The BEST Episodes of David Makes Man
Every episode ever - ranked by fan votes!
Last Updated: Sep 16, 2021
Network: Oprah Winfrey Network
Set in South Florida, the series centers on a 14-year-old prodigy from the projects who is haunted by the death of his closest friend and relied on by his hardworking mother to find a way out of poverty. He must choose between the streets that raised him or the higher education that may offer him a way out.
#1 - Chaos Is Come Again
Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired Aug 10, 2021
David enters his therapist’s office determined to have a conversation about his job, but Dr. Halloway instead pushes David to confront his past — leaving him raw and vulnerable.
8.29 
#2 - Trouble the Water
Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired Aug 24, 2021
David has a new plan for the Ville, which ends his arrangement with Joe Padilla. Plus, Trenise returns home, and JG and Shella share a charged moment. Finally, David has an emotional moment with his younger self.
7.88 
#3 - 3 Sons’ Sky
Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired Oct 16, 2019
Four months earlier, Sky and Shinobi discuss the death of Shinobi’s sister, and Sky advises him to get out of the game and be with his family. Their conversation is interrupted by news that Raynan was in a car accident. When Sky rushes to Raynan’s side, a fight ensues, and the details of Sky’s death are then revealed. In present day, David, JG, and Gloria arrive back at The Ville where Tare blames David for Willie Derek’s death. Shinobi warns David about Desmond, and David appeals to Ms. Elijah for help. Tio Teo ultimately fires Raynan and demands to know the truth. Meanwhile, Mrs. Kelly accuses David of knowing Seren’s whereabouts. David tells her what he knows about Seren’s disturbing home life. The following morning, Tio Teo interrogates Shinobi about his work with Desmond. Later, Tio Teo makes a decision about Desmond. David enjoys a newfound peace now that he’s out of Raynan and Tio Teo’s grip. He stares forward looking at something that triggers the ringing in his ears.
7.85 
#4 - Gloria
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired Sep 4, 2019
Told through her daydreams and the stark contrast of reality, we learn more about Gloria’s past and difficult present. After calculating her budget in hopes of moving closer to David’s dream school, Gloria asks Jay about a new position at the diner. Jay reminds her of her past and touches her inappropriately. While disentangling from his grasp, she hurts herself. When she later offers a patron free dessert, Jay fires her. Soon after, Gloria enters a pharmacy for pain medication, but she averts temptation and instead selects medicated patches. When she finally arrives at The Ville, she encounters the building manager, who is complaining about JG’s burned, soiled sheets in the laundry room. Though Gloria is angry with David about keeping JG’s issue a secret, she realizes that she puts too much responsibility on him. Meanwhile, David encounters Raynan, who reminds him that his involvement in the drug operation is not a choice. Finally, Ms. Elijah asks Gloria to join her at the ball.
7.79 
#5 - MJB
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired Aug 28, 2019
David meets with Dr. Bree, the county-approved clinical psychiatrist. David walks Dr. Bree through his last 24 hours, with his imagined alter egos sitting behind him, revealing his true feelings. He starts his story in Dr. Woods-Trap’s class who assigned Seren to be David’s project partner. They enter Seren’s home in the suburbs, where David sees that Seren is fearful of his mother. David and Seren chat about girls, their biological fathers, and compare their parents’ styles of discipline. Meanwhile, at The Ville, Ms. Elijah watches as Shinobi and Raynan are arrested. The next day at school, David gives a presentation about his mom and 17-year-old Gloria appears through a flashback confronting David’s father, who denies paternity. Enraged, Gloria insists that she will raise David herself. When David finishes recounting his day to Dr. Bree, she inquires as to why David didn’t choose to focus on his late friend Sky instead. David’s answer reveals more about his relationship with Sky.
7.75 
#6 - Some I Love Who Are Dead
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired Oct 9, 2019
More about Raynan’s home life is revealed, Gloria exposes a disturbing secret about her childhood, and Seren takes off. Phylicia Rashad also stars as David’s teacher Dr. Woods-Trap.
7.73 
#7 - Love or Poetize These Hoes
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired Sep 11, 2019
Marissa and David get ready for school at their respective homes. Marissa dresses the way her mother forces her and David and JG find their mother Gloria in an overly positive state. At school, David asks Marissa to the school dance, but she declines and asks Seren instead. David has another session with Dr. Bree, who offers David a prescription for sleep medication. Following his school day, David sees Sky and they enter a fantasy sequence. David is jolted back to reality by Shinobi and the other corner boys, who make fun of him. David ultimately asks Tare to the dance. At the dance, David feels uneasy about his two worlds colliding and Tare accuses David of being embarrassed by her. Sky helps David apologize to Tare, and David walks Tare to her door. When David finally arrives home feeling good, he is alarmed to discover a “rent past due” notice nailed to the door.
