Ep 1. The Word

Black-ish season 2 episode 1, titled "The Word," picks up where the first season left off. The show follows the Johnson family, an upper-middle-class African American family living in a predominantly white neighborhood. In this episode, the family is still reeling from the events of the previous season, which saw patriarch Andre "Dre" Johnson (Anthony Anderson) grappling with his own identity and the challenges that come with being a black man in America.

As the episode opens, Dre is taking his kids to school when they hear a hip-hop song on the radio that they're not familiar with. Dre starts to explain the lyrics to his kids, but he's interrupted by a white coworker who is walking by. The coworker is singing along to the same song, but when he gets to a certain word, he hesitates and then replaces it with a different word. Dre is taken aback by this and starts to wonder if the word is still offensive, or if it's been reclaimed by the black community.

This sets off a chain of events throughout the episode, as Dre and his family discuss the word and its meaning. Dre is convinced that the word should never be used, while his father, Pops (Laurence Fishburne), argues that it's a word that has been used for centuries, and that trying to erase it from history is impossible. Meanwhile, Dre's wife Rainbow (Tracee Ellis Ross) and their children have their own opinions on the matter, and they all debate the issue from their own unique perspectives.

As the episode progresses, the family's conversations about the word start to reveal deeper issues within the Johnson family. Dre and Rainbow have different views on how to raise their children, with Dre arguing that they need to be toughened up to face the challenges of the world, while Rainbow believes that they should be given the tools to navigate a world that can be hostile to people of color. The kids themselves are also dealing with their own struggles, from navigating the social dynamics of their schools to figuring out who they are as individuals.

Through it all, the Johnson family comes together to support one another, even as they grapple with difficult questions about race, identity, and the meaning of the word that sets off the episode's discussion. As always, Black-ish handles these issues with nuance, humor, and heart, making for a thought-provoking and engaging season premiere. Fans of the show are sure to be enthralled by this episode, and newcomers to the series will find a compelling and entertaining entry point into the world of the Johnson family.