Aunt Viv accepted the art fellowship, and now she’s hosting her first event with them. It’s a luxuriously styled Governor’s Reception with her art work displayed in various different places throughout the venue, and everyone was there to support her.  Will confided in Uncle Phil, as they looked at one of Viv’s paintings, thanking him for saving his life, and apologized for all the chaos he may have caused, but Uncle Phil let him know helping him out is something he’ll never regret, and he’s proud of him.  Hillary walked in with her influencer friend, Ivy, who’s played by Karreuche Tran, and Jeff walked up to say hi to them both. Hillary introduced him as her cousin’s friend, but was thrown off when Jeff and Ivy flirted with each other right in front of her. 

Meanwhile, Carlton saw a portrait Aunt Viv painted of Will, and Ashley asked him if he was jealous… but he explained he wasn’t, he was just curious as to what the crown in the photo meant. She shadily told him “maybe someone should watch the throne a little closer.”

Will approached Lisa by the hors d'oeuvres table but she told him she was only there for his aunt and didn’t want to speak to him after he lied to her. He tried to explain his reasoning for lying, but she wasn’t having it and walked away. Will followed her and told her he needed to talk to her and fix things because he loved her. It was the first time he used the L-word and Lisa got emotional and said she couldn’t have the conversation at the event and walked off. 

The next morning, Hillary and Jeff woke up in the bed at her hotel together. They briefly talked about what they were doing as far as dating, then Hillary got a call from Will but ignored it. Then Jeff got a call from Will and he answered it in case it was an emergency, but he just asked to speak to Hillary, and they both were stuck as they realized their “secret relationship” wasn’t as secret as they thought. Will asked her to help him get Lisa back and she agreed to. 

Will, Carlton and Ashley all went into the kitchen for breakfast, but there wasn’t any food in the refrigerator and they started to wonder what really happened to Geoffrey as he didn’t say goodbye to anyone. Ashley mentioned that it didn’t seem like he was coming back since all of his things were gone, and Will thought maybe it had something to do with him finding out about his dad.

Will went back up to his room, and called Lisa before heading out to basketball practice but it went to voicemail so he left a message asking her if they can talk soon. She texted him back almost immediately and told him to meet her at a coffee shop at 3:00pm.

As Will was leaving for practice, another person pulled into the gate and knocked on the front door. It ended up being Will’s father, Lou, who told Uncle Phil he was there to see his son since he heard he was asking about him. Carlton saw Lou come in, but didn’t know who he was. Phil brought Lou into his office to talk, away from anyone else, and Lou explained that Geoffrey found him and told him his son needed him so he got on the first flight there, adding that he’s not the man he used to be. Phil told him he needed to discuss whether he could see Will or not with Viv first so he’d be in touch, and Lou left. 

When Phil told Viv what happened, she understood why Phil didn’t want Lou to see Will, but she also argued that maybe he did change and they should consider it.

Carlton was curious about who the man was and snuck into Phil’s office. He looked around and found a black white envelope in one of the cabinets. He hesitated to open it but ripped it open anyways. It was Geoffrey’s report of Will’s dad and Carlton recognized the man in the photo as the man who came to the house earlier that day. Carlton ran up to Will’s room with the file and told him that his dad had come by the house when he was at practice. Will was shocked and didn’t really know what to say or do, but Carlton explained that he read Geoffrey’s report and he thought Will should read it too. He sat down and looked through it as tears came to his eyes.

Viv and Phil were still having the conversation in private, and Will walked in. He told them he knew everything about his dad being in town looking for him. Viv simply asked if he wanted to meet his dad now that he knew he was there, and he said it depended on what he wanted with him. They both hesitated to answer him and Will snapped, asking why they couldn’t just be honest so Phil explained his dad is a con man who they didn’t trust so they were unsure if it was a good idea for them to meet up. 

Will revealed that he saw the report that Geoffrey gave him and sympathized with what his dad had gone through, from his childhood to the time he spent in jail, telling them his dad didn’t have a second chance like him. As he continued to vocalize his feelings, he came to his own conclusion that his dad never actually left him like they told him, but he got arrested and his mom cut him off. Phil told Will it was way more complicated than that and Viv reiterated that if he wanted to see him, the choice was still his. 

