Bel-Air Review: No One Wins When the Family Feuds (Season 1 Episode 8)

As Bel-Air continues, it moves further away from the source material from which it derives. Which, by and large, is for the better. 

On Bel-Air Season 1 Episode 8, “No One Wins When the Family Feuds,” Will’s mom, Vy, comes to town to celebrate his birthday. Vy’s visit brings with her all kinds of family drama. 

Bel-Air seems to be at its best when it deviates from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. On the original series, Vy comes to visit her son and sister’s family many times. But on “No One Wins When the Family Feuds,” Vy brings with her some baggage surrounding Vivian, Will, and Will’s father, Lou. 

Will and Carlton work better when they’re getting along, and Bel-Air certainly seems to be pushing the characters in that direction (finally). On “No One Wins When the Family Feuds,” Bel-Air smartly shifts the conflict to being between Vy and Vivian, while simultaneously resolving Will and Carlton’s conflict. 

Adding Vy into the mix feels fresh, and her presence makes the cast feel more cohesive and whole. Throughout Bel-Air so far, there haven’t been many full cast scenes or stories, but Vy’s visit manages to bring everyone together for the show’s good.

Even a character like Geoffrey, who have largely been on the backburner, gets a meatier story as a result of Vy’s visit

April Parker Jones, who plays Vy, is a strong actress — but the message that Bel-Air is truly sending with this episode is that it recognizes Cassandra Freeman (Vivian) as one of the stronger actors on the series. All of them are strong, but Freeman frequently stands out. 

Vy and Vivian’s conflict is truly the center of the episode, and it’s deftly executed. It’s emotional and really balances the whole episode, particularly when it resolves. 

Vy’s visit also brings an ominous promise to learn more about Will’s father, Lou. Lou is obviously a little bit worse than the deadbeat from the original series, but there’s more of a mystery surrounding him. 

Hilary Banks: Jazz, you’re a pain in the ass

Introduction to the concept of Lou is obviously kicking the can down the road a little bit in terms of creating drama, but it feels less forced than some of their other points. 

“No One Wins When the Family Feuds” rights several of the rockier points from Bel-Air, but the worst story is easily Hilary’s conflict with Kylo. Hilary’s character or choices are not the problem (Coco Jones is brilliant) but it’s hard to care about this particular story, just because the others on the episode are so well done. 

Overall, though, “No One Wins When the Family Feuds” begins to course correct several of the issues that Bel-Air has had, and gives nearly every performer a chance to shine. 

A few stray thoughts:

• Will and Carlton never had a blow-up about Lisa, and their scene making up is one of their best of the series so far. The show seems to be course-correcting here. 
• Vy’s speech to Carlton about both he and Will having wanted brothers is so touching. 10/10.
• Can we talk about how Geoffrey’s sensibilities were so offended by Phil that he was about to quit, until Will asked him for help? Jimmy Akingbola is crushing his role. 
• Hilary and Jazz being friends is still weird, but it works!
• I’m looking forward to some of the original Fresh Prince actors guest starring in next week’s episode. The original Vy and the second Aunt Viv – which couldn’t be timed better. 

What did you think of this episode of Bel-Air? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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New episodes of Bel-Air stream Thursdays on Peacock.

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