Let the Best Man Win

**Let the Best Man Win** is the sixth episode of the second season of Peacock's modern-day reinterpretation, *Bel-Air*. It aired on March 30, 2023.

## Synopsis

Phil hosts the family reunion, and Will considers accepting the Founder's Award nomination.

## Plot

Phil and Viv prepare for Phil's family reunion by teaching Viv how to play spades, but Viv becomes frustrated, not to mention there's still work to be done before everyone arrives. Phil understands that she's still exhausted from her art show, and he also said he would handle all the details for the reunion, but he now needs her help, as his mother, Anita, no longer wants to stay in the suite they got her. So Phil is hoping Viv is willing to make sure the guest room is ready, as well as pick her up and find a place to get her nails done. Phil suspects that his brother, Julius, probably got into her head. Ever since their dad died, he's been trying to control everything and keep it on his turf.

Carlton prepares for the flag football game, which is a Banks family tradition that his dad and uncle Julius take far too seriously. Speaking of competition, Will tells Carlton that he's considering staying in the race for the Founder's Award, as it could help him stand out for D1 schools. Carlton is visibly upset, which Will didn't mean to cause, explaining that everyone is worried about him after what happened at the protest; Uncle Phil thinks that them competing against each other could be triggering, leading Carlton to suspect that his family believes he has no chance of winning if Will does remain in the Founder's Award race.

Geoffrey confesses to Phil and Viv that he's been looking for Frederick. Keeping him safe has been their first priority, and now they simply want to help him weigh out all the options, but this has to be his decision to make. Until then, they give him a folder containing information pertaining to his son.

Viv returns with Nita, who is greeted by Will, Hilary, Carlton, and Ashley. She remarks that Phil looks good, too good to pick up his own mother. However, Phil was handling the details to ensure the day was perfect. As Carlton and Will take her bags upstairs, Hilary and Ashley volunteer to help her pick and clean the greens, with Will later joining them. Will notices that everyone has a role for the reunion. Ashley has been tasked with looking after older relatives, such as dietary restrictions. Hilary then asks Will if he's spoken to Jazz, whose been a bit distant lately. She invited him to the reunion, but he hasn't responded, which Ashley points out is likely due to the fact that she invited her ex-boyfriend to their mother's art show. Will agrees, adding that his pride is likely hurt after finding out she dated a top NFL draft pick. Hilary intends to leave to speak with Jazz face-to-face, but Phil reminds her that she's supposed to be making his pie for the pie making contest.

Will confides in Geoffrey that the family reunion is a bit overwhelming, as he's the only non-Banks. Geoffrey explains that everyone is family and that he'll be right by Will's side to tell him who's who and what's what. After Geoffrey exits the office, Will opens the folder on his uncle's desk to see a photo of Frederick.

Viv questions why Phil has several missed calls from Erika Baker. Meanwhile, Will learns from Carlton that Geoffrey has a son, but it's one of those things that no one really talks about because it's complicated. Will wants to know more, but Carlton reminds him of how secretive his parents can be.

Phil reveals that Erica is back working in LA and wants him to consider an offer with her firm. But Phil promises Viv that he's not going to make any big moves without talking it over with her first.

Phil, Viv, Hilary, Carlton, Ashley, and Nita wait outside as the rest of the family arrives for the reunion. Will stands off at a distance with Geoffrey, who informs him of everyone. Ashley offers Uncle Earl some assistance, but he says few words and passes by her.

Julius arrives at the Banks mansion with his son Kyle, who intends to dominate Carlton in the family football game. With them, Julius and Kyle have brought custom Banks family reunion T-shirts, which also so happens to promote Julius' car dealerships. He got Kyle an SUV last year because he finally turned in some decent grades, but Kyle argues his grades only slipped because he cracked his ribs playing lacrosse and had to miss school. Will mentions that Carlton also plays lacrosse and how his team went to playoffs, though Kyle's team went to state.

