'Bob Hearts Abishola' Season 2 Premiere: There's a proposal on the cards, but will Abishola say yes?
Spoilers for 'Bob Hearts Abishola' Season 2 Episode 1
It may have been delayed, but the second season of 'Bob Hearts Abishola' is finally here. The CBS sitcom from Chuck Lorre begins with a sweet recap of how Bob Wheeler's (Billy Gardell) and Abishola Adebambo's (Folake Olowofoyeku) relationship has progressed. What comes next is something sweeter -- Uncle Tunde (Barry Shabaka Henley) is helping Bob pick out an engagement ring for Abishola. While Bob told an elaborate lie to Abishola to hide what's really going on, Tunde simply told Aunt Olu (Shola Adewusi) nothing and snuck out of the bathroom window.
Uncle Tunde's "help" is, of course, driving a hard bargain for the ring that Bob intends to buy and it turns out, he knows what he is doing. The salesman eventually brings down the cost and we have a proposal on the way! Bob's mother, Dorothy "Dottie" Wheeler (Christine Ebersole) is happy as well and when she remarks that everyone including Abishola's extended family, will stay with them, Bob might have gotten a little nervous. Meanwhile, Olu gets the news from Tunde and relays it to Abishola.
Abishola happily reveals the news to her friends and colleagues, Kemi (Gina Yashere) and Gloria (Vernee Watson), who then discusses the rituals Bob has to follow to marry Abishola. She also mentions that she still has to divorce her ex. Abishola then goes on to talk to Bob about how strenuous marrying a Nigerian man will be. She also tells him that she does not want to marry him, but wants to spend the rest of her life with him.
However, while Bob seemingly agrees with Abishola, his conversation with Tunde, later on, shows that he is disappointed with her response even before he could ask her. Even his sister, Christina's (Maribeth Monroe) attempts to make him feel better do not work, notwithstanding the fact that her advice ends up becoming a tearful monologue as she talks about herself.
At the hospital, when Abishola and Kemi attend to an old couple who are bickering, the former realizes that perhaps she was too hasty in rejecting Bob's proposal. She tells Kemi that the scene looks beautiful and that she hopes to be with Bob even when they are old. She then asks Bob to marry him later.
'Bob Hearts Abishola' is the rare example of a television program that does not reflect either the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic or the Black Lives Matters protests in the episode -- 'The Neighborhood' which premiered its second season just before 'Bob Hearts Abishola' aired, instead dove right into issues of racism in America.
Considering that half the characters are immigrant Black people, it seems an odd choice to carry on as if the real world protests do not affect the characters. To tell the stories of people of color, creators cannot just focus on the kind of stories that are easy to tell and the Season 2 premiere makes it clear that while Chuck Lorre may have good intentions, he is not necessarily doing it because he is making a conscious effort for representation. Of course, there is more to reinforce this -- the premiere is filled with racist jokes that make fun of Nigerian customs, often in a belittling manner. Not to mention the fact that it is also quite sexist.
'Bob Hearts Abishola' airs on CBS on Monday nights at 8.30 pm EST.
