Bel-Air's 'Villain' Carlton Is One of the Best Changes to the 'Fresh Prince' Reboot
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Bel-Air spoilers follow.
The first three episodes of Bel-Air have finally (finally!) dropped and LA is looking pretty different for the rebooted West Philly kid.
A brief catch-up, just in case you missed it: the premise is pretty similar to the original Fresh Prince of Bel-Air but with a darker, gritty edge. Will (played by Jabari Banks) does indeed leave Philadelphia on his mother’s orders after a fight on the basketball court but this time gangster Rashaad is out for blood.
He's instructed to move in with the Bankses to keep him safe, but unlike the upbeat kid from the '90s he struggles to fit into his new life. Making friends doesn’t come naturally and tensions begin to rise.
Related: How to watch Bel-Air, the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reboot
If you’re a fan of the original sitcom, this new dramatized version may come as a bit of a shock. Creator Morgan Cooper has kept to the familiar structure but also made integral changes that result in a Fresh Prince world that looks and feels different.
For one thing, the Bel-Air mansion is just that – a mansion. Not a large family home but a grand affair that boasts of wealth and success. