alone. He makes sure that he tells her that he is not staying despite the girls’ audible wishful thinking. “You know you can always come back,” she says. “I’m not,” he says. But as he leaves, he kisses the top of head in her hair. That bit of affection causes the mother to dissolve into tears. (I have to wonder if this is the writers way of writing him off the show because you know that Noah tends to say gone for long periods. It took him whole season to get to Memphis from Denver. Remember? I think Denver is where he was…)

Judee aine crying about Charity leaving Calvary at all. “It’s for the best,” she tells Phil as they relax at his home. “Daddy is counting on you.” Phil, on the other hand, can’t shake it off as easily, particularly as Charity said that H&H won’t make it past Calvary by Tuesday. “It was almost like something is in the works,” he tells Judee. Judee aine trying to hear all that and wants to get affectionate with Phil but he blocks her. “Is it because I’m not legally divorced? I’m never going back to Ken,” she whines.

Although Phil is troubled about Calvary and what is ahead, Bishop is no longer thinking about Calvary. He has gathered his family in the dining room to tell him that the Spirit was present in his meeting with Tara and that their home is safe. “This is the day that I take back my joy.” Charity is feeling good too and tells her family she is no longer working at Calvary. “Free at last, free at last,” she nearly sings.

Bishop tells the family that the next morning, they will worship in church at their home and that Lady Mae will lead the service. In fact, he tells them that he wants Lady Mae to lead the church going forward. But before the episode can end on this seemingly triumphant note, Tara James calls Bishop on his cell. The family listens as he says, “I’m sorry to hear that.” Once the call is over, he says that Tara James wants to talk again about the house AND as soon as possible. Gulp…That doesn’t sound good…Now I have to wonder when Bishop meets Tara again will Rochelle show up…Because Tara did call someone after she met with Jacob… Well, I guess we will have to keep watching to find out what happens!!! Thank God for new content in these COVID-19 times!!

Thank you sooo much for reading my Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 4: The Fourth Day… 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?

 

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Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 3 : The Third Day…

Hello World,

Long story short – what I thought about A.J. Delahaye isn’t exactly true, although he did reveal his truth in this episode…AND I still have questions…So let’s get into this exhaustive and entertaining Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 3 : The Third Day… Trust. Any other recap just doesn’t compare…You don’t have to testify right now, but you will after you keep reading…

Third Eye…

This episode begins with Grace relaxing on the pier on the Greenleafs’ beautiful estate. Maybe relaxing is not the right word. She is contemplating. In a jeep, Darius drives up, gets out and says, “Black coffee as requested.” He tells her that he will soon be on a flight to Vegas to investigate Eden Vale Lending. Apparently, the company was involved with refinancing loans but other than that, there is no information readily available so Darius is following his leads where they lead him. He invites Grace to come along but A.J. still in the hospital, she cannot leave town. And she has no idea about his state of mind as he still hasn’t allowed her or anyone else (other than medical personnel of course) to see him. During their discussion, Darius also reveals that he was fired the night before. His editor asked him to kill the story on Harmony & Hope Ministries and focus on state politics. But when Darius brought up that Bob Whitmore was going into state politics and as a result, H&H should be investigated, he was fired. “Bob Whitmore killed the story,” Grace tells Darius. They share a kiss before he leaves.

 

While Grace & Darius seem to be slowly finding their way back to each other, Jacob & Kerissa are on the road to Splitsville and fast. In their suite, she wakes him abruptly by opening the blinds so that the morning sun basks him in light. Kerissa says that because she will be meeting with Dante Saunders after school (remember Dante wanted to open a school I think…kind of like Lebron I guess), Jacob needs to pick up Winkie after his chess lesson. He agrees to do so but with a slight attitude. Kerissa throws out, “That’s why I want custody.” She thinks that his attitude means that he doesn’t want to spend time with his son. He responds with,”Just go and move out.” But Kerissa will not move until “me and my kids are properly taken care of,” she says.

Bishop and Lady Mae are downstairs continuing with their plans to open a new church. One of their first tasks is coming up with a name. Bishop suggests Cornerstone Community Church, but Lady Mae tells him he should stop drinking brown liquor before bed because a church with that same name is down the street! LOL. I swear this family does seem to drink more than I’ve seen a preacher’s family partake. That’s for sure. Anywho, Lady Mae reminds him that they once took Zora there and they drank cider and explored the corn maze on the property. She says, “You got lost, but I got us out.” I cannot help but think she’s also referring to the trouble that Bishop has gotten the family into and how she is responsible for getting the family out of that trouble. Bishop’s forgetfulness worries Lady Mae and she presses him to get a physical. She reminds him of his previous health challenges. “You had a heart attack in the pulpit.” At Lady Mae’s direction, Karine, Bishop’s former assistant, makes a doctor’s appointment for Bishop.

