Previously on the Netflix series A Different World, Deborah and Rashida successfully save Friday Fest, convincing the R&B singer Summer Walker to headline the show. Dwayne takes matters into his own hands and begins to raise money in order to save Hillman from being shut down. He and Whitley learn that Deborah has been using their credit card too much, so they decide cut her off.
The episode begins with Kojo talking about Rashida to Shaquille and Amir, meanwhile Rashida does the same with Deborah and Hazel. They’re gushing over each other. Deborah tries to convince the girls that she and Shaquille are just friends and that she is too busy to have any romance, but the girls see through it.
Shaquille films an interview and instantly regrets it; the interviewer frames him as if he’s Hillman’s football saving grace. After the team’s meeting, Coach Coles confronts Shaquille and tells him that the team is upset. He advises Shaquille to make up for it by giving his team more confidence. Andre is cleared to play again, but Coles will keep him as their second quarterback. Shaquille finds Andre and compliments him on practice. It ends up backfiring, with Andre threatening to tell Coles the truth about how he was injured.
Later, Shaquille surprises Deborah with a date. He tells her that he wants to give them a chance to date, but Deborah is hesitant. She tells him that she needs time to think about her decision.
At work, Rashida fires Deborah from The Pit for filming content during her shift. This stresses Deborah during her tutoring session with Ellington. He teaches her a calming technique, and it helps. The two of them share a small moment and awkwardly avoid it, abruptly ending the session for the night.
The next day, Nellie finds out that Rashida fired Deborah, and scolds her to get Deborah back. While at The Pit, Shaquille apologizes to Andre, telling him he was triggered when he talked about his parents. Shaquille tells him that his mom passed away and that it’s a sensitive topic. Andre apologizes, and they squash their beef. But later in the gym, Shaquille finds that the video of him and Andre fighting has leaked on social media.
Overall, this was a pretty good episode. Cornell Young IV does a great job as Shaquille, as he continues to be more vulnerable with those around him and opens up more. It was nice to see him apologize to Andre and how comfortable he was to tell him about his mom. There’s a possibility we’ll see more growth from him this season. But now that the fight was leaked, what will happen to his spot on the football team?
Rating: 8.5/10