No One Wins When the Family Feuds

**No One Wins When the Family Feuds** is the eighth episode of the first season of Peacock's modern-day reinterpretation, *Bel-Air*. It aired on March 17, 2022.

## Synopsis

As the Banks family celebrates Will's birthday, his mom comes to visit, causing unexpected tension.

## Plot

As part of his punishment for the party, Phil is making Carlton be his caddy. He explains that Will's punishment is being postponed until after his birthday. Fortunately, Phil was able to persuade the police commissioner to keep the matter quiet, as he'll do everything in his power to safeguard Carlton's future.

Will and Aunt Viv greet Vy as she arrives in Los Angeles for Will's birthday. Vy immediately embraces Will, though there's a bit of awkwardness between her and Viv.

Kylo is hopeful that Hilary has a follow-up video to Thirsty Chef in the wind, but she believes that she has to first build up anticipation, otherwise it could get played out quick. However, Kylo reminds Hilary that her sexy chef video did 3 million and he doesn't want her to lose momentum. Hilary told her parents that it was a one-off thing, so she first needs to prepare them for more before moving forward.

Philip seeks out the endorsement of Assemblyman Hernandez, who worries that Phil doesn't appear to have his family in order. His wife vanished from the campaign trail after her outburst at a charity event, his daughter is posting thirst trap videos, and his son is throwing parties that get shut down by the police. If Phil wants to win, Hernandez advises him to get his family in line.

Vy gets her first look at the Banks family mansion and is speechless. She immediately takes notice of one of Viv's paintings, which was inspired by a girl named Dianne from their old neighborhood. It's been 20 years since Viv's seen her last, which is the same amount of time that's passed since Vy was in Bel-Air, which was for Viv and Phil's wedding. But they've come up substantially since then. With Will's birthday tomorrow, Vy has been contemplating telling him the truth about his father. Viv exclaims that Will might come to hate them should he learn the truth and advises Vy against doing so.

Will meets with Lisa in the pool house, where they kiss until Will tells Lisa that his mom is in town for his birthday and proposes that she come by tomorrow during his birthday dinner for a formal introduction. Lisa can sneak past her dad, but Will is going to have to handle Carlton. Ever since he found out that they're together, he's been freezing her out.

Phil informs Carlton that Assemblyman Hernandez refused to endorse him because he doesn't want to choose between two democratic candidates. He's afraid that Phil and Wilkes are going to split the party and the vote. So, Phil needs to get Wilkes out of the race. As for Carlton, if he wants to help, Phil tells him to stay out of the kind of trouble that brings police to their door. While Will is still new to their world, Phil tells Carlton that this should be second nature to him. However, all Carlton takes from this is that Will is allowed to make mistakes while he isn't.

Vy embraces Hilary, who she refers to as her most devoted follower on Instagram, as she often shows love to Hilary's posts, letting people know that most of her recipes are time-tested, going back three generations. Will remarks that Grandma Smith used to cook for them every Sunday. Unlike Viv, Vy loves all of Hilary's videos, with the exception of her recent sexy chef vid, which Vivian remarks will be taken down as soon as Hilary straightens things out with her boss Kylo, who Vy notes as being cute. She then greets Carlton and congratulates him for his high honors before embracing Phil. Will is happy that they could all come together as a family. The last time they did this was at Grandma Molly's in Philly. Ashley is too young to remember and asks why they stopped coming together. Viv explains that her mom got sick and Vy had to take care of her. Viv tried to help as much as she could; she and Phil sent money and advised Vy to hire a caregiver, but Vy refused to hire a stranger to look after their mother. Sensing the tension, Will breaks up the dispute, telling his mom and aunt to relax.

After revealing that she not only intends to keep up her Thirsty Chef video, but that she plans to make more as well, Hilary tries to reason with her parents with how racism shapes gender politics, but they aren't convinced. This could badly impact Phil's campaign, but Hilary isn't concerned with her father's dilemma, reasoning that this is a good business decision for her. Viv doesn't quite understand what Hilary is trying to do and asks if this truly reflects who Hilary is.

Vy explains to Will that she and his Aunt Viv have a lot of history to work through. As much as they love each other, they've always clashed, which Will believes is the result of them being too much alike. Before heading off to bed, Vy recalls Will mentioning how he remembers how his mom and aunt used to fight, leading her to question what else he remembers, possibly his father. Will admits that he does, but only in bits and pieces.

