Bel-Air Already Sets Up One Of Fresh Prince’s Most Underused Characters
WARNING: Minor spoilers ahead for Bel-Air episode 5.
Will brings up one of his old friends from Philadelphia to Tray in Bel-Air episode 5, setting up the inclusion of one of Fresh Prince’s mysteriously underutilized characters. After only the first five episodes of Bel-Air, the reboot has done an excellent job of integrating Fresh Prince characters who typically occurred in very different points of the original series. From Fresh Prince’s season 5 characters Lisa and Fred Wilkes being moved up to season 1 to Tray playing a far more prominent role, Bel-Air is introducing characters to the drama much earlier than expected.
When Will picks up Tray from the airport inBel-Air episode 5, he initially asks his best friend whether he still hangs around with a lot of their old companions at the park in West Philly. The only name that Will specifically mentions in his question is Jackie, who Fresh Prince fans remember from Will’s time at college in season 4. Played by Tyra Banks, Fresh Prince's Jackie Ames was one of Will’s close friends from Philadelphia who got a scholarship to play basketball at the university Will and Carlton attended. While Jackie was first introduced as a possible love interest for Carlton, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air revealed that she was one of Will’s oldest friends, and quickly shifted to setting up her and Will as a possible couple.
Related: Bel-Air Adds A Dangerous Twist To Uncle Phil & Geoffrey
Bel-Air mentioning Jackie is a fun Easter egg for Fresh Prince fans, but it also suggests that the reboot is setting up the character to have a much more satisfying arc than in the original series. Jackie, who was Tyra Banks’ first acting role, was a prominent recurring character in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Read more on screenrant.com
