Compromised

**Compromised** is the third episode of the second season of Peacock's modern-day reinterpretation, *Bel-Air*. It aired on March 9, 2023.

## Synopsis

Will rallies the students to stage a protest, putting Carlton in an uncomfortable position.

## Plot

Tension has built between Will and Tyler due to Will's refusal to play as a team, though Coach Johnson urges the two of them to look forward rather than back. They live and die as a team, and one more win until they're in the state tournament, meaning that they must remain focused. However, Tyler recalls the team calling Will out on his attitude and behavior just for him to go against the coach's orders and do as he pleases. Will apologizes and explains he simply wanted to put the team in place for playoffs. Tyler wants to believe Will, but he questions if he can truly put the team first when the time comes, which Will insists that he will. After Tyler leaves, Lisa approaches after learning about the protest being planned at Will's house. She was hoping to come by but wanted to make sure Will was okay with it given that they're no longer together, which Will insists is fine. Lisa notices that Will is a bit more arrogant than usual, but he claims he's just being himself, which is why he's so invested in the protest with Mrs. Hughes, because where he comes from, they look out for their own. However, Lisa reminds Will this is new territory for Carlton, who she doesn't want being overwhelmed.

Carlton tries to talk the BSU out of doing the walk out, but they're too riled up at this point. Ms. Bassin accuses them of cosplaying as protesters. She instead advises them to think this through. However, Carlton suspects that Ms. Bassin's reluctance to support them has something to do with the new head of school position that opened up. Ms. Bassin reveals that Carlton's name has come up in faculty discussions about the Founder's Award, making him the first black student to ever do so. But if that's to happen, he must shut down the protest and find a way to get the others back in line.

Having overheard Carlton's conversation with Ms. Bassin, Will confronts his cousin, who reveals that the school is afraid of being embarrassed, which doesn't concern Will, who is determined to get Mrs. Hughes her job back. With Carlton at the center of it, given that he brought the problem to the BSU, he's finally exhibiting the qualities of a leader that he's always wanted to be.

Ashley is visibly upset, blaming herself for Mrs. Hughes firing, but Phil and Viv insists it wasn't her doing, with Hilary assuring Ashley that when her school sees this, they'll regret firing her. However, Ashley has her doubts that justice will prevail.

The BSU has gathered at the Banks' mansion as planned. There, Carlton delegates while Yazmin thanks those in attendance. They need to stand up for their teachers and books that depict the black experience honestly. Tyler arrives, offering any assistance. He figured they could use his expertise, since he's been in trouble with the school more than anyone else. Additionally, he loved Mrs. Hughes as well. Will then instructs Carlton to work in Yazmin's group to get closer to her.

After sending Carlton off, Will is approached by Uncle Phil, who asks him to keep an eye on Carlton now that he's weaning off his meds. He's counting on Will to report back to him if he notices anything out of the ordinary. Will then asks if Uncle Phil looked into Doc, which he did. While he seems to be involved in a lot of things that could be helpful to Will, Uncle Phil isn't quite sure about him. Will has come a long way, and Uncle Phil doesn't want him rushing into anything that's not in his best interest.

Hilary wonders if her mother, or even her father, has something to say about her dating Jazz, but Viv claims she doesn't have anything to say, nor does Phil. They decided after Hilary and LeMarcus broke up that they would not get involved in her relationships. Viv then presents Hilary with a job opportunity.

Yazmin wants Carlton to give a speech during the protest. Given that Carlton is the school's model black student, it would have the greatest impact coming from him, and so he agrees with Yazmin expressing her gratitude with a hug. She then asks if there's somewhere they can go to be alone and write the speech.

Drew tells Lisa how he went to Minneapolis with his family during the summer to protest George Floyd's murder. Lisa wishes she could've gone, but with her father being a cop, she doubts he would've ever allowed her to go. Meanwhile, Will and Tyler watch them from across the room, with Tyler explaining that Drew makes a play for Lisa every year, but this time he may stand a chance, which appears to frustrate Will, who interrupts the two of them. They're working on the banners, and Lisa asks Will to join them, but he declines.

Viv will give Hilary full control to curate all her work with a competitive rate. Whilst Hilary would love the opportunity, she doesn't have the bandwidth, currently occupied with the influencer house. Hilary proposes she get an assistant instead, with Viv calling Lisa over and offering her the position, which she gracefully accepts.

Mrs. Hughes arrives at Ashley's behest. Seeing so many of her student using their collective voice to fight for their principles fills her heart. She expresses her gratitude and wishes them good luck.

Viv wonders if they have a chance of getting Mrs. Hughes her job back, but Phil isn't sure. She claims she was trying to hold the school accountable for broken promises, by expanding the curriculum, but when they stalled her, she found a way to do it herself despite being warned against doing so several times. And the extra credit she chose to give out only made it worse. Phil worries the kids may be fighting a losing battle, but Viv argues that maybe they should be fighting a bigger battle.

Carlton and Yazmin construct the speech for the protest. Yazmin says Carlton will deliver the speech like a king, to which he replies that she's the queen behind the entire event. She credits Carlton with bringing incredible energy to the group in such little time, which is pretty impressive in its own right. Just as they're about to kiss, Hilary bursts in, but then excuses herself after realizing that she was interrupting.

Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv encourage the kids to pursue more in their protest, such as changing the curriculum on the Bel-Air campus. Ashley recalls having a petition about this the prior year, only for the school to sweep it under the rug. They need to focus on a clear message, and there's a lot that still unclear about the matter, Uncle Phil remarks. This needs to be a student driven decision, with Will declaring they will pursue this issue, and Carlton and Ashley backing him.

