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'Black-ish' Season 7 premiere focuses social distancing, fans say 'representing pandemic in a powerful way'

When Junior's girlfriend comes over, Bow is upset and tells Junior about how important it is to maintain social distancing practices

The coronavirus pandemic is not the first pandemic in human history, but it is the first one that many of us are experiencing. It has been more than half a year, but many of us still have not got used to the way the pandemic has affected our lives. Now, social distancing is the most important thing we can do to defeat the pandemic and keep our loved ones safe and it is this point that 'Black-ish' focuses on in the premiere of its seventh season.

The episode rightfully focuses on Dr Rainbow "Bow" Johnson (Tracee Ellis Ross) who is lauded as a "national hero" and an "essential worker" by her son, Andre "Junior" Johnson Jr (Marcus Scribner). But Bow's life as a doctor is depicted showing the reality of the situation -- the panic, the stress, the anxiety and everything that comes with dealing with Covid-19 patients every day. When Junior's girlfriend comes over, Bow is upset and tells Junior about how important it is to maintain social distancing practices. This comes after the mother and son earlier lamented at a group of people gathering. Junior did not think of his own meeting in the same light, but for Bow, who meets patients of different ages and from different walks of life, the importance of proper precautions are well-known.

This is perhaps the first time we are seeing the pandemic reflected in such a way on television — cementing that the pandemic days are the norm now and what was before may never come to be. We don't know if things will go back to the old normal, but the new normal requires absolute diligence. Fans pointed out that 'Black-ish' carried out an important conversation about something that many people have forgotten in recent days — that the pandemic is not over and that we still need to be careful.

One fan tweeted, "If you don't watch #blackish. Please watch tonight's episode. The mom nailed a lot of points. Just do your part. Slow the spread of covid-19. The small things add up to a lot." Another wrote, "#blackish It sounds easy to do the "SIMPLE" stuff, but people really wanna get back to normal life. Those that are now working from home, are crying to get back to social life with their fellow employees."

A fan opined, "Calling essential workers like doctors & grocery store workers ‘heroes’ while refusing to do the right thing to stop the spread is lip service at its very worst. If you actually respect their sacrifices then wear a mask, social distance & stay home as often as possible. #blackish." Another wrote, "#blackish is definitely representing this pandemic in such a powerful way. I love that they can have very serious moments & still keep the comedy. @TraceeEllisRoss’ scene with Junior was so on point!" A viewer tweeted, "#blackish be talking about some real-ish it's hard to explain to family members and people in general look give me 6 feet please and no kissing and hugging respect my personal space #COVID19 #f**kyourfeeling."

'Black-ish' airs on ABC on Wednesday nights at 9.30 pm EST.