The WORST episodes of black-ish
Every episode of black-ish ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of black-ish!
An upper-middle-class black man struggles to raise his children with a sense of cultural identity despite constant contradictions and obstacles coming from his liberal wife, old-school father and his assimilated, color-blind kids.
#1 - Election Special Pt. 2
Season 7 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/4/2020
Dre’s colleague Stevens makes an ill-advised decision to run for Congress, so Dre enlists his family’s help and campaigns against him but gets caught up with fundraising and private interest groups.
#2 - Blue Valentime
Season 4 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/1/2018
Tensions are high between Dre and Bow as their contractor arrives to remodel the kitchen, realizing they have grown apart. Dre reflects on the good times in his relationship with Bow.
#3 - Christmas in Theater Eight
Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/11/2018
The Johnsons have a tradition of going to the movies on Christmas and they can never agree on what to see. Dre wants to see an important film about Rosa Parks, but they all want to see the latest action-packed superhero blockbuster. Meanwhile, Junior becomes embarrassed about taking a gap year after he runs into his ex-girlfriend Megan at the theater.
#4 - Pops' Pops' Pops'
Season 1 - Episode 24 - Aired 5/20/2015
Jack and Diane look for clues about their roots for their class assignment, a history of the Johnson family. But when they can’t find anything out about the family’s past, Pops comes to the rescue with the colorful story of how “Pops’ Pops’ Pops’” great-great grandfather, Drex Johnson, bet the future of the Johnson family against a ruthless gangster, Elroy Savoy, during the 1920s Harlem Renaissance
#5 - Sneakers by the Dozen
Season 8 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/15/2022
Dre spirals after finding out his white co-worker Griffin has a better sneaker collection than him. Meanwhile, Bow lets Diane take a day off from school against Pops’ advice.
#6 - The Natural
Season 8 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/11/2022
Dre can’t seem to land a good pitch now that he’s moved up to general marketing at his firm and begins to doubt himself. Meanwhile, Bow and Ruby question the new boy Diane is dating who doesn’t necessarily meet her standards.
#7 - And the Winner Is…
Season 8 - Episode 9 - Aired 3/22/2022
Dre gets news that he’s been nominated for an Ad World Award but may have to miss an important family function if he attends. Meanwhile, Olivia returns from Yale to visit Junior who has a full day of L.A. fun planned for their visit.
#8 - What About Gary?
Season 7 - Episode 10 - Aired 2/2/2021
Going against Bow’s warning, Dre tries to educate her white cousin Gary about how to be an ally. Meanwhile, Olivia is trying to impress Junior’s family by attempting to psychoanalyze everyone and their relationships with each other.
#9 - Waltz in A Minor
Season 5 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/22/2019
Dre’s teenage cousin Kyra needs a place to stay and the Johnsons decide to take her in, but they have different approaches to helping her adjust to suburban life. Meanwhile, Jack and Diane try to vet Kyra on social media to get information on her.
#10 - Young, Gifted and Black
Season 8 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/29/2022
When Dre and Bow get a note that Devante may be falling behind at his private school, they expect he is being discriminated against because he is the only Black student in class. But during their visit to his classroom, they realize there may be more to it and gravely overstep in one of his school projects. At home, Junior is still coping with heartbreak, and Jack and Diane enlist Charlie to cheer him up.
#11 - Friends Without Benefits
Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired 12/4/2018
Bow makes a new friend at work and Dre thinks she has broken bird syndrome. Meanwhile, Junior transforms his shared room with Jack into a frat house, and Ruby and Diane gang up against them.
#12 - Oedipal Triangle
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/19/2014
Dre’s mother, Ruby, comes for a visit, and she smothers her pork chops with gravy, Dre with love, and would like to flat out smother Bow, who feels the same way about her. Dre tries to find a way to get the two most important women in his life to get along.
#13 - Son of a Pitch
Season 5 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/19/2019
Junior shakes things up at Stevens and Lido as an intern; Bow has a meeting with one of Kyra’s teachers and learns that she has an aptitude for chemistry, but Kyra doesn’t want to transfer to a magnet school.
#14 - Inheritance
Season 4 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/9/2018
Dre’s sister Rhonda is in town and Ruby has a talk with them about her inheritance. Meanwhile, Bow’s sister Santamonica is also in town and she hires Junior to become her assistant.
#15 - Mom Mentor
Season 8 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/8/2022
When Junior’s girlfriend, Olivia, gets into Yale, he asks Bow to convince her to stay and attend USC instead. Meanwhile, Diane and Jack discover Dre’s inspiration for his ads is hitting a little too close to home.
#16 - Good Grief
Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/20/2018
Bow’s mom, Alicia, visits the family for the first time since the loss of Bow’s dad, and she is still heavily grieving. Bow decides to throw a big luau-themed party for what would have been her dad’s next birthday. Meanwhile, Mason has an extra ticket to an MMA fight and invites Diane on the same night as the party.
#17 - Unkept Woman
Season 4 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/6/2018
Dre and Bow’s morning routine with the kids is changing now that Bow is taking some time off work. Meanwhile, Junior bonds with Diane now that he is in charge of driving his siblings to school.
#18 - Things Done Changed
Season 7 - Episode 14 - Aired 3/2/2021
In trying to prove to Diane that hip-hop isn't dead, Dre realizes he may be more of out of touch with current trends and his clients than he thought. Meanwhile, Jack thinks that he has somehow become Bow's best friend now that Junior is too busy with his new girlfriend.
#19 - Boss Daddy
Season 6 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/14/2020
Dre’s torn at the office between looking out for Junior as his dad or letting him make his own mistakes. Meanwhile, Jack loses a friendship after trying to look cool in front of the basketball team.
#20 - Father Christmas
Season 6 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/10/2019
Pops doesn't do Christmas, so when he shows up to the house full of holiday cheer with Lynette (Loretta Devine), Dre is thrown off. Pops wants to make up for lost time and go all out this Christmas. The whole family gets into the holiday spirit until someone from Lynette's past shows up.
#21 - Bow-Mo
Season 8 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/18/2022
Dre calls into a radio show and gets humiliated in front of Diane and tries to redeem himself. Meanwhile, Bow tries to bond with a group of young female doctors and learns a hard truth.
#22 - God
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/28/2016
When Dre discovers that Zoey is questioning her belief in God, he undergoes a crisis of faith and leans on family members and coworkers for their input. Meanwhile, Bow’s brother Johan comes to stay with The Johnsons after living abroad and becomes an instant thorn in Dre’s side.
#23 - University of Dre
Season 6 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/26/2019
Dre and Bow are worried about Junior’s future working odd jobs, especially after he tells them he wants to produce comedy shows for unknown comics. When Dre realizes that Junior is putting himself out there and following in his own footsteps, he takes him under his wing to the “University of Dre.” Meanwhile, Rainbow encourages Diane to have a slumber party at their house.
#24 - Things Were Different Then
Season 4 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/20/2018
Dre reluctantly helps Junior plan Pops’ 65th birthday party and starts to see his dad’s past in a new light. Meanwhile, Bow decides to say “yes” to everything for a whole year and Jack & Diane take advantage of her.
#25 - Compton Around the Christmas Tree
Season 7 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/2/2020
Dre realizes he’s out of touch with his roots after Junior claims he’s turned into a “valley dad,” so he takes the family to his hometown of Compton. Meanwhile, Bow tries to teach Jack and Diane about the spirit of giving by having them volunteer in Compton for Christmas.