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As the junior years of Will (Jabari Banks) and Carlton (Olly Sholotan) come to a close, they are both in the midst of challenging times. On the season two finale entitled ‘Don’t Look Back,’ we see the boy try to work through them as some truths are revealed as long as the winner of the Founder’s Award. Additionally, we get some solutions for some of the rest of the Banks family’s issues while some new problems also arise.
After she misinterpreted what she seen at Jazz’s party, Hilary (Coco Jones) made her way back to LaMarcus (Justin Crowell), who obviously couldn’t have been happier. He was so happy in fact that the next morning while the two of them ate breakfast, he offered to take her on a trip to Paris. Hilary brings up how the influencer house and how busy it has her. LaMarcus tells her that it sounds like she needs a break. He doubles down by telling Hilary that he believes that them going on the trip together would be a chill way for them to reconnect. Sensing that she was still hesitant, LaMarcus tells Hilary that she can think about it and let him know the next day. As Hilary is still deciding if she’s going to go on the trip, she returns home to get some luggage from her parents. While doing so, she also gets some advice from them regarding her current situation. Ironically enough, the advice that each parent gave was a subliminal shot at the other parent which left Hilary still confused on if she should go or not.
Throughout the season, both Phil and Vivian have dealt with uncertainty about next moves in their respective careers. Phil took a huge step in the direction of figuring out exactly what he’d be doing next. He invited Erika (Diandra Lyle) to an office space that he was considering purchasing and dropped a bomb on her. He told her that he had hopes that the new space would be the home of his new law firm. Phil explained that he would still work with Carson and Lake, but instead of being an in-house lawyer, he would run a small time firm that they outsource business to. Erika expresses that she doesn’t think the partners would go for it but Phil convinces her to make them see it his way. Vivian was surprised by Janice (Daphne Reid), who stopped by to tell her that a gallery wanted to feature five of her pieces in their latest exhibition. At least that’s what she masked the visit as. In reality, she came over to address Vivian about the Neeman Board wanting to give her the executive director position. Daphne vows that she won’t give up her position without a fight. Vivian shares that the Board had called and said it might not work out and it’s all because Janice had threatened to go to the media and blow the situation up. Phil suggests that maybe Vivian let it go altogether, which doesn’t help at all. It takes her back to how she felt Phil was treated her when she mentioned that her art was becoming too much for her. She emphasizes how she always encourages him to run through his obstacles and how she wished he would stop encouraging her to run from hers. Vivian invites Janice back over to give her an alternative out. She tells her that they can spin the story for it to seem as if she was retiring and passing the torch to a young up and coming artist. Vivian noted how even if she didn’t take Janice’s job, it would only be a matter of time before someone did and that it would look much better for her legacy if she left that way. While celebrating the deal closing, Geoffrey mentions that he keeps getting calls from a blocked number but every time he answers, no one picks up. Their conversation is interrupted by Erika who comes with a bottle to celebrate the occasion. As she congratulates Phil with a hug, she also sneaks in a kiss. Phil quickly tells her that their relationship must remain professional and that can’t happen. Geoffrey witnessed the kiss and made sure to ask Phil if he was sure he was making the right decision. Phil assured Geoffrey that he did. He said that he could handle Erika and it was just about playing her game a little bit.
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The erratic behavior we’ve been seeing continues from Carlton early on in this episode. We see him snorting drugs…at school before he’s interrupted by Ms. Bassin (Shelley Robertson), who informs him that she got some people from Princeton who are interested in him. She also assures Carlton that he’s in really good shape to win the award. Later on after the mental health advocacy panel that Carlton spoke on ended, Drew attempts to make him feel bad by mentioning that he’s a fraud. He notes how Lisa is still on his side despite him being the bad guy. Later at home, Will comes to Carlton’s room and tries to make amends with Carlton. He expresses that he now knows how it feels to have a brother. He continues by telling Carlton that he also knows how it feels to have a foot in two different worlds. He warns his cousin that he doesn’t have to go back to being the same dude that he was before. Will gives Carlton his word that even though he’s been distant, he still has back no matter what.
