In part 5 of The Upshaws, Lucretia makes a big sacrifice to help out Bennie and then has a life-changing decision of her own to make.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary:
Bennie is upset because Lucretia is selling the garage to pay her taxes and he insists that he will be able to buy it from her.
Aaliyah has a crush on a boy working at Chilis so she and Savannah go there to check him out until she can work up the nerve to talk to him.
Lucretia is looking at prospective buyers but no one fits the profile. Meanwhile, Bennie visits a loan shark to get the money but he refuses because Bennie is a risky investment.
In the end, Lucretia sells her building so that she can keep the garage and give Bennie more time to come up with the money.
However, because she had no lease agreement, she is kicked out of her apartment and she moves into Bennie and Regina’s house.
Bernard is also kicked out because he didn’t pay rent when Lucretia owned the building, so he has to stay with his boyfriend Hector.
Aaliyah helps him fix the gym wall that she ran through and he gets to see Tristan for the first time.
Bernard tells Regina and she waits for the right moment to tell Bennie. Lucretia wants Bennie to get EV-certified for the garage and helps him cheat in the exam.
They hire a new mechanic named Sofia to work on the cars when they are brought in.
After Bennie finds out about Aaliyah and Tristan, he keeps a close eye on the boy to the point that it makes things difficult for Aaliyah.
Once he calms down, Tristan’s father says that they don’t want Tristan hanging out with Aaliyah.
Everyone assumes it is Bennie’s fault, but it is Regina’s fault. Tristan’s mother was on the debate team with Regina in high school and hates her.
Regina tries to make peace for Aaliyah’s sake, but Aaliyah moves on from Tristan quite easily.
Bernard is scared of opening the gym and has a couple of soft openings until his dad pushes him to take the jump no matter how scared he is.
Lucretia swears off men after seeing all the trouble caused by Tristan and Bennie but then Frank shows up and says that he wants another chance with her.
Lucretia and Frank start going on lavish dates to make up for lost time and promptly get engaged.
Regina feels that Lucretia is marrying Frank for his money and after defending herself strongly, Lucretia begins to doubt herself too.
Tasha mentions that money is a big reason why she is with Noah and he hears her say that so he leaves.
Tasha blames Bennie for bringing up the conversation and insists that he owes her backpay now that she’s on her own.
Ending explained:
Provide a helping hand
Tasha starts working out of Bennie’s garage and tells him that he needs to either fix things between her and Noah or give her ten thousand dollars.
He calls Noah to the garage and urges him to talk things out but Noah says that he started looking at his financials more closely and can’t support Tasha anymore.
Tasha continues to shake Bennie down so he turns to Regina for help. She takes pity on Tasha and agrees that they need to help her in some way.
Bennie goes to Frank against Tasha’s wishes and asks for the money but Frank says he’s ready to discuss things after the wedding.
Rocky waters
Lucretia starts to believe that she is using Frank for his money but Regina refuses to chime in after almost ruining their relationship once before.
Bennie and Tasha see a young woman going into Frank’s hotel room and believe that he is cheating on Lucretia.
They choose not to tell her because it would end the marriage and ruin Tasha’s chances of getting her money.
Lucretia sends Frank to pick up Maya at her school but because she didn’t inform the school quickly enough, he ends up getting tazed.
Away from the drama
Lucretia rushes to the hospital because she is worried for Frank, and realizes that her doubts were unfounded.
Come the wedding day, Bennie sees the young woman at the wedding hall and confronts Frank about her.
She says that he is her goddaughter and Bennie has to back away. Frank tells Lucretia that he loves her but cannot deal with her family.
They decide to elope, leaving her family behind along with their baggage. Kelvin asks Bennie and Regina if Tasha can move into their basement because she needs help.
Regina says they’ll think about it but she’s already down there. Lucretia and Frank are on a plane to Atlanta to enjoy their lives.