Can Will and Carlton Ever Be Friends in 'Bel-Air' Like Their '90s Counterparts?
By Katherine StinsonFeb. 22 2022, Published 3:12 p.m. ET
Spoiler alert: The following article comprises spoilers for the Peacock sequence Bel-Air.
There were many, many good stuff about the iconic '90s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. One of the show's easiest aspects was the brotherly relationship between cousins Carlton Banks (Alfonso Ribeiro) and Will Smith (Will Smith). Carlton and Will did not start off as besties when Will moved to Bel-Air from West Philly, but the two regularly grew to understand and appreciate every other's viewpoint.
Can the similar be stated for Will (Jabari Banks) and Carlton (Olly Sholotan) in the Fresh Prince reboot Bel-Air? The new collection is a extra dramatic take on the original but nonetheless follows the similar basic premise. Will's mom Vy (April Parker Jones) sends Will to reside along with his Aunt Viv (Cassandra Freeman) and Uncle Phil (Adrian Holmes) after Will gets into a deadly battle in West Philly. While '90s Carlton didn't like '90s Will immediately, he wasn't just about as hostile as the Carlton of Bel-Air.
'Bel-Air's' Carlton masks his anxiousness in bad techniques.
Yes, Carlton is rich and extremely privileged in the original sequence and Bel-Air. However, Carlton in Bel-Air struggles to deal with his nervousness, and so he turns to medicine as a substitute of achieving out for enhance from his family. Naturally, Carlton feels more isolated when Will comes into the image, and issues get even worse when Will in an instant clicks with Carlton's ex Lisa (Simone Joy Jones).
Carlton doesn't even stick up for Will when Carlton's friend Connor (Tyler Barnhardt) crops drugs in Will's bag. Will also calls Carlton out for being OK with Connor and Carlton's other white pals repeatedly saying the N-word in the locker room whilst rapping a track. Carlton argues that "It's just a word" and he can't be expecting his buddies not to say it when rappers use it all the time. The contrast is apparent. Carlton will do the rest to keep his establishment, although it drives him to drugs.
The admire that the OG Carlton and Will had went each ways.
One great scene that exemplified how much Will had grown to care about Carlton in Fresh Prince is when Top Dog (Glenn Plummer), the president of Phi Beta Gamma, informed Will that Carlton didn't are compatible the fraternity's vibe. Carlton and Will had been going via a sequence of assessments looking to turn out they belonged in the fraternity. Will tried to offer protection to Carlton by telling his cousin that he was the person who did not make it in. Naturally Carlton temporarily discovered that it used to be the wrong way around.
For once in the sequence, Carlton defended himself: "You think I'm a sellout? Why? Because I live in a big house or dress a certain way? Being Black isn't what I'm trying to be, it's what I am. I'm running the same race and jumping the same hurdles as you are, so why are you tripping me up? You said we need to stick together, but you don't even know what that means."
Needless to mention, it is Top Dog that was once kicked out of the fraternity after that. In true comedic Carlton model, he angrily instructed Will in a while, "I don't say make like a tree and leave, it's make like a banana and split!" The two cousins couldn't be extra other, but at that second, they cared more about every other's well-being than what a faculty fraternity considered the either one of them.
Can Will and Carlton of 'Bel-Air' ever have that same kind of shut relationship?
It's possible for the new Carlton and Will to seek out their very own way into a Fresh Prince-esque friendship. The OG Will defended Carlton to Top Dog by way of noting that Carlton always put 150 % into everything. The Carlton of Bel-Air certainly has the similar force, and he does have goals to get into school and better himself. Will without a doubt didn't see Carlton as a chum 4 episodes into Bel-Air, however he did imagine in trying to stay the peace after everything he's long gone through.
What those two cousins need is a true bonding moment, something that if truth be told demonstrates that they can be more than family, they can be buddies as effectively. In order to do that Carlton must in any case get started accepting himself and prevent trying so arduous. Will, on the other hand, needs to recognize that Carlton has struggled too, in different tactics. As OG Carlton so eloquently advised Top Dog, Will and Carlton wish to in fact settle for that they are both leaping the identical hurdles in life.
And to be fair to 'Bel-Air' Carlton and Will, we're only 4 episodes into Season 1. The show has carried out a great task of laying the groundwork for each persona's individual struggles so far, and there are six episodes left for Carlton and Will to in truth shape a brotherly bond. When there is a Will, there's a way?
New episodes of Bel-Air hit Peacock on Thursdays at 5 a.m. EST.
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