Phil kicks off the family reunion with a speech about his deceased father and celebrating family. Julius interrupts and gives a prayer.

Will, Carlton, Uncle Phil, Julius, and Kyle play a game of Dominos. Will inquires about Julius' career in car dealership. He explains that he used to help out in the body shop when he was in high school and built up from there, creating the largest network of black owned dealership. He didn't go to college and explains that there's more than one path to success, pointing to himself as living proof. Phil argues that there's nothing wrong with a solid education, though Julius values hustle above everything else. Julius intends to put Kyle into the family business as well, but he's already working part-time and helping out with their new ad campaign. When Kyle loses them the game, Julius scolds him for not paying better attention.

Nita inquires about the scheduled fish fry, but Viv explains that Phil made no mention of such. However, Nita claims he did during some of the family Zoom calls. No worries, Nita takes over and begins to prepare the meal.

Hilary continues to text Jazz without response. It's then that Lamarcus arrives and gives Nita a hug. Hilary pulls her father to the side and questions why he would invite her ex to the family reunion. Phil figured she'd be okay with it, given Hilary invited him to her mother's art show. Plus, it's a chance to upstage Julius. Will approaches, and Hilary tells him that Jazz can no nothing about this.

Phil attempts to speak with Viv, but she is clearly still upset with him for not telling her about Erika, who Phil dated in college. Despite her frustration, she agrees to play spades with him. During their game, Julius tells Phil that their mother isn't selling the house in North Carolina to move with Phil in Bel Air, but Phil simply suggested that she might like a change of scenery. Nita and Julius proceed to taunt Viv, who is clearly not as knowledgeable at the game as her counterpart. However, she manages to win the game for her and Phil.

Ashley continues to try and break through to Uncle Earl, bringing him something to eat.

Hilary asks to speak with Lamarcus alone and tells him that they're not getting back together. They split up initially because she had bigger dreams than just being his arm candy. While true, Lamarcus claims to have matured since then. He reminds Hilary that she reached out to him first. And then he came to the reunion as a favor to her father. Lamarcus claims he has no agenda beyond visiting the family, though he does question why Jazz isn't at the reunion. Geoffrey then reports to Hilary that it's almost time for the anonymously judged pie contest, and that Phil's is called Hot Pie Summer. However, Phil and Julius both tie for five picks, with Hilary as the tiebreaker, choosing Julius' pie. Phil becomes upset and exposes Hilary for not voting for her own pie, leading Julius to accost Phil for cheating.

Will brings Geoffrey a slice of pie and asks about his son. Geoffrey reveals that Frederick is 22 and lives in London. Will wonders why Geoffrey never mentioned him before. Geoffrey wasn't sure what Will might think. Frederick was put up for a closed adoption, but Phil and Viv know where he is and have confirmed that he's happy. Geoffrey also asked Phil to never give him the details of his son's whereabouts. Geoffrey has lived a life of hustling and crime in London with a gang. Much like Will, Geoffrey had an Uncle Phil of his own, who promised to look after his family, but he had to cut off all contact with them. So Geoffrey left to protect them. He came to the states and started a new life. Frederick's mom couldn't handle it alone and gave him up. Disrupting his life now would be selfish and unfair. Not to mention, Geoffrey isn't even sure if he's ready to face how his son feels about him. Having come from similar circumstances, Will believe that Frederick would love to learn the real story of his father and not just the one he's making up in his head.

Phil informs Carlton that he's bringing in Lamarcus for their flag football game.

Uncle Earl approaches Ashley about dessert and tells her that he'll talk plenty once she brings him some cookies.

Kyle finds Carlton playing video games in his room after hearing about Uncle Phil's plan to bring LaMarcus into the game. They joke about how their dads are more alike than they would like to admit and have even gotten worse over the years, with the constant questioning of their son's life choices and making them feels as if they're never good enough. With Lamarcus on their team, Kyle is certain he and his father will lose, which will result in another lecture about how much of a disappointment Kyle is. Feeling bad for him, Carlton invites Kyle to play with him.

