Amen

After dropping a few of the characters that did not work in the pilot episode, the show's format is pretty much set by this second episode. Nell Carter is brought on as a special guest star, playing Bess Richards, a woman that Sherman Hemsley's character is trying to get to join the church. Carter has a great musical number in her very first scene; then she gets to play some romantic scenes with Hemsley. When her character learns that she's been tricked by the deacon, there is a moment of great physical comedy between the two, when Bess brawls with the deacon and literally tosses him out of the room. The conflict is neatly resolved when she tearfully apologizes to the deacon, and they make up. Meanwhile, we get to see some early character development with Anna Maria Horsford's role: Thelma is being shown as the girl who is 'always the bridesmaid but never the bride.'