Bel-Air season 4 episode 3 ending explained: Why is Lou leaving Will again?

Bel-Air, the dramatic reimagining of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, returned for its final season on November 24, 2025, on Peacock. Created by Morgan Cooper and showrunners T.J. Brady and Rasheed Newson, it follows Will (Jabari Banks), a teen from West Philly navigating life with his affluent relatives in Bel-Air. 

The cast includes Adrian Holmes as Uncle Phil, Cassandra Freeman as Aunt Viv, Coco Jones as Hilary, Olly Sholotan as Carlton, Akira Akbar as Ashley, Jordan L. Jones as Jazz, and Jimmy Akingbola as Geoffrey.

In season 4 episode 3, titled "What are you doing for Thanksgiving?", at the Banks’ house for the Thanksgiving dinner,  Lou told Phil that he got a job opportunity in Philly. Being an ex-prison convict, this is a huge opportunity for him, but this also means he has to miss his fatherhood days again by leaving Will back here.

Season 4 follows the last season’s drama, where Will quit basketball after clashing with Lou, who lived nearby without contact. He and Carlton launched Blackcess, a Black-owned business app. 

Hilary married Lamarcus despite feelings for Jazz; Lamarcus collapsed on their honeymoon due to his heart condition. Viv hinted at pregnancy after marital strains. Carlton rekindled with Amira amid recovery.

Geoffrey reconnected with his son, Frederick but fled his London gang past, only for them to kidnap Will, mistaking him for Frederick.

Bel-Air season 4 episode 3 ending explained: A "Thanksgiving" to remember 

We saw in the Season 4 premiere that episode 1 picks up after the kidnapping. Will returns home shaken, collapsing into Lisa's arms amid flashbacks of the gang's handling and Geoffrey's arm-breaking rescue. His trauma affects daily life, leading him to skip basketball tryouts. However, his dad, Lou, is back after all these years. He encourages him to play again, and they share a bond over the basketball game.

Instead of therapy at first, Will quests to track down the kidnappers and missing Geoffrey, whose past caused the abduction. He spots the same car used in the snatch and, with Carlton's help, smashes it with a baseball bat to reclaim power and release emotions. Carlton pushes Blackcess pitches and college apps, straying from his rule-following side by joining the vandalism.

At Phil's fraternity mixer, he mentors the boys on real-world survival. Geoffrey, injured, asks Phil to launder money through the Legacy Heights project to pay off his old crew's debt for a botched heist, straining their brotherhood as Phil rebuilds post-DA loss. 

Homecoming week at Bel-Air Academy sees Will and Carlton host a party and do their thing to make everyone happy. Meanwhile, Phil confronts Geoffrey in the garage over the laundering, highlighting clashing worlds and testing loyalties. The episode ended with Geoffrey’s “not by blood” sister agreeing on a business deal with Philip Banks.

Episode 3 opens with Carlton and Will at the court pleading for forgiveness, and they take full responsibility for their actions. The judge showed mercy towards them as they both have a keen interest in joining prestigious Universities and hence he did not give them prison life. However, they are assigned to a youth division program called Promising Choice to do community services.

Their driving privileges are cancelled, and they are given a warning for good behaviour. Lou was at the court and was happy his son would not have to face prison time like him. Will asks his father to join them for Thanksgiving at Banks' house.

Meanwhile, back at the house, Hillary tells Vivian over FaceTime that she can’t make it to the Thanksgiving dinner as all flights out of Costa Rica are grounded. This is the first time Coco Jones will not be at the house during the holiday. Viv will miss her as she was the one who took care of the dinner every time.

Viv also reveals that she missed Court on purpose as she didn't want to see her son and nephew throw their future away. Viv is also upset with Ashley and her recent behaviour at her college. Carlton and Ahsley decide to prepare a dinner and take charge of making their mother happy.

Geoffrey brings a turkey to Phil’s house and says he will have to skip dinner as he has some “duty calls”. In reality, he felt ashamed and responsible for Will’s kidnapping. He went to a bar and drank while reminiscing about his old memories of how he and Phil first met.

He feels grateful to Phil, as back in the days, when Geoffrey couldn't return to his family for some reason, Phil invited Geoffrey to his house for Thanksgiving with Vivian and then little Hillary. At that time, Geoffrey helped  Phil get his loan approved from the bank and start his business. It is later revealed in this episode that Geoffrey might have also helped convince the judge not to give Will and Carlton prison time.

The Banks and Will were enjoying their family time in the kitchen when they realised that Phil had made a silly mistake of not turning on the oven to cook the turkey. Lou arrives at this moment and saves the situation by suggesting deep-frying the turkey.

At the garden, over beers, Phil and Lou share a conversation that gets heated up. Lou wants to take his authority of being Will’s father and look after him, while Phil doesn't want Lou and Liv to co-parent Will all of a sudden. This is when Lou tells that he got a job opportunity in Philly, but he doesn't know how to tell Will.

In the kitchen, Carlton and Ashley share a sibling moment. Carlton says that Ashley is going to be a big sister soon, so she has to step up. Their parents have high hopes with her, especially since things went wrong with Carlton.

In Will’s room, he shows his collection of Jordon shoes to Lou and tells him how Uncle Phil is helping him with investments and stocks. They talked about books and concerts while Lou was preparing himself to tell his departure news to Will. But his thoughts remain stranded as for the first time, Will called Lou “dad”. He said it only felt natural to call Lou dad, and they have a lot of catching up to do. 

In the episode, we see a kind of hostility between Phil and Lou, as if they are trying to win a who is the best father competition. During the trivia game or at the dinner table prayers, we find Phil and Lou are constantly arguing, putting each other down, and trying to prove that they are better fathers than one another. 

Things get heated up, and Phil accidentally mentions that Lou is leaving. Will is hurt by this as he expected to spend more time with his father finally. With disappointment, Will says to his father “Do what you gotta do”  and storms out.

At the porch, Will and Carlton share a heartfelt conversation about their rollercoaster life lately. Catlon tells how life is not always about the ride being perfect, but it is about staying on. This motivated Will and he went back to sort things out with his father.

Carlton also advises Phil that his resentment with Lou is justified, but competing against each other is not. “You are better together”, Carlton shares how he was jealous of Will at the beginning when Phil gave him more attention but with time, he released Will and Carlton have different things to offer and they are better together.

Lou and Phil make their amends, while Will and Lou share their father-son bonding over piano tunes. We also see Geoffrey coming back to the house and Phil repairs his bond with him by saying that Geoffrey will always have a seat at their table, as they are always “better together”. 

Phil also makes a promise to Vivian that he will fix everything with the laundering mess and will go back to their simpler times. He has a plan and needs Viv to trust him. Will play basketball again with his father’s voice looming in “control your controllables”.

The episode ends on some happy notes, a beautiful Thanksgiving, which was all about forgiving, accepting, and a fresh start.

Stream Bel-Air Season 4 on Peacock Premium or Plus. Episodes 1-3 out now; 4-5 December 1; 6-8 December 8. 

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