Warning: The following contains the kind of spoilers for Tuesday’s penultimate Greenleaf that will leave you screaming “Lord have mercy!” — and not in a praying way.
Early on in Tuesday’s Greenleaf, Bishop did his damnedest to sell AJ on the notion of being saved, promising his grandson that once he let God into his life, he’d flash a smile that was equal in magnificence to “10 Grand Canyons.” But in hopes of making his hard sell come off like a soft one — too late for that, pal — James added that there was, you know, no rush. Except that there was. A major one. Because by the end of the episode, it appeared that Bishop wouldn’t live long enough to see AJ have a come-to-Jesus moment! What in heaven’s name happened? Read on…
At the Greenleaf estate, James served Lady Mae breakfast in bed and, hoping she’d agree to move up their wedding date, presented her with her old engagement ring. “You said yes the first time I gave it to you,” he noted optimistically. Unfortunately, she refused to budge, not until they came up with a compromise to offer Tara and Rochelle. In turn, he refused to budge. “Offering Tara anything,” he argued, “is like admitting I’ve done something wrong.” That being the case, “this,” she said, rejecting the ring, “will have to wait until Flag Day.” Elsewhere in the house, Zora pressured her dad to find out if she could stay in Camilla’s guest bedroom in Hoboken — “a phrase,” she added, “I cannot say without dissolving into a pool of steamy gray uncoolness.” Since Jacob hadn’t done so — Kerissa and Winkie had just left a day earlier — Zora suggested a studio apartment that she’d found in Brooklyn. He had to love that, she thought. It was so small, it had “no room for a boy.” Later, she went so far as to suggest that Sophia go East with her — and no, not only to foot the bill. Although, yeah, that, too.
Back at Greenleaf Manor, Lady Mae suggested to Tara that the family could sell some land and give the young woman and her sister a nice payment. Alas, no way would Rochelle go for that, Tara said. She wouldn’t rest until Bishop confessed that he’d murdered their father. Later, James, Lady Mae and Charity were watching a news report about how Bob would be announcing his Senate run at the demolition when in came Gigi with her bombshell about Darryl and Mrs. Davis. Call Rochelle and Tara, Bishop told Lady Mae, and tell them to come over. For real? “Just trust me.” Once Tara and Rochelle arrived, Bishop and Lady Mae informed them that Mrs. Davis had been their grandmother. As such, “we’re ready to concede that your blood ties to this property preceded our legal ones.” As Tara predicted, Rochelle wasn’t satisfied. She wanted the truth. Well, she could have that, too, said Bishop. With that, they all headed to Calvary, where the pews had been filled up with folks who’d received an email from Charity saying to come to church if they wanted the dirt about Bob.
‘JAMES GREENLEAF TOOK ADVANTAGE OF YOU’ | Off his meeting with the family whose home Eden Vale had stolen years earlier, Darius informed Grace that CBS was suddenly interested in his Bob exposé. At that very moment, the would-be senator was inside Calvary trying to spin the scandal into fake news. But Grace and Charity held him accountable for his past actions, informing the congregation that all of Eden Vale’s clients had been Black and challenging Bob to explain why Phil’s mother’s name had been on every loan. When Bob wouldn’t do so, Phil stepped up, recalling that in his mother’s final days, she had feared that God wouldn’t be able to forgive her for what she’d done. “I think I know now what she meant.” With that, he took back her engagement ring from Judee, who — classy till the bitter end — dropped it on the ground rather than hand it to him. Next up was Bishop, who entered surrounded by family and proceeded to call himself out for never having questioned the connection between Darryl’s death and his own good fortune. (If he hadn’t gotten the house, after all, he wouldn’t have been able to get the loan for Calvary.)
To his credit, Bishop was merciless with himself. He admitted that as the money started rolling in, he all but bathed in that original sin of his. He had it all, but “it wasn’t success,” he said, “it was a succubus, a demon of wealth and power seducing me.” (Side note: Where do I get one of those?) He’d been meant to show his flock what is possible with God… and instead only showed them what is inevitable without him. The congregation wouldn’t hear it, though. They supported their pastor, and as Charity sang “Amazing Grace,” the song seemed to drive out of the church Bob, Judee and Fernando. As Rochelle left, Grace stopped her. She knew that the troublemaker had only given AJ Noah’s number to mess with her — and she still wanted to thank her; it had turned out to be a great blessing. Hey, replied Rochelle, “God can use anybody, right, even a mean old sinner like me.” Stealing a moment with Charity, Phil, obviously angling for a second chance, apologized for his horrific behavior. “Phil, no one, not even the father of my son, has broken my heart the way that you have,” she replied. “I would never trust you with it again.” Way to go, Charity! Shut. That. Book.
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