Uncle Earl informs Ashley that he fought in WWII. He's a retired Lieutenant Colonel, and they were referred to as the Red Tails. He flew missions all over Europe and shows Ashley a picture of himself when he was younger. Ashley's recalls reading about men like him and how he helped integrate the military.

Lamarcus, like Will, played football at Bel-Air Academy and knows what it's like to be labeled angry and defiant when he's really just driven and ambitious. He's heard about Will's transition to AAU, but the pros is where Lamarcus feels as though he has to get on the field and prove himself every day, every work out, and every game. It's all or noting for him, which is why he's not going to stop until he gets Hilary back, Lamarcus reveals. He's playing the friend role for now, but once he's back in, he's not letting her go again.

Will, Uncle Julius, and Kyle face off against Carlton, Uncle Phil, and Lamarcus. By the end, Will's team is in the lead. Phil explains to Carlton and Lamarcus that they need a touchdown to tie the game. The play is in motion, and Carlton pushes past Kyle, knocking him to the ground and heading down field and uncontested. However, Carlton purposely drops the pass after hearing how ruthlessly Uncle Julius belittles Kyle.

Nita tells Viv to have a seat next to her, and thanks her for planning such an amazing day. Viv claims it was Phil's doing, but Nita suspects otherwise. She and Joe planned many reunions in their day, and she knows how exhausting it can be. While she misses Joe, at the end of the day, she doesn't remember any of their arguments, or how busy her own life was. It's the moments like now that stays with her. Viv tells Nita that she doesn't have to be alone and that they have plenty of room, but Nita declines her offer to move to Bel Air, reasoning that she loves her independence too much to move in with either of her sons.

Phil brings Julius an ice pack and a bear. Julius accuses Phil of trying to one up him, but Phil recalls how their entire life, Julius was always first. He replies that he had to be good at something. He's the big brother, but their dad believed in Phil more. He asked him one time if he could go to college, and their father replied, "Nah. That's a Phil thing." Phil was always betted on to win, but Julius proved him wrong. To Phil, Julius is the big brother by taking care of their mother, though it does admittedly weigh on him. Additionally, Julius confesses that losing Denise and being a single father has been tough. Phil proposes they share the load so that neither of them is overwhelmed.

Carlton apologizes to his father for losing them the game, but Phil knows that there's no way Carlton realistically dropped that pass and suspects that he did so for Kyle's sake. For this, Phil is not only proud of Carlton, but he also believes in Carlton and is always betting on him to win.

Will appreciates Uncle Julius sharing his story about his hustle, as he can relate to it. Julius encourages Will to fight for everything he wants and that when people underestimate them, it's up to them to prove them wrong.

Will wishes to talk to Carlton about the Founder's Award. To Will's surprise, Carlton is no longer opposed to Will running and welcome the competition.

Phil Thanks Viv for all she did to make the reunion a success. He also apologizes for not telling her sooner about Erika. Although, he does think he should keep his options open. Will joins them, and in the spirit of celebrating family, he wants to help Geoffrey see his son.

Julius thanks Phil and his family for organizing the most incredible Banks family reunion. They also have one last order of business, with a new tradition of honoring family, true heroes in their lineage worth recognizing, such as Uncle Earl, who they thank for his service and award a trophy. The Banks then conclude the reunion with a soul train line, at which point Lamarcus goes searching for Hilary, who he finds inside still trying to get a response from Jazz. Just as he invites her outside to dance, Jazz finally texts back, telling her to come over, though Hilary misses his text.

## 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 (credit only)
* Jordan L. Jones as Jazz (credit only)
* Adrian Holmes as Philip Banks
* Bill Bellamy as Julius Banks
* Justin Cornwell as Lamarcus Alton
* Amarr as Kyle Banks

Co-Starring* Cal Gibson as Uncle Earl