The low point in this episode and really this season is again the Darius character. Rick is not the type of actor you give your Broadway trained lead as her main costar. If she is supposed to carry this show, how about giving her an actor that can be authentic in a scene. This show has written off quite a few popular characters, from Noah to Uncle Mac. But is dead set on keeping some of the most generic uninteresting characters the writers could have ever written and producers are dead set on giving us celebrity TV on a show that was supposed to have heart and have some realism. Darius and Grace's scenes fall flat ALOT, due to this written character and hugely due to Rick's inability to show genuine emotion. He just ain't that type of actor, no matter how many times he smiles. Sadly, his poor acting skills overshadow any good performance Merle brings out. The scene they had on here was not only random in terms of writing, but also quite insincere, lacked depth, and was forced. Grace might as well be a recurring character based on how they are writing for her and casting for her. Kids? For what? Random. Plus Rick looks almost ready to be a grandfather, no really, he is pushing 50. The writers and producers are out of touch and seem confused on who they cast and confused on what to do for their main character. You can tell in this scene more than ever that Rick was a rushed casting that should have never been approved, and that Darius is a character who should have had at most 3 episodes. The scene at Darius' house was choppy in editing, unsure if that was because of perhaps the bad performances the director was getting or what, but as an example, Rick moved position drastically in what was supposed to be a scene that flowed naturally, so you could tell the scene was chopped. And quite frankly, Merle and Rick seem awkward together. It's all just odd. Point blank, Noah should still be in the picture and Grace's main love interest. Producers or writers made an ill informed decision writing him off. How many times do fans have to ask for him before you finally.bring him back, and dead this train wreck of a Darius story. Noah's scenes first season got good reviews, made sense, had heart, and Noah has a much deeper back story with Greenleafs and Grace that is much more intriguing to the viewer, as proven first season by fan comments. And the actor playing Noah had a more profound, believable chemistry with the lead. And the audience again actually talked about his character with Grace. Grace and Darius are not really talked about, except to emphasize how boring and wrong it is. You may get a few who say, oh Grace and Darius look good together, but that's surface, not story and won't keep an audience engaged. The character Darius itself offers nothing but wasted screen time to the viewer. There are more important topics to cover. I could care less if the Greenleafs like him or not, I could care less of Sophia likes him, she's almost going to college. And do we really care about his past? I want to know Grace's past. The viewer does not want to continue to see Grace have random pillow talk with Darius about her family unless he is actually going to do something sinister to her. The writers and producers not having the guts to write off a character and story that obviously doesn't work is beyond puzzling. All they have to do is look at the review score of this episode compared to Episode 8 of Season 1 (where Noah and Grace had their love scene) or just the overall rating of all episodes of Season 2 compared to Season 1; Season 2 is much lower in terms of fan approval and in terms of actual ratings. Season 2 had a 40% drop in ratings from Season 1. Producers...Network...wake up...this new combination of cast and stories DIDN'T WORK! So why is Rick, who people are again not enthused by, back as a regular for a third season to play with your LEAD?!! Do you not want us to watch? I really want to stay with this show, but that is becoming more and more impossible if writers, producers and some of the actors continue to promote and include a character and actor that is ruining the storyline of the main character, the main reason I use to watch. Merle is a good actress, but I would rather see her on a better thought out show and with a better costar, so I can really see her shine. Merle, already a great actress, needs an equally great actor to play off of; it will really make the scenes have feeling, even with the bad writing. I fear Season 3 will be it for Greenleaf unless they have the guts to admit their mistake in casting of Rick, and a few others. They need to save this sinking ship by actually hiring good supporting actors that aren't found on the basketball court, NBA TV, or the discount acting school. And writers need to actually thoroughly follow through and write compelling stories and dont jump around so quickly. And they really need to stop dropping their best stories and characters for weak ones. Personally, I feel Oprah should a new head writer.
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