Nomi’s bisexuality is on full blast this week on Grownish
I gotta say, I am really digging this season of Grownish so far. This episode focused on Nomi and her many lovers, all women, and all straight but willing to turn for one night with Nomi. All of this sounds Ahh-mazing to Nomi, except her roomies are tired of hearing her exploits all night long and also the constant coming and going of girls. “She’s like a dude,” Ana says.
This one time, I actually agree with Ana, but I also see the deeper issues Nomi is confronting. Nomi defines herself as bisexual, and she is from an elite East Coast, Jewish family, show she has not came out to yet. As far as her family is concerned, they are still working on setting her up with a nice male, Jewish, doctor.
Nomi’s friends are supportive of her sexuality but are finding it hard to cut her any slack when it comes to what is feeding her insatiable sexual appetite. It’s all fun and good when you live with your best friends, until you start noticing each other’s flaws and calling them out on their shit.
Take Zoey, she is a shower shedder! Curly hair don’t care! Haha! Same girl! Same! Ana is a Venmo BITCH, who charges her friends .045 cents a cracker for eating her snacks. Nomi is the roommate who eats all of her snacks and is a labeled a slut by Ana. Nomi actually accepts this label and owns it, although I’m not sure she understands the impact. Ana and Zoey decide to have an intervention of sorts with Nomi about her “slut lifestyle” but it does not go well, Nomi commenting that if she was a guy they would not be having this conversation, because it would be normal. Girl has a point. Nomi 1, Ana 0.
So apparently the writers are trying to throw Ana and Aaron together this season, and I don’t know how I feel about it? They obviously don’t feel weird about it at all and kiss. It was kinda sweet but I don’t see their chemistry. This storyline is gonna take some time to grow on me.
Aaron, Ana, Jazz, Chole and Vevek all go out for drinks and pizza, minus Zoey and Nomi. They decide that there are a lot of things they haven’t done yet as grown people and after it is revealed that Ana and Nomi kissed last season, “Katy Perry” style, they all decide to do something they have never done.
Some of it is lame, but some of it is actually funny.
Chloe had never kissed a white boy before, can’t say that how she kissed him qualifies as an actual kiss but whatev’s. Aaron had never taken a beer to the head before, LAME. Ana had never eaten pineapple on pizza, also LAME. Vivek had never done karaoke before, and he should never, ever do it again. Chloe and Jazz had never sang in public before and let’s be honest, we all know they sing in real life! Hell, they wrote the theme song for Grownish and they are signed to Beyonce’s label.
It was a good night for everyone except Nomi and Zoey.
Side note: How is it that Zoey and her crew take a lot of classes together? I mean, I like it, but it’s not realistic. I had very few classes with my friends? None of us had the same major, however these kids live, sleep, eat and go to classes together. Whatever, lemme stop dissecting and just go with it. Somehow, they all end up in a Gender Studies class with a young, hip, lesbian professor who wants them to start looking at gender roles and society. This lesson brings up a broader discussion on Nomi’s sex life and Ana finds ways to call her out saying that she is a “predator” to these girls because she is specifically targeting freshman and then ghosting them after they have sex. Nomi doesn’t see it as an issue because she is not forcing the girls to have sex with her, they come willingly, no pun intended, but ha! Oh Nomi! Can we be friends?
Zoey decides to tag along with Nomi to a bar, and witness, firsthand, how she gets these girls in bed with her. What she witnesses is psychology 101. Nomi understands these girls because she is one, and she is also bisexual, so she can talk to them about dating both men and women. Nomi understands their fears and insecurities on a deeper level and talks to them like they are long lost friends. Zoey is all like, damn B, I would sleep with you too! This poses a problem for Zoey because she knows exactly why Nomi is in the wrong, however, she is not sure how to hold the mirror up to Nomi either.
Nomi takes home another freshman willing to go all the way with her but starts to feel some kind of way. Once she gets her back to her bedroom; she remarks “you don’t have to sleep with me if you don’t want to, I know you’re straight and just broke up with your boyfriend.” The girl says, “Please I want to sleep with you. It’s not like I’ll ever talk to you again or take you home to meet my parents.” DAMN Nomi! Score one for the freshman. Nomi is shook by these words, her very own words thrown back in her face. She still sleeps with home girl, but doesn’t like how she feels afterwards.
The next day she goes to talk to her gender studies professor and has a heart to heart about why she really has been acting the way she has, and why she has not taken charge of her own sexuality. The professor hits the hammer on the nail when she asks if Nomi has come out to her family, and Nomi says no, not yet. The professor tells her that maybe if she starts being real with herself, then perhaps her family can better accept who she is. Nomi acknowledges that she has not been honest with herself and you wonder if her behavior will change as a result of this realization. My guess is, probably in the interim, however, I feel like Grownish is setting us up for a major story arc here.
In the end, Zoey, Ana and Nomi make amends and are grateful to be each other’s mirrors and advocates. They are supportive of each other and have each other’s backs, even if the other person doesn’t always want to hear the truth, it’s there and without judgement. Ana apologizes for her Venmo antics, and nickeling and diming everyone. Nomi promises to be a better roommate in regard to her sleeping habits, and Zoey, well Zoey can’t help her hair texture….. BUT she can definitely use a hair drain when she is washing her hair in the shower and clean up after herself! They do not have a maid!
College is hard, finding your way in this world is hard, and cultivating solid friendships is HARD. Growth takes time. Everyone seems to be doing a bit of growing this year, which is what the show is supposed to be about. I’m here for it and I love this new look on them.
Tell me what you thought of the episode down below, or hit me up on twitter @missmiwakoray
You can catch Grownish on Freeform Wednesdays at 7c/8EST