Yara Shahidi had been implying for a while that an upcoming episode of "Grown-ish" involving safe spaces was one she really enjoyed filming. According to The Good Men Project, that episode has finally come today (March 14). Let's get started.
Aaron inadvertently inspires Ana during his protest
Zoey starts off with a narration about what various generations are known for. Her generation?
Safe spaces. Defined as a place where like-minded individuals can gather and speak without being judged and triggered. Zoey reveals that at a party at Hawkins Hall (the black dorm), people dressed as Black Panthers in a costume and talked about taking down the "blue-eyed devils." The white kids there were offended, and that's when things go left. One threat led to another (along with some threatened lawsuits), and now Hawkins Hall is risking being closed. Zoey, Aaron, and the crew are helping to protest closing the building. Aaron sees Zoey all dressed up, complimenting her and thanking her for her support (followed by asking her for some one on one time after its all said and done).
Ana tells Aaron that she wishes she had a safe space like this, and Aaron encourages her to start one despite her worried that it's too much work. He tells her with the right slogan and support, it's possible. The wheels begin to turn in her head and it looks like Ana just might have been inspired. Aaron says that people of color should stick together, and Ana mentions she's not talking about a safe space for Latinx people, but a safe space for Conservative women. Liberal Aaron, of course, is not here for this revelation and tells Ana that he takes back everything he told her to do. Ana doesn't look too happy about this, and thus the conflict of the episode has been created. It also explains the scene earlier in the episode where Dean Parker was trying to calm down to opposing groups led by Aaron and Ana.
Aaron vs Ana
Aaron (and everyone else) tell Ana that she doesn't need a safe space, as her safe space is Congress (and Cracker Barrel according to Nomi--which isn't really a farfetched statement to make). Ana says that anytime she mentions that she's a conservative, people get hostile toward them. Aaron says that she has stupid beliefs (as the argument gets heated over gun control), but she believes that they're the most oppressed group of people on campus. Aaron (the black guy), Jaz and Sky (our black women), and Nomi (our bisexual girl) disagree. After Aaron says she doesn't deserve a safe space, Ana decides to stop helping Aaron and barges out. The next day, Zoey and Luca talk about safe spaces, and Luca tells her that he doesn't believe in them.
People need to learn to get comfortable being uncomfortable. Luca's words get Zoey thinking: Could he be right?
It's later on the day where she walks into the middle of a protest from two groups. "Black Dorms Matter" from Aaron and "Safe Spaces for All" from Ana. The two exchange jabs while Zoey tries to mitigate the situation. After Aaron calls Ana stupid, we come full circle to our earlier scene as Ana tries to attack Aaron, and Dean Parker steps in the middle to stop them. Things continue to get increasingly rowdy from both sides, and Zoey concludes that this turned into a disaster.
Zoey tries to understand and coexist
In the Dean's office, he expresses his disappointment to Aaron and Ana as he states that there was damage done to the campus (a fire started and tons of litter).
Ana and Aaron devolve back into arguing when he asks them what they have to say for themselves. This is when Dean Parker takes away Hawkins Hall...and the LGBTQ building...and just about every other safe space for the school. They all have to be neutral. Zoey gets mad at Ana telling her that she incited a riot for speaking her mind, and she tells her a story about her uncle who was jailed in Cuba just for saying one thing that the government didn't like, so she believes very strongly in free speech. Moved, Zoey is willing to talk to her about politics and finally begins to understand her point of view. Despite their differences, they do have a lot in common and she's not going to write her off anymore.
Zoey tries to tell Aaron the same thing, but he tells her he can't forgive Ana for what she does. Besides, no one knows Ana's politic standing till she states it, but Aaron's black from the minute he walks into a room. He says Zoey's too shallow and selfish to understand where he's coming from before he storms off.
Later at their hangout spot, Zoey brings Aaron and Ana together so she can state her own opinion. She calls out Aaron for not letting Ana have her own opinion while calling Ana out for getting Hawkins closed. She tells them that if all of them don't have a voice, none of them do. Aaron's not moved, so Zoey says the same speech to Dean Parker...but he's not budging either. He says that the safe spaces seem to be making people more uncomfortable than safe.
That's when Zoey hits him with Luca's line: people have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Dean says that unless the groups can coexist, it's not happening. Zoey tells Dean Parker to look outside, and we see representatives from all the safe spaces standing together arm in arm. Dean Parker's impressed. Is Zoey's mission accomplished?
In the end
It seems like Zoey's mission was indeed successful. While hanging out alone together, Aaron thanks Zoey for her help, revealing that Hawkins Hall is merely on probation now instead of being closed. He also takes back calling her shallow. It's a cute moment for the Aaron and Zoey fans as he tells her that he'll get a personal invite to one of their legendary parties, and she feigns being flattered but tells him no costumes.
"Grown-ish" tackling safe spaces, and talking about certain groups that are more controversial than others, was well done. It gave everyone a chance to speak without deciding that one person was right over the other, and it is a strong example of what shows should do when handling hot topics such as this one.
In the meantime, our very own Chloe and Halle (who play Jaz and Sky in the show and had their own focus episode last week) talk about their own album release and the importance of showing coming of age stories revolving around black girls on HuffPost. Their album "The Kids Are Alright" will be released on March 23. You can also catch another new episode of "Grown-ish" next Wednesday at 8 PM on Freeform.