Phil finds Viv painting in her art studio and asks if she's coming to bed tonight, because the last few nights he's slept without her. Viv explains that she has a deadline to meet and is painting to apply for the Neeman Fellowship. Although, they do have a more pressing issue with Vy considering telling Will about Lou, which Phil agrees is a terrible idea. While he deserves to know the truth about his dad, now isn't the time, Phil argues. But Viv worries that the longer they keep him in the dark, the worse it will become when he finally learns the truth.

Will awakens to find his mother preparing his birthday breakfast. So much has changed in just a few months, even Will, physically. She almost mentions that he's starting to look like his father, which leads to Will asking about his father, but Vy deflects until they are joined by Carlton, who questions how she learned to cook while his mother never did. Vy explains that while she was perfecting her craft in the kitchen, Viv was running in the streets. She even recalls the time Viv climbed up on stage at a D'Angelo concert. Vy corrects her, saying that she was invited up on stage. Vy then reveals that she bought Viv her first canvas and paint set. But Viv claims it was only meant to be a distraction so that Vy could talk on the phone when she was supposed to be babysitting. Will asks for his mom to take him to the beach for his birthday, and Aunt Viv offers to join them for lunch.

Geoffrey reports to Phil that Wilkes has agreed to meet with him in secret. On a separate note, Phil informs Geoffrey how Vy might tell Will about his dad, which he fears may derail all of Will's progress, which is why he needs Geoffrey to see to it that Lou doesn't come near Will.

Will takes his mother on a tour of Los Angeles, which leads them to the pier, where she remarks how proud of Will she is. When Will thanks his aunt and uncle for sticking by him, Vy becomes a bit defensive, accusing him of giving all the props to them when she raised him on her own for the first 16 years of his life. Will insists that wasn't his intention and thanks her for always looking out for him. She's grateful for the man he's becoming and tells him to never forget where he came from.

Hilary sets up the cameras and lights for her next Thirsty Chef video, but after recalling what her mother said to her earlier, she decides against moving forward.

As planned, Phil meets with Wilkes, who accuses him of bending the law, regarding Carlton's party, which Lisa was also a guest at, Phil remarks. This election has gotten complicated since Wilkes jumped in, forcing a split in the democratic votes, pushing their opponent to the win. Phil proposes a solution to avoid that. Their debate should decide which one of them continues to stand in the election. Whoever's leading afterwards, becomes the sole democratic candidate, and the loser bows out, throwing his full support behind the winner.

Hilary informs Kylo that she's come up for with four other video ideas outside of Thirsty Chef. While he is not pleased, he's also not surprised, after doing a bit of research on Hilary. She dropped out of college, left two or three jobs, as well as internships, and she even quit her online personas. She's shown a pattern to take off on a new adventure whenever something doesn't go her way. It's an easy habit to form when she never has to pay a bill, Kylo says. Upset with his remarks, Hilary tells Kylo that she doesn't need him and threatens to leave, but according to her contract, if she does, all the content she created in the house belongs to him and she'll owe him a kill fee.

As planned, Viv, Vy, and Will have lunch, where Viv reveals that she has resumed painting and that she's been nominated for a Neeman Fellowship. Vy admits that she was a bit disappointed when Viv stopped painting, especially after all the sacrifices she and their mother made so that Viv could become an artist. When Viv mentions Lou, Vy changes the subject.

Phil spars with Geoffrey, who suggests that he try a different tactic with Will's dad, but as far as Phil is concerned, Lou isn't someone Will needs in his life, but Geoffrey believes that's a decision to be made by Lou and Will. Geoffrey is having difficulty going through with Phil's order, but Phil reminds him who he works for and instructs Geoffrey to do as he was told.

Will asks his mom about his dad. Every time Will brings him up, Vy deflects. Realizing that he's old enough to know the truth, Vy reveals that Lou was a half-assed dreamer, jumping from one get-rich-quick scheme to another. And Vy believed his promises and lies. He owned a lot of money all over town and she paid his debts, because she was young and gullible. But she changed when she had Will. It was as if Lou's spelled had been broken, and Will became the single most important thing in her life, and that's why he ran off — because he couldn't use her anymore.

Hilary apologizes to Jazz at Will's party and admits that he was right. She hasn't told her parents yet, but she ditched Kylo and quit the house. However, in doing so, she's staying at a hotel and owes Kylo $50,000 for breaking the contract. Jazz assures her that she will figure it out.

