Bel-Air: Carlton Came Out On Top In Season One
Whenever a reboot is made, fans of the original will come out in droves with hopes that the creators will either keep things the same or improve in areas where the original failed. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was widely considered a classic sitcom, and with Bel Air coming in as a reboot, there was little room for error, especially for the title characters. While Will Smith was the focal point of the original, it was Carlton Banks who stole the show in Bel-Air.
Carlton was viewed as the weird privileged cousin in the original sitcom. However, during the reboot, his character may have transformed the most throughout the first season.
Carlton was never viewed as cool in the original but in his own eyes and those in Bel Air, Carlton was on top of his game. He offered comic relief while often teamed with Will, the writers for the reboot provided Carlton with a storyline that was better than his cousin Will’s and anyone else in the Banks family.
Given the situation, fans didn’t understand why Carlton had beef with Will from the moment he walked into the mansion. There was never any indication that there was hostility between the cousin’s but the writers decided to put their relationship to the test early and often.
Carlton grew up in Bel Air around mostly white students. He was the Captain of the Lacrosse team and was cemented with the in-crowd at Bel Air High School. Truth be told, Will was never a threat there. All Will wanted to do was fit in. But Carton felt a bit of jealousy.
Related: Bel-Air Was Wise Not To Tamper With The Legacy Of Will Smith
The reason fans have given the new Carlton such a hard time is that he’s entirely different than the original. While rich and snobby, this version of Carlton has a little swag to him. Hell, he even had a girlfriend in Lisa before Will came into the picture. This version is more relatable as he’s dealing with issues that most can relate to. Carlton is on drugs, suffers from anxiety, and he’s still trying to find his place.
Carlton found a way to overcome the drug use. Carlton learned that the friends he was dealing with, in fact, were not the friends he should have been dealing with. He’s also learning how to cope with being rich and black in a place that may not accept his social standing.
But his biggest change was his acceptance of Will. Will dating Lisa was just wrong. She used to date Carlton and that should have been left out of the storyline. Truth be told, they had nothing in common. But that was a major hurdle for Carlton to overcome when it came to his cousin. By the end of season one, Carlton was ok with it. In fact, he even tried to help Will when Lisa confronted him regarding the reason why he left Philly.
Then, when Will went missing, it was Carlton who gave Will money and it was Carlton who went to Lisa’s house with tears and desperation in his eyes asking her to help him find his cousin.
Yes, Hilary is different than the original. Ashley is slightly different. Uncle Phil is more reserved, Aunt Viv is going for her dreams, and Geoffery is not the Bulter we remember. But it’s Carlton who has shown the most growth of the cast members of Bel-Air. He’s not the same Carlton that we remember and at first, it appeared to be a slap in the face but as the season wore on, we learned that it was a blessing in disguise.
Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.
