Bonus: Producers' Chat On Season 1 of Bel-Air

Published May 6, 2022, 7:00 AM

The Therapy for Black Girls Podcast is a weekly conversation with Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, a licensed Psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia, about all things mental health, personal development, and all the small decisions we can make to become the best possible versions of ourselves.

A couple of weeks ago Bel-Air wrapped its first season and the Therapy for Black Girls production team has reconvened once again to reflect on the final episodes of the season. Producers Fredia Lucas and Ellice Ellis joined me for this conversation and we chatted about some of the final plot lines of the season, where the characters' dynamics ultimately landed, and our predictions for season two. This episode does contain spoilers. 

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Check out the discussion about Episodes 1-4 of Bel-Air in Session 248 of the podcast.

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Our Production Team

Executive Producers: Dennison Bradford & Maya Cole Howard

Producers: Fredia Lucas & Cindy Okereke

Assistant Producer: Ellice Ellis

Welcome to the Therapy for Black Girls Podcast, a weekly conversation about mental health, personal development, and all the small decisions we can make to become the best possible versions of ourselves. I'm your host, Dr Joy Hard and Bradford, a licensed psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information or to find a therapist in your area, visit our website at Therapy for Black Girls dot com. While I hope you love listening to and learning from the podcast, it is not meant to be a substitute for a relationship with a licensed mental health professional. Hey, y'all, thanks so much for joining me for a special bonus episode of the Arapy for Black Girls podcast. We'll get right into the conversation after a word from our sponsors. If you've been watching Peacock's new series, bell Air, this bonus episode is for you. A couple of weeks ago, bell Air wrapped his first season, and the Therapy for Black Girls production team has reconvened once again to reflect on the final episodes of the season. In this conversation, I'm joined by producer Elie Ellis and senior producer Freda Lucas. We chatted about some of the final plot lines of the season, where the character's dynamics ultimately landed, and our predictions for season two. If you haven't had the time to watch bell Air, you may want to pause this episode or saving until you're all caught up, because they're definitely spoilers. If something resonates with you while enjoying our conversation, please share with us on social media using the hashtag tpg in session, or join us over and the Sister Circle to talk more in depth about the episode. You can join us at community that Therapy for Black Girls dot com. Here's our conversation. All right, So the production team is back in full effect for our second part of what we're watching Bellair. So, the season one finally wrapped up a couple of weeks ago, so we thought it was fitting to come back and talk about what we watched, how the season progressed after we recap those first couple of episodes, and to talk a little bit about what we're hoping to see in season two. So freed if you would start by telling us what were your thoughts about the remainder of the season. When I tell y'all, I hooped in Holland when I saw Marlon Wayans as the daddy. I love Marlon Wayans, I love the Waynes family, and so any time I get to watch them do their thing, it makes me so happy. And then to see Marlin in such a dramatic role, it was great. That was probably one of my favorite things from the final episode. Yeah, that's really interesting because the season finale came, there was some talk about, like, oh, y'all are gonna be really surprised about who the dad is, and I thought that they were gonna bring Will Smith back. I thought like, oh, I wonder if Will is gonna be like the dad. So I was also very pleasantly surprised to see Marlin, and after watching it read something about the fact that a lot of that scene between him and Jabari was not scripted, so they were just like playing off of one another and ed living, which made it an even more impactful seen. I think that was a great surprise. I went back and forth between whether or not I liked the situation where Jeffrey kind of got fired because he gave Will the information. Jeffrey overstepped definitely, but at the same time, I think he like had care and investment in Will, and also, you know, we learned that Jeffrey is separated from his fun and so he wanted to have that connection. But I was really shocked that it came to a head like that and Jeffrey just poofed. He was gone. I hope to see him back in the second season because I really enjoyed his character, and I still think there's not some underlying tension, but a backstory between him and Uncle Phil that has yet to be uncovered. So hopefully we get that in season two as well. I completely agree. So that was one of the biggest disappointments for me, is that Jeffrey was all of a sudden gone, because he was definitely a highlight of the show for me. And I agree with you at least, I do think that there's still more to the dynamic between him and Uncle Field that they didn't really get into. And I think now that we have seen that the kids