While Phil and Vivian were contemplating whether or not helping Doc (Brooklyn McLinn) would be a wise decision, Will had reverted back to his old ways. Instead of being at school, he’s taking his anger out on the basketball courts. After saving him from getting into a fight out there, Jazz (Jordan L. Jones) tries to talk some sense into Will by telling him that he can’t always run to the streets when things don’t go his way. Will rudely dismisses Jazz and goes to reflect on the beach alone. He’s joined by Lisa (Simone Joy Jones), who gives him some advice about his current situation that cheers him up a bit. After Will thanks her for showing up, Lisa tells him that’s what friends are for. He then asks her if being friends is what she thought was best for them to which she answered yes. Drew (Nicholas Duvernay) sees the two of them sneaking back on campus together and decides to ask Lisa about it. He tells her that he’s looking for a little bit of honesty. She leaves him speechless when she brings up the Carlton video and ask for honesty about that. Will catches up with Tyler (Charlie Hall), who tells him that they’re playing to go to the semis but the team they’re playing against is really tough. While the two of them talk, Tyler asks Will since when Carlton and Connor (Tyler Bernhardt) are friends again. Will lets him know that Carlton has been on his own stuff lately and that you can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped. Still feeling lost and hurt, Will decides to give his mother a call. He expresses how he might actually need his father although all this time he thought he didn’t. Vy (April Parker Jones) tells him that it’s time for him to stop looking for answers in others and be the answer for himself. Will takes these words and uses them to make something impactful happen. Will brings his Zenith Hype teammates to the Banks residence to let them talk to Uncle Phil. Each one of them expressed how Doc held them down in their times of need. In a conversation with Will and Phil, Doc also expressed his true intentions. After he realized what Doc was actually pure, Phil asked Doc for more information on Lorenzo. It turns out that Lorenzo had an extensive record including being arrested in a drug raid. Phil revealed that Lorenzo was working with the cops for his freedom and threatened to leak his files to the internet. Lorenzo ignores the threat and curses out both Phil and Doc. As he’s walking out the room, Geoffrey (Jimmy Akigbola) blocks his way. Lorenzo reluctantly decides to sign Doc’s buyout, ending the potential chaos that might ensue. Will continued to do good deeds after helping his Zenith Hype teammates. The next time, it was his former Bel-Air Academy teammates that he lent a hand. Remembering what Tyler had said about their next opponent, Will called Coach Johnson (Sam Daly) and invited the guys to the courts on the beach. Will came up with the genius idea to have Bel-Air scrimmage against Zenith Hype in hopes that it would get them ready for their next matchup in the state tournament. Coach Johnson applauds Will for being unselfish and offers him his spot back on the team for senior season.
Before the Banks family leaves for the Founder’s Award ceremony, Will thanks Phil for what he did for the team and Phil tells Will that he’s proud of him. Ashley (Akira AKbar) thanks Will and Carlton for never letting her give up and making her realize it’s okay to be herself unapologetically. She shows her appreciation to the two of them by giving them cards. A multitude go things happened at the ceremony. Geoffrey alerts Phil that he traced back the blocked numbers that had been calling him and they linked back to East London. Drew admits that he leaked the video of Carlton. Along with his admission, he notes that Lisa will never be open to him or anybody else until she’s over the thing she has for Will. Speaking of Will, he and Jazz end up making up. Jazz expresses how he feels like he’s about to mess up the best thing that ever happened to him by letting Hilary walk out of his life. Will hips him that Hilary hasn’t left with LaMarcus yet and he still has time to go tell her how he feels. Doc showed up to show support for Will and Will made sure to let him know that it was his advice that kept him in the race. Next, we see Will eyeing Lisa but before he can go talk to her, he’s approached by Jackie (Jaslyn Martin). As they discuss making up, Aunt Viv comes over to speak to Jackie, which allows Will the opportunity to follow Lisa who walked away when she seen him talking to Jackie. Will finds Lisa in the library and tells her it isn’t what it seems. Lisa tells him that he doesn’t have to explain because they’re just friends. Will tells her it’s too late for that and he needs her in his life. They share a passionate kiss, all but solidifying that they still have strong feelings for each other. Young Ashley might also have feelings for someone. She saw her classmate at the ceremony and noticed she had on a rainbow pin. They childishly smiled at one another and made plans to link throughout the summer. If only that was it though. Ashley also saw something else. During the ceremony, Carlton decides that it’s a smart idea to go to his locker and do drugs. Unfortunately for him, his little sister caught him as she was bringing him his talking cards. He tells Ashley that he’s just doing Xanax to keep his nerves down since he has a lot of them. Ashley tells him that she’s not stupid. As Carlton realizes what could happen next, he implores his sister to keep her mouth closed. Ashley declines and Carlton becomes upset, grabbing his sister making her promise not to say anything to which she agrees.
