Hayley has another trick up her sleeve. Kat comes to Izaiah in crisis. Dani leans on Nicole for comfort. Andre leaves Vernon stunned. Chelsea and Hayley come to blows. Bill's decision stuns his family. Nicole is livid with Joey. Chelsea takes out her frustrations on Madison. Jacob's evidence is met with familial resistance. Vernon gets intel that puts him on high alert. Bill comes clean to Elon. Andre has harsh criticisms for Dani.
Episode 2.177
Hayley gets to revel in her full-on villainy. All pretenses have been dropped. She was still trying to manipulate Bill at the police station when she was arrested. In the privacy of his hospital room, she issues her true demands. She wants the charges against her dropped, the house in St. Barts, and the money afforded to her in the prenup. In exchange, she won't release the recordings she made of Bill and Vernon conspiring to cover up Martin's secret. She's had this leverage for over a year. The poison became her main plan of attack against Bill. That wasn't her only scheme. She was prepared for this possibility. She never intended to spend one day in jail. All of this was her pursuit of a payday. Everything was a lie. She boasts about how easy it was to manipulate the family. It takes awhile for Bill to understand what she's saying. She has to spell it out for him. He agrees. He will continue to protect the Duprees. They still matter to him. He will set his personal animosity and pride aside for them. Of course, Leslie will probably have something to say about Hayley leaving the DMV after posting bail for her. She expects something in return for that act of friendship. Eva even parrots Leslie's arguments for enjoying what has happened with Bill. She will still listen to her mother above everyone else. It doesn't matter how strong her communication with Izaiah is. Mama always comes first.
Izaiah offers an ear to Kat as well. She reaches out to complain about Tomas. She wanted an impartial friend to help her through this. Eva and Chelsea rightfully see the problem in how close Kat is getting to Izaiah. He rejects any possibility of romance. He's all-in on Eva. He only sees Kat as a friend in need. He will back away if Eva wants that. He's proud of his relationship in comparison to Kat's. He's not being tempted. Kat's argument for wanting to speak with someone who won't judge her is valid. The Duprees always offer their opinions. She can't escape them. All of this basically signals that Kat needs more friends. In fact, the world could expand for a number of these characters so they don't only have to rely on each other. That's how they were raised though. Family above all else. As such, not too much condemnation can be pointed towards the closeness of Eva and Leslie. They prioritize family too. They uplift the same value. That means Eva has had to tolerate a ton of bad behavior. The Duprees have as well. Martin's secret has the potential to be the October Surprise that derails his campaign. He feared it would be Smitty being framed for Lia's murder. That investigation has been derailed by the sudden focus on Hayley. Smitty wants to check in on his friend. Jacob can't until he clears him in this separate matter.
Grade: B+
Episode 2.178
Randy wants to leave the DMV to spend quality time with his son. He could never allow a visit given how dangerous working for Joey has been. Randy no longer wants to always be looking over his shoulder. He wants to finally relax. He expected Hayley's final payday to allow both of them to escape this life. He learns she won't even be delivering half of the reward. He has to settle for less because she was caught. Hayley used her leverage to escape the charges. Randy doesn't even know what she had on Bill. That's how closely guarded she kept this secret. She believes she deserves more because of all the work she put into this con. She's entitled to assault the Duprees who've made her miserable for years. Randy had to pull her away from Chelsea. The Duprees don't know Hayley and Randy are cousins yet. They still think it was an affair. Bill will overlook that discretion because of Hayley's threat. He just wants to start working on the divorce. He's frustrated. He's not the only one bummed about how all of this turned out. He's enraged over what his wedding ring now symbolizes. He will spend the rest of his life atoning for his mistakes. He can't even leave Dani alone because Hayley is still dictating terms. She wields power. Everyone must accept that. That leaves Randy particularly vulnerable. As such, it's unlikely he will get to fulfill his dream of being with his son full-time.