7.67 
#8 - Hurston
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired Jun 29, 2021
Young David gets suspended at Hurston Prep after an altercation with one of his friends, and he returns home to find his mother has changed for the better. Plus, Adult David receives news about his brother.
7.50 
#9 - Bubble House
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired Oct 2, 2019
Seren goes missing, Raynan and Desmond get arrested, and The Ville prepares for a hurricane.
7.47 
#10 - Son of Man
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired Sep 25, 2019
Raynan and David discuss Dr. Bree’s prescription pad and how to avoid the pharmacist reporting them to the police. The following morning, David watches Seren sing at church. Upon arriving at The Ville with Seren’s mother and stepfather, Gloria invites Seren to join them for Halloween, and Ms. Elijah dresses him in a Victor/Victoria costume. Later, David spots Desmond, and he is brought back to the night he witnessed Sky’s murder. He then approaches Shinobi and Raynan and it’s clear that David has finally agreed to participate in their operation.
7.45 
#11 - David’s Sky
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired Aug 14, 2019
David has a physical altercation at school with his best friend Seren. At home, David is a lookout for The Ville at the request of Raynan. Plus, the truth about Sky is revealed.
7.42 
#12 - When It All Falls
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired Sep 18, 2019
We see a pre-Ville Raynan at an upper-class high school. Following Sky’s death, any semblance of Raynan’s preppy self is gone. He is no longer an outsider at The Ville, but rather its center of gravity. Gloria arrives at the unemployment office, but she is turned away because she doesn’t have a Social Security card. Upon arriving home, Raynan gives her something to help with her hip pain. Later, JG sells his sneakers to help pay the rent but when the money disappears, Gloria is back to square one. She later sells the drugs provided by Raynan to a fellow addict for rent money. To help with his family’s financial issues, David visits Dr. Bree and steals his prescription pad as a means of obtaining drugs to sell.
7.37 
#13 - No Atheists in Rabbit Holes
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired Aug 3, 2021
David’s development project hits a serious snag, and David is shocked to learn who is behind it. Plus, JG accepts some hard truths, and David reassesses his personal relationships.
7.29 
#14 - Dai Out
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired Aug 21, 2019
David and JG prepare to visit JG’s grandfather Saul, and Raynan insists on joining them. David and Raynan then visit the house of Raynan’s uncle Tio Teo where the two reminisce about Sky. Tio Teo reveals to David that he wants David to participate in a bigger operation at The Ville. The subject of Sky comes up, and Tio Teo laughs at David’s insistence that Sky never wanted him to move drugs. Sky was, he says slyly, a dealer himself. Later at the block party, Raynan hands David his bookbag, now filled with drugs, to take back to The Ville, and David is dumbstruck by Raynan’s ulterior motives. Feeling as if he cannot say no, he takes it home. When he arrives at The Ville, he delivers the bag to Shinobi who happens upon David’s one-sided interaction with a nonvisible Sky. Finally, David enters his home just before his mother arrives to wake him up for school.
7.22 
#15 - My Own Best Friend
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired Jul 20, 2021
David creates a plan to shift negative attention away from his redevelopment project, and it involves his brother. Plus, Nicole and David’s relationship stalls.
7.20 
#16 - Homecoming
Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired Aug 17, 2021
After enduring a tough day, JG learns that Trenise is missing. Meanwhile, David argues with his younger self about his priorities, and Gloria hears some hard truths from Robin. After searching for Trenise, David is stunned by what he finds at home.
7.20 
#17 - Barrel of Oranges
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired Jun 22, 2021
David pitches a renovation project for Homestead Village to Joe Padilla, a billionaire. Later, tragedy strikes JG.
7.00 
#18 - Y’all Gucci
Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired Jul 6, 2021
JG continues to recover as friends from his past offer support. Meanwhile, David continues to pursue his redevelopment project, and he’s surprised by an unexpected protestor. Finally, David’s therapist pushes for him to work through past trauma.
7.00 
#19 - Vizcaya
Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired Jul 27, 2021
David and Seren revisit the past, and David announces his true plan for Homestead Village. JG reveals more about his perspective on the night he was shot.
6.80 
#20 - Savage. Classy. Bougie.
Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired Jul 13, 2021
Shella and David discuss his plans for The Ville, David grows more concerned about Mx. Elijah, David and Marissa cross paths again, and Shella and JG share a sweet moment.
6.64