"I'ma get through college without him, I'ma get a great job without him, I'ma marry me a beautiful honey and I'm havin' me a whole bunch of kids. I'ma be a better father than he ever was! And I sure as hell don't need him for that, cause ain't a damn thing he could ever teach me about how to love my kids! (begins to tear up) How come he don't want me, man?"
— Will Smith, in the Signature Scene of the episode
Will bumps into Lou, his dad, whom he hasn’t seen in 14 years. They start to bond and go on a trip, but Phillip senses Lou hasn't changed.
This episode contains examples of:
- Ambiguous Situation: It's clear Lou is just using this "big job" as an excuse to bail out on Will again, but the episode doesn't clarify if it's an actual job he's taking as his excuse, or if he just made it up to get away.
- Armor-Piercing Response: When Will tells Uncle Phil, "Who cares what you think? You’re not my father!", Phil is left in stunned silence for perhaps the only time in the series.
- Big "SHUT UP!": "Oh, bull! BULL!" That's Phil's reaction when Lou claims he and Will are "still gonna take the trip".
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Lou can be charming and claims to want to genuinely reconnect with his son, but quickly shows his selfish true colors.
- Blatant Lies: Phil sees right through Lou's intent to take him on the road trip... and again, after he is chewed out on his bluff, tells Will he’ll call him "from the road".
- Broken Pedestal: After abandoning him a second time, Lou all but confirms to Will that yes, Phil and Vivian were right and he is nothing but a cowardly, selfish, lying Jerkass. Will never has a nice thing to say about him again, and it's hard to blame him.
- Broken Tears: Will, after his rant. Phil's are more muted but he is completely heartbroken for his nephew.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Phil – having lost patience with Lou's excuses – really lays into him and tell him flat out, in not so many words, that he is a piece of shit and no father at all, and never had intentions of being one. When Lou tries to bluff an excuse that he was scared, Phil basically calls him on this, telling him he too was scared when Hilary was born but he was there for all three of his kids and Vivian when they went through some rough times... and later, Will, in his times of need... before he demands that he (Lou) tell Will himself why he's leaving.
- Calling Parents by Their Name: Famously, Will to Lou, as they’re saying goodbye. Lou slithers off as Will realizes he’s no father.
- Cooldown Hug: Will and Phil grieve for the broken relationship Will had with his biological father.
- Cowardice Callout: Uncle Phil isn't the least bit sympathetic when Lou explains that he ditched his family all those years ago out of fear. Phil admits that fatherhood was scary for him too, but he was still able to care for his wife and kids the way a man should.
- Daddy Didn't Show: Will's father returns and promises to take him on the road with him. When he doesn't follow through, and tries to get Phil and Vivian to cover for him, Will finds out and tries justifying how he is better off without him since he was young. He eventually breaks down with this tearful question:"...How come he don't want me, man?"
- Dirty Coward: While Lou never really explains why he abandoned Will and his mother, it's heavily implied he never expected to be a father and when Will turned four years old, he realized that he didn't want to be one, so he left without saying goodbye to avoid feeling guilty about it. When he returns to Will's life fourteen years later, he is seen to try to reconnect with his son but the same fears of fatherhood return, leading him to make the same choice again. And naturally, he carries out his cowardly choice in as cowardly a fashion as possible: He first attempts to get Phil to break the news to Will instead of doing it himself. When that doesn't work, he drops a bunch of lame excuses on Will instead of telling the truth. Finally, when it becomes clear that Will sees through him, he stutters out, "Yeah, um, s—..." and runs away before finishing his goodbyes. For bonus points, he makes no mention of having asked Viola to meet with Will after all this time or even apologizing to her for leaving her, which gives a good indication of how utterly gutless he is.
- Disappeared Dad: Lou, for fourteen years. Will, in his rant, recounts all the times Lou was never there for him when he wished he was.
- Downer Ending: Lou lets Will down yet again by leaving for a new job offer the very day they were to set off on their father/son trip. Will is left to break down in Phil's arms.
- Dramatic Sit-Down: Phil's command for Lou to sit down doubles as a Pre-Asskicking One-Liner.
- Dramatically Missing the Point: When Uncle Phil tells Lou that a man is there for his family, a frustrated Lou concedes that Phil is a better man than him.
