WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Bel-Air season 1!

Peacock’s Bel-Air adds more intense changes to Lou’s abandonment of Will, making the protagonist’s backstory even more tragic. As Bel-Air‘s dramatic reboot repeats, the most upsetting aspect of Will’s upbringing in Fresh Prince was the absence of his dad. Will never grew up with a father figure, which is why he became so close with Uncle Phil after moving to Los Angeles, as he became the father figure that Lou never could. In both cases, Lou is an unavailable father who makes an active decision to not be in Will’s life, but Bel-Air’s version of their reunion and backstory is far worse for Will.

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Lou only appears in one episode of Fresh Prince, but his storyline is one of the most memorable plots in the entire sitcom. After abandoning Will 14 years before, Lou comes to Bel-Air and spends the day bonding with Will, even telling him that he wants Will to come on the road with him for the summer. Of course, as Fresh Prince‘s Uncle Phil predicted, Lou disappoints Will again and leaves town without him, proving that he never truly changed. Fresh Prince’s story with Lou always paints him as a man who can’t take the responsibility of being a father, with viewers simply waiting for the moment in the episode that he inevitably abandons Will again.

Bel-Air’s dramatic reboot introduces a twist for Lou and Will’s backstory, with the finale episode initially suggesting that it wasn’t Lou’s decision to not be in his son’s life. When Lou and Will finally meet, Lou tells him exactly what he wants to hear – that he loves Will, always wanted to be there for him, and only stayed away because he was in prison and couldn’t bear to see his son looking at him from behind that glass. After this, Will begins to second guess everything he thought he knew about his dad, with the character then becoming even angrier at Bel-Air’s Vy, Aunt Viv, and Uncle Phil for keeping them apart. However, as Will and Lou continue their conversation, Lou finally shows his true colors, revealing that he really was the bad guy everyone said he was, and that had no excuse not to contact Will. As expected, all Lou has for Will are excuses; Lou’s story about seeing his father in prison and not wanting to subject his son to the same experience provided a convenient excuse, but it was really never about what was best for Will.

Lou’s lies only exacerbate Will’s feelings of abandonment in Bel-Air, as Lou used his own complex background as an excuse to not be a father. Bel-Air’s character wasn’t a guy who just didn’t know how to be a father like in Fresh Prince; Lou was a volatile man who not only opted to avoid contact with Will, but also blamed his issues on everyone but himself. To make it worse, the Bel-Air season 1 finale’s reunion ends when Will defends his mom and Lou responds by trying to choke his son. Bel-Air’s version of Will and Lou’s backstory suggests that had Lou stayed in his life, Will may have been subject to abuse as a child, which proves that Vy, Uncle Phil, and Aunt Viv truly were trying to protect Will by keeping Lou away.

To make Will’s backstory even more tragic, his mom, Uncle Phil, and Bel-Air‘s Aunt Viv were lying to him for the past 13 years about his dad. They knew he was in and out of prison and choosing not to contact Will while also actively trying to keep him away. When Will became heartbroken again by his father’s rejection, he had no one to console him because he was just as angry with Vy, Viv, and Phil as he was with Lou. Unlike in Fresh Prince, Bel-Air’s Will couldn’t sob into the arms of Uncle Phil while seeking love and comfort. Instead, Will felt that nobody wanted him and felt betrayed by so much dishonesty. While Will’s reunion with his father was heartbreaking in Fresh Prince, the widespread betrayal in Bel-Air’s changed circumstances makes his backstory all the more tragic.

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Jordan Williams
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Jordan Williams is a Movie/TV Feature Senior Staff Writer for Screen Rant. She graduated from the University of Oregon in 2020 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Media Studies.

Jordan is based in Seattle, Washington and enjoys exploring the natural beauty the PNW has to offer. She runs on coffee and classic movies, taking pride in having watched every film on AFI’s 100 Greatest Films list and every Best Picture Oscar winner.

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