What I’m Watching: Bel-Air

Bel-Air: Season 2, Episode 8 “Pursuit of Happiness” (B+)

This episode featured a truly dark turn for Carlton, who blacked out and lost his car but fortunately chose to call his mother to come pick him up rather than making the situation worse by attempting to hide what happened. Geoffrey is aware of the extent to which Carlton is in trouble, and hopefully this will be enough to scare Carlton straight and encourage him to seek the help he needs. Things are tense among the men in the Banks household, with Phil not happy that Will kept walking out of every room he entered and Will also not putting much stock into Carlton’s “for what it’s worth” apology. Will is also making some typically questionable decisions, standing up Jackie so that he can be there for Lisa while her new stepmother gives birth. Doc is officially out of the picture in a major way now that his taking bribes has been exposed, and that’s not going to be a positive development for Will and his career. It’s not clear what’s going on with Phil and his business loyalties after a heartfelt tribute to his deceased former partner. Viv confronted Erica quite directly about their past issues, but that may be a moot point if Phil isn’t going anywhere. Viv, on the other hand, has apparently done quite well for herself, by standing by her principles and now potentially taking the job of the person who she felt was holding her back, which is certainly something she did not expect.