know that he was basically fired, I think what we're going to see, hopefully fingers crossed, is the kids putting pressure on Uncle Field to bring Jeffrey back right because in a lot of ways, Jeffrey was very involved in their lives, and so I'm thinking that what we're going to see is the kids putting a lot of pressure on him to bring Jeffrey back. I thought what Jeffrey said to Uncle feel about his aspirations being so big that they could shatter the family. I just feel like, now that Uncle Phil has quit the race, he should go ahead called Jeffrey up and say, listen, my guy, I was tripping, you was tripping. Were stripping together. And I feel like he took his advice. I feel like Jeffrey was a very sobering reality, like, dude, I'm partially taking care of your family. That's an interesting thing for another man to say to another man. Because you have these huge aspirations. Are you going to let these aspirations that never end continue to be your main focus. I was so surprised when he dropped out of the race. I was so surprised. M Yeah, I know in our first conversation together when we watched the first couple of episodes, that's a part of what we were talking about, being interested in seeing how it would progress, right, the relationship between vib and Uncle Phil and how their career aspirations would either, you know, maybe bring them closer together or drive them further apart. And I was also very shocks. So what do you all make of the fact that he did drop out of the race? It's TV, so of course we got the last minute drama. I could see from Uncle Phil's perspective, my wife wants to do this fellowship. That's really demanding. I now know if I go further into this race, it could affect Will, which you know it's going to affect his entire family. I thought it was a really noble thing to do. It was kind of strange that he endorsed his opponent just because I know they had beef, so I'm interested to see how that plays out. But I definitely thought it was a really noble thing to do. And something I like about teen dramas in general is that you really get a glimpse of parents struggles and what they go through. And I thought that storyline touched on it in like a really great way, like the way you sacrifice for your kids and your family. Yeah, and I was very interested in our first conversation around what we would see with on Via. Will we see her get back into her art career. Will she kind of continue to put it on the back burner and we see that she has gone full throttle with her our career, right. So I think when we last talked, she was kind of just setting up a studio. Now she has accepted this fellowship and it's like really really throwing herself back into the art world. And we definitely saw some tension there with her. What is Michael Eli's character name on this show, whatever, Fine Artists, some tension with him in uncle Field because he was kind of helping on Viv usher her back into this new world, right, and so it seemed like Uncle Field was feeling kind of jealous, feeling like, okay, is this person going to pose a threat to my relationship with on Viv. I'm still interested or maybe a little bit confused what his character's role was, because he definitely helped her come out her show art wise, But if will continue to see like tension between him and Phil in the coming season because obviously he's contracted to aunt Viv and now she's really in the art world or back on her game. So I don't know, that was a really interesting character. I wish we saw like a little bit more of him, but it was I don't want to say sad to see you like it kind of took his interest for Uncle Phil to really be interested and alert to what Aunt Viv was doing. I didn't like how he kind of just popped up on her at the retreat. I was like, sisting, it's her space. But we'll see how that pans out, because it does look like the spellowship that she has is really demanding m When Aunt Viv was having the conversation with Uncle Phil in the hotel room the night that, she told him, actually, I think you should dip about it. Here she sends something that reminded me of another program I really enjoyed, which was Lovecraft Country. When hip alighted was like, I raised myself for you, and now I Vivin's like, I'm not trying to raise myself. I want to be as big and as present as I fully can be, and I want to follow my opportunities. And so now with Uncle Phil not pursuing the rays, now I'm concerned is he erasing himself as someone who's not married. I'm wondering because I'm a woman who I have a partner, y'all, So anybody listening, I'm taking but I'm a woman who is attracted to a ambitious man. He is attracted to an ambitious woman. How can we both be ambitious? They have money, they have assistance, they have help, and they still feel like they're being erased. Right. I hope Uncle Phil doesn't develop resentment towards on them later on the way that she has developed a resentment for him, because this was a huge opportunity for Uncle Phil for his career and for his community. And it's very alarming. Can to successful black people being in a relationship together and no one feel erasure? Is that possible? Now you have touched on the word there for you to now, I definitely think that it is possible, But I think it requires a lot of negotiation and a lot of outside of systems, especially only when you have other family members like