← Back to portfolio

"Every Little Step I Take": A Story of Resilience and Redemption

Published on

The EPIC finale of The Bobby Brown Story aired last night on BET and I hope everyone who watched is feeling as great about it as I am! Not only did the actors do a TERRIFIC job in bringing Bobby's story to a close, but viewers got to see a side of Bobby that most probably have never seen, but should. Most stories like Bobby's never have a happy ending, but his is one of understanding, sympathy, closure, resilience and redemption, which is beautiful when we think of all the negative Bobby's been through in his life. 

Down the Path of Destruction

Part two of The Bobby Brown Story saw a dramatic start as Bobby and Whitney were seen getting so high on their tour bus one morning, that Bobby started to hallucinate, thinking Whitney was trying to kill him. This took an almost deadly turn (even more than it already was), when Bobby demanded they stop the bus, where he exited and ran onto an open field towards a white house with a US flag out front. To Bobby's surprise, a white man exited the house with a shotgun ready to let out a few rounds if the singer and his bus mates got any closer. Among those who rushed to Bobby's rescue, was former New Edition band mate Ricky Bell, played by Elijah Kelley. However, it wasn't until Whitney stumbled towards all the commotion, prompting the home owner to ask, "Is that Whitney Houston?", that viewers got a glimpse into just how destructive Bobby and Whitney were together and individually. However, the scene after this one, is what really let the world know that Whitney and Bobby were not good together at all. 

Bobby Has A Stroke

After Bobby and his crew escaped the fate of a shotgun, viewers see Bobby cooking drugs in the house he shared with Whitney. As if Bobby's drug use wasn't already bad enough, it seemed to me like he was on a death mission. Of course, it's not clear to say whether Bobby was intentionally trying to kill himself (although it sure looked like he was trying to escape from life), but he drugged himself into an oblivion, which knocked him unconscious on the kitchen floor with music playing in the background. We see Whitney acting erratically, calling Bobby's name. With Bobby in clear view lying unconscious on the floor, Whitney seems not to notice that Bobby's out. All she does is ask him for the "stuff". When Whitney finally realizes that she's not gotten a response from Bobby, she looks down; but, without skipping a beat, she instantly thinks Bobby's playing around. She slaps his arm a bit, even nudges him with her foot, still asking him erratically for her stuff. Bobby's lack of response seemed to anger/annoy Whitney more than it triggered concern. She placed her fingers under Bobby's nostrils, yelling, "You still breathing boy, stop playing!", and leaves him on the floor to continue her search for more drugs. Later we discover that Bobby had a stroke, which has left his mouth permanently twisted. 

Bobby Goes To Prison

As we saw in Part One, Bobby had no issues getting arrested and taken to jail, especially after a lewd performance. But, upon his return home to Georgia after vacationing in The Bahamas (s/o to my hometown) with the fam, he, Whitney and Bobbi Kristina hadn't even gotten out of the airport hangar good enough yet, when Bobby was getting hauled off to prison on a parole violation from years ago. Viewers watched Bobby handle excruciating withdrawals in his prison cell for weeks; whimpering, crying and throwing up, craving more drugs. However, there was a silver lining to this experience: Bobby made the decision to leave drugs alone!

"Crack is Whack"

After being released from prison, Bobby fully understood that that would be the last time he ever got near drugs; thank God! Unfortunately, his life partner was not on the same path that he was. Whitney, who was there to welcome Bobby back into the real world upon his release, was excited to have Bobby back again so that they can continue doing drugs together. Bobby had to remind Whitney that he was completely done with that, which really didn't matter to her. 

As Whitney was prepping for her infamous interview with Diane Sawyer where she coined the phrase "Crack is Whack", view here, we see Bobby arriving at the house to meet a camera crew and Whitney's publicist running out to meet him in the driveway. Confused, he asks the publicist why all these people are at the house, and instantly knows the interview is a terrible idea. Bobby tries to convince Whitney not to go through with the interview, but she reminds him that it's her money (not his), her fame and her life, so she can do whatever she wants. 

This was totally proven in a scene where Bobby's brother Tommy came to pick Bobby up to take him to the airport, but after getting into the car, Bobby realizes he forgot something inside the house. When Bobby walked back into the house, he sees a man and goes ballistic! He confronted the man and Whitney, asking if she's having an affair with the guy. But Bobby comments, "Nah... you not her type. You not slinging no d*ck", which instantly made Bobby realize that the guy must have been Whitney's drug dealer, despite Bobby having given up drugs. We see Bobby and the guy get into an altercation with Whitney in the background screaming for Bobby to stop, which causes Bobby to turn around swiftly, accidentally hitting Whitney. Shocked, Whitney tells Bobby to get out and Bobby runs back into his brother's car on the verge of tears. 

