Missing grown-ish? Check out our Season 1 Review

It’s Wednesday and I wish I was watching a new episode of grown-ish. Are you having withdrawals? I am! It’s been a little over a month since Zoey and her squad ended the freshman season of grown-ish and it left me wanting more. Watching Zoey’s initial struggle with college, boys, sexuality, drugs, and making new friends was funny, relatable and entertaining. I was pleasantly surprised how authentic, witty, intelligent and socially aware this show is. And the diversity of this talented cast led by Yara Shahidi (Zoey) was icing on the cake. Whether you were #TeamAaron, #TeamLuca or #TeamCash there was something about this show that everyone could relate to and the cast has great chemistry! I love that this show doesn’t shy away from relevant issues but remained light and funny. Let’s dig in. *Spoilers ahead*

Meeting the Squad

In the first episode we meet Ana, a sweet girl who drank too much at a party (who later becomes Zoey’s roommate) as well as the rest of the cast in Zoey’s Marketing Stategies class tought by Charlie (I was so glad he came over from black-ish because he is hilarious). We meet Nomi who is a bisexual Jewish girl that defines sexual freedom.  Then there’s Vivek, a first-generation Indian and campus drug dealer who definitely brings realness to the show. And there are the kick ass track star twins Jazz and Sky who are sassy and fun but try not to let where they are from define them (and these girls can sing). And then there is Luca *swoon.* Luca is unique, cool, fashionable and has so much swag and amazing hair. Last but not least, there is Aaron who Zoey was completely crushing on. He is cute and very socially aware which Zoey likes. From episode one, this show had a strong cast of diverse, relatable characters and I was completely on board.

Highlights of the Season

• One thing I love about the show is Zoey breaking the fourth wall and talking to the audience. Sometimes this can come across lame but it works so well for this show. It lets the audience feel like we are part of Zoey’s squad and I love it!
• Can we talk about the clever episode titles? This is the only show where I go out of my way to see the title of the episode because they were all so clever (and mostly song titles). Some of my favorites: Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe (shoutout to Kendrick Lamar), C.R.E.A.M Cash Rules Everything Around Me, and Un-break My Heart. Please keep them coming in season 2!
• Episode 5 titled C.R.E.A.M Cash Rules Everything Around Me tackled the important issue of putting all of your business on social media. This is something we can all relate to. The status of Zoey’s virginity was tweeted by her boyfriend Cash (basketball star) and immediately her social media pages were flooded with hate. It was a true mirror of the world we live in today and how cruel people can be online. It made you think twice about social media and how much it affects us on a daily basis.
• Around International Women’s day, Episode 10 titled It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp aired and focused on the challenges black women face dating in today’s world. This episode let Jazz and Sky shine (and look fabulous) with their realness and passion on the issue. This was definitely a conversation starter and relatable for so many women of color. There is a stigma that black women are the least desireable when it comes to dating. At the top of the list is white women, followed by latinas and mixed women leaving black women at the bottom of the list unfortunately. This episode wasn’t afraid to tackle this issue that is rarely discussed and backed up the story with statistics. One statistic was 82% of non-black men have some bias towards black women which is unfair. The twins brought this issue to light and Aaron realized that he had a type (light skinned women) and didn’t realize he wasn’t giving darker skinned women a chance. Once he realized what he was doing, he made a change and we saw him talking to a beautiful dark skinned girl and it was awesome. It was an eye-opening moment for him and for a lot of people. Twitter was a buzz after this episode and it sparked a great conversation that has been avoided for too long. It was an important topic and the strongest episode of the season in my opinion. The entire cast was phenomenal!
• Luca, Luca, Luca! That season finale was off the hook! Zoey had a tough decision between three great guys that all had something to bring to the table. Cash was the mega-star athlete that is super talented and already famous. He will a be super successful basketball player (with a lot of cash, his parents called it when they named him). There was Aaron, who she liked from the beginning. He is intelligent, socially aware and he finally admitted that he had feelings for her. And there was Luca (did I already say swoon?). Luca is fashionable but masculine, unique, has the best hair and appears to be the ying to Zoey’s yang. He also admitted that he had feelings for her. Any girl would be lucky to have any one of these guys to date and Zoey had to choose between the three of them. These are problems I wish I had. lol It was tough, but Zoey chose Luca at the end! I was so happy because I was #TeamLuca all season. They have such a great relationship and similar interests. I can’t wait to see where this relationship goes next season!

What were your favorite moments from this season of grown-ish? Were you happy with Zoey’s choice with Luca? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below. You can watch (or re-watch) season 1 of grown-ish on Freeform online or Hulu.