Bel-Air: Season 3 Episode 1 – Review/ Recap (Written)

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Storyline Recap

Something Bigger Than Basketball – Lou, Will, Quentin, Phil

With Will finding out Lou is still around, this messes with his head and his game. It causes him to miss shots, and eventually, he finds himself confronting Lou once again and with learning how similar he is to his dad, including regarding basketball, he feels a certain type of way.

Thankfully, through a man named Quentin, who goes to the local country club, Will has options and doesn’t need to become a superstar athlete to maintain or surpass the lifestyle Phil and his family provide. This was a sticking point in Will and Lou’s back and forth, how Will is being given everything vs. Lou who has to work for it. But, in Lou’s defense, Phil reminds Will that while Lou may have found anything beyond focusing on basketball a waste, it is because, for their generation, you had to be all in to be the best and get out of the hood. There weren’t many other options.

Life After Rehab – Carlton, Ashley, Viv, Amira

Rehab wasn’t the worst for Carlton. Yes, his rock bottom included saying things to Ashley he will regret and apologize for until the day he dies. However, he did meet Amira there. She has been in rehab more than once but is a means of support for Carlton, someone who gets it, and a potential girlfriend.

That is, until Carlton invites Amira to the Banks’ family Juneteenth celebration, and Aunt Viv pushes the idea that a relationship would be bad and could affect Carlton and Amira’s sobriety.

Celebrating A Track Star – Jazz, LaMarcus, Hillary

A European vacation has made LaMarcus and Hillary closer than ever, but a part of her may long for Jazz. But, when the two come face to face, alongside him having a new girl, he calls Hillary a coward who has run from anything difficult in her life, and he predicts she’ll run from LaMarcus, too.

What he doesn’t know is that LaMarcus proposed, and Hillary said yes.

The Switch Up – Will, Geoffrey, Quentin, Carlton, Frederick

As Geoffrey welcomes Frederick back to Bel-Air, while dealing with someone who leads to upping the mansion’s security, Carlton does Will a solid. Will blew his chance to be part of Quentin’s Young, Gifted, and Black program due to being late, but Quentin shows up to the Banks’ Juneteenth party and Carlton goes to bat for him. In doing so, Quentin is impressed with the young men enough to offer them the final spot in the program if they operate as partners. Which, with Will dropping the basketball team and Carlton needing to rebuild his reputation if he ever wants to get to Princeton, all parties agree to.

All Isn’t As It Appears – Ashley, Viv, Phil, Olivia

While Aunt Viv and Uncle Phil do photoshoots, their marriage still has issues. Aunt Viv working more means less intimacy, and Ashley is the only one who seemingly has no desire to fake the funk. Her friend Olivia knows this, but the more Ashley sees people lying or sticking to the superficial, the more upset she gets, and it seems she’ll be ready to start calling people out right to left anytime now.

Collected Quote(s)

• You can’t heal what you don’t reveal. – Carlton

New Character Descriptions

Alycia Pascual-Pena As Amira

Amira is a friend Carlton made in rehab who has her own struggles with substance abuse, and she notes to Aunt Viv she may have relapsed more than once and had multiple stints in rehab.

Vic Mensa As Quentin

Quentin is a member of Uncle Phil’s country club who runs the highly coveted Young, Gifted, and Black program.

• The actor is also known for their role in “The Chi: Season 6.”

Review

Highlights

Will and Carlton’s Direction

Will, but especially Carlton, have long been the driving force behind this reimagining of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and it seems they will continue to run with the torch. From Will seeking to be more than a basketball player to Carlton living his truth, free from the shackles of expectations and reinventing himself, the two young men have a lot ahead of them.

Add in Lou and Will still having a contentious relationship, but the possibility of a reconciliation down the line, Carlton potentially having a girlfriend, and further having the opportunity to be amongst those who are culturally Black? This could lead to one of the first seasons where he wasn’t in a downward spiral.

On The Fence

Viv and Phil’s Marriage

Increasingly, it seems the marriage of Viv and Phil is an obligation the show keeps up more than anything. From the temptations to cheat, sometimes just in introducing exes or people who had the opportunity, to pushing the idea that neither is happy, just settled and perhaps waiting for an undeniable means to justify a divorce. When it comes to these two, like Ashley said, it is all about appearances.

What certainly doesn’t help is that, as individuals, they don’t have much going on either. But it is just the first episode of the new season, and with how busy Aunt Viv says she is, maybe she may get the spotlight she hasn’t really gotten in her marriage.

Ashley

I can appreciate Ashley wanting the truth from all parties. The problem is, her being that sulking teenager isn’t pushing her value. Yes, her making comments like telling Jazz she was rooting for him, or having a moment with Carlton after he apologized were cute, but one can only hope between her friendship with Olivia to her journey to figure out who she is, beyond her family’s name and wealth, is explored.

Hillary

I’m beginning to think relationships aren’t a strong suit for “Bel-Air.” Whether you are a man or woman, while your relationship may fill up screen time, it isn’t going to push your storyline forward or be much of an asset. Hillary building her brand and working with Ivy brought intrigue as they pushed her to, like many of the characters, be more than a copy-paste of the original version of the character.

But it seems that while Will and Carlton have evolved beyond comparisons, everyone else, including Hillary, is still trying to find their path to fully breakaway from comparisons and get the ability to say they truly own this character. Have there been moments for Hillary? Yes. Could there be in future episodes? Also, yes. However, her trajectory right now has nothing much to offer beyond hope and potential as she seems distant from something that can be realized and consistent.

Geoffrey

Initially, the dark retelling of “Bel-Air” was a bit worrisome, maybe even called for a side-eye, but you could easily grow to like things being a bit more dramatic. However, when it comes to Geoffrey, while it is easy to appreciate his relationship with Will, Phil, and the Banks family, adding in his son, drama in England, and more, I’d submit that it hasn’t paid off yet. It’s a slow burn of a story, which there is nothing wrong with, but in pursuit of being an ensemble show, with every character having something going on, you can see a push to make sure everyone has a notable hook.

This is something I’m sure everyone can appreciate, but the struggle for me is Geoffrey’s storyline feels a bit bigger than the world of Will, who is the star, since Geoffrey’s story is not only international but has little to no connection to the Banks, beyond trouble he can bring to their home. So, while I love how they expanded Geoffrey, I’d be lying if I didn’t say the character may reach a point where his storyline may stick out a bit too much for the show.

General Information

Additional Information

1. Previous Episode: Season 2/ Episode 10
2. Series Page: Bel Air

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Where To Buy, Rent or Subscribe To Watch This:

Episode Title

Baby, I’m Back

Release Date

August 15, 2024

Network

Peacock

Director(s)

Keesha Sharp

Writer(s)

Janeika James, JaSheika Ashel James

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