Being Bobby Brown

At this point, Bobby's been thrown in prison once again for the incident involving Whitney and her drug dealer. Bobby's brother Tommy visits him and proposes what he thinks would be a great idea to get Bobby's reputation back on track for his fans, THE LAW, and the general public; a reality show! Although Bobby wasn't feeling the idea initially because he thought it was corny, Tommy convinced him that at this point, he had no other way to clean up his image; then Being Bobby Brown was born. There may not have been another way, in Tommy's eyes, but the reality show probably made things worse for both Bobby's and Whitney's (and even baby Bobbi Kristina's) images and careers. The sheer humiliation and degradation from the show led to what Part Two showed us to be Whitney and Bobby's worst argument ever!

Whitney and Bobby Have An Epiphany

During the most explosive scene of the night, Whitney and Bobby get into what appears to have been their worst argument ever! Whitney got a hold of a newspaper that had some not-so-nice things to say about her performance in their reality show. Out of all of the things that Whitney had already endured in her life, from gossip and rumours about drug use, it seems as if one bad review in a newspaper is what finally got her to open her eyes. Nevertheless, this one bad review seemed to spark unresolved issues from her marriage to Bobby. 

Whitney blamed Bobby for the show having ruined her reputation, basically saying that if Bobby had never agreed to even do the show in the first place, America wouldn't be seeing Whitney in that light. Bobby responded letting Whitney know that he didn't force her to be a part of the show, she joined on her own will. Essentially, Whitney had to remind Bobby that the show really wouldn't be anything without her, because she was a bigger name than he was. One thing led to the other and Bobby knew right away that he didn't want to put up with this from Whitney anymore, so he called the marriage quits!

Perspective

Personally, what I got from this scene is that in 14 whole years, this was the first time Bobby or Whitney really opened their eyes to exactly what kind of state they were living in and what type of life and marriage they created. It seemed to me that they could only get along and be together when they were both high. As soon as Bobby left the drugs alone, we could see the psychological and physical disconnect between the two; Bobby on the path to getting clean for both his health and his name, and Whitney not giving two hoots and still actively using drugs. Really, it's sad. To watch a marriage that's actually kinda long in celebrity years crumble because one partner no longer wants to partake in drugs, is sad.


A Step in the Right Direction

After ending things with Whitney, Bobby needed a fresh start and went back to his one true love; performing. After one of his shows, he runs into Alicia Etheredge, Teddy Riley's girlfriend. They talk. Bobby asks about Teddy. Alicia mentions that she hadn't seen Teddy since they were first together. Alicia asks about Whitney... which led to Bobby mentioning that he had relocated. Alicia mentions how she lives in the same area. Bobby asks what she's doing now and she now manages artists. They exchange numbers and meet up soon after in a hotel room that Alicia paid for to discuss having Alicia take over Tommy's position of managing Bobby Brown. One thing leads to another and Bobby tries to work his charm on Alicia, but she perseveres and ends the night without anything happening. The next day Bobby's served with divorce papers from Whitney and uses that opportunity to spiral right back down the path of destruction, getting drunk while driving Alicia's vehicle. Bobby pulls into Alicia's yard not long after, blasting music, drunk as a skunk! He stumbles out of Alicia's car, embarrassing and angering her. She leaves him outside the whole night and meets him still lying on the lawn the next morning. He tries to explain that he ended up getting drunk because of the divorce papers, but Alicia's not hearing it. Alicia's presence, in general, made fans go "hmm..." and give her the side eye because as far as they can see, she's been lurking throughout Bobby's and Whitney's entire marriage. 

Understanding

Despite the divorce, Bobby still very much wanted to be a great dad to Bobbi Kristina, so he set up a dinner date with Kristina, at which Whitney accompanied her. This scene was heartbreaking because viewers could see how serious, determined and changed Bobby was in complete opposite to Whitney who was still very much on drugs. We even see Bobbi Kristina take out a cigarette to smoke, which Whitney allowed her to do, but to which Bobbi was strongly against. In this scene, we get an understanding of what Bobbi Kristina thought of Bobby as a dad and see where their relationship started to go downhill.

