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- In "Papa's Got A Brand New Excuse", Will's dead-beat dad, Lou, comes back into Will's life after fourteen years, and Will tries his best to try to get to know him better. Even after Uncle Phil calls out Lou over not being there for him when he was a child, Will — for the first time in the show — outright defies Phil by telling him that he isn't his father. In the end, Lou's true colors show as he becomes more concerned over some new business and has to cancel a planned summer trip with Will. It's clear from their last talk together that Lou's not coming back — and Will doesn't want him to come back. Will tries to shake it off and defiantly yells about all of the things he learned to do — and hopes to accomplish — without his father around to help him. He eventually breaks down as the weight of the situation fully hits him. Will finally just looks at Uncle Phil with the saddest look on his face and says one of the shortest, yet saddest lines ever uttered: "How come he don't want me, man?". Phil then gives him a Cooldown Hug. The camera then zooms in on the present Will had bought for his father: a wood carving of a father holding a young son. Link
- In "Bullets Over Bel Air", Will takes a bullet for Carlton when the two are mugged while withdrawing money from an ATM machine. After seeing Will hurt so badly, Carlton's feelings of helplessness push him over the edge, and he ends up buying a gun. Will ends up begging Carlton to get rid of it so that he doesn't intentionally or accidentally hurt someone in the same way Will was. After convincing Carlton to give up the gun, Will breaks down in tears. Link
- What makes it more of a tear jerker is that Will stares at the gun as if he was contemplating suicide, before taking the bullets out of the gun.
- That, or he hesitated to check if the gun was indeed loaded, and then when he did check, he realized that, yes, Carlton actually bought a gun and loaded it with ammo with the intent to shoot someone out of self-defense, or to defend a loved one, if the need came for it. This is Carlton we're talking about.
- Will confessing that the pep pills that almost killed Carlton were his. A true He Really Can Act moment by Will Smith as he slowly breaks down during his speech explaining the whole situation. Link.
- After Jazz inadvertently throws Phil's chances at being a judge into jeopardy, Will blows up at him and tells him to leave.
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Will: So, as of now, this friendship is over, you're not welcome here, so I'd like it if you just got the hell outta my crib! |
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- The 2020 reunion special's tribute to James Avery, who passed away in 2013. The cast shared their memories of him, interspersed with clips of Uncle Phil's most memorable and touching moments on the series, and by the time that segment was over they were wiping away tears.
- Janet Hubert revealing the personal struggles she'd been going through around the third season of the show. She had a new baby, her family disowned her, and she was trapped in an abusive marriage to an unemployed husband. Will admits to his lack of sensitivity and perception during those times, and realizes that in calling her "difficult" he'd damaged her career more than he'd realized.