'Mixed-ish' Season 1 Episode 5: Santamonica and Grandpa Harrison's evolving relationship proves to be a hit with fans
'Mixed-ish' is proving to be a growing hit with each episode it airs and the fifth episode was no exception. In this week's episode, Rainbow "Bow" Johnson and her brother Johan are getting ready for the first school dance in their lives after leaving the commune they grew up in. But here again, Bow's biracial identity comes into play as she has to deal with the social impact of her date choice. While we know she ends up with Dre in her future, Bow's dance for the date is Bryce and she ends up having a good time.
Of course, with Johan and Bow busy with the dance, Santamonica is annoyed that kindergarteners are not allowed to go for the dance either. And so, Grandpa Harrison steps in and promises to take her on a fancy date on the same night as the dance.
Gary Cole is a veteran of television and 'Mixed-ish' is shaping up to be the perfect replacement for the actor after the end of 'Veep'. His take on the Johnson siblings' grandfather with questionable views makes the patriarch endearing, even when you don't expect it and viewers feel the same way. One viewer tweeted, "I love Gary Cole on #mixedish as white privilege rich grandpa who says inappropriate things but loves his grandkids and is TRYING despite being awful almost all of the time [sic]." Another viewer agrees that Gary Cole as Grandpa Harrison and Christina Anthony as Aunt Denise are the best parts of the show, but adds that "when they're around it's like an SNL skit where they say funny outlandish stuff and everyone just kind of reacts to it."
Of course, what propels Cole's performance as the sort-of-racist grandfather to his biracial grandchildren, is his scenes with Mykal-Michelle Harris as the youngest Johnson sibling, Santamonica. We got glimpses of their interactions in the earlier episodes, especially when most of the family are seen watching hockey matches.
Santamonica is individually a hit with viewers, being loved for her sassy lines and her "boujee" attitude. However, with Harrison and Santamonica on screen together, the spinoff sitcom reaches another level and fans agree that theirs is the best relationship on the show, with one viewer saying, "Santamonica grew up to like rich older men because of her grandpa spoiled her with lots of love and money," based on the older version of the character played by Rashida Jones on 'Black-ish'.
'Mixed-ish' airs on ABC on Tuesday nights.
