Vernon's words surprise Martin. Nicole's support steadies Anita. Bill grills his wife. Ted and Shanice confront Leslie. Joey and Mona field some urgent questions from an unlikely source. Anita counsels Kat. Jacob's investigation takes an unexpected turn. Dani bears gifts for Anita, but Vernon wants Andre to bare his soul. Smitty panics while Martin and Naomi rally around him. Dani hears a shocking admission from Bill. Kat turns the tables on Chelsea. Shanice and Ashley brace themselves for a serious shakeup at work.
Episode 2.167
Hayley wants to escape Bill's questions as quickly as possible. He questions people for a living. He has never thought to interrogate his wife. He has always believed her lies. He seems primed to do so again. Hayley walks into the office acting like nothing happened. He has his doubts about her friendship with Randy. She's consistent in saying he's a friend. Nothing romantic will ever happen. It's also a struggle. She tries to find a way out of the conversation at every possible turn. Hayley feels victorious in the end. The lingering look on Bill's face suggests otherwise. This promises something new. It's puzzling for Bill. He doesn't know what to believe. The sincerity of this moment will come from how they act in the coming days. The same is true of Tomas and Kat. She had the dignity not to text him first. He had to reach out and apologize. They keep clashing. They are no longer aligned. That's been obvious for awhile. It's become a part of the narrative. Tomas says enough to win Kat over. He's clearly still thinking about Naomi. He fears she's manipulative and gunning for his standing at the firm. The office politics is one of the reasons why Naomi doesn't want to work for her father. She expresses that to Madison and Jacob. They are willing to hear it. Plus, her life isn't solely about work. Even when Tomas is with Kat, he's thinking about the job.
Vernon puts things into perspective for Martin. The family doesn't want to do anything that could potentially disrupt Martin's political career. He's his grandfather's greatest legacy. He needs to be in office to carry the mission forward. Martin needs advice. He needs to reassure Smitty that being questioned by Jacob won't harm the campaign. Instead, Vernon offers a thought he has never expressed before. Martin would still have a fulfilling and happy life even if he lost the election. At first, Martin doesn't know how to grapple with that. The conversation of how he wants to spend time with Smitty is the same before and after his sit down with Vernon. Smitty's in a better headspace to hear it. He wants to prioritize his career without worrying about the impact it will have on Martin's. They need to freely communicate about what they want. They can't be afraid of the worst happening. Their love will endure no matter what. Elsewhere, Nicole offers some therapy to Anita. The Dupree matriarch wants to blame chemo for her vocal issues. Nicole expresses that it could be a physical manifestation of her emotional turmoil upon hearing Barbara's voice again. Just being able to admit that allows Anita to perform better than she has in a long time.
Grade: B-
Episode 2.168
Bill and Joey want Hayley and Randy's friendship to end. It's more complicated than that. Joey knows something more is going on. Bill only has suspicions that need confirmation. It's unlikely to change as Hayley and Randy are working together. They are more loyal to each other than anyone else. That's dangerous for Randy. He's employed by Joey. He needs to do whatever the gangster demands. Too many times, Randy has failed at the job because he had to go scheme with Hayley. That's finally starting to hurt him. Joey sees the lackluster performance. He wants results. He doesn't care that Randy has a good heart. Those internal conflicts jeopardize business. Joey can't afford that with Heather around. It appears she has disrupted business somehow. She makes sure she's in the room when her brother gets the news. Nicole keeps warning Vanessa about getting close to Joey and Heather. Vanessa refuses to listen to reason. Nicole knows Heather's charisma is masking some deeper agenda. She doesn't want her family to get caught up in the turmoil. She's truly acting like a fixer. She can't take any chances when her grandchildren are potentially at risk. Heather pointedly references to abiding by Nicole's wishes. It's all done in a playful way to indicate she's not going to stop anytime soon. Vanessa believes it because she's just too trusting and gullible. Bill and Joey can't afford to take those careless risks.
