Excellence Is Everywhere

**Excellence Is Everywhere** is the fifth episode of the second season of Peacock's modern-day reinterpretation, *Bel-Air*. It aired on March 23, 2023.

## Synopsis

Will struggles on his new basketball team but is nominated for the Bel-Air Academy Founder's Award.

## Plot

Will has begun his training at Doc's Zenith Hype facility, though Doc is rather unimpressed, especially in comparison to some of his other players, who taunt Will and his inability to keep up.

Vivian shares her concerns about the fellowship with Geoffrey. Janice has been very hands-on and has made it clear that she's not comfortable with Viv pushing the envelope. Adding even more stress, Viv recalls that they're also hosting Phil's family reunion this year. Geoffrey jokes that he will stock up on the alcohol for Viv's sake, leading her to realize how happy she is that he's back. She asks how things have been going, particularly between him and Phil. Geoffrey remarks that they're finding their way, which is good, as Phil needs him more now than ever with everything that happening at the firm.

Will is still worked up from having been accosted by some of the other players, complaining that they don't even know him, though Jackie retorts that Will doesn't know them either. Hudson takes three buses to get to the facility and worked out before school every day for a year. Now he's a starter. Brian was sleeping in his car when Doc found him, and now he's got college coaches beating down his door. Nevertheless, Will didn't come to ride the bench, which Jackie understand and encourages him to show them that he's more than just some well off kid from Bel-Air. They're joined by Doc, who notes that first days are always tough. He gives Will a copy *Outliers* by Malcolm Gladwell and tells him to keep putting in the time.

Phil reveals to Ashley that Mrs. Hughes got some an offer from Chicago, where she can be closer to her family, meaning she's not coming back to Bel-Air Academy. Ashley is disappointed, but Phil reminds her that Ms. Hughes is pursuing a bigger opportunity along with receiving a settlement, which Ashley played a notable role in. In her goodbye letter, Ms. Hughes thanks Ashley for using her voice to be seen and instructs her to never lose her special spark.

Carlton is among the nominees for the student Founder's Award. However, to his surprise, so is Will. Carlton is upset, but Will doesn't even know how he was nominated, to which Yazmin reveals that he was nominated by the BSU. Lisa congratulates the two of them, with Will pulling her to the side while Carlton confronts Yazmin, who he suspects is trying to cancel him out by nominating Will. Yazmin insists it wasn't personal and argues that Will brings a perspective that they've never seen before. No matter who wins, this is the first time two black students have even been nominated for such an achievement.

Will enlists in Lisa's help to learn how to swim, informing her that the AAU team is doing laps next week. Will jokingly asks if she needs Drew's permission, to which Lisa replies that he is the furthest thing from her mind, given how he came at Carlton during the bowling party.

Yet another influencer event has passed that Hilary's house wasn't invited to, Monica remarks. At least with Kylo, they walked Red Carpets, got swag bags, and Getty Images. Hilary urges Monica to be patient, as she's close to closing the Simply Spiked deal. If they can just get their numbers and engagement up, they'd be closer to attending such events. Monica believes they could do that faster with Ivy's following, but Hilary insists they don't need Ivy.

Tyler welcomes Will back to school after his suspension and congratulates him on his Founder's Award nomination. He claims the team misses him, but Coach Johnson refuses to give Will another chance, not that Will cares, revealing that he now plays for Zenith Hype. Tyler regrets not appreciating Will more when he was on the team and expresses his happiness for Will.

Phil has been studying the numbers, and their billables from the last quarter were down 30%. Most of it due to the fact that his firm lost the Garrison Construction account. Geoffrey proposes inviting Robert Garrison for a sit down to let him know that Phil is back on the throne. If he could get that business back, it could possibly press pause on the acquisition.

Connor, who is also nominated, sarcastically congratulates Carlton on his Founder's Award nomination, not that it matters, as they're both going to lose to Will after his "woke ass Malcolm-X stunt." Connor thought Carlton may be looking for an escape, that being drugs, though Carlton insists that he's fine. Connor isn't convinced and leaves a peace offering behind for Carlton, who takes the drugs and rushes into the bathroom, where he has a brief panic attack and debates on what to do with the drugs.

Phil arranges to meet with Robert Garrison at their usual lunch spot. However, Erika Baker, an old lawyer associate who recently transferred from New York to her firm's LA office, arrives in Garrison's place and reveals that her client won't be joining them.

Viv invites Janice over to discuss the upcoming gallery. However, Janice has a few changes to suggests due to what she perceives as overall disorganization.

