What a horribly titled episode. ZERO payback at all. Zero results from previous payback. It really gives a distorted perception of this episode which imo does a lot of things well. The Will/Carlton relationship starts off finally where it should have been as far as I'm concerned. Will trying to make Carlton cool. It even ends with Carlton not being black like Will but being black like Carlton, with that actually working for him. That was a great arc to watch even when you include the fact that Carlton throws a hissy fit when someone gives him the honest feedback when he claims he "can take it". Yeah this relationship ends the episode in (it makes the TV better Brand of) tension but not nearly as bad as I feared. Even Will has a small arc where he learns a little bit more about the struggle that Carlton has had to go through being one of few black kids.
Then we have two relationships getting into their own conflict. Hilary/Jazz and Philip/Vivian. Both of them end up in sexist positions but my stance on both is not the same. Philip overstepped. In every stage of their issue he went too far. He didn't consult for the finances. He was too open about his jealous concerns. He didn't respect Viv's grind. Hilary/Jazz has a similar dynamic though Hilary is in the wrong for pretending she didn't completely collapse on her principles for some money from a brand that isn't even in her wheelhouse. I will note that Jazz (I would even go so far to say) is gaslighting when he says "I get all that but I just didn't think you'd sell your soul". When you recontextualize and reform that he's saying "I understand, but I don't understand". Still every point Jazz makes is basically right. It just sounds bad because he argues like someone on a Jubilee video. Hitting the point but so badly it has that classic foul ball ding. I kinda wish he would have pushed back more on not the fact that what she's doing offends HIS morality but that it offends HER morality. Without that it does make him sound like he's trying to (as she put it mockingly) be her Dad.
Title aside I think this is a good episode for a dramatic intense reboot of Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
Review by wolfkinBlockedParent2022-03-13T22:36:17Z
What a horribly titled episode. ZERO payback at all. Zero results from previous payback. It really gives a distorted perception of this episode which imo does a lot of things well. The Will/Carlton relationship starts off finally where it should have been as far as I'm concerned. Will trying to make Carlton cool. It even ends with Carlton not being black like Will but being black like Carlton, with that actually working for him. That was a great arc to watch even when you include the fact that Carlton throws a hissy fit when someone gives him the honest feedback when he claims he "can take it". Yeah this relationship ends the episode in (it makes the TV better Brand of) tension but not nearly as bad as I feared. Even Will has a small arc where he learns a little bit more about the struggle that Carlton has had to go through being one of few black kids.
Then we have two relationships getting into their own conflict. Hilary/Jazz and Philip/Vivian. Both of them end up in sexist positions but my stance on both is not the same. Philip overstepped. In every stage of their issue he went too far. He didn't consult for the finances. He was too open about his jealous concerns. He didn't respect Viv's grind. Hilary/Jazz has a similar dynamic though Hilary is in the wrong for pretending she didn't completely collapse on her principles for some money from a brand that isn't even in her wheelhouse. I will note that Jazz (I would even go so far to say) is gaslighting when he says "I get all that but I just didn't think you'd sell your soul". When you recontextualize and reform that he's saying "I understand, but I don't understand". Still every point Jazz makes is basically right. It just sounds bad because he argues like someone on a Jubilee video. Hitting the point but so badly it has that classic foul ball ding. I kinda wish he would have pushed back more on not the fact that what she's doing offends HIS morality but that it offends HER morality. Without that it does make him sound like he's trying to (as she put it mockingly) be her Dad.
Title aside I think this is a good episode for a dramatic intense reboot of Fresh Prince of Bel Air.