That means Bill isn't in the office when Naomi and Tomas discover the smoking gun in Madison's case. Mike was reluctant to turn over his client's digital data. It reveals her as more than a constant commentator on home remedy websites. She has a total distrust of physicians. That will discredit any case against Madison. The rush of victory comes from being able to work together. Office politics risked pushing everyone apart. They had to work as a team. That serves as its own reward. Tomas offering to be cooperative is all Bill needed to see to trust him once more. Tomas sees it as a ploy to advance his standing in the firm. It's never that easy. He can't relax. He consistently feels that he must be doing more to prove himself. He has to push others out of the way to get what he wants. That's his drive. His help is appreciated right now. He may inevitably make the same mistake as always. Some patterns can't be escaped. Ted and Shanice call out Leslie for continuing to obsess over an affair from decades ago. She hasn't moved on. She points to everything she's doing. That just makes her behavior towards Ted even more glaring. She has a life outside of this fixation. Yet she refuses to let it go. The arguments Ted and Shanice make even force Marcel to question things. That's significant even though the show keeps going back and forth on how serious his relationship with Leslie is.
Grade: B-
Episode 2.169
It wasn't a setback for Heather when she was told to stay clear of Samantha and Tyrell. In fact, she uses that to further unsettle Smitty. He's riding high at the moment. He found his drive as an investigative reporter through the red market story. It brought him so much attention. Heather wanted to kill him for it. Instead, she's been forced to be more creative. And so, she buys Uptown. That has the added benefit of upsetting Joey. He can't tolerate his sister moving in on his territory. He still lets her get away with these wild swings. He doesn't even know the danger Smitty is in. Jacob and Elon receive new evidence. The police have access to a system of security cameras that can track a person's movements without a warrant. It's an incredibly timely piece of storytelling. The show is upfront about the controversy. Jacob and Elon discuss it before sharing that Smitty was seen with Max. Elon only got a glimpse of the footage. It indicates Smitty was responsible for Lia's murder. It's preposterous. And yet, it will likely make Jacob even more suspicious of his partner. It doesn't matter that they worked so well together. Smitty withholding one piece of information is enough for Jacob to change his stance. It's all Heather manipulating the narrative. She wants Smitty to suffer. She delights in doing so. No one has gotten wise to her scheme despite her transparency about being related to Joey.
Heather targeting Smitty in this way is a perilous tease. Her presence infects so many stories. It has a propulsive energy to it. She's driven. Meanwhile, Leslie continues to flail around causing drama. She contacts Devon Winters about changing the date of the recording session for the Articulettes. She took being a silent partner to mean only being quiet in the room. She refuses to be pushed out of this project and doesn't trust everyone to hold up their end of the agreement. That's not who Anita is. She reluctantly accepted Leslie's terms. Leslie will prosper for the rest of her life because of Anita. She flaunts that in Anita's face. She needs to antagonize her. She can't accept anything else. She promised to change. Now, she's flippant over the suggestion. Eva has seen the best in a family learning how to love again. Izaiah has a gift for Darlene. It's not because he made a mistake either. The Hawthornes are healing. Eva wants that too. It seems impossible given Leslie's antics. Good things keep happening for her. She doesn't settle for that generosity. She's always pushing for more. It comes at the great annoyance of everyone else.
Grade: B-
Episode 2.170
Bill believes Andre's insecurities are the sole reason anyone questions the state of his relationship with Dani. Anita and Vernon are more than capable of reaching their own conclusions. They know their daughter. They know how she behaves when she's defensive and guilty. That's exactly how she is upon returning from Seoul. It doesn't matter that she spent the entire vacation with Andre. She still communicated with Bill. Both of them are obviously holding something back. The audience knows the truth. Anita and Vernon are forming their own suspicions. It's thrown into further turmoil by Bill's frequent health issues. Nothing happened while Dani was away. Now that she's back, he passes out at work. He can't even stand afterwards. This appears as some kind of breaking point. The nature of his call will have to wait. Him becoming more active in this story should be compelling. It still feels like the same pattern repeating. Everyone demands for things to change. The reassurances from Dani and Bill don't suffice. That's all been true before. Even Hayley is finding new ways to plan for Bill's eventual demise. She's confident even though Leslie continues to lurk. Hayley rejected that friendship. That may come back to bite her now that more has gone Leslie's way. That now includes not having to chase a man to get him to love her.
