The Carmichael Show Episode 1.05 Prayer

Jerrod and Maxine stop by the Carmichael house and see the fancy table is out... Wait, are Cynthia and Joe having a dinner party and didn't invite them?! That's exactly what happened, and it's because the reverend is coming to dinner, and Jerrod has a habit of challenging him and his beliefs whenever possible. If Jerrod and Maxine stay for dinner, everyone has to keep their sins to themselves. Jerrod can't say anything about living in sin with Maxine, Maxine has to keep quiet about being pro-choice, Bobby can't admit he lives with his ex-wife and her new boyfriend, and Joe can't keep lying to people that he's an airline pilot instead of a truck driver.

Of course, none of the Carmichaels can keep a secret, and the dinner goes horribly wrong. Jerrod immediately blabs that he and Maxine are living together, and when the reverend says grace over the food, Maxine shocks everyone by not saying "amen." She explains she thought it would be disrespectful considering she's not Christian, which nearly knocks Cynthia off her chair. Maxine is half-Jewish, but if she has to label herself, she's agnostic. She's also not a fan of organized religion.

The next morning, Cynthia and Joe march over to Jerrod and Maxine's apartment to drag Jerrod to church. They want him to get back on "the righteous path," but he just wants to watch Netflix all day. Maxine tries to clarify that she's spiritual, but Joe and Cynthia just can't understand. To be fair, Maxine isn't the best at articulating her belief, but that's because usually she just says she's spiritual and people stop asking questions. Jerrod admits he prays every day, which is a shock to Maxine. Why didn't he tell her how religious he is? Cynthia and Joe immediately jump on this - why didn't they have these important conversations before moving in together? And how long of a lease did they sign up for?

After Joe and Cynthia leave to pray for their son, Maxine asks Jerrod why he didn't include her on the lease. And why haven't they talked about their beliefs? What about if they have kids? Suddenly the pair falls into a black hole of life decisions, none of which they can agree on.

So Jerrod decides to go to the reverend for advice. He says all couples have problems, but it's possible to work them out - look at Joe and Cynthia! They had a rocky start but turned out to be a great couple. Jerrod can't believe what he's hearing - when did his parents have marital issues? Apparently way back when, Joe wasn't religious at all, which was a big problem for Cynthia - they almost didn't get married! With this new ammo, Jerrod returns home to blast his parents for being hypocrites, only to find Joe had no idea Cynthia was ever having doubts about him. Cynthia admits her parents put so much pressure on her that she began to question her relationship with Joe - how could Jerrod ever understand what that's like? Jerrod points out that she's doing the exact same thing to him, but she doesn't want to see it like that.