- Everybody Cries: According to Shelly Jensen, who directed this episode, most of the cast and crew didn't know about Will's planned monologue until the day it was shot. As a result, many of them, including Karyn Parsons (Hilary), Jensen himself and even Ben Vereen who played Lou, were crying offscreen, while James Avery was visibly close to breaking down himself.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: When Lou tries to explain why he walked out, Phil shoots him down, telling him he's been there. The difference being Phil was there for his family because it's what a man does. Lou concedes that Phil is a better man than him and asks if he's happy. Phil is incredulous that he thinks this was about being better than him.
- Evil Counterpart: Lou to Uncle Phil. A horrible father figure who is absent in Will's life instead of a good father figure who actually supports and cares for Will.
- Fade to Black: No applause, just a zoom in on an African statue replica of a father holding and nurturing his son as we see Will and Phil crying in the background.
- Five Stages of Grief: Will goes through all five stages in less than 2 minutes after Lou bails on him. First, he says he shouldn't be mad because at least he said goodbye this time (Denial), He gradually devalues to anger as he recalls all the milestones he accomplished before screaming "To Hell with Him". He then laments to Uncle Phil everything he's going to further accomplish without Lou, (Bargaining) before finally asking Phil "How come he don't want me, man?!" (Depression). He then receives a much-needed hug from Uncle Phil as he finally accepts that his father truly is a spineless deadbeat.
- Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Lou tries to justify his abandonment of Will because he got “scared” but Phil is having none of it, since he felt that way too, but never resorted to becoming a Dirty Coward.Cut the crap, alright?! Cut it! 'Cause I've been there! But I didn't run out on my family. I was there every day for them, because that's what a man does!
- Good Parents: Contrasted between Phil and Lou, particularly in the scene where Phil reminds Lou about what being a good father is as opposed to his perpetual absence.
- Hate Sink: If Lou's first abandonment of Will didn't seal the deal, the second time he does this firmly cements him as this.
- Heroic BSoD: Will, when he breaks down in tears in realizing Lou was no father to him at all. It's all Phil can do to hold back his tears and try to show his strength.
- Ignored Epiphany: Lou briefly seems to realize the consequences of his actions when Will uses his first name only to immediately walk out on him.
- Ironic Echo:
- At first, Will buys Lou's false promises to take him on a cross-country trip and reconnect with him lock, stock and barrel. Phil is immediately suspicious and tries to warn Will that he's being set up to be let down once again, prompting a violent argument that has Phil being blunt: "To hell with your father!" In the end, when Lou tells Will he's leaving again, Will goes on his rant and is forced to admit that Uncle Phil was right about the man that donated his sperm to create him: "TO HELL WITH HIM!!!!"
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Lou abandoned his family when Will was only four years old. He then returns to Will fourteen years later to fix their strained relationship. Will openly accepts him and believes that his father has changed. Then, Lou quickly tries to abandons his son again when some "important business" comes up and he can't make time for his son. This leads to the most heart-wrenching scene in the series.
- Knight of Cerebus: Unlike other characters on the show, Lou's actions aren't Played for Laughs and this episode is one of, if not the darkest moment in the series. It begins lighthearted, but ends with Lou walking out on a heartbroken Will again and Will promising to make it without his father while breaking down crying. A sad and sympathetic Uncle Phil gives Will a Cooldown Hug. The studio audience is completely silent during this final scene, with the only outside sound audible being a sobbing Karyn Parsons (Hilary) from off-stage.
- Mama Bear: Vivian is just as unyielding with Lou when she—after initially being willing to cut him some slack—realizes who he really is and tells him bluntly:Vivian: Lou... if you walk out of Will's life now... don't you ever come back.
- Manchild:
- Will is revealed to be this when having his emotional breakdown. He may act like he’s sitting on the throne as the prince of Bel-Air, but deep down he’s a scared, lonely boy in need of a loving father, whom he reaffirms is Uncle Phil.
- Lou is an unsympathetic example, as he admits he walked out on his family because he couldn't be bothered with the responsibilities of fatherhood.
- Oh, Crap!: When Lou realizes in the final act that everyone is on to him. He tries to run but he don’t get far. Done twice... first, when Phil scolds him for being a snakish slime ball piece of shit, and then again when Will comes into the room, seemingly expecting to leave within minutes with Lou on their planned road trip and happily and proudly announcing he’s ready to go.
