Anita confronts Leslie. Naomi rides to Smitty's defense. Shanice's brothers come to town. Nicole and Heather have a tense encounter. Naomi strategizes with Kat and Chelsea. Vanessa has an unveiling. Martin and Smitty host a send-off for Tyrell. Anita, Leslie, Eva and Vernon face the music together. Deanna reaches her breaking point and makes a big decision. Dani gets sneaky in Seoul. Bill interrogates Hayley. Chelsea and Madison find time for romance amid chaos. Tomas leans on Eva after an argument with Kat.
Episode 2.163
Ted had absolutely no plan to charm Shanice's brothers, Cedric and Lamont. He told them to accept him because Shanice chose him. He didn't listen to any advice Shanice or Monica had to win them over. He was arrogant. He'll conveniently blame Leslie for ruining this meeting as well. Shanice and Monica know Ted messed up as soon as he was late to lunch. Cedric and Lamont would never forgive Ted for wasting their time. It told them he didn't value their significance in Shanice's life. They instinctively brush aside Leslie's claims about her past with Ted. Most of it is true. Moreover, it sounds bad because it actually was bad. While his wife was suffering from miscarriages, Ted had an affair. That's new information for Cedric and Lamont. They have to process it. They don't owe anything to Ted. He messed up everything and will probably refuse to accept any responsibility. Anita knows when to set her pride aside for the greater good. She agrees to Leslie's demands. She needs to bring Barbara's voice to the world. That's more important. She also suggests Leslie will reap what she sows eventually. That's been a long time coming. Leslie's right to feel like she is constantly putting up wins. She hasn't suffered any consequences. Anita doesn't forget but is forced to accept this deal.
Jacob suddenly treats Smitty like a suspect. He interrogates him about what his last meeting with Lia was like. It comes across as him being bitter Smitty didn't share every detail with him. Smitty needed Jacob's support to arrange a meeting in the first place. After that, Smitty embarked on his own investigation. He was free to talk to Lia whenever he wanted. He told Jacob nothing substantial came out of it. But now, Jacob wants Smitty to theorize on Lia's state-of-mind. It certainly suggests the police are investigating Lia's death as murder. Jacob doesn't confirm that. Instead, he's once again stuck in a position against the rest of the family. Martin and Naomi are in support of Smitty. Jacob's frustrated that his job isn't made easier. Smitty has had a profound impact in shutting down red markets throughout the country. He has received appreciation for that. He remains focused on how his actions will reflect on Martin's campaign. He won't allow anything to disrupt what he has built. Everything is now presented as Jacob no longer being a noble ally. His interests aren't always going to be aligned with the family. When he stands opposed, it's really stark without offering enough understanding of how these people he knows so well typically behave. If they are a suspect, then he treats them as such. He can't view the world any other way.
Grade: B-
Episode 2.164
Nicole immediately becomes suspicious of Heather's presence around her loved ones. She doesn't even know that every member of the Richardson-Smith family has interacted with Heather without knowing she's Joey's sister. Nicole possesses that information. As such, she immediately goes to Joey to send a message. Vanessa continues to give Heather the benefit of the doubt. However, Nicole knows there is a reason Joey wants to keep Heather at a distance. She doesn't need the full backstory. She knows these appearances are concerning. Joey agrees that it would be better if Heather returned to London. Of course, she's not leaving any time soon. She plans on putting down roots in the DMV. She's only started making her presence known. She hasn't even fully acted on what she wants from the Duprees and her brother. That much is clear. Meanwhile, Hayley and Randy believe they have to pivot since the poison hasn't worked on Bill yet. They theorize it has had an unexpected effect on his health. They don't need to know how it's working. It's good enough that Bill keeps collapsing. One day, he won't get back up. He won't mention his ongoing issues either. Hayley just needs to keep delivering the poison and accepting when Bill says he's fine. There's no need to worry. They aren't at risk of being exposed despite everything that's happened this summer.
Vanessa unveils the redesign of the backroom at Joey's casino. It works for the space. It slightly feels like design elements from the flashback episode to Ted and Leslie's first meeting a few weeks ago. It still works. It will offer more dimension to the space. The couch will allow people to relax even though they probably shouldn't. This is Joey's domain. He aims to remain in charge. People can only do so much to maintain narrative dominance though. Joey's role in Doug's death hasn't been buried. It still plagues him. Meanwhile, Chelsea and Kat can't control the public response to pulling out of the Tokyo showcase. They can't come forward with the truth. They have to wait. They could focus on their new marketing campaign. That's a struggle because of how disappointing this setback is. Elsewhere, Naomi knows how she's going to attack Mike for missing a discovery deadline in Madison's lawsuit. And finally, the family celebrates Tyrell as he leaves for college. He wanted a small sendoff. It's just family. They praise him. He shares how he'll miss all of them even though he won't be that far away. It's sweet and a nice distraction from the uncertainty elsewhere.
