Bel-Air Sets Up A Major Change To Fresh Prince’s Most Heartbreaking Scene
WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Bel-Air episode 8!
Bel-Air sets up a twist on what happened to Will’s father, Lou, which also means a major change to the most heartbreaking scene from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. While Fresh Prince had numerous episodes that tugged at audiences’ heartstrings, the most famous example from the sitcom was in the season 4 episode “Papa’s Got a Brand New Excuse.” Will’s father, Lou, came back to see him after abandoning him 14 years ago, with the two bonding before–just as James Avery's Uncle Phil expected–Lou abandoned his son yet again. The Fresh Prince episode ended as Will broke down to Uncle Phil and asked why his father doesn’t want him, with the scene concluding as Will sobbed into Uncle Phil’s arms.
Will’s dad, Lou, was never seen again on Fresh Prince, but Bel-Air is beginning his storyline very early into the series. In Bel-Air season 1, episode 8, Vy comes to visit for Will’s 17th birthday, telling Viv and Phil that she plans on telling Will the truth about his father. Viv and Phil are adamantly opposed to this, not just because Lou could harm the progress Will has made, but because the three of them had done something mysterious but clearly bad to Lou to keep him away. Bel-Air doesn’t reveal what Vy, Aunt Viv, and Uncle Phil did, but Viv suggests that if they told Will, he would get angry and most likely hate them.
Related: Bel-Air Stopped Short Of Recreating Fresh Prince's Most Important Scene
Although Bel-Air episode 8 ends without revealing what Uncle Phil and the Smith sisters did to Lou, it suggests the reason for his absence in Will’s life is very different from Fresh Prince. In Fresh Prince, Lou was a guy who just couldn’t be a father, so he left Will as a child and
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