Just Like Old Times

**Just Like Old Times** is the ninth episode of the second season of Peacock's modern-day reinterpretation, *Bel-Air*. It aired on April 20, 2023.

## Synopsis

Will confides in Phil about the shocking information he discovered regarding Doc and Zenith.

## Plot

Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv discuss their next move after learning that Doc has been taking bribes to steer players towards certain colleges and agents. Geoffrey reveals that Doc used to deal with a former business partner named Lorenzo. They built Zenith together, but they fell out and Doc cut him off. Determined to out Doc, Lorenzo is informing the players the truth about how he is profiting from them. Will admits that Uncle Phil was right about Doc and decides to confront Doc himself and quit the team.

Carlton is approached by John and asked about Connor, who has gone missing. Carlton claims that he doesn't know Connor's whereabouts but insists that he's probably fine. After texting Connor without response, Carlton spots Lisa as she turns the corner, laughing and holding hands with Drew. She meets his glare, causing her smile to dimmer and her grip on Drew's hand to loosen. Drew isn't sure why Lisa is still Carlton's friend and reveals that he's been hanging with Connor again after watching them leave campus together yesterday.

Will goes to Zenith Hype to talk with the other players about Doc taking bribes and steering them towards certain colleges. However, the other players are less upset than Will and still see Doc as a way out, reasoning that they don't get to walk out to a nice house in Bel Air and a luxury car like Will. They walk to a bus stop, meaning Doc is all they have.

Viv receives an unexpected visit at the house from Erika, who stopped by to apologize for her past actions while they were in college.

The acquisition is calling for Phil and James to fire half of their staff. However, Phil refuses to let anyone go. They need a new plan, but James exclaims there is no new plan and that the acquisition is their best chance at survival. Phil questions when did they begin to act from a position of fear, to which James replies they've been in a hole since losing the Garrison account, largely because Phil left. Phil fears that their legacy is being dismantled and if they agree to this acquisition, which Phil won't, he wouldn't even be able to recognize who they are anymore.

Viv has given Erika a tour of the house. When she mentions how she and Joan are still friends, Erika admits that she doesn't have many friends due to an exhaustive work life. Viv is having a bit of a work crisis of her own, revealing that she's being offered her dream job at the expense of someone else. Erika replies that if Janice was doing her job right, then they wouldn't be offering it to Viv. As a black woman facing constant disrespect, Erika learned to stop giving consideration to people who haven't offered it to her. Phil then arrives, taken by surprise when he finds Viv talking with Erika.

Lisa informs Will that Carlton is hanging with Connor again and possibly back on drugs. She's hoping that Will can put aside his differences with Carlton to talk to him. Lisa can't do it herself because she and Carlton got into a fight after he accused Drew of dropping the locker room video, which Will admits is true. That said, he's done looking out for Carlton because he'll throw them under the bus any chance he gets.

Ivy commends Hilary on pulling together a football collab with Lamarcus for a five-on-five game. Hilary claims that she and Lamarcus are just friends, but Ivy, Phanta, and Monica aren't convinced. Hilary's claims become even less convincing when Lamarcus tells her that he has everything set up and kisses her on the cheek. Hilary then gets a calendar alert for Jazz's first meet and greet at the store today, which she helped him plan. Ivy tells Hilary that Jazz is the past and that she needs to focus on her future.

Phil and Viv discuss Erika over a glass of wine. While they're not necessarily friends again, they're taking baby steps to repairing their relationship. She's even convinced Viv into further consideration of the Neeman position. It's a great offer for Viv, more than Phil can say about the firm acquisition offer. James is ready to roll over, but Phil refuses. Viv advises him to consider the offer from Erika's firm and says that she has her eye on Erika.

Ashley arrives at Hilary's event, acting as her personal assistant to ensure that the event goes smoothly. Ashley agreed to assist after Hilary informed her that TikTok icon Sloan James would be in attendance and play as their fifth player in the game. Ashley loves that she uses her massives following to discuss real issues such as misogyny, racism, protecting the planet.

