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The Gist
The TLDR Recap/ Review
- It has been a year since Will came to Bel-Air, and despite any progress it seems he has made with Carlton, anything and everything can trigger his rage – like Amira relapsing.
- Hence, he snitches on Will about the arson at Omar’s construction site, which temporarily puts Will in a world of trouble. Thankfully for him, the family is connected enough to keep anything from happening to him, and it helps get Jazz out of jail.
- But, while Carlton seeks Amira out and Will is trying to navigate, barely avoiding another charge, Geoffrey and his family are trying to keep Frederick safe, which seems impossible with “The Organization” wanting either blood or sweat.
- And as all this happens, Hilary decides to work out whatever she has left in her system for Jazz through talking all night long and getting some form of closure.
- I must admit, this season feels too rushed in every possible way. Something continues to feel off, from releasing multiple episodes a week to the storylines not feeling like they have the depth they should have.
- With the Amira storyline, as much as I want to highlight drug use issues and painkiller addiction, I feel like this could have gone further.
- The same goes for the protest storyline with Jazz, Hilary and Jazz figuring out their stuff before she gets married, and damn near any storyline you can name.
- It feels like Peacock wants to dump this show, but because putting everything out all at once wasn’t allowed in the contract, they spread it as they could over the past month.
Storyline Recap
The Blame Game – Will, Carlton, Lisa
Amira’s overdose creates major problems. For Lisa, she is traumatized to the point of finding it difficult to go into the pool without seeing Amira’s body floating there. As for Carlton? You know how he is. Rather than hold Amira accountable for buying drugs, not seeking help, or anything like that, he places all the blame at Will’s feet and goes so far to snitch on Will to his parents about what happened at Omar’s construction site.
Making Things Right – Will, Fred, Vivian, Phil, Yolanda, Lisa, Jazz
With that revealed, Will finds himself in familiar territory, but, lucky for him, Fred and Phil aren’t beefing, so his Blackccess, leads to him experiencing a level of privilege most would not. There is no talk of jail time, it seems all that Will is going to lose is some money to get Jazz out. Beyond that? Things are easy-peasy.
Heck, Fred even apologizes to Vivian, and asks for help or resources regarding what Lisa and Angela are going through. Phil even makes an effort to work with Yolanda on something – despite no longer representing Omar.
Pre-Wedding Jitters – Hilary, Ivy, Jazz
At this point, Ivy is more excited about Hilary’s wedding than she is. But, part of what is holding her back is Jazz. That kiss still felt like something, so she and Jazz agreed to just talk it out once he is out of jail.
Note, they don’t have sex or do any physical type of cheating, but they do share an intimate night together, which seems to give Hilary clarity. Now, I don’t know if Jazz is on the same page, even if Hilary thinks Yolanda is a good look for him, but how Jazz feels about all this has been secondary most of the season.
Onto The Next Thing – Carlton, Drew, Will
Carlton is a hothead, and when he calms down, he learns Blackccess had a lot of interest, and Will picked someone he thought aligned with their goals. Unfortunately, the son of that person is Drew and as shown in the last season, during the BSU drama, Carlton and Drew don’t get along. However, maybe things have changed, right?
What’s Really In Your Blood? – Penelope, Geoffrey, Frederick
Things with Frederick reach a fever point, and Penelope is at the point of setting Geoffrey up to potentially save their kid, and she is forgiven for the transgression. It isn’t clear why she is so quickly forgiven, but she is, and it becomes clear to Geoffrey that Frederick, who got jump in this episode, isn’t safe and that Geoffrey’s offer has been rejected. So, a new plan has to be formulated.
Review
Highlights
Jazz and Hilary Reconciling What May Never Be
While “Bel-Air” loves to flirt with making situations messier than they have to be, I do appreciate that all that came from Jazz and Hilary’s night together was a conversation. Now, admittedly, it was interesting for it to not be heartbreaking or all that deep, but looking over Jazz and Hilary’s relationship, I can’t say it was ever that deep to really expect some heart-wrenching conclusion to their relationship.
On The Fence
Amira’s Development
Is it wrong to have expected and wanted more from this storyline? I get the importance of showing addiction and breaking the trend of having representation and advocacy usually point sympathy at Black men regarding these kinds of stories. But with that in mind, they couldn’t have done more to show Amira’s temptations, her struggle to hold onto the drugs and try not to use or really tap into the breaking point?
Heck, what about her parents? We see her mom for a scene and learn Amira doesn’t have a sister and got addicted to painkillers after a car accident she caused left someone dead. We couldn’t have dove more into that?
All I’m trying to say here is, “Bel-Air” has a lot of good ideas and good storylines, but the execution thus far in the series, not just this season, makes me think only with Carlton has there ever been a solid story that didn’t feel incomplete or rushed.
Geoffrey’s Storyline
At this point, I’m 80% sure someone has to be working on a spin-off and is checking online for how much interest is there. This whole “The Organization” storyline feels shacked by Geoffrey’s job working for the Banks family, and the more violent things get, the more it seems like this storyline needs to branch off.
Drew’s Return
Beyond revisiting Drew and Carlton’s drama before school starts, what is the goal of this? With Amira possibly gone, is Drew supposed to be the next thing riling Carlton up on a regular basis and giving him reason to get mad at Will?
This Doesn’t Feel Like A Penultimate Episode
Nothing about this episode felt like it was meant to hype the season’s final episode, and that feels immensely weird to me. Am I alone in this?
General Information
Additional Information
- Previous Episode: Season 3/ Episode 8
- Series Page
Episode Title
Family Matters
Release Date
September 5, 2024
Network
How To Watch
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Director(s)
Christine Swanson
Writer(s)
Janeika James, Jasheika James
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