Vy reveals to Carlton that when Will was five or six, he used to beg her to give him a brother. Carlton recalls that he used to beg for a brother, too, after Ashley was born. And now it's as if the universe answered their prayers.

Will introduces Lisa to his mother. Vy embraces Lisa and asks if Will is treating her right. Lisa insists that he is. When Viv reveals that Phil is running late, Will decides to skip dinner and go straight for the gifts. He opens his mother's gift first. It's a framed photo of her holding him when he was firstborn. Will begins to question who took the picture, but Aunt Viv directs him to her gift, which is a pair of limited edition Jordans, signed by Michael Jordan himself. Vy takes this as Viv attempting to undermine her gift and disrespect her in front of Will, which she insists wasn't her intent. Viv accuses Vy of being jealous of her success, but Vy retorts that her dreams only came true because she and their mother supported Viv, as did Phil. Vy feels as though all she's done has been forgotten and gone without the slightest bit of credit. Viv insists that she's not trying to outshine her or deny her credit, but she already has it fixed in her mind that that's what Viv is trying to do. Vy reminds Viv that she's the one who helped her find her voice as an artist. She bought Viv material, she helped her move to LA, and she paid her bills. But the second Viv no longer needed her, she erased Vy from her life. And now she fears that Viv wants Will to do the same.

Carlton goes to check in on his mother, who explains that the happier she is, the more resentful Vy becomes. While she may have said a lot of horrible things, Carlton asks his mom if she ever considered why her sister feels this way. Maybe she's just hurt, under all the anger, Carlton suspects. After putting herself through college, raising Will on her own, as well taking care of their dying mom, Viv comes to realize that Carlton may be right and that Vy is under a lot of pressure. Carlton suggests that they two of them have a talk, especially since she's been encouraging him to do the same with Will.

Vy apologizes for ruining Will's party, but he's more concerned with what she said about Aunt Viv and tells her that no one could ever make him erase her from out his life. Vy accuses her sister of having crossed the line, but Will reminds her that they both said some things they shouldn't have. Viv interrupts and asks to speak with Vy, to whom she admits was right about how much Viv relied on her when they were younger. Vy was always the strong one, for looking out for her, and Viv apologizes for looking past that. Vy admits that it's not all her fault. She's made her own mistakes in the past, such as with Lou, who Viv warned her about. However, one good thing did come from her relationship with Lou, that being Will, who is doing well in Bel-Air, which is why Vy has decided not to tell him the truth about Lou, at least not now. She then embraces Viv and tells her that she loves her.

After seeing their mothers together, Will and Carlton realize that neither of them want to have a decade long grudge, but Will doesn't know how they can move forward if Carlton can't accept the fact that he's with Lisa. Carlton explains that it isn't just about Lisa. Will's arrival sent him into a spiral. He was already having a rough time at school, with getting good grades and leading the lacrosse team to state championships. On top of that, his parents needed him to be perfect. Will being with Lisa was just the straw that broke the camel's back. Everything that he had to work really hard for, Will arrived and achieved without effort. That said, moving forward, Carlton realizes that his time with Lisa is over. He just wants Will to promise that he won't hurt her, as he did.

After parting ways with Carlton, Will follows Geoffrey into Uncle Phil's office, who is about to place a letter on Phil's desk until Will enters and asks Geoffrey to look into his father. He simply wants to know what happened to him or why he left. Geoffrey tells Will that while there aren't satisfactory answers to why people leave, he will at least search for him.

## Cast

* Cassandra Freeman as Vivian Banks
* Jimmy Akingbola as Geoffrey Thompson
* Olly Sholotan as Carlton Banks
* Coco Jones as Hilary Banks
* Akira Akbar as Ashley Banks
* Simone Joy Jones as Lisa Wilkes
* Jordan L. Jones as Jazz
* Adrian Holmes as Phillip Banks
* Joe Holt as Fred Wilkes
* Charlie Hall as Tyler Laramy
* Jon Beavers as Kylo

Co-Starring* Govind Armstrong as Chef Govind Armstrong
* Ricardo Molina as Assemblyman Hernandez
* Ari Beverly Carter as Waitress

## Trivia

* The episode title, *No One Wins When the Family Feuds*, is a direct quote from Jay-Z's 2017 song *Family Feud* from his "4:44" album.