Anita doesn't want to hear Leslie's reasoning for bailing Hayley out. She shames her for holding onto decades-old anger instead of allowing more of her humanity to come to the surface. Anita is far too generous about the genuine moments she has witnessed from Leslie. She had to be forced into allowing her to be involved with the Articulettes album. Now, Anita has no tolerance for someone who could cause pain on her grandchildren with no consideration whatsoever. They are the ones hurt. Bill was the ultimate victim. He wasn't the only one injured by Hayley's actions. Leslie now ties herself to the attempted murderer. She wants a friendship because Hayley is indebted to her. Money won't satisfy her. Something else will have to. Many of these dynamics are volatile. Everyone is pleasant so long as they get what they want. They shift as soon as they are inconvenienced. Joey and Andre feared Heather. Andre's video shows her silencing someone for good. That could happen to Vanessa if Joey isn't careful. Andre confides in Vernon about his problems in vague enough details to raise concern. The implosion of Bill and Hayley has been entertaining. Now, the narrative is starting to pivot back to its other plots to keep spinning those wheels of intrigue too.
Grade: B-
Episode 2.179
Bill plans on getting the charges against Hayley dropped. Chelsea can't believe it. She wants to argue until he agrees with her. When that fails, she wants Jacob to arrest Hayley for breaking the terms of her release on bail. Unfortunately, Jacob and Naomi point out that Chelsea assaulted Hayley as well. That only opens the family up to more drama within the legal system. The best they can do is avoid Hayley. Dani is just as upset as Chelsea is. She also knows Bill would only agree to this demand for a good reason. She wants to hear it. Hayley has all the leverage to make this happen. She's not gliding through life though. She's stuck in a hotel room with Leslie who remains just as desperate to make this friendship happen as ever. No matter what Hayley does, Leslie won't leave. It's enough to make her scream. Leslie's presence is far more annoying and disruptive than what Hayley had to deal with from the Duprees. Hayley's learning that now. Dani's impressed Hayley was able to obtain a get-out-of-jail free card. Bill will do anything to protect the family. He wants Hayley out of his life for good. Paying her off is the only option to do so. It sucks. He has to contain the fallout of this scandal. He can't allow it to ruin Vernon's reputation and Martin's re-election.
Joey immediately knows Heather was responsible for attacking Vanessa. She shows up at Garland as the victim of a carjacking. Nicole's baffled as to how Joey left her without protection. It's the latest evidence that the people working for Joey aren't that great. They constantly make mistakes. Heather has the superior operation. She gives the order and her goons make it happen. Nicole wants Vanessa in her life for a long time. She doesn't agree with her choices. Vanessa doesn't believe this attack was intentional until Joey shows up. She only listens to him. She's comforted by his presence. Nicole and Joey can't be blind to the truth. This is precisely what Joey was worried about when Vanessa pressed for more details about his business. Opening up his world to her meant increasing the threats. She's his one weakness. That makes her the target to exploit. Heather has done so as a friend. Now, she acts as an enemy. She delivers a message. This is how easily she can get to Vanessa. She's bold enough to do it as well. She's not threatened by Joey's standing. She's the only person willing to take this action. Andre's already exhausted by the stress from Heather and Dani. He's reaching his breaking point. He doesn't even know about everything that's been happening either. It won't take much to potentially destroy his marriage because of the secrets he and Dani have kept from each other.