The Impaler is framing Smitty for Lia's murder. Heather's access to Uptown now produces a video of Max and Smitty meeting in the days before Lia's death. The audio doesn't line up with what's allegedly happening at all. Jacob can hear that. Nevertheless, he's investigating Smitty. Naomi officially signs on as his lawyer. Martin's worried. Smitty would never do anything that threatened their family. Now, he's the target of a criminal he exposed. He sees that clearly. It's the only explanation that makes sense. It's proof that Lia was murdered. No one is served by believing otherwise. The family can't hope for the best either. Smart police work should prove his innocence. The police have believed tampered video evidence before though. Joey used that to show Doug's alleged final moments at the casino. That brought comfort to Donnell even though it was painful to watch. It's shocking to Smitty and Naomi upon seeing this evidence. It was made to concoct a story. A message is delivered. Smitty shouldn't feel safe. Naomi and Jacob believe they can work on opposing sides in this matter. Trepidation is already apparent. Heather will leave her mark on the DMV no matter what. That's abundantly clear. So many characters are tangled in her web. That has made her a striking antagonist now that she's actually enacting some of her plans.
Grade: B
Episode 2.171
This week ends with a bit of a whimper. Shanice and Ashley are promoted at work. Chelsea calls out Kat for her crush on Izaiah. That's basically it. Everything else revolves around material that has been well-documented before. Monica tells Shanice and Ashley about their promotions alongside a formal complaint by Bill. It was ridiculous when Bill and Hayley complained previously. It continues to get mentioned. That indicates something potentially more serious. The show is planning for a future beyond Bill dying. That's not a given. It certainly isn't compelling if this is the narrative's intention. Moreover, these promotions don't promise anything new or exciting. They are nothing more than new job titles. Shanice and Ashley will still likely be gossiping at the nurses' station. That's how Eva learns her mother has done something new to disrupt Ted and Shanice's relationship. She feels like she is always apologizing for what Leslie has done. It's more intriguing when she acknowledges that she is like her mother sometimes as well. That comes out with how she talks about Kat. Nothing has changed between the sisters. Kat chooses to leave when Eva shows up at Uptown. Eva takes any opportunity to throw a backhanded compliment towards Kat. The show actively makes a point to call out their dynamic as if it's strange for them to not get along. It has to be a constant source of tension.
Kat insists that karma will get Eva eventually. However, the narrative seems set on ensuring Kat does to Eva exactly what her half-sister did to her last year. Eva formed a friendship with Tomas that eventually led to sex. They denied that that attraction was the source of their closeness. Kat is doing the same with Izaiah. She tells Chelsea there is nothing going on. And yet, Kat is obviously reading more into Izaiah constantly talking her up. He's so encouraging. He believes she could be just as successful influencing as Chelsea is. Greyson tells Chelsea to lean on her loved ones. Kat isn't even in a position to do that. Of course, Chelsea shouldn't need this reminder. Kat has defended her in the past especially as it pertains to the anniversary of the kidnapping. This situation feels different. That's driven by Kat lying to herself about what she wants. Similarly, it's foolish for Bill to call Dani for emotional support as he fears he's dying. He struggles to walk across his office. Yet he finds the strength to make it to Dani. He needs her. Andre's finally upset by how Dani indulges in Bill's antics. She has to swear it means nothing. That's a lie. She can't keep her ex-husband out of her life. He can't help but intrude either. He would be better served at the hospital taking advice from medical professionals.
Grade: C