As he was thinking about what he wanted to do, Will called his mom and told her that Lou was in town to see him. He asked why she didn’t tell him he was in prison and she explained that at the time, he was only 4 years old and she thought it was best for him at the time. However, she apologized that he had to find out the way he did and reminded him that she loves him.

In Hillary’s world, she was still working on her next career move and showed up to support Ivy at a photoshoot. She was showering her with compliments but Ivy didn’t believe she liked everything and asked her to be honest. Hillary gave her several different ideas as feedback for better looking, and more engaging photos and she loved the ideas. Hillary was elated and took the opportunity to tell Ivy that her strategies have been working well and she was interested in being a part of Ivy’s team, as a partner. Also adding that they should take over Kylo’s influencer house and make it their own. Ivy liked her pitch, and told her she’d get back to her after she talked to her accountant. 

Back at the Banks’ house, Will decided he wanted to meet with Lou so they invited him back over. Viv let him in when he arrived and talked to him in the living room before Will came down. She told him that he needed to be “father of the year” when it came to Will if he’s going to be back in his life. He seemed receptive but a little standoff-ish as well. Will came down and asked Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv to give them some privacy and when they left, Will started the first conversation he’s had with his dad in 13 years. 

Will asked him why he never reached out to him and he explained that he didn’t want Will to see him locked up in a cage or think less of him, but Will argued that he needed him in any form. Lou shared his experience of his own dad being in jail when he was a little boy, saying that seeing his dad so broken growing up was an awful feeling and he thought Will deserved better than that. 

After the hard start to the conversation with his dad, it seemed like the tension had eased up. Will and Lou began to reminisce on some of the good times that they had when he was a baby. But, things turned left quickly when Will asked what happened between him and his mom. Loy began to blame the initial friction between them on Phil getting rich and Vy pressuring him to bring in more money. He continued talking down about Vy, saying being with her was his biggest regret in life and Will got in Lou’s face telling him to watch his mouth while talking about his mom. They started shouting at one another and when Lou put his hand on Will’s throat, Phil stepped in and broke them up. Will continued to scream and told Lou he should find a ditch to lay in because he never wanted to see him again, before storming up the stairs to his room. 

Viv tried to explain to Lou that Will was just a boy and if he cared about him, he needed to give him some time to take everything in but Lou clapped back at her yelling that he was trying to make things right, and now Will would have to “live with the consequences.” 

Will started to pack his things into a duffle bag, and Carlton walked into his room to let him know that Lou had left. When Carlton asked him if he wanted to talk, Will walked out with his bags crying. As he was about to walk out the front door, the whole family rushed to the front of the house and begged for him not to leave. He stepped to Uncle Phil and told him he couldn’t trust him after they lied about his dad, and abandoned him and his mom, just like Lou did, 10 years ago when they left Philly and never came back. 

Carlton hugged Will and snuck some money into his jacket pocket before asking him not to leave again, but Will said he had to do what was best for him and shuck the door behind him.

As the family tried to track Will down by making some phone calls, Vy called Viv asking her what happened and Viv had to tell her the bad news. They both cried on the phone as they both felt guilty for the way everything had transpired. 

Carlton was getting restless at the house so he left to try to find Will himself, and went to Lisa’s house but Will wasn’t there. He asked her to help find him but she refused since he stood her up earlier. Carlton explained what had happened, and cried as he opened up to her about Will always being there for him, and wanting to find him. She gave him a hug and agreed to help. 

Jeff ended up finding Will at the first spot he took him when he arrived in LA, on Mulholland Drive, overlooking the entire city. Will was crying and Jeff tried to console him by telling him that his family loves him and was worried about him but Will wasn’t trying to hear it, because he was still hurt about all the lies he was told. Will added that he couldn’t forget who he really was and where he came from, and being in California had done that to him. But Jeff rebutted that he can be his true self and remember where he came from while still elevating in a better situation. He told him he needed to do what he felt was best for himself, then questioned where we wanted to go, as the camera panned over them and showed a beautiful view of Los Angeles as the credits began to roll. 

There hasn’t been an official announcement of when season 2 will premiere, but it’s been reported that it’ll be some time in early 2023, and you can bet after the way this first season went, I’ll be tuned in! Will you?