Grade: B-
Episode 2.165
Hayley isn't deserving of Bill's trust. Until he's willing to accept that, the concerns raised by his family have been in vain. He finally apologizes for how destructive this has been for Naomi. She was betrayed by her father and friend. He's genuinely remorseful. That allows Naomi to come from a different place in alerting him to one of Hayley's many lies. She never had an ultrasound. Naomi kept that secret for over a year. She brings it up now because Bill seems to have his own doubts. He caught Hayley in a lie. It's not the first one she has told. It was enough for him to become suspicious. That's an improvement. He's starting to question her intentions. Naomi brings up a valid point that Hayley always uses emotion to cover up logic that doesn't make sense. She's very performative. So many people have commented on that. Hayley believes she's an incredible con artist. She's deceived everyone. Her schtick has only worked on Bill. He's been blind to her scheme. He constantly defends her. Dani, Naomi and Chelsea's outrage wasn't justified. They shared how they were feeling because they love Bill. They don't want anything bad to happen to him. However, he could brush aside their concerns because they have a vested interest in the outcome. They are emotional too. It's hard not to be. The situation appears to be changing. The show has teased that many times before though.
A wide array of emotions washes over Anita, Leslie and Eva when they hear a recording of Barbara's voice. The Articulettes aren't ready to return to the studio. The old masters are still being restored. Leslie wants to hear her mother sing. She's acting as a partner on this project even though Anita wanted silence from her. Leslie only took that to mean being quiet in the studio. She will keep making noise in the lead-up to the session. Anita extends kindness. In doing so, she connects the pieces of how Barbara's pain transcended to Leslie. She walks away with that clarity. She also feels she must remain guarded because this project will unleash tons of memories. They aren't all good. She's remorseful and second guessing herself. Vernon calms her. Eva does the same for Leslie. She hears the family resemblance. It promises to be a transformative experience. Deanna hoped for the same during her summer at home with her mother. She failed in her mission. She believes she must stay to eventually succeed. She's motivated entirely out of trying to save Vanessa from her mess. She couldn't with Doug. She has to do what's right for her. She accepts that means returning to college. That gives Vanessa what she wants. Joey is free to conduct his business openly once more. Deanna finds a way to embrace it too even though it breaks her connection to Doug's ghost.
Grade: B+
Episode 2.166
Tomas was never asked to be a part of Madison's legal team. It was always meant to be Bill and Naomi working together. He feels entitled to be involved because Bill has depended on him in the past. Mike is the only person to include him. That was entirely to divide his opponents. Tomas wasn't listening to what the firm's client wanted or what the legal strategy was. He talks a big game but isn't impressive in the slightest. He doesn't deserve the respect Bill has frequently shown him. In fact, that becomes more of a character flaw in Bill than anything interesting with Tomas. Chelsea sees no point in forming a friendship with the man dating her cousin. Eva and Izaiah are exhausted by Kat and Tomas' drama. It all stems from them not being able to communicate. Kat was promoting herself in trying to get Tomas and Izaiah to accept a bag. It wasn't practical for them. Plus, it was a deflection from her true issues. Tomas doesn't feel supported. He shouldn't be in this regard. He's making a mess of this situation. He has no one to blame but himself. He refuses to do so. And so, he lashes out. He can't accept a moment of happiness with Kat. Instead, he has to imagine Bill and Naomi failing because he wasn't there to prop up their case. They are perfectly fine without him. Bill is proud of the victory he achieves with Naomi. This may all resolve for Madison soon. That's a relief. That would also allow the show to spend more time on romance for Chelsea and Madison.
Shanice tells her brothers that she's dating Ted and they have to be fine with that. He made a horrible first impression. His words don't inspire them to change their minds. They keep telling Shanice to get away from this fool. They aren't entirely wrong for sticking to that opinion. Ted has never made things easy for those around him. He believes he has owned up to his failings in the past. He and Shanice are building something real. It continues to develop. They are growing stronger by the day. The passion and excitement isn't all there. Moreover, Ted still has many personal failings that he hasn't acknowledged yet. Those are the reason why he keeps clashing with Cedric and Lamont. Andre knows what that feels like. He knew about Dani's past when they started hooking up. Bill will always remain a part of her life. She's honest that he still makes her laugh. She makes it up by spending quality time with her husband in the hotel room. She's committed to her current marriage. That may not be enough reassurance given everything happening back in Fairmont Crest. Dani and Andre were never fully able to escape the drama even though he has now completed his job ahead of schedule.
Grade: B