Charity shows up then and they continue to chide her for partnering with H&H. Lady Mae calls Judee a “wrinkled up, dried asparagus of a woman!” She also says it won’t be long until Charity will be “rocking cinnamon milk babies like a mammy.” Again, Lady Mae butchers with her words so I’m not surprised that Charity is not all that excited that Lady Mae slipped in a request for Charity to join them as an associate pastor no less at the new church. Lady Mae wants her to lead the music too. You cannot cuss me out while asking me to do something and expect me to comply. Sugar tastes better than vinegar. She tells her parents that she has a plan for staying at H&H, but Charity is not known for her sound judgment so…

Speaking of lacking sound judgment, Zora was able to somehow delete all of Sophia’s topless photos from Snapchat. But instead of calming her cousin down, Sophia, in a rage, starts throwing Nicki’s clothing into the trash. As if on cue, Nicki busts into Zora’s cabin, sees Sophia and starts throwing blows. Sophia says that Nicki wears “nine pounds of makeup,” and Nicki retorts with a below-the-belt comeback. “At least I can have babies.” Zora had been trying to separate the two as if she wasn’t on either side, but now, thankfully, she sides with her cousin and throws the chick out. Once the door is closed, Zora says, “I swear I didn’t say anything” and advises her that her anger has gotten out of control…Well, how else would Nicki know such personal information?…unless she told Dante and Dante told Nicki…I hope that’s not the case but with my third eye vision, I’m wondering if that is the case…

A Third Chance…

Obviously, Noah and Grace were once a couple when they were teenagers. And when Grace first came back, the two had a second dalliance. And now that he’s back again and they are now parents of A.J., Noah and Grace have a third chance at a relationship. It’s clear that’s how Lady Mae sees it anyway. When he shows up at the estate, Lady Mae says, “Oh, how we have missed you!” She also tells him that he continues to get more and more handsome and that he looks like a movie star. She even tells him that once Zora has left for college, he can get his old cabin back. They have get back together at the very least for A.J.’s sake. She says, “One of you gave him away and the other one didn’t know he existed.” Noah is flattered by Lady Mae’s attention, telling her that he is staying with his mother. He also tells her that she wants to meet her grandson, and Lady Mae praises his mother for being “open to the unfolding of life.”

Grace gets fed up with Lady Mae fawning over Noah and attempting to fuse them together as a family. She storms off and Bishop follows. “Don’t you walk away when I’m speaking to you,” he says. He understands Grace’s frustration, but he also understands Lady Mae’s efforts to join Noah and Grace together as a family. “You will be a family and you need to be to bring that boy on track.” He warns Grace that because he and Lady Mae weren’t on the same page regarding Faith, that the disunion may have been one of the factors that led to Faith’s demise.

Back at Calvary, which is soon to be demolished, Phil DeMars tells Charity that he and Judee want her to deliver the welcome on the first Sunday at the new location (a gym while the new building is constructed). She tells Phil that the First Lady she should be doing the welcome as she wants to preach. “You will preach very soon,” Phil promises after prefacing his statement that he will have to “run it by Bob.” SMH. He then proceeds to tell Charity that Judee needs help with music until Carlton is replaced. Charity agrees but only for a selfish reason. “You start messing with our music, and we’re out.” Charity wants to have a church to actually preach too after all. Based on the chemistry between Charity and Phil, I believe they at least have a second chance at their relationship…How it will happen though…I don’t know…

Speaking of second chances, Jacob shows up at Tasha Skanks’ apartment where she is wearing a little black number to get Jacob’s attention. She explains that she only wears black since Basie died, but she points out that, “I don’t have anything black and casual.” Chile please. He asks, “Does Tara know we’re coming? Does she really think that Bishop killed her Daddy?” Just before they go inside New Revelations Memphis Mission where Tara works I guess, Tasha tells Jacob that Basie died in a roadside hotel where his body was found in Laredo, Texas while Rochelle made it to Mexico. (Now in SOAP OPERA 101, you learn that if a character has not actually seen the body, the person may or may not be dead so do with that what you will.)

The mission is located in a warehouse which includes chairs and that’s about it. Jacob loves the scaled down church. “This is a ministry I understand.” But Tara ain’t trying to get into small talk. “What do you want, pastor?” Jacob hems and haws a bit before finally asking, “Did my father kill your father?” Tara responds with, “That’s accurate.” She also also explains that while Basie, her half-brother, and Rochelle, her sister, took God’s vengeance into their own hands, she had a different approach. She patiently waited for the “day that a Greenleaf would be moved by God to make it right.” Jacob continues his interrogation and asks if her father knew Loretta Davis, the name on the will that Jacob found in Mac’s tackle box. Then Tara clams up. “I’m not comfortable answering any more questions. ” Once the two leave, Tara calls somebody and says, “I had a very interesting visit from Jacob Greenleaf.” Is Tara speaking with Rochelle?

Meanwhile, at the Greenleaf estate, Karine agrees to handle the music at Bishop and Lady Mae’s new church particularly since the best of gospel music will not be expected at a bar.

Plans continue to be made for the new H&H church as well and Judee pops up to harass Charity although it’s under the guise of attempting to work together. Judee repeats Phil’s request for Charity to deliver the welcome at the new location. She then shows her new-to-her engagement ring which was once worn by Phil’s mother. She asks Charity if she thinks it’s “stodgy.” Charity says she knows that Judee is trying to get her to quit and asks her if she’s heard of the story about the tortoise and the hare. In her scenario, however, Charity is Godzilla and intends to preach and teach her way past her and Phil. She then tells Judee that while her father may have some influence, her father, her Heavenly father that is, has more. “He always wins.” Say THAT, Charity…

Judee was speechless after Charity’s speech but finally A.J. is ready to talk…but not to Grace…To Grace’s surprise, Sophia sails right into A.J.’s hospital room. “Finally a friendly face,” he says. Sophia starts to tear up, but A.J. warns her that he will kick her out if she starts crying. He tells her that he is leaving the next day. This makes the third time that he tries to find a way out. First was after his robbery. Then his attempted suicide. And now he is planning a third escape. What’s up with this kid?

Third World…

While Rochelle may have escaped to a third world country and Basie is dead, Jacob and Tasha now have an opportunity to do what they thought about doing before. As Jacob takes Tasha back to her place, she asks, “Do you want to come in?” Jacob explains that he has to pick up Winkie. Then Tasha says, “Did you really like me?” He tells her that he did and that once he and Kerissa are divorced, they can pick up where they left off. She tries to kiss him before she gets out of his vehicle, but Jacob stops her. “Let’s do it right this time.” Why did he have to do that? Tasha is in love for reals now. “You’re such a good man,” she practically sings. In actuality, I’m proud of Jacob. He has shown some character development throughout these five seasons…

You know who’s not in love? Phil. At least with Judee. While Judee tries to tell him about her encounter with Charity earlier in the day and how she referred to herself as Godzilla and more, Phil appears to be disinterested. He interrupts, “Can we pray? I’m hungry.” Then, this woman launches into a loong prayer with her eyes closed while Phil rolls his eyes. I bet he wishes he could escape to a third world country with Charity.

 

When Jacob makes it back to his suite, he overhears Kerissa discussing him with her attorney. He declares the deal is off and that he wants shared custody of Winkie. When Kerissa brings up that Bishop may be going to jail if he attempts to get shared custody, he doesn’t back down. “Either he belongs there or he doesn’t. Either way, I’m about to find out.” Good for you, Jacob. I’m sick of Kerissa and her threats.

He finds Bishop on an elliptical machine, huffing and puffing. He says, “Did you call Darryl James the night he died and tell him to come to the church?” Bishop says that he didn’t call him. Jacob also tells his father that Loretta Davis left the Greenleaf estate to Darryl James.  “What’s going on here, Jacob?” Bishop asks. Bishop says that he has a will that refutes that claim.

Meanwhile, Lady Mae seems to be softening up just a little bit when it comes to Charity. She goes to Charity’s suite where she finds her playing with her son. She tells her that she found an old hymnal in which Charity had written the words “Rev. Charity Greenleaf” when she was a little girl. (I submit that she is still a little girl…) “Maybe you were on the right track,” Lady Mae says to her daughter. “Maybe we’re all fools a little to think we can play a role in what God can do on His own.”

Charity says she never really aspired to be a worship leader and that she wanted to be a preacher all along. I’m still like whatever. Until she can get somewhat of a handle on her personal life, I aine trying to listen to what she has to say in the pulpit. No one is perfect who is in or not in the pulpit. However, your life should be at least somewhat stable and reflective of the principles about which you preach. Anwho, Charity suggests that the new church be named Eternal Faith Fellowship. That reminds me of a funeral home in my opinion, but Lady Mae takes a liking to the moniker. And she tells Charity that she can be an associate pastor at the family’s new church.

And now the moment that you’re likely waiting for…at least it was the moment I was waiting for the entire episode…Sophia finally persuades her brother to reveal his truth however devastating it may be. She knows that he wouldn’t be leaving unless there was something that he did not want to reveal. She explains to him that she, too, is dealing with a devastating loss. “I lost my ovaries for no reason. If you send me away one time, I’m through with you.”

As she leaves his room and sees Grace, we don’t see what he told her. But we can see by her facial expression that his secret is pretty bad. But apparently, Sophia was also successful in getting him to reveal his secret to Grace. Once she walks into his room, A.J. says. “I’m going to tell you something and after I say it, I don’t want to talk to you about it.” He tells his mother that while he was in prison, he was raped and as a result, he is HIV positive…WOW…right…Well, that explains why he hit up the pharmacy…but who was that dude who wandered onto the Greenleaf estate and knew Grace’s name? Saints, something is still missing from this story…Do y’all agree? I guess that’s why we have to keep watching…Ready to testify yet?!

Thank you sooo much for reading my Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 3: The Third Day… 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?