Bobby's Mom Passes

During one of Bobby's performances at a 90's RnB concert, he brought his then-girlfriend, Alicia Etheredge, out on stage to propose to her. Of course she said yes and the rest is history! 

Not long after, Bobby got a call from his brother Tommy advising that he come to the hospital NOW! Thinking it may have been his dad, MUCH to Bobby's surprise, he was told that his mom had passed away. Viewers see Bobby drop to his knees in pain and sorrow in the waiting room of the hospital. 

Fast forward to the funeral, we see the family, with Alicia seated next to Bobby. However, a few moments into the ceremony, in walks Whitney and Bobbi Kristina, who squeeze into the front row next to Bobby's father. Whitney is called up to the altar to sing and puts on quite a show, letting the congregation (specifically Alicia and Bobby) know that Bobby's mom will always be her mother-in-law. 

What pissed me off the most with this scene is that Whitney waltzed her way into the front row of the church and got to put on a whole performance, while Bobby and his children were asked to move to the back of Whitney's funeral, which they eventually left. But, we'll get into that in a few.

Whitney Houston's Funeral

After another concert, Bobby was feeling ecstatic. The death of his mom was still heavy in his heart, but viewers were shown how everyone around Bobby in the parking lot had all checked a notification on their phone. We see Johnny Gill, played by Luke James, approach Bobby with a troubled look on his face. Not knowing what's happening, Bobby asks Johnny what's going on. After a long pause, Johnny tells Bobby that Whitney has died. Yet again, Bobby broke down in the parking lot in Johnny's arms. At this point, it seemed like death was following Bobby every step he took. 

At Whitney's funeral, as I alluded to earlier, we see Bobby and his kids walk into the funeral and take a seat in about the third or fourth row from the front. A few moments later, we see an usher ask Bobby's kids to move to the back. Not having it, Bobby asked why. After a back-and-forth, Bobby declared that his kids were with him and he was with them so if they had to move he would move with them. Rather than sitting at the back, the family simply left. Outside on the steps, Bobbi Kristina and Whitney's immediate family, are seen walking into the church. Bobby and Bobby's other daughter, LaPrincia, tried to get Bobbi Kristina's attention, not to their avail. 

Redemption

A few years after Whitney's death, Bobby and Bobbi Kristina finally met up to get their relationship back on track. They had a lunch date and their bond was stronger than ever! At this point, viewers knew that the biopic was coming to an end, and were not ready in the least for the Bobbi Kristina death scene. 

Closure

In a scene where Bobby is "chefing it up" with his new brand of sauces while a very pregnant Alicia is sitting at the table, Bobby receives a phone call of yet another set of devastating news: Bobbi Kristina had been found unconscious in her bathtub. As is well-known, this was eerily similar to the way her mom, Whitney, had passed just 3 years prior. Now at his wit's end, Bobby rallied up all his children and rushed to be by Bobbi Kristina's side, day in and day out, immediately becoming her emergency point-of-contact. 

It was great to see all of Bobby's kids -- Bobbi Kristina's siblings -- in the room with her, singing their favorite songs and wanting her to wake up. 

Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worst and Bobby had to make the toughest decision of his life: to move Bobbi Kristina to a hospice so that she could be as comfortable as possible when she passed. 

BET did a great job with this death scene. It wasn't too overwhelming. Viewers felt it more than they saw it. It was tastefully done.

Resilience

After literally a lifetime of heartache, death, triumph, more heartache, devastation and what seemed like rock bottom, Bobby finally seemed to have landed on his feet with Alicia, his older kids and his younger kids! Although the biopic seemed to have portrayed Alicia as a lurking gazelle ready to pounce on Bobby at the right moment, she has been a positive constant in Bobby's life, making him whole and hopeful again after his downfall with Whitney, her death and the loss of Bobbi Kristina. 

The biopic couldn't have ended on a happier note! Bobby and Alicia were all smiles as they hosted a barbecue with all of their children and close family and friends. We see Bobby at the grill and Bobby's real-life son, Cassius, dancing on a table to Bobby's song, "Prerogative", pelvic thrusting just like his dad! 

Bobby's story truly is one for the books. When you think about it, no one else could have endured what Bobby did and come out on the other side as strong or even stronger than he is today!

Long live the King of RnB!

Subscribe to get sent a digest of new articles by From My Heart to Yours

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.