kids. So I think it's different if it's just you and the partner, but when you have other responsibilities like young people in the home. I think that's why Jeffrey was so integral to the family, right, is that he was functioning as this third parent almost, I think in a lot of ways. Now. Granted, their kids are a little older, right, Ashley is still pretty young, but they have you know, older teens. Hillary is out of the house, so they're a little older. But there's still a lot of responsibility that comes with parenting high schoolers and as young as Ashley is, so I think it just requires a lot of negotiation. And I think that will be interesting to see next season because you know, at the end of this season was when we saw him leave the race, right, so we didn't have a lot of room to kind of see what the fall out gonna be. So I think that's probably what we're going to see next season, is like, how is he adjusting to life post in the spot. Right now, he is still an attorney, so I would imagine maybe he will still do some practicing or do some other things. But you're right, I do think there will be some adjustment, as there always is, right when there is a shift from you know, showing up in one way career wise to a different place. So the other thing that I know he talked about in our first conversation was really paying attention to what was going on with Carlton one with his drug use and anxiety, but also with the relationship between he and Will. Now, I will definitely say that I warmed up to Carlton as the season progressed. He became a more likable character to me, which I'm sure is what they imagined, but I definitely was concerned about the way that he was continuing to rely on the drugs and the significance of what looked like his anxiety symptoms. Right, So we see that he which we previously had not known, he has a history of singing in the choir and was one of the lead soloists in the choir when we see him what appears to be a panic attack when he goes to you know, sing for was it Easter or was it some other holiday or were they just at church. I don't remember why they were at church, just I don't know if it was okay, just a regular Sunday, right, I mean, but you know, at a black church, the Easter Sunday could be any Sunday really, But we see it looks like he has a panic attack and he can't actually sing when he gets up there. So I am sure we will see a continuation of what's happening with that next season, but I am also curious about when the parents are going to be informed about what's happening. Like Will, I think is doing a great job as much as he can as another teen trying to support his cousin, but at some point I do want to see when are the parents going to be involved in how are they going to find out what's going on with Carlton. You know, I definitely had a lot of words for the Carlton character last time we all meant to talk, because when I was really concerned about because I listened back to the episode and I was like, day, I really went in on Carlton. But what I was worried about was him becoming a true villain in the show. And I know that this is a drama, but I just don't like programming like that. I don't want black family members out to hurt other people intentionally, And that was the vibe I was think from Carlton. And so now this show seems to really be evolving in a direction, and in a drama direction that I can get with. Where essentially, to me, now Carlton is now the greatest villain to himself, and I think that life is difficult enough without actual villains, because we are usually harder on ourselves than anything. And I can get down with that. And I think now Will and Carlton are both dealing with their emotions really heavily, and so I like that. I think I'm really excited for the Carlton character. He's turned a lot sweeter recently in the most recent episodes, and I'm really glad to see this evolution of Carlton and Will's relationship and how they seem to be much more on the same team. That's what I want to see. I do want to watch a drama, but I don't want animosity, and so I'm glad that they've made that shift so that they're really on the same team. And I really have enjoyed how Carlton has allowed Will to support him as well and opened up to Will, because it doesn't seem like he was doing much of that with anyone in his family, and so that was a great training point. I also did enjoy seeing the shift in Carlton, but I will say I don't think there was like enough time to really like see them have a genuine relationship, which is why I'm fearful, but playing Devil's Advocate, kind of excited to see in the next season if that amicable relationship between them will be maintained. It looks like Carlton is over willing Lisa, but something that I think we didn't see enough of was their dynamic in school, and we don't know like if Carlton is still like feeling overlooked or if that will continue. So I'm really curious about that. I am curious to see what Hillary is gonna do because we know now that she knows about Carlton's drug use and he did say okay, he stopped. We don't really know that, or we don't know how long that's gonna last. I am curious to see a lot more about like his anxiety and how that plays out. It's interesting because now that we know like the extent of his anxiety, I'm thinking back to I think it's the third episode when they went to Uncle Phil's