Grown-ish failed Ryan Destiny
Over the holiday break, I went back and binge-watched one of my favorite shows, Grown-ish. I knew the second half of season four was premiering soon, so I had to go back for a refresher. As I was watching, I remembered this thought I had months ago and I had to write about it. Although it hurts for me to write the words “Grown-ish” and “failed” in the same sentence, it’s true… Grown-ish failed Ryan Destiny.
But how did we get here?
Let’s go back to 2018 when Grown-ish first premiered. Back then, the Twitterverse was excited to see a new, fresh, Gen-Z show about young black students and students of color in college. The comparisons to “A Different World” were obvious, but for me, Grown-ish was different. It was a breath of fresh air.
Although the intentions to create this diverse world were pure, one thing was missing… dark-skinned black women. Fans noticed it, critics noticed it, seemingly everyone but the creator noticed it at the time. One article that perfectly captures this harmful casting is from writer Wanna Thompson in “Grown-ish and the Erasure of Dark-Skinned Women”.
Fast forward to 2019, and it seems as though the crew of the hit TV show was finally listening to the concerns. It was then announced that the talented Ryan Destiny and Raigan Harris would join the show as recurring cast members.
Ryan would play Jillian, future filmmaker, Spelman to Cal-U transfer, and girlfriend of Zoey’s ex, Luca. While Raigan would play Rochelle, Aaron’s hookup-turned-girlfriend and Zoey’s enemy-in-her-head (Note: Raigan also appeared in season 2 as the same character). Both beautiful. Both talented. Both dark-skinned. Both with interesting start-up storylines.
The casting felt intentional. As if the casting team was trying to send a “we’re listening” message to the viewers and critics of Grown-ish. And to be honest, as a fan of the show and a black woman myself, I was more than excited. So to support the new additions to the cast, I tuned in on premiere night.
In season three it was very obvious that the writers were trying to make Jillian seen. At first, we would only see her when she was in scenes with Zoey or Luca. Then, they slowly started to showcase her talent and place her in more scenes with different characters. We also learned more about Jillian’s life. She has a not-so-great history when it comes to her romantic relationships. She’s been engaged before and she doesn’t seem to be as into Luca as he is into her. Nevertheless, they are in love throughout the season. And by the end of it… you guessed it… they break up. Next thing we know, Jillian leaves to go to Tokyo for her documentary. Therefore, leaving no room for her in season 4.
As for the character Rochelle, she was very visible in seasons two, three, and part of season four. We were able to learn how much of a heart she has when it comes to her man (Aaron) and surprisingly her man’s friends (Zoey). Although she may have come off as unlikeable to some at first, she gave nothing but good vibes throughout her time in all seasons she was featured in. Yes, even all the way down to season four when she — rightfully — cussed Zoey out. Her character was featured in a way that didn’t leave you wondering “What happened to Rochelle?” To put it in so many words… Rochelle’s story felt complete.
Comparing both stories I’m… underwhelmed, to say the least. By the end of season three, I was left with a “THAT’S IT?!” feeling. The way Ryan Destiny’s character was handled left me thinking that adding new characters, specifically her character, was more of a loss than a gain.
Jillian had so much more promise other than being boring Luca’s girlfriend or Zoey’s listening ear. Meanwhile, with Rochelle, we had drama and we had heartbreak on her side. Although the protagonist of the show is Zoey, her triflin’ actions made us feel bad for Rochelle. It made us want to root for her. She was the underdog who deserved more. Meanwhile, Jillian was just… there… vibin’ in Luca’s shadow.
Now listen, I understand that both Jillian and Rochelle are just recurring characters. According to TV Tropes, this means “A character that does not appear in every episode but is in enough of them to affect the storyline on a regular basis”. But seeing the growth of Diggy Simmons’ character, Doug, go from a small recurring role to part of the main cast was so seamless, I can only expect the same for both Jillian and Rochelle.
When I rewatched the show, I can only see so many missed opportunities for Jillian’s character. There was so much room for drama, a new love interest, or even a creative struggle in her field. For example, I loved the episode “Alright” (S3, Ep. 11) when Jillian was trying to get twins Skye and Jazz to participate in Aaron’s protest against Cal-U.
The conversation between the twins and Jillian was honest. It brought up the question of “Should college athletes participate in protests against their school?” It made viewers talk about it and pick sides. But more importantly, for character development, it gave us an insight into who Jillian is and what she’s about. To be honest, looking at the comments from that episode, many people did not like Jillian’s stance and she was criticized and disliked, but, at least she was talked about. Nevertheless, throughout the series, many people don’t like Zoey’s actions either and she’s the main character.
So, what can Grown- ish do with a creative character like Jillian? Plain and simple, I need for her to have a real storyline. One that is beyond an extension of Luca and a classmate of Zoey. Every character on this show has a growing, dramatic, stressful, and/or loving narrative that enhances the show. So why can’t Jillian? To add insult to injury, just this past season, they added two new characters with amazing storylines that made me feel all types of emotions when watching. (Enter Kiela played by Daniella Perkins and Des played by Warren Egypt Franklin.) If every other recurring character can make us love, hate or even feel bad for them, then again, I ask, why can’t Jillian?
As the second half of season 4 premieres on January 27th, I hope to have all of these questions answered and I hope for something real for Jillian. Young, dark-skinned, black women deserve representation beyond being the side character, or in Rochelle’s case, the girlfriend that gets cheated on. We deserve the creative storyline, the growing storyline, and yes, also, the loving storyline. We deserve something that showcases the beauty and normalcy of being a DSBW in college and what that can consist of.
Also, um… college is almost over for this cast… so can we speed this along, quickly, please?
If you are a fan of Grown-ish, what do you think of how they have treated Ryan Destiny’s character? Do you see more for this character or do you think she should just remain in the shadows?
Tags: Adrienne Gibbs, ZORA Editors
Originally published at https://sedecramarcedes.com on January 21, 2022.