No One’s Bigger Than The Team: ‘Bel-Air’ Season 2 Episode 2 Recap
When last week’s episode of Peacock’s Bel-Air ended, Will (Jabari Banks) received a call from Doc (Brooklyn McLinn) where the scout informed him that he would pull up to his next basketball game. Will is struggling all the way down to the wire. When his coach draws up a play for another one of his teammates, Will voices his displeasure. Although he didn’t want to, Will runs the play but his teammate unfortunately misses the game winner and Bel-Air loses. After the game, Will and Doc discuss his performance and how winners always find a way to win. Uncle Phil (Adrian Holmes) peeps the interaction between the two and is immediately concerned. Later on that night, Phil decides to ask his nephew about the mysterious character. Will shares that he wants a D1 scholarship and Doc could help him get one. Phil warns his nephew to be careful who he listens to.
Carlton (Olly Sholotan) tries his luck at getting through to his cousin also. He explains that a real leader elevates the entire team, not just himself. It seemed like Carlton’s words stuck with Will because he apologized to the team at the next practice. This turns into a heated argument causing Will to walk out of practice. After getting a call from Jackie (Jazlyn Martin), Will decides to blow off some steam by sneaking out with Jazz (Jordan L. Jones) and Carlton. They meet at a rave in South Central. Will and Jackie are vibing out when Doc appears out of nowhere. Will is blindsided when he finds out that Jackie is actually Doc’s niece. Doc and Will further discuss Will’s situation. He tells Will that he feels like Bel-Air has made his game soft. Will hears this and takes it to heart. Before his next game, Will tells Carlton that he’s going to show everybody the West Philly Will and he wasn’t lying. Will was on fire throughout the whole game. Bel-Air was up 15 and the coach wanted to run plays. Will ignores the play that coach called for Kirk and instead continues to score and showboat. Bel-Air ends up winning the game. Afterwards, Doc emphasizes that no one can argue with a winner and that’s why his coach didn’t take him out of the game. After Doc tells Will that he wants him to come play for his AAU team, Uncle Phil interrupts the conversation and makes it clear that he and Vivian need to be a part of any conversation Doc has with Will in the future. How will things play out with Will and Doc? When will the Banks family find out Doc’s true intentions?
The court isn’t the only place that Bel Air Academy has drama. After being reported for teaching off of the curriculum, Miss Hughes (Tatyana Ali) is fired. Ashley (Akira Akbar) is distraught about the decision and shares the news with her family. Aunt Viv (Cassandra Freeman) decides to bring it up at the Parental Advisory Board meeting. Most of the white parents agreed with Miss Hughes being fired while none of the parents of color did. She wasn’t the only Banks family member who had a problem with the unjust treatment of the beloved teacher. At the BSU meeting, Carlton brings it up to the other students. They all acknowledge how much Miss Hughes has done for them over the years and how rallying behind her would be a worthy cause. The conversation comes to a head when Will suggests that they have a walkout (Or as they called it…a black out). Ironically enough, this just added to Carlton’s stresses. His parents talked to his therapist about reducing the dosage of his anti-anxiety meds, which can either be good or very bad. We’ll see how it plays out for him as the tensions around him will undoubtedly start to rise.
Speaking of his tensions rising, Hilary (Coco Jones) and Jazz’s relationship is already off to a rocky start. Jazz wants to know exactly where they stand but Hilary is more concerned with her influencer house and the obligations that come with it. Jazz feels like Hilary is using him the same way Ivy (Karreuche Tran) is treating her. Hilary makes a step in the right direction when she decides to introduce Jazz to her parents. Phil and Vivian don’t seem too impressed by their daughter’s new boyfriend. Aunt Viv also wasn’t impressed by Reed, who continues to ignore her. She told his assistant that she doesn’t need Reed explaining her work or controlling her narrative with the fellowship and that she would no longer need his services.
Although she no longer needed Reed’s services, the family definitely missed Geoffrey (Jimmy Akingbola) and his. After discussing the situation that previously transpired with Will and his father. The two apologized to each other and spoke on the importance of brotherhood. Similar to Will in the first episode of the season, Geoffrey comes back to the Banks residence. Something seems a bit off though. We’ll definitely have to keep a close eye out for the development of his character, especially since we found out that he son that he can’t see because of an arrangement he previously made. As the season progresses, there will surely be more secrets and surprises that come out. Let us know what you thought about the first episode of season two and what your predictions for next week’s episode are in the comments!