fraternity event and Carlton is like hustling to talk to this one guy to get like a fellowship or an internship or something like that. And the way in which he was really like hard pressed about it and really on the nose is what my anxiety looks like, like kind of over preparing, and it teamed like he had all his talking points ready, but when he found out it was a different person, he kind of backed down. So it's interesting to see the little ways in which they sprinkle in his anxiety and the show, and I thought that was really well done, great points there at least. So how are we feeling about the relationship with Will and Lisa? So I think when we last talked, they kind of were still on the verge of just being friends, right, and so we saw, of course as the season continued that they actually did end up in a relationship. So how are we feeling about the fact that we saw Will and Lisa get together? You know, I had mixed feeling things on it, and I would say, like, when they first got together, I thought it was cool or it was cute. I would have like to see more moments with like just them hanging out. It was really good to see how he supported her at her mom's like tribute, even which is another instance where we saw Carlton like experiencing some like nervousness. But I feel like it took a turn for me once she found out why Will was really in l a. I don't want to police anyone's reaction, but I don't think she really understood kind of the gravity of the situation, which also could speak to like just their class and like environmental differences and her view of the police versus like Will's view of the police. So I don't know. I didn't like the way she reacted to that, but it does seem like their relationship is kind of headed in a better direction. I know she didn't really want to talk to him in the last episodes, but there was a little bit more communication, So I'm really interested to see where that goes. And comparatively, like Will and the Banks are like super family oriented, and she has a tumultuous relationship with her dad, I'm not sure if we see that she has other siblings, and then it looks like her dad cheated on her mom with her stepmom. Something I'm like thinking about is how she might not understand the family dynamics and how important it is to the Banks, and that's why Will couldn't say anything, just because of how disconnected it seems like her family is. M that's a great connection there at Lise, what are you thinking? I also thought Lisa came in hot. She came in hot, she was living. But at the same time, I do want this to be a reminder for anyone listening trying to know somebody before you be kissing on him, laid up with them. I feel like that's part of the devastation, right, because Will knows all of Lisa's business. Right, Will knows that Lisa's mom passed away. Will knows that his father, as Elize said, cheated with the stepmom. Will knows all of Lisa's business, but she doesn't know any of his. And now he ate up with her, smiling with that big old grim smile and those nice teeth. Okay, it doesn't feel good, and so take your time because when we see Will and Lisa, they're just kissing, just kissing in between classes, kissing before practice, kissing after practice, kissing in the hallway at the banks, kissing. Okay, when are y'all talking? When are you getting the inside scoop on this person who's got their lips pressed against yours. That's what I want to know. And I think that's why she was so mad, because he had all these opportunities to tell her. I understand, as Elie said, why he did not, But he had all these opportunities to tell her, and instead he just wanted to kiss. That's very high school. That's very high school. High school boys, high school girls, high school people act like this. But if you want to have a really successful relationship, you gotta have at least thirty cent kissing, seventy percent talking. I feel like you at last, I feel like I was very torn about their relationship because I feel like the something about the code that's kind of unspoken between like you and your friends and you and your family members, like not dating the same people. And so of course Will has kind of been separate, right, like, he's cousins with Carlton, but he's from Philadelphia, so he had necessarily been in Carlton's world to know, and he and Lisa were dating. But I feel like once he found out that he really should have backed off, Like I really feel like this might not have been a relationship that needed to happen because they were actually cousins. And of course it's a TV show, right, and that added to the drama. But I feel torn about it because of the fact that she had dated Carlton before, and I just don't know that there's actually align you would cross with family. Again, they're high schoolers, it's TV, and it does seem like so both of your points around her reaction to him not telling her the truth. It also feels like he was very open with her, right like when she hadn't told him about her dad being the police officer. And now I don't know how that would have come up in conversation, but it does seem like when there was something that he felt like she had been withholding, he was able to give more greece right, and it didn't seem like she was able to do that same thing. Though they may not be comfortable in terms of like scale, it does feel like when the opportunity was