Last summer Christians and concerned parents alike were in an uproar. No, a Miley Cyrus concert wasn’t coming to a town near them. The Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim” late-night block was teaming up with “The Boondocks” creator Aaron McGruder to not produce another animated series, but a full-blown adaptation of his shorts of the same name that aired years ago, “Black Jesus”.
Of course people were lambasting the show before even seeing episode one, solely judging the series’ content on a single trailer that didn’t present Jesus or even African Americans living in urbanized areas in the strongest of lights. And that’s the thing about “Black Jesus” season one – the series didn’t just exist to entertain, but also had to prove it even deserved to exist. To tackle a subject like depicting Jesus as a black man living in modern day Compton surrounded by less than scrupulous disciples in today’s politically correct world was a gamble. Thankfully for everyone associated with the show, it proved to be a success in the ratings and via critics. Heck, even I really liked the first season!
Coming into season two would prove to be incredibly interesting following the previous episodes events. When Black Jesus’ (Gerald “Slink” Johnson) intended community garden/weed farm went up in proverbial smoke, he was sent to a psychiatric ward located in bicycle riding distance from his usual hangout spot. The opening scene of season two featured Jesus exiting his institutional confines after apparently enlightening those around him to the point he actually stayed longer than his “sentence” dictated. To greet Jesus was none other than everyone’s favorite law abiding citizen and ex-girlfriend of Jesus’ disciple Jason (Antwon Tanner) in Officer Dianne (Valenzia Algarin). Of all the people, why would Dianne – a Jason described atheist who couldn’t stand the person literally beaming as he walked her way – be meeting the self-proclaimed Son of God? So Jesus could relay the message that until she and Jason worked things out, she couldn’t get another man. If you think that sounds like a curse, you’re probably right.
With Jesus gone for six months, his followers and even people who didn’t believe in him (Black Jesus, not Jesus Jesus) witnessed life-altering moments that set the course for an entire season. Boonie (Corey Holcomb), sick of being verbally (and to a certain extent, physically) abused by his mother for still living with Ms. Tudi (Angela Elayne Gibbs), moved in with former convict Fish (Andra Fuller) and Jason where only one of three grown men decided to find employment (Fish being the one). Jason actually split residences by hanging out in Fish’s apartment by day while sleeping in Jesus’ old van at night. This housing strategy also prevented Fish from being kicked out due to his landlord’s – Vic (Charlie Murphy) – new set of rules that only allowed two people living together in an apartment at a time. In a shocking twist, Vic was living by example as he allowed local alcoholic and dusty bum Lloyd (John Witherspoon) to room with him while providing employment for his roommate as an ID checker at the apartment’s front gate.
It seemed like everything was changing for the better and worst depending on who you were, leading to a revelation from “Pops” to his divine son that it was time for Jesus & crew to go legit. No more janky set ups, no more robbery, and especially no more growing illegal plants to be farmed and sold by Boonie’s mother – who was having a hard time making ends meet as the local premier weed distributor as someone had opened up shop in her territory and easily had more firepower than her or her muscle (muscle in the form of two unarmed, untrained babysitters, Bonnie and Fish). By the season’s second episode (“Jesus Gonna Get His”), it appeared Jesus’ divine mission wasn’t just to spread the good Word, but also open the eyes of people following false shepherds like Vic’s uncle at the “Church of Jesus Christ in Compton” manipulating people to break themselves financially under the pretense that the reason everything that goes wrong in one’s life is because a person isn’t giving all of his/her money to “Jesus”.
Jesus became a failed hood Robin Hood before embracing his goal of helping others through Scripture … by buying an old food truck that could be converted into a moving church after he and his followers’ plan of taking the ill-gotten money out of the church was foiled by Ms. Tudi’s big mouth and wavering sense of morality. And that’s where the story truly began regarding season two. Sadly for Jesus, without “Pops” giving him a concrete answer and description as to how he could succeed in going legit, he was stuck trying out a variety of methods for glory including converting his “church” into a fish taco stand and a foot massage parlor.
Yes, he did do it!