Erika insists that she never would've stolen Garrison if Phil was still at the firm, to which he replies that she never would've been able to if he was. He's back now that the DA race is over. Erika asks about Viv, who is focusing on her art again. As for Chris, Erika's now ex-husband, they got divorced after discussing kids as a last-ditch effort to save their marriage. And then there was Adam, who didn't want kids, but is now living with his 25-year-old trainer with twins on the way. Two failed marriages, no kids, but a great job, Erika summarizes. As for Garrison, Phil is determined to get him back, to which Erika says that there is one way to do so.

As planned, Lisa teaches Will how to swim. She leans him back and tells him to think about something that brings him peace, though her voice is the only thing bringing him peace at the moment. She then releases Will and tells him to open his eyes, at which point, he realizes that he's floating all on his own.

Viv is stressing even more now that Janice has reworked the entire show. Nevertheless, she gives Hilary 10 minutes of her undivided attention. Hilary, much like her mother, is stressing over work related issues. If she had Ivy's 10 million followers, she could've closed this Simply Spiked deal already, but she doesn't and is beginning to think she should look for another deal, one that Ivy is willing to endorse. However, Viv encourages her to trust her gut and push harder. That said, Hilary asks if she could use her mother's event to promote her influencer house. As for Viv, Hilary reminds her mother that she's a boss too and tells her to trust her gut and maintain her vision.

Will embraces Lisa and thanks her for being a great teaching, leading to a briefly awkward exchange, which Lisa attempts to divert from by instructing Will to simply practice for an hour a day. He once again thanks her, as he doesn't have a back-up plan if AAU doesn't work, though Lisa reminds Will that anything can work if she wants it bad enough.

After her lesson with Will, Lisa joins Viv inside, where Viv has decided to make the art show her own. The new theme is inspired by Ashley, and the space is big enough to not only feature her art but share the limelight with new talent. However, Viv hasn't yet showed Janet her changes. Lisa then begins mocking up a new catalog as she reveals to Viv that both Will and Carlton were nominated for the Founder's Award. Hopefully, they won't be at each other's throats after Carlton's panic attack at the protest, which Viv was unaware of.

Will checks in on Carlton after seeing him with Connor earlier in the day. Will reminds Carlton that parting ways with Connor was the best thing he could've done. Carlton insists that he doesn't want anything to do with Connor and that he has no interest in becoming that version of himself again.

Phil returns home, and Viv reveals that Carlton had another panic attack at the protest, which Will knew all about and never spoke a word of. Having game planned with Phil, Viv heads up into Carlton's room and confronts him about the panic attack at the protest. Meanwhile, Phil speaks with Will, realizing now the bad position he put Will in by asking him to report any updates about Carlton while also trying not to betray his trust. Will thought he was helping him find a new lane with the protest and BSU, but maybe he pushed too hard. Carlton explains that he didn't mention the panic attack because he didn't want them to overreact. Phil reminds Will that he's Carlton's role model, and as a result, he puts a lot of pressure on himself because he sees Will's winning, like his nomination for the Founder's Award. While Viv and Phil are both very proud of Carlton's nomination, they can't simply ignore his panic attack. Will, on the other hand, couldn't care less about the award and simply wants to focus on AAU, declaring that he will gladly take himself out of the running. Lastly, Carlton tells his mother not to worry and to simply believe in the decisions he's made.

The day of Viv's gallery has finally arrived. Lisa congratulates her on a job well done and departs as Janice approaches. She remarks that Viv's choices are interesting and has some questions about the artists selected. Geoffrey interrupts and compliments Janice, taking her attention away from Vivian to show her his favorite piece in the gallery.

Monica and Phanta take photos of the gallery, with Monica taking an interest in one painting in particular. Noting that it truly captures the silencing of the female voice. They're joined by Hilary, who encourages them to keep posting and start conversations with the artists. However, the paintings are labeled as anonymous, much to Hilary's surprise.

Viv greets Doc as he arrives at her gallery show and thanks him for allowing Will to be on his team. However, Doc was simply dropping his niece off, and says that if anything, he should be thanking her for giving Jackie an opportunity to perform at her show, adding a more performative aspect.

While they appreciate the invite, a gallery show wasn't exactly the influencer splash Monica and Phanta were hoping for. Hilary understands that, but she needs them to trust her, assuring the girls that she has a big surprise coming.

Lisa leads Jackie and the other girls into the back, where they can change. Jackie is admittedly nervous, but Lisa assures her that the crowd is friendly and will love them.

Will approaches Doc at the art show, where he advises Will not to let the other guys get into his head too much. He also reminds Will that his academics are important as well. Bel-Air Academy is going to open up a lot of doors for Will. Doors that some of the other guys will never see, leading Will to share with Doc that he's been nominated for the school's Founder's Award. While Will may have promised to drop out in favor of Carlton, Doc tells him not to be so quick to count himself out and that D1 schools are looking for leaders.