given to her to kind of show him some grace and compassion, she didn't necessarily take that route. No, remember, will came in hard on her when he found out her dad was a police officer, So that would have been the perfect time that you think that was the time to like get into that kind I don't know. I just feel like he was upset when he found out secrets about Lisa. They're not even secrets, but he's actually keeping secret. And now that you brought up Dr Jory, I'm like, I'm signing with Lisa a little bit more. But he did apologize though, didn't he didn't he after he reacted very strongly, didn't he or did he not apologize for like coming at her like he did? He did apologize, and he also gave a very fair explanation as to why he did not tell her. It's one of those things where it's like, of course, like I trust you, but this is like a really sensitive thing that not only affects me but my family. So I don't know. I was on the fence about that, but to be honest, I wasn't even thinking about William Carlton being cousins and dating her. And now that she said that, WHOA, that is a lot, and now that I like in reminded that it does explain like a lot of Carlton's behavior. I'm not sure if I have like the clearest picture as to why they broke up. Lisa and Carlton are like what didn't work, which I don't really think matters. It seems like they've known each other for a long time, whether it's been like dating or just friends and dating. But I think will knowing that it would have been good to see him. I don't want to say, have like a man to man conversation with Carlton, but just be like honest with him about how he's feeling. Obviously, like no one owns Lisa, She's free to do whatever she wants, but I do think it's cool to tell you know, your friend, your cousin, whatever. Hey, you know, I know you used to see this person. I'm starting to feel now I'm really starting to like them. I'm not really asking if it's okay with you, but I just want to give you like heads up and notice because I know that can bring up difficult feelings. But then again, they're in high school people when they learned right right of course, more from our conversation about bel air after the break. So the other thing that it seems like we don't have a complete resolution to that maybe we will get in season two is the relationship between on Viv and Will's mom, And so we see she comes for a visit and it seems like there's this weird competition between them. So his mom comes for his birthday, and so there's like this weird competition around, like who gives Will the best gift? And then we find out that a part of the story at least is that it seems like Will's mom was like the caretaker for their mom, right, and then on Viv left and went to California. So in some ways I feel like, again back to this resentment word. There was some resentment from Will's mom towards on Vill for being the primary one who took care of their mom while she was sick. But it also feels like there's something else maybe going on there. It definitely feels like there's something else going on, and I feel like it has to be related to Will's dad. But I think it was very interesting to see Will and Carlton have this tension and now we know both of their moms do and to a degree, some of the root of the tension is this jealousy that you can have, like over a family member, over your sibling. It seems like Will's mom has this resentment to on Viv, like, Okay, you got to live I don't want to say a fuller life, but you got to do your art stuff. You moved to bel Air, You're now like super rich, and I'm over here taking care of our mom, living in Philly. Our lives are so different. But it also looks like it's stung for her to see on Viv give Will like these shoes that he really loved and kind of like upstage her. And I say that like in quotes, because it's a gift. It's not that deep, you'll always be his mom. But it does seem like jealousy is like a really big theme in the show, and it's interesting how they do it with like more adolescent characters within older characters as well. Well. What we learned about Uncle Pield's involvement with Will's father is that he was his legal representation. I miss okay, that okay, that makes sense. And then there could even be like more resentment because it's like, you didn't give me all, you did not do your job well enough. I really like what you said at least, and I'll add to that, it seems like the resentment is being passed down through generations but kind of swapped. So Will's mom has resentment towards Carlton's mom, and now Carlton has resentment towards Will. I think it's really beautiful that you brought that up. Yeah, And in some ways I feel like the kids did a better job of having a conversation about it than the adults, right, because it feels like Will and Carlton were able to have an honest conversation, you know, Carlton shared all the stuff it brought up for him. Seeing Will kind of become so popular on campus and it felt like he had worked really hard and was under all this pressure. So I feel like they had a really good conversation about it, whereas it seems like it was difficult for on viving her sister to have that same kind of a conversation. I mean, I think they kind of started it, but in a lot of ways, it felt like the kids had a more mature conversation about jealousy and resentment in that kind of thing than the