Will is confronted by Doc after he skipped out on practice and tried to convince the team to turn against him. Doc tells Will that he never lied to him and reminds him of his promise to help Will reach his dreams and turn him into a savage on the court. Doc explains to Will that what he's been doing has been happening with high school and college sports for years. The day Will signed with Doc, he was proud to call him his coach, because he needed to believe that a real one like Doc existed, but now he feels stupid for not seeing that Doc is merely someone who's just trying to hustle his way to the top.

Carlton arrives home, where his mother awaits with Connor and Connor's mother, Mrs. Satterfield. Geoffrey proposed this meeting, which Mrs. Satterfield is grateful for, as she couldn't get a straight answer out of Connor as to why he came home in the middle of the night or why his father's Patek was missing. According to Connor's story, he and Carlton got robbed. However, after hearing Carlton's story, Connor confesses to lying. He then proceeds to corroborate Carlton's story about how they got drunk together and split up. After parting ways, Connor claims he met up with a girl named Sydney, who Mrs. Satterfield doesn't approve of, as she's a high school dropout who works at CVS. As for his father's watch, Connor claims he crashed at Sydney's place and likely left it there. That said, Connor says that Carlton told the truth and that he was just trying to cover for himself.

Hilary contemplates texting Jazz and wishing him good luck with his meet and greet, but then Lamarcus arrives with a few of his teammates for the game. Lamarcus hopes he didn't overwhelm her the other night with his confession, though she insists it was sweet, though she doesn't want Lamarcus to think that she's using him for what he can do for her. Lamarcus never thought Hilary was that kind of girl, but he also doesn't want her to think that he's doing everything he has done just to get at her. He proposes that they simply dedicate the day to having fun. Hilary then deletes her messages to Jazz and closes her phone.

Phil meets with Erika to accept her offer. She notes that the visit with Viv must've paid off, admitting that she stopped by the house in an attempt to smooth things over with Viv, which might then make it easier for Phil to make the right decision. However, he does have a request, that being the Garrison account, for which Erika promises to make the call. She then welcomes Phil to the team with a hug and whispers in his ear that "this is going to be so good."

Will confronts Carlton over his reignited friendship with Connor, having a hard time believing Carlton's story about getting drunk and losing his car. When Carlton attempts to deflect, Will comes to the conclusion that he's back on drugs and begins rummaging through his belongings, accusing Carlton of putting himself over everyone else. Carlton pleads with Will to stop and says that he's not back on drugs. Admittedly, he did lie about hanging out with Connor, and he did make a play for Lisa, which she shut down. And so, Carlton just needed someone to be there for him, considering Will also turned him away. Carlton tells Will that just because he can't trust his coach or new girlfriend, doesn't mean he can't be trusted. Will falls back and tells Carlton that he's only hurting himself.

Phanta and Monica report that Sloan can't make it for their five-on-five game due to having booked another gig. Down a girl with the game about to begin, Hilary is desperate for another player and asks Ashley to fill in, though she's not necessarily happy about the uniform. Hilary scores the first touchdown, leading to Lamarcus picking her up to celebrate.

Viv calls Yvette to accept the executive director position with Neeman.

Jazz has invited the rap group Coast Contra for his first ever meet and greet at Charlie's Vinyl, which Hilary watches from Instagram. Ashley accuses her of stalking Jazz and says that he probably misses her as much as she misses him. He hated social media before they got together, but he's broadcasting now as a bat signal, at least according to Ashley. Hilary then encourages Ashley to have more fun and not get so caught up in trying to save the world.

Phil calls James over and reveals that he got the Garrison account back, though Phil reveals that in order to close the deal, he had to agree to join Carson & Lake. However, if that's the compromise, James turns down the offer. Phil is the face of the firm, and without him, it won't be the same. However, as Phil recalls, when he left, James single-handedly ran the firm, and he will continue to do so without Phil. He's going to cross the finish line for all of them, leading James to reconsider.

Will arrives at Jazz's meet and greet, where he greets Coast Contra. Jazz is watching the door for Hilary but claims that he's not worried. Jackie then enters, at which point, Will confirms that he still needs Jazz's place for the night.

As planned, Will takes Jackie back to Jazz's place, where he asks to hear her side of the Zenith situation. However, she's not convinced that he led her back to Jazz's apartment just to talk. Admittedly, this is true, and Will and Jackie proceed to have sex.

