A Different World

Dwayne and Whitley recall their honeymoon in Los Angeles. Whitley insisted on going shopping in Beverly Hills while Dwayne drove to Inglewood to pick up basketball tickets. During her excursion, not-guilty verdicts were announced for the police officers who beat Rodney King. The shopping center closed after the riots broke out, leaving Whitley stranded. After hearing the verdicts, Dwayne got out of his rental car and began kicking the tires. A cop drove by and decided to arrest him, much to the chagrin of his partner. The students and staff of Hillman discuss the case. Lena sees it as just another example of the injustice toward her race, while others criticize the prosecution for overconfidence. Freddie arrives, and stuns everyone by sporting straight hair and a business suit. She is enrolling in law school and helping med student Kim run the dorm. Lena calls her a sell-out, but Freddie argues that she is trying to make a difference from within the system. She feels that Lena's milita « read less

Whitley and Dwayne argue about which furniture should be kept for their new house. Freddie and Ron admit that they cannot stop thinking about each other, and nearly kiss again. Freddie, fearing that they will not be able to control themselves, recommends that he find somewhere else to stay. Ron feels uncomfortable about seeing Shazza with Freddie and decides to go. Kim snaps at Freddie; she believes that she forced Ron to leave because she hates him. Ron temporarily stays on the Waynes' couch, then rents a basement apartment from the eccentric landlord. As compensation for having to live with Ron, Dwayne agrees to let Whitley keep whatever she wants. Lena does not want to participate in Height Hall's coed stepping routine because she wishes to focus on her writing. Charmaine and Gina suggest incorporating her poetry into the routine. She agrees after learning that Dorian has joined the team. « read less

Ron becomes jealous when Freddie leaves for a weekend camping trip with Shazza. He decides to prepare a candlelight dinner for Kim. Kim has problems dissecting her first cadaver in anatomy class. She throws up on the professor. She is too depressed to eat Ron's dinner, but decides to sleep with him. Kim's partner, Spencer, helps restore her confidence. The professor marvels at her work. Spencer comes over to celebrate, interrupting Kim's romantic evening with Ron. Dwayne sees Whitley's weekend business trip as a chance to enjoy his freedom. However, he soon becomes desperate for companionship. Charmaine annoys Lena after getting a job at the Pit. « read less

During their Halloween party, a drunken Dwayne responds sarcastically when Whitley and friends discuss women's rights and the ""Year of the Woman."" He falls asleep on the couch after the party, and dreams that all of the candidates in the upcoming presidential election are women (including incumbent Georgia Mush and eccentric Texas billionaire Rose Godot, who can't decide whether or not she is in the race). Whitley is the philandering Jill Blinton, who frustrates husband Hilliard (Dwayne) with her lying and infidelity. Hilliard agonizes over the fact that no one--including his own wife--has any respect for his opinions. Dwayne wakes up and apologizes to Whitley for his sexist comments. « read less

Whitley's mother surprises Whitley and Dwayne by coming to visit for Thanksgiving. Whitley is too ashamed to admit that she is unemployed and that the couple was recently robbed. Marion stuns Whitley by introducing her fiancé, Malik, a much younger man who sells oils and poetry for a living. Although Dwayne believes that Whitley should let her mother live her own life, she fears that Malik is a golddigger. She asks Kim to come over and flirt with Malik in the hopes of driving the couple apart. Just when it seems that things can't get any worse, Dwayne's mother (who has not spoken to him since he married Whitley) shows up on the Waynes' doorstep. Freddie tries to avoid Ron and re-commit to her relationship with Shazza. She even dons her old ""earthy"" look for a rally on behalf of Haitian refugees, but a law school assignment conflicts with the protest. « read less

Freddie organizes a mentorship program for teenagers detained at juvenile hall. They can receive parole by completing a week-long project. Dwayne is assigned two young gang members, who continually fight after learning that they are from rival sets. Much of the tension stems from the fact that members of one boy's gang killed the other's cousin. Dwayne tries to get the boys to turn away from violence and set some goals, but they don't think they have anything to live for. He tries to talk to their parents, with disastrous results. Billy's proud but violent father does not appreciate Dwayne's interference; he shoves him around and threatens him. Dwayne again emphasizes the fact that the boys can have futures; he tells them that they should not place limits on themselves because of the environment around them. Dwayne eventually gets through to them, as they perform a rap song that preaches for an end to violence. Billy's father listens to his son's performance and seems somewhat impresse « read less