adults did. I mean, it's got to be hard, and I feel like our audience, particularly with the ages that they're at, it must be hard, because it does seem like in a lot of families there's one person who gets assigned to take care of your parents and the other people what send money or they come in for a couple of hours every couple of days. But I have many friends who's their parents have been the assignee and it's hard and it's a lot. And then to see somebody in a mansion when you seen them, and I think what really honeded in for me is when Will said, when he was very emotional after speaking with his father, He's like, I had not seen you all for twelve years, and I feel like that to me is all so what his mother is feeling. You know, you're taking care of my kid for a couple of months now, you want him to stay here. You hadn't come to see him in twelve years. And the family dynamics are just so relatable because you know, you think about your family members and maybe you haven't seen and you care about them, you love them, of course, but maybe you're not able to see them or maybe it's just not top of mind, and what does that mean then as a family member. So a huge part of this season, and especially the letter half of the season, was all around this struggle that Will was having around wanting to know his dad, you know, Jeffrey finally getting this information, but then him not really wanting to open the envelope and feeling like, Okay, maybe my life would be better if I just don't know. And then Marlon Layon's who is his dad? Pops up in bel air and then Carlton tells Will like, hey, your dad was actually here today, you might want to actually open this envelope. And so it definitely feels like there was a lot of like tension kind of building up to the moment at which we meet his dad. But it definitely feels like opened up just a ton of stuff for Will about like who he is, what does this mean? Why didn't you want me? You know, if we go back to the original Fresh Prince, that heartbreaking conversation he had with Uncle Phil at the time about why doesn't my dad loved me? Kind of thing, right, it definitely feels like this reimagining tapped into some of that. And so we see at the end of the finale that we are not sure whether Will is actually going to stay in Valet or not. He's considering whether he even wants to be here because he feels like people have kept this speaking from him and he just doesn't know if this is actually the move for him anymore. What did you all think about Will's journey around reconnecting with his dad and then what we saw once he finally met him. When Marlon Wayne's character said, well, I tried, and now he has to live with this. I was just thinking, man, this man needs to listen to therapy for black girls because somebody heard him. He was not the bigger person in that scenario at all, but I also felt his pain as well, Like this is the worst case scenario. To meet your child for the first time. How humbling it must feel to have to tell somebody where you've been, what you've been through, and then for them to tell you that you ain't asking, you're a nobody. And at the same time, as well as saying this, he has to remember biologically that he is related to this man. So everything he's saying about him, I don't want him to eternalize and think that he's a nobody, or that he's no good, or that he's not destined for great things. It was really sad to watch. It was very heartbreaking to watch just being so young and wanting answers and kind of knowing that the answers are out there. Even in his conversations with his mom, you can definitely see that every time he's left with more questions and answers because she's very vague, and so I would say that was a bit heartbreaking. Even in the moments we didn't know who his father was, you can tell this is almost like a missing part of him. He's asking do I look like him? Like? What traits did I get from him? And so there's kind of this big question mark. Voting over his life, and once he did meet him, it was a really tent and like heated exchange. But I don't think Will's father came there with the understanding that he does not know you, and he has not known you, and he does not know the situation at all. I think to a degree, he came there with this expectation that showing up is a lot of the work, just being there and making the introduction, which is great, and the effort is respected. At the end of the day, what is Will seventeen? He's you know, practically an adult. And some of the things that would work on like a smaller child if they're meeting their parents for the first time or their parent is incarcerated, or just like a way is not gonna work on a seventeen year old young man. And so it was really interesting to see that tension because Will, to a degree, he is grown and he has his own opinions on the situation, his own frustration. It's not like you can just buy your way or sweet talk your way back into his life. And I don't think his father really understood that, and I think that's why the exchange got more heated than it needed to be. M Yeah, there definitely was a switch at some point during the conversation, right, because at first it was awkward and like, okay, we're feeling each other out. It feels like it really escalated after his dad trying to like poke at his mom, right, and you know, I don't remember exactly what he said, but