Grade: B
Episode 2.180
Bill aims to lure Hayley into a false sense of complacency. He will give her everything she wants. When the time is right, he will turn the tables and exact vengeance on her. Dani is the only person he confides in. Chelsea panics. She fears something is still wrong with his brain. That's the only explanation for him getting the charges against Hayley dropped. Kat has another theory. She deduces that Hayley is blackmailing Bill. Hayley holds something that would seriously damage Bill's reputation. He insists he was solely acting out of self-preservation. He wasn't protecting the Duprees. He was only looking out for himself. Dani doesn't believe that. Nor is it believable when she says she's checking in with him as a friend. Her intentions aren't as pure as her concern for Vanessa after the carjacking. She looks out for the people she cares about. That's an obvious lie. She's once again caught in the passion that happened in the elevator. Bill isn't nearly as calm as he pretends to be either. He's grateful his office and home have been removed of Hayley's presence. He also smashes a picture frame as it depicts the lie that was his marriage. Hayley is the only one happy with what she has accomplished. It's simple for her even as she's being shunned by everyone in town. Bill has a plan. He just has to make it a reality now.
The intense focus on Bill and Hayley prevented Jacob from making any progress investigating Lia's death. It was conveniently explained away as him waiting on test results. The residue in the pouch found in her cell matches the drugs in her system. The video from Uptown shows Max giving the pouch to Smitty. Martin and Smitty strategize over how to prevent electoral upheaval due to the questioning from police. Martin wants to be patient. He hopes for the best. That's not an effective strategy. It's immediately proven wrong too. Smitty and Naomi are called to the station for more questions. Naomi aims to protect her client. She doesn't want him to say anything. Smitty believes the only way to save himself and Martin's campaign is to force Jacob to question the evidence before him. Smitty knows he's being set up by the Impaler. The best way forward is to convince Jacob of that as well. The detective is skeptical as the video doesn't look fake. That's exactly what it is. Smitty needs Jacob to go above and beyond for family even though that has caused plenty of problems between Jacob and Elon before.
Grade: B
Episode 2.181
Five generations of Duprees have attended Banneker University. Anita has been planning the homecoming party for weeks. It's meant to serve as showcase of HBCU joy and community. Vernon doesn't want anything to distract from the purpose of this gathering. That's futile given everything happening with Bill. News about the charges being dropped against Hayley spread quickly. It doesn't make sense to Chelsea. She's in pursuit of answers. Bill's explanation doesn't make sense. He's not honest with his daughter. She calls him out. He sticks to the lie. It pains him. Those who know the truth about the family's secret understand Bill's motivation. They go into crisis mode. They perceive Joey as the biggest threat. He killed Kenny when he felt cornered. It's laughable to suggest Hayley is powerless. Bill wants Chelsea to be grateful that Hayley will be out of their lives for good. Her influence is still felt. That can't be denied. Vernon makes Chelsea promise not to ruin the fun of the day. It's hard not to. He pulls Dani aside to get the full story. She's honest with her father but not her husband. Andre senses that distance. He's just as enraged as the rest of the family upon learning the news. He sees how it is impacting Dani. She confesses to being held at gunpoint. That amplifies his concern. He worries about her safety and how cavalier she has been with her decisions. She wouldn't change a thing though. That's something Andre will have to accept. If not, he would have to confront his own powerlessness.
Joey knows Heather orchestrated Vanessa's carjacking. She was sending a message. Vanessa aims to regain power. She wants to know what Joey is planning next. She already connects plenty of dots. She has the name of the corporate entity that bought Uptown. She knows that upset Joey. She's pursuing her own investigation. Joey will do anything to protect her. That forces him into conflict with Heather. He told Andre that he would handle his sister as he sees fit. That hasn't satisfied Andre. Joey is indebted to Andre for rescuing Vanessa. Answers aren't forthcoming though. Heather is back in London. She got on a plane to have a convenient alibi. She didn't have to be present for the crime. She just had to deliver the order. That's what she did. She was surprised by Andre's involvement. She delights in the chivalry he showcases. She has a laugh. Joey issues his warning. He wants Heather to stay far away. That's unlikely given the investment she has made in the DMV. Plus, Joey will have another issue to deal with. Bill shares the truth about the threat from Hayley with Elon and Joey. The people involved in this conspiracy are entangled once more. Their response will likely be erratic, costly and unpredictable.
Grade: B