The following day, as Will and Carlton get ready for school, Ashley joins them in the driveway with her protest signs, revealing that her school has threatened to suspend any middle schoolers who protest. Ashley hates that she can't see it through, but Carlton will hang her sign outside her class where she can see it.

Hilary gives a Simply Spiked drinks marketing executive a tour of the influencer house in hopes of developing a partnership to market the product. If they decide to move forward, the associate would like to know if Ivy would be willing to participate, which Hilary insists she would. Ivy's 10 million followers would make the Simply Spiked higher-ups more likely to comply.

Bel-Air Academy releases a statement warning the students against participating in the walk out. Should they fail to comply, they will be suspended and removed from any and all extracurricular activities. To Will's surprise, Tyler declares that he has his back should he decide to move forward with the protest. Lisa also reveals that the swim team and lacrosse are still on board, as well as the track team, by Drew's account. Carlton is rather quiet, leading Will to suspect that he's having doubts. Carlton is trying to consider both sides, but as Will informs him, that other side he is trying to consider are people trying to hold black people down.

Yazmin has called an emergency BSU meeting to discuss if they should move forward with the walk out. Drew and Lisa are in favor of moving forward. If they do nothing, then nothing changes, but some of the other students fear suspension. Will is doubtful the school would actually suspend every black student, with Carlton agreeing that they would catch too much heat. And if they could point that out to the school, they may be able to negotiate a deal, which isn't what Will wants, but Yazmin asks if Ms. Bassin can get them a meeting with the head of the school.

Hilary interrupts Ivy's H2-Ivy photoshoot about the deal she has with Simply Spiked and a marketing opportunity for the house. However, Ivy is fairly occupied with her photoshoot, but she does love Simply Spiked, asking Hilary to meet with her at a later time.

Geoffrey sneaks into Phil's office and attempts to access his files, which are password protected. When he hears Phil approaching from down the hall, Geoffrey claims that he's simply catching up on work that fell behind in his absence. Since he's there, Phil decides to gift him cigars to signify a fresh start, as he's happy to have Geoffrey back, especially now since he needs Geoffrey to look into his firm partner James Lewis.

Ms. Bassin has arranged for Carlton and Yazmin to have a sit down with Principal Hartwig, who understands that it seems like the administration acted hastily in firing Mrs. Hughes, but it's been a lengthy process. In addition, Ms. Bassin reveals that Principal Hartwig instructed the committee to review their curriculum and substantial changes were made, but Yazmin still feel it isn't enough. However, Carlton is willing to work with them to come to a middle ground, ensuring their voices are heard while sparing the school any embarrassment.

Carlton and Yazmin return to the BSU and reveal that the can continue with the walk out as planned and no one will get suspended. Also, they have agreed to review the policy that got Mrs. Hughes fired, and they're going to start a curriculum review board with student members. However, they also have to agree not to make any signs, chants, or speeches. It's the only agreement they could come to, but Will accuses the school of trying to silence them. Ms. Bassin interjects, explaining that it's the administration's best and final offer. Reject it, and they'll suspend anyone that protests. The BSU put it to a vote, and Will is the only member opposed to the compromise, so he leaves.

Carlton and Yazmin follow behind Will, who reminds them what it means to protest and explains that the school is playing them, which Yazmin agrees is true and suggests playing the school back. She didn't want to say it in front of everyone else, but once the school allows them to walk out, they won't be able to stop them from holding their banner or Carlton giving a speech. Pretend to go along with the compromise is her suggestion.

Hilary waits for Ivy, who is an hour late to their meeting to speak about the Simply Spiked collab. However, Ivy reminds Hilary that they previously agreed that H2-Ivy would be the official drink of the house, but Hilary doesn't recall her permission being asked for that. Nevertheless, Ivy spoke to her lawyers, who advised her against endorsing the competition, which Hilary finds laughable, as Simply Spiked is an international brand whereas no one even knows what Ivy's drink is. Ivy disagrees and isn't interested in a Simply Spiked collab, turning down the partnership. Despite this, Hilary informs the marketing executive that she's looking forward to closing the deal.

As the clock strikes 11:00 AM, Carlton leads the students for the walk out, with Will, Lisa, Yazmin, and Drew following closely behind while Ms. Bassin watches from a distance. Carlton goes live to announce his plans to help get Mrs. Hughes reinstated. Drew denounces the video for being boring while Tyler takes a picture of Will who has "Justice for Mrs. Hughes" written on the palms of his hands, which doesn't go unnoticed by school officials, who then turn their attention to Yazmin and take her banner. Yazmin tells Carlton to give his speech, but he is too overwhelmed by his anxiety and runs off, explaining that he can't do it and begging Will not to tell his parents. And so, Will takes over for Carlton. Principal Hartwig and Ms. Bassin thank the students for participating and urge them to get back to class. Meanwhile, Will grabs the banner from security and runs to the roof, where he hangs the large "Black Teachers Matter" banner as many of the students film while chanting, allowing Ashley to observe from her classroom window.

## 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 (credit only)
* Adrian Holmes as Philip Banks

Guest starring* Karrueche Tran as Ivy
* Sam Daly as Coach Johnson
* Shelley Robertson as Ms. Bassin
* Charlie Hall as Tyler Laramy
* Riele Downs as Yazmin Staats

Co-starring* Anthony Fanelli as Math Teacher
* Nicholas Duvernay as Drew
* Thomas Crawford as Mr. Hartwig
* Tyra Colar as Female Beverage Exec