you know, Will got very defensive because she was all he had, right, So any slight against his mom, of course he's going to feel very defensive about and protective of because she was all he had. So I think that's was the turning point in the conversation, at which point they like stood up and got in each other's face, so that it feels like it's really what was the turning point in that conversation. To go back to your earlier point, Dr Joy with Will his journey about whether or not he wants to be in bel Air. When I finished the episode, I thought to myself, am I gonna want to watch this show if it's based in Philadelphia and if it's based in a different socio economic background because a part of the glitz and glam of the Fresh Prince of Bellair and now the reimagining Bellair, is that they're a wealthy family to be determined if I'm yeah, And a part of me feels like, of course he's gonna stay in bell Air because the show is called bell Air. So I don't know how we're gonna have this like multi city thing going on, like still following him in Philadelphia and then oh, what's happening with the family? Right? You know? It could be that we see in the beginning of season to him kind of maybe back home in Philly for a little while, but then making the decision to return. I'm not quite sure, but something in me is saying it's not gonna be completely you know, in two cities because the show is called Bellair. But who knows? Who knows? I also thought when the series, like it just ended like you didn't know anything that happened. But because this is a reimagining and more dramatic, they have added this new kind of decision that we did not see in the Fresh Prince of bel Air, right, And so I'm curious to see like where they take it and what is going to be Will thinking as we kind of get to season two, to see how they're gonna show him wrestling with whether he stayed there, whether he goes. Yes, that is very interesting, and like you said, Dr Joy, it's called bell Air, so he'll probably end up in bell Air one way or another. It'll be interesting to see in season two how his relationship with his mom will carry on, because from what my understanding is that the guy who was chasing after him died, right, and so to a degree, he can go back to Philly, you know, with that option on the table, and then you tell your mom like, no, I want to stay in bell Air, Like how does she feel? How does that change your relationship? I'm also really curious to see how he in future seasons maintains like a relationship with the city, because we know his friend came to bell Air and things really do go well. It's not funny, but that was like a little shocking because that was like his man's and they were super close, and to see that not paying out in the greatest way to be interesting to see how the show kind of ties in his relationship with his mom. Yeah, I agree with it. So something else we haven't touched on is the progression that we see with Hillary, specifically with her relationship with Jazz, which we know in the Fresh Prince was like they tease, and I think that they did eventually dated at some point in Fresh Prince, but that has happened very early here in this reimagining more from our conversation about bel Air after the break, and so we see that Hillary goes to move into this influence our house and then has to make some decisions about like how to get her numbers up right, her engagements on Instagram, and make some decisions that she isn't super proud of and wants to kind of change course. And so we see her kind of out there, still kind of figuring out how to maneuver in life and not involving her parents, right, So, I think she's really trying to set herself up in terms of like, Okay, I'm gonna be my own adult, I'm going to figure out how to handle things without them. I really have loved seeing like how Jazz has become like a support person for her. Right So when she feels like, okay, I want to go handle the situation, she asked him, will you come with me? Right? So I am enjoying seeing the way that their relationship is kind of progressing throughout the show. In the initial Fresh Prince of bel Air, Jazz was he was wise at times, but I think that this Jazz is consistently giving very sage advice. And I'm really glad when he let Hillary know, like, hey, didn't we come up here to do the opposite of what now you're negotiating for? Where do your morals lie? And even just bringing up the fact to her that some of the things that you do are because you have money, not because you don't have opportunities. Because you have money, you feel like you can make these kinds of choices, But what choices do you actually want to make for yourself? And I feel like Jazz ends up giving Hillary the same advice that her mother gives him. But obviously Jazz as a handsome gentleman, and so it just goes down a bit more smooth when he says it. When Will was looking for Hillary and he called Jazz, or he was looked for Jazz and called Hillary, I thought that was hilarious, and the dynamic of the two of them, I think it's just really the Jazz is the one who really helped Hillary understand that she could have her own business. And I think anytime anyone pours into you in a way that can so drastically change the trajectory of your life and how you be yourself. That's definitely an ideal attribute to having a partner, potential partner. I don't know