The party has ended, and only Hilary and Lamarcus remain at the house. He tells her that the night doesn't have to be over and invites her to join him in the hot tub, but she asks for a rain check. Before she leaves, Lamarcus confesses that he wants Hilary and tells her to take as much time as she needs.

After having sex, Jackie notices that something is bothering Will and says that she will tell him anything he wants to know. She admits to knowing what Doc was up to, but she couldn't talk about it. While he's her uncle, her feelings for Will are real. Doc just wanted Uncle Phil's help given his connection to high places and said he could be an asset. Doc was essentially plotting to get at Uncle Phil this whole time, and Jackie knew about it, but she swears that she didn't know all the details. Will is heartbroken and agrees that Jackie should leave.

Carlton meets with Connor to thank him for throwing himself under the bus, but to also ask him what exactly happened last night. Connor reveals that after Carlton passed out, they grabbed his car for a burger run, but then Lance drove it all the way to Palisades. They were high and then found themselves in the pacific, where Connor got hit by a wave and lost his phone and father's watch. Connor doesn't even know how he made it home. Another Carlton/Connor adventure, Carlton remarks. Since Ms. Peterson's kindergarten class, Connor adds. Carlton called his mom because he figured she'd believe him and always sees the best in him. Connor can't relate, however. Nevertheless, Carlton is out of chances back home, so such events can never happen again, especially with Geoffrey snooping around, as well as his parents and Will. They have to be careful moving forward, Carlton says as Connor supplies him with more drugs.

Hilary arrives at Charlie's Vinyl, though she leaves abruptly after seeing Jazz dancing with other girls. Upset, Hilary returns to Lamarcus's place and kisses him.

Phil and Geoffrey arrive at Zenith after learning from Will that Doc has plans to use Phil to help with his financial troubles. Doc explains that the reason his players don't know what he does is because if he's ever exposed, it'll fall only on him and his players will have plausible deniability. By now, they likely heard about his ex-business partner Lorenzo. He and Doc were like brothers and used to run the neighborhood together, but he started taking money from street dudes, and in return, they wanted a piece of the players and their future. Colleges and agents are a legit path, but taking that same hustle to their hood was a whole different set of rules that Doc didn't want to play by. He tried to buy Lorenzo out, but he'd rather see the place burn down than succeed without him. Phil claims that none of this concerns him as Will no longer plays for Zenith, but it's not that simple. Lorenzo knows all of Doc's secrets and is threatening to expose him if he doesn't get what he wants, which means that every player will be ineligible to play college ball. This thing with Lorenzo has been brewing for a while, and Doc knew he could use someone like Phil, claiming that they're more alike than Phil might realize, revealing that he knows how Phil got Will out of his gun charge. Doc believes they can come to an arrangement, but he needs "a little bit of that Philip Banks gangsta shit."

Will waits at home, sitting alone in his room in the dark, recalling every moment and encounter that has led him to where he is now.

## 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
* Justin Cornwell as Lamarcus Alton
* Jaime Ray Newman as Mrs. Satterfield
* Reno Wilson as James Lewis
* Brooklyn McLinn as Doc Hightower
* Diandra Lyle as Erika Baker
* Tyler Barnhardt as Connor Satterfield
* Jazlyn Lopez Martin as Jackie
* Nicholas Duvernay as Drew

Co-starring* Aimee Li as Phanta
* Al-Shabazz Jabateh as Hudson
* Andi René Christensen as Monica
* Cairo Spencer as Marlon
* Charles Jackson as Jerrell
* Daniel Kim as John
* Freedom Bridgewater as Senior Partner #1
* Maya Goodwin as Senior Partner #2
* R. Marcus Taylor as Kenneth
* Eric Kendricks as Eric Kendricks
* Ernest Jones as Ernest Jones
* Robbie Anderson as Robbie Anderson
* Eric Jamal as Eric Jamal (Coast Contra)
* Ras Austin as Ras Austin (Coast Contra)
* RioLoz as RioLoz (Coast Contra)
* Taj Austin as Taj Austin (Coast Contra)