Bel-Air: Season 4 Episode 5 – Recap and Review

As Carlton and Will get close to what they have worked for, the reality of how life will play out gives them second thoughts.

ByAmari Allah Hours Posted on

Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.

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Episode 5 “Gorilla Glue and Duct Tape” Recap and Details

A Dream Deferred: Will, Carlton, Phil, Viv

Will and Carlton find themselves questioning their next move. Carlton meets with a Princeton alumnus, and hearing that it could be a repeat of how things were at Bel-Air Academy, it makes him think twice about going to Princeton. As for Will, while the USC coach does show up, he isn’t able to offer Will a spot on the team, so it seems his grand plans are dashed.

Enter the coach from Stapleton University who offers a full-ride but makes it clear that Will’s major will be basketball, and school will come second. This gives Will pause, for as much as basketball is his ticket to getting into a college or university, he wants the credentials and network that would come from getting his degree. The coach’s legacy isn’t as important to Will as his own – thus leading him to not accept his offer letter by the end of the episode.

Which leaves how Phil and Viv play into all of this. With both boys lacking life skills, they worry about how they will handle laundry, cooking, and more. So, Phil decides to start them off by cleaning and working on a car he wanted to work on with his father, before he died. The boys end up breaking the sideview mirror while goofing off, and Phil gets notably upset about this. Thankfully, after Viv lays into the boys and gives context to why Phil is so upset, Jazz is able to procure a replacement. From that point, the boys make amends, and Phil opens up a little bit about his past in ways you’d think he would have, even with Carlton, a long time ago.

Things Will Never Be The Same: Dominique, Geoffrey, Viv, Phil

With the final amount of the $50 million washed, Phil thinks he is done, and Viv is prepping for the worst and hoping for the best. As for Geoffrey? He is trying to figure out his next move. Coercing the Banks into this situation has drastically changed things, and with Dominique teasing the idea of going legitimate, Geoffrey weighs his options.

Yes, Phil still treats him as a brother, but Viv’s side eye is strong, and there may be no going back to how things were. So, with that in mind, Geoffrey starts exploring what it would be like to work with Dominique as a partner and bring their business out of the darkness and into the light.

The Most Honest People You Know?: Pamela, Jazz, Viv, Phil

We learn Pamela is married, despite messing around with Jazz, and she decides to confess this to Viv. Alongside that, she reveals that Charlie’s got flagged which leads Viv trying to call Phil but to no avail. Sadly, she is alone during all this, so as the stress hits her, and it causes labor pains, there is no one there to help or check on her. Then, to really hit home how serious the situation is, two agents go into Jazz’s shop, asking questions about Phil, pushing the idea the worst case scenario is about to play out.

Review and Commentary

Highlights

Furthering The Issue of Phil Being A Provider More Than A Father [81/100]

Every time something is revealed about Phil, usually by a third party, it makes me wonder why he has refused to be vulnerable with his kids, but especially Carlton? Is it a generational thing, the belief that he needs to be strong for everyone, and emotions mean weakness? Because of the things revealed about him, be it his relationship with his father, life when he was working class, it doesn’t seem like things he needs to hide, and they don’t seem like topics that wouldn’t just come up.

That car in the garage, I feel like between Will or Carlton, maybe Ashley, someone would ask about it. Yet, instead, the car was talked about as if it had never been seen before. Which makes me hope, as Charlie’s gets investigated, Phil is coerced to be vulnerable since he won’t be able to handle everything himself. He’ll have to ask for help. Perhaps leading to the Banks family being bonded by more than money and material items.

On The Fence

Everything Feels So Rushed That It Lessens The Impact [73/100]

From rushing through Promising Choices, possibly skipping past what Amira is going to do about her higher education career, to a lot of other stories, it does feel like things are being drastically rushed. Which, I get, since this is the last season, and maybe it got this last season mainly because of the people behind it, rather than the ratings compared to the budget.

But with everything feeling so rushed, it is difficult to get invested since storylines can begin and end so quickly, whether it had potential, like Ashley trying to have her own identity beyond her siblings, or needed time, like Promising Choices, considering not only Leroy but the other types of characters Will and Carlton could have met.

Overall

Our Overall Rating [77/100]

I don’t want to say season 4 is bad, because it isn’t. However, as a wrap-up season, it doesn’t feel as emotional or heartfelt as you’d hope or desire. It rarely explores these characters in ways that matter, and with the inclusion of the Dominique x Geoffrey storyline, it feels like the plot was lost, and this season is more about clean-up than resolutions.

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Amari is the founder and head writer of Wherever-I-Look.com and has been reviewing media since 2010. He approaches each production with hope, rooting for every story to succeed, and believes criticism should come from unmet potential, while praise is reserved for work that meets or exceeds expectations.