if they exclusive yet, but you know, potential part I think Jazz definitely spoke a lot of wisdom and to Hillary, and to your point, Freda, it did seem like a lot of Hillary's thinking kind of revolved around money, not only the money that she had, but if I do X Y Z, I can make so much money. But it's like, is that really true to who you are? And I think it's in the last two or three episodes, we see her have this relationship with Karachi's character I forgot her name, and she pitches this potential partnership, and it seems like Hillary is kind of starting to understand how to use your network but also be around like like minded people because it seems like the influencer house it really wasn't her people. And honestly, Killery storyline was one of my favorites because I think it touched on a lot that we've talked about in your conversation Dr Joy with Brittany Loose about like creating for you and doing stuff that you want to do as opposed to like what's pitched to you, what's sold to you. And it seems like Hillary is really figuring that out. She's having difficulties with contracts how to get out of that. I thought that was just a really real storyline and it was definitely one of my favorites. But it's also good to seek Jazz coach her to that and then have this friendship being that I think they're both older than Will and still being like young adults and figuring stuff out with them also having this kind of like older wisdom that they can give to each other but also give to like Will. We see Hillary and Ashley chat about different things, So I really liked seeing Hillary's character overall during the show. Yeah, and you know, you bring up Ashley, and I think that is something that I would like to see more of next season is a little bit more like story development with Ashley because we kind of see her pop in and out. We had this whole storyline around like her friends and like, yes she attracted to one of her girlfriends and you know, all of that stuff, but it didn't feel like we really followed it anywhere. So I'm hoping in season two, we get a little bit more of Ashley. Any other predictions from either of you other than the ones we've made kind of throughout the conversations. This isn't our prediction. But something that did bother me was somebody planted those drugs and Well's bag and we never got to that because they said they were going to check the camera footage and I was waiting for it. I was ready for something problem but do but do we think it wasn't Carlton Well? No, you think it's Carlton's friend. Oh, the other soccer guy, Lacrosse. Okay, gotta go. That was something I was like, I was waiting for it. Somebody need to get But I think what I'm excited to see next season is if they explore like Will's relationships like sport and basketball, because that's something I enjoyed in the original just really seeing him at school. I felt like that kind of trailed off mid season with bell Air the reimagining, So I'm just excited to see more of like how he adjusts to the school aspect of being in bell Air. Predictions. Okay, we'll see more of Marlon Wayne's for sure, and ideally Marlon Wayne so the father, Will's father's character and Will's mother's character in the same place. That would be amazing to watch, right, that's spicy, you see. I hope we also see a therapist involved in that conversation. Yes, agreed, agreed. I think the Caruci I don't remember Cruitchi's character's name, but the care after that CREWCI is playing, plus Hillary's character, I don't think that's gonna work out, but I think it'll be a great learning experience for Hillary. I think Lisa and Will. Lisa is gonna be mad for a lot of the next season. She seems like she's a guy. She'd be like, well, I can't trust you, and I think that that's fair for Lisa thinks she's gonna be mad from a good amount of next season. And Carlton is something's gonna happen with the drugs. Either something's gonna happen with Carlton or Ashley. That helps the family realize that they need to focus on family to be determined what it will be. Oh, those are strong predictions either way it goes. We are just tuned in. So if you have not already taken the opportunity, you are now free to Binge. All ten episodes are available on Peacock, so highly encourage you to catch up on it if you have not, because we definitely really enjoyed it and we will be locked in and tuned in for season two whenever it drops. Thanks again to A Lisa for for joining me for this conversation. If you haven't already, make sure to head on over to Peacock tv dot com and sign up to catch up on the first season of Belle Air. If you're looking for a therapist in your area, be sure to check out our therapist directory at Therapy for Black Girls dot com slash directory. And if you want to continue digging into this topic or just be in community with other sisters, come on over and join us in the Sister Circle. It's our cozy corner of the Internet designed just for black women. You can join us at Community not Therapy for Black Girls dot com. Thank you all so much for joining me again this week. I look forward to continue in this conversation with you all real soon. Take it care

Therapy for Black Girls

The Therapy for Black Girls podcast is a weekly conversation with Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, a license 
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