- Papa Wolf: Will may frustrate Phil at times with some of his wild and crazy antics, but when you're a father that has no intent of following through on his promises and is setting up his son to be hurt again, you better run. Lou, in fact, tries to run... but he can't run fast enough as Phil catches him and really lets him have it.
- Parental Abandonment: Lou left without a word of goodbye to Will when he was four years old. He shows up later during Will's college years and even offers to let him travel with him... only to leave him once again to Will's dismay.
- Prodigal Family: Lou seeks to reconnect with his son Will after having abandoned him and his mother out of fear of all the responsibilities that paternity ensues. In an apparent subversion, Will is pretty thrilled at the idea but ends with his heart broken all the same because Lou hasn't really changed and ditches him yet again; making it a Double Subverted Trope.
- Rage Breaking Point: When Will finally realizes the truth about Lou and that all his fantasies about him being a good father are just that... fantasy... he goes on a screaming tirade about how he never needed him and basically he is now dead to him. He then breaks down in tears, begging Phil to answer, "How come he don't want me?" An equally heartbroken Phil can't answer that, and the two break down in tears in each other's arms.
- Rule of Symbolism: Multiple ones in the final, definitive scene:
- Phil, willing to take up the (figurative) cross and allow Will to scream at him and release his pent-up rage, frustration, anger, loss... on the list goes, after Lou walks out on his son and breaks a promise for a father-son road trip, before tearfully embracing him when Will finally collapses in tears.
- The African statue replica of a father holding and nurturing his son. Will fumes that he wasted his money on a present he intended to give Lou... but in reality, the statue can be seen as symbolizing a true father figure embracing his child – just like Phil embracing his nephew, Will – in times of need, and that being a sperm donor (as Lou was) is not the deciding factor.
- As Will embraces Phil, Will's baseball cap gets knocked off. This shows that underneath this wisecracking teen is a boy who truly just wants his father and wondering why he didn't care for him at all.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Several times with Lou, who is clearly wanting to save his own skin. First, he tries to leave before Phil can catch him... too late! Later, after Phil verbally assaults him and Lou is no longer interested in hearing it, and realizing he’s been backed into a corner, he declares he’s going to call Will, telling him their “trip” is off and begins to leave again... then Will comes into the room, saying he’s all packed and ready to go. Then a third time — but in a defeated sense — when he realizes Will knows he’s bluffing and on to him; Lou doesn’t even try to fight back this time and meekly slithers out of the room.
- Shoo Out the Clowns: Most of the episode's humorous moments came from Carlton, Hilary, and Geoffrey. In the climatic scene, neither Carlton nor Hilary are present and Geoffrey only appears briefly upon Lou's arrival and has only one line.
- Significant Name Shift: When Will's father comes back into his life, Will doesn't feel right calling him "dad", or "my dad" when talking to other people. As the two spend time together, Will eventually starts calling him "dad". At the end, when his father cancels their plans to go on a cross-country trip, Will's last words to him are "You too, Lou."
- Titled After the Song: The episode title is a play on the James Brown song "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag".
- Very Special Episode: Will has a tough choice to make: leaving the family that loves him for a chance to re-connect with his father who abandoned him 14 years earlier, hoping against astronomical hope he'll be a real father... or cutting off all ties with the deadbeat dad and reaffirming that his real family is the one who puts up with him as "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air". The original NBC promos played the major scenes — the You're Not My Father and the final scene after Lou walks out — to the hilt. The final scene, where Will breaks down and collapses into tears in Phil's arms, using fact played up to make viewers wonder if Will was actually leaving (this, an emotional goodbye) … or was staying and questioning why his biological father was who he was.
- You're Not My Father: At first, Will is enthusiastic about joining up with his father, even after 14 years of estrangement. When Phil is against the idea of Will going on the road with Lou, Will screams at Uncle Phil, telling him "You're not my father!" In the ironic scene at the end, when Lou tells Will he's leaving, Will bids his father goodbye by saying, "You too... Lou." Lou slithers off while Will tries to hold in his pent-up anger and rage... before exploding on Uncle Phil about how Lou is not his father. All Phil can do is stand there, saddened and heartbroken for his nephew.