Unlike the first season where the plot’s meaning lived and died on whether or not “Pops’” plan for a community garden worked out, season two features a lot of random episodes that barely string together in a coherent manner. The lack of rigid structure and sticking to one spot allows for the series to explore a more comedic avenue without hindering the overall story (or lack thereof). Rather than everyone coming together for one goal, the Vic-declared “sheep” and “wolf” go about their days trying to make money any way legally or morally possible from selling discarded wooden pallets to Boonie creating his own music video. By the season’s final third portion of episodes, the focus shifts from Jesus to Lloyd and Vic’s friendship being shaken by the arrival of Lloyd’s estranged wife (played by Bern Nadette Stanis of “Good Times” fame. The irony isn’t lost on me). Rather than have a plot focusing on a central theme, “Black Jesus” season two is more character driven than one would’ve expected coming off of last season.
The characters – whose performers all return to reprise the roles they perfected one season ago – defined early in the series are rarely expanded upon from a personality perspective. And in truth, they didn’t really need to change or be molded to fit something new because Jesus himself is still the same old dude – bestowing his love and Word from the Most on High while “sharing” all of his friends’ stuff. Thankfully the actors themselves they are able to handle episodes hinged on their own talents. Look no further than the eighth episode, “Never Say When”, where Lloyd attained a lucrative job as a spokesman in the same vein as “The World’s Most Interesting Man” for his favorite liquor, “Darby”. Lloyd not only gained a job, he also became rich and famous while forsaking his friends and even Jesus – who was the man that blessed him with the confidence to audition. Though everything returned to status quo by the episode’s end, Lloyd’s rise & fall was excellently crafted and produced one of the season’s strongest offerings. Then there was Ms. Tudi playing devil’s advocate throughout the season instead of simply being a financial backer who just happened to be Boonie’s mother. This season, Ms. Tudi came in with a hustler mindset that infiltrated Jesus’ plans with and without his knowledge. If Ms. Tudi was involved, she was getting paid even if it cost her a spot in Heaven (or at least forced Jesus to come up with another idea to get that paper).
Vic proved to be more than a simple antagonist for Jesus while throwing out insults this season around. For the first time in the series, the righteous landlord who went out of his way to condemn everyone he didn’t like actually questioned his own morality and the legitimacy of people around him (especially his uncle and Lloyd’s ex-wife); adding a level of character depth that wasn’t seen in Vic throughout season one. But that doesn’t mean every character was given the opportunity to grow onscreen or even be showcased fully. In “Janky Cable” (the season’s ninth episode), Jesus led a crusade against cable companies by getting Trayvon’s father (Mark Curry) to hook up some illegal cable so his crew could charge for the biggest boxing fight in history in the form of a party. With “Big Tray” banned from the apartment complex, Trayvon (Andrew Bachelor/King Bach) was forced to do some electrical work that ultimately led to him being electrocuted to death. Even though his savior brought him back to life, the traumatic moment rocked Trayvon’s faith, as he didn’t believe Jesus was looking out for his best interests as he had professed all this time. But then came “status quo” in the final scene that was probably worst than using the old “God works in mysterious ways” failsafe by Jesus simply offering to go to the store for Tray instead of sending “Mr. Cooper’s” son to gather food as usual.
Maggie (Kali Hawk) – who wasn’t the grandest character in season one, but proved to be a mix of almost every male character in Jesus’ group by showcasing intelligence, ignorance, shallow physical perceptions, loyalty beyond reproach – was barely seen throughout the season (mostly because she was splitting time between other projects). The problem with Maggie’s lack of onscreen activity was what happened when she was onscreen. The first time the viewer saw Maggie in her natural environment with her friends during the season, she was dressed like a stereotypical Latin gangbanger after starting to date Trigger – a man who almost compromised the community garden’s existence in season one. By the season’s end, Maggie was back to looking like her old self while Trigger apparently dropped off the face of the earth with only a minor conversation between Maggie and Jesus about their relationship occurring to bridge the gap of what was happening with Maggie’s love life and what it could’ve meant to her character and those around her who might not have truly appreciated her dating a former enemy who jumped on the Black Jesus bandwagon late in the first season.
To paraphrase what I wrote regarding last season, “Black Jesus” season two probably won’t save any souls, convert anyone into believers or even make them think about their faith and the ways it affects others. And though it might seem like this season took a figurative step back in narrative, the tenth episode perfectly summed up what this experience of “Black Jesus” was all about: a bunch of young individuals (or in the case of Jesus – a young looking, old individual) still acting like kids while trying to find their way and their purpose in life – potentially helping the community and the world while doing so. The season is more accessible as very little carries over from episode to episode while still being genuinely funny. Plus, how can anyone hate on a series that features John Witherspoon trying to do that “Lil’ Wayne move” while romancing a cutie pie?
