It’s always a front for money laundering!

Last week saw the first wobble in the season’s episode quality. “Abigail B.” failed to live up to the fresh perspective explored in its predecessor, “Mariachi Shelley’s Frankenstein”, leaving much to be desired from its characters. The ninth episode of the season hopes to regain some of that lost momentum.

Entitled “This Kid’s Gonna Be Alright”, it follows Will and the GBI as they investigate the scene of a rap battle turned deadly.

There are a lot of places this series could take the premise of Will and Faith investigating an underground rap scene. The juxtaposition between Will’s straight-laced persona and the gritty world of rap battles certainly has an enticing ring. Unfortunately, reality never quite matches fantasy, and the investigation ends up a little lacklustre.

The problems arise with the developing motives behind the rapper’s murder. They are thin on the ground on content and never go past surface-level exploration. This is despite the episode having one of the more interesting murder methods of the season, a carefully orchestrated attack ambush between rival rap stars.

While the investigation falters at times, the episode has more than its fair share of shining moments when it comes to its focus on character. Jeremy (Deion Smith), Faith’s son, gets top billing during the episode, and it’s easy to see why.

His involvement in the story follows his aspirations of wanting to become a major part of the rap music industry, which results in him getting caught up with a record label thought to be behind the murder. This flares up tensions between him and Faith, causing them to drift apart as the episode progresses.

Angry and upset with Faith’s decision, Jeremy makes the terrible mistake of getting involved with gang activity. A momentary lapse in judgment; it takes Will everything within the confines of the law to see him back on the straight and narrow. However, it’ll take Jeremy a lot more than that to navigate the explosive fallout that’ll take place between him and Faith.

Aside from his moments with Jeremy, Will also sees some interesting developments in his fraught relationship with Rafael (Antwayn Hopper) during this episode.

“This Kid’s Gonna Be Alright” gives the series another opportunity to showcase one of Rafael’s many “businesses”. This time, his enterprises take the form of a record label, one that happens to be playing a major role in the murder investigation. These developments put Will and Rafael back at loggerheads, with their bout in a boxing ring during the episode signifying their current stalemate and continued combative future together.

It’s clear at this stage that the show is building up something big between them. The question is, will the reveal be worth the wait?

After a shaky episode last week, the ninth episode of season three shows some improvements. While the episode’s main investigation lacks the bite of some of the series’ better-known stories, there’s plenty to enjoy in terms of character focus, especially between Will and Rafael.

I Give This Kid’s Gonna Be Alright: 7.5/10