Elsewhere, Jazz makes it to Hilary’s in time right before she’s about to head to the airport to meet LaMarcus. He spills his soul to Hilary and admits that he was just pushing her out before she had a chance to do it to him. Hilary tells him that while he was protecting his heart, he was hurting hers. Jazz replies by telling her that he never meant to hurt her but love hurts. Although Jazz confesses his love for her, Hilary isn’t sure that she can take another chance on him. Back at the Founder’s Award ceremony, Ms. Bassin names Carlton the winner. As he gives his award speech, Carlton looks in the crowd and sees his family (specifically Ashely) and starts to feel terrible. He apologizes to the crowd for leading them to believe that he was worthy for the award. He admits to everyone that he is a drug addict. He explains how he’s high on coke most days, including that specific moment. He continues by revealing that he lies to the people he loves everyday and it makes him feel very bad and he doesn’t want to feel that way anymore. When the family arrives home, Will applauds Carlton for the courage it took him to do what he did. Carlton tries to apologize to Ashley but she isn’t receptive. Vivian takes a more calm approach with Carlton as Phil is much more stern and visibly annoyed. He badgers his son about his decisions. Phil emphasizes that he’s always made sure that Carlton has had the best things he’s had to offered. Carlton says that he knows Phil wishes he had a stronger son and knows he isn’t the son he dreamed of. Phil grows even more upset. Although he’s talking to Carlton, his frustration from his argument with Viv is seeping through also. He rhetorically asks how many times he’ll have to apologize for giving everybody else a great life. He exclaims that he’s done taking the blame. The parents discuss how things could have gotten to the point that they’re at. Although they didn’t really have the answers, they did swear that they would figure it out together.
The episode ends with a few notable things happening. Hilary chooses to go on the trip with LaMarcus. Will being out of the country with him make her want him more or will it cause her to miss Jazz? Geoffrey got some mail that had a picture of him and Frederick in it. Who is watching him? Is it the same people who have been calling him? What do they want? Carlton reads Ashley’s letter to him and contrary to what he said when he admitted he was on drugs, she expressed how he is her hero. Phil shares a strong embrace with his son as both of them shed tears. Vivian is pleased that Janice took her advice and took the high road out. She is also busy looking for treatment for Carlton. Will Carlton get the help that he actually needs? How will being the executive director for the Neeman Board play out for Vivian? Can we trust Phil to keep his intentions with Erika pure? She invited him to lunch. His first instinct was to decline but after he reconsidered, he agreed to go. The last scene of the season finds Will and Lisa on Bel-Air’s campus. The two discuss Carlton’s situation and how they’ll be there to support I’m every step of the way. They continue by talking about how crazy their junior year was and what to expect for senior year. Lisa tells Will that he can’t just skip over the summer. As Will Smith’s ‘Summertime’ plays, the two hint at all the possibilities in front of them for the summer. What’s next for the lovebirds? Can we expect to see things heat up for them even more since school’s out? Let us know what you thought about the season two finale and what your predictions for the next season are in the comments below!