Freddie's free-spirited mother visits, and annoys her daughter by spending all of her time counseling Freddie's friends. She exposes the bitterness that Kim is harboring over Freddie's relationship with Ron. Joni's appearance leaves Freddie confused about her life and stirs old feelings in Shazza. Ron spies Shazza kissing Freddie outside the Pit. Whitley takes a job at the International Cottage of Flapjacks to earn money for Dwayne's Christmas present. She finds herself completely overwhelmed, and gets no help from the owner's lazy daughter. Freddie confronts her mother at ICOF and demands advice. Joni explains that she lets her daughter make her own choices because she does not want to follow in the footsteps of Freddie's grandmother, who condemned Joni for having an interracial relationship. Ron appears and asks Freddie to make up her mind. She runs into his arms, as Whitley loudly launches into ""Joy to the World."" Whitley gets fired on her first day, but Dwayne consoles her with a p « read less

Dwayne discovers that Whitley has goaded Kim into letting her assist in the planning of her own surprise birthday party. Dwayne takes Whitley to a cheap dinner and tells her that he scrapped the party. She feels that she deserves a nice birthday after her rough year, while he insists that she should have trusted him to plan the party on his own. Dwayne sends Whitley into the kitchen, then sneaks all of their friends into the living room to surprise her. Charmaine and Terrell struggle badly in French class. They refuse to accept help from prize pupil Gina, and all other tutors dismiss them as a lost cause. Terrified at the prospect of having their perfect grade point averages ruined, they hide a baby monitor in Gina's bag in an attempt to learn the contents of the oral midterm. Charmaine and Terrell get caught and automatically fail the midterm, leaving Charmaine humiliated. She admits that she wouldn't have been so desperate to get a good grade if Gina hadn't taunted her about her str « read less

Whitley has trouble getting through to a pupil that she is tutoring. Dwayne brainstorms about a video game that would get kids more interested in grammar. Ron suggests a game that combines grammar with the elements of baseball. Dwayne designs a computer program based entirely on this idea and pitches it to Kinishewa. Ron is furious when Dwayne refuses to share the credit (and money) with him. Dwayne accuses Ron of being a moocher always trying to profit from his accomplishments. Ron fires back that Dwayne resents his success as a club owner; and suspects that he feels inadequate after having to turn to Ron for money. Whitley suffers from chronic illness, and Kim forces her to confront the fact that she might be pregnant. A panicked Whitley refuses to accept the truth until she has taken a half-dozen home pregnancy tests. Kim assures Whitley that she will be a terrific mother, but Whitley doesn't know how she and Dwayne will come up with the money to care for a child. Dwayne reveals tha « read less

Col. Taylor recommends that Dwayne apply for a summer job with Kinishewa. Dwayne follows Col. Taylor's suggestion by inviting the company vice president over for dinner (for an interview in a less formal setting). Dwayne and Whitley are stunned when the man's assistant, Kinu, arrives in his place. Although Kinu seems friendly and gracious, Whitley warns Dwayne that she is out for revenge. Dwayne comes to agree with Whitley after Kinu informs him that another applicant received the job. Kinu angrily points out that she is also married, and outlines the qualifications of the man who was hired. Dwayne realizes that he was not the best candidate for the job, and has a very hard time dealing with the disappointment. Whitley assures him that she still believes in him. « read less

Dwayne and Whitley decide to rent a cabin in the mountains for a second honeymoon. They cannot afford the trip on their own, and Mr. and Mrs. Gaines are the only couple willing to join them. Mr. Gaines ends up getting them free use of a friend's run-down old cabin. At his wife's urging, he leaves their son Darnell in charge of the Pit. He screws everything up, behaves rudely to customers, and tries to fire Lena and Charmaine. Mr. and Mrs. Gaines get into an argument about his attitude toward their son and refuse to sleep in the same room. Dwayne and Whitley try to sneak outside, only to get sprayed by a skunk. Darnell promises his father that he is going to get himself together. « read less