Among the featured pieces in the gallery show is a poem by Phyllis Wheatley, the first published female black poet. She was enslaved and started writing around the same age as Ashley, who never even heard of her in school. That's why it's important they teach themselves, Viv replies. And she's glad that Ms. Hughes taught Ashley this lesson as well.

Phil reveals to Geoffrey how his meeting with Garrison didn't go as planned. Garrison never showed, but his lawyer, Erika Baker, did. Much like Phil, Geoffrey is quite familiar with her as well. She's willing to allow James and the firm to have the Garrison account, but only if Phil joins her firm as a senior partner.

Carlton and Jazz make jokes at the expense of the gallery attendees, at which point, Jazz spots NFL player Lamarcus Alton, who got traded to the LA Rams and just so happens to be Hilary's ex-boyfriend, much to Jazz's surprise.

Viv thanks all those in attendance. As this year's fellow, she gets the opportunity to mentor, lecture, and curate exhibits, all thanks to the support and resource of the Nieman Fellowship. Viv spent her undergraduate years in DC. at Howard University, where she was exposed to the rich legacy of the Barnett Aden Gallery. The first privately owned black gallery in the U.S., which helped launch the careers of many artists. Viv hopes to create a legacy that lives up to that history. Starting tonight, she has curated a collection that features not just her work, but the work of emerging artists, including dancers, specifically the Syncopated Ladies, led by Jackie.

Jazz questions why Hilary and LaMarcus broke up. She explains that he got transferred to Philly, leading Jazz to suspect that they would still be together if he never left, though Hilary insists that she's happy with Jazz and that she only invited him as a chance to boost her influencer house's reach. Monica and Phanta confirm Hilary's claims by revealing the instant engagement they received by just posting a pic of Hilary and LaMarcus. Jazz insists that he's fine as Hilary joins the girls in getting more footage, but he watches disgruntledly as LaMarcus interacts with the Banks.

Lisa congratulates Jackie and the girl on their performance, and Jackie thanks Lisa for the encouragement. Will joins them, also congratulating the girls before sharing a kiss with Jackie in front of Lisa, who is taken back. After Lisa excuses herself, Jackie asks what happened between them. Will claims they had a "thing" but now they're cool and just friends. Maybe Will is, but Jackie doesn't believe the same can be said for Lisa.

Once the gallery has closed, Will finds Lisa alone inside and apologizes about earlier with Jackie, but she tells him to stop, leading Will to suspect she's mad, which comes as a surprise to him, as he thought she was getting close with Drew. Lisa insists she isn't mad. She more so feels stupid for being that girl that's holding out hope for the guy who broke her heart and might still have feelings for her too. However, Lisa doesn't blame Will. She got sucked back in, whereas Will was just happy with them being friends again, referring to Lisa as the best friends he's made since coming to Bel-Air. However, being friends isn't enough for her anymore, and Lisa tells Will that they can't be friends anymore.

Phil expresses how proud of Viv he is. She worked hard and it paid off. She wanted her art to say something, and it does just that, even if Janice isn't ready quite yet. While Viv may be focused on giving others a voice, Phil tells her not to forget about her own. He then reveals that they have a problem with Geoffrey.

Hilary, Monica, and Phanta celebrate officially closing the deal with Simply Spiked. The livestream with LaMarcus sealed the deal. After toasting with the girl, Hilary sends Jazz another text, but he hasn't responded.

Phil shows Viv a recording from a security camera in his office. The footage shows Geoffrey snooping around the office for information on his son, Frederick, which they can't allow to happen.

That night, Whilst Will does some looking into what exactly the Founder's Award means and offers, Carlton hides the drugs he was gifted by Connor in his clothes drawer.

## 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 Philip Banks
* Tatyana Ali as Mrs. Hughes

Guest starring* Justin Cornwell as Lamarcus Alton
* Brooklyn McLinn as Doc Hightower
* Diandra Lyle as Erika Baker
* Charlie Hall as Tyler Laramy
* Tyler Barnhardt as Connor Satterfield
* Jazlyn Lopez Martin as Jackie
* Riele Downs as Yazmin Staats

Co-starring* Aimee Li as Phanta
* Al-Shabazz Jabateh as Hudson
* Andi René Christensen as Monica
* April Rock as BSU Student
* Caitlin Duffy as Server
* Jeris DuPree as Brian
* Thomas Crawford as Mr. Hartwig
* Chloe Arnold as Syncopated Lady #1
* Maud Arnold as Syncopated Lady #2
* Anissa Lee as Syncopated Lady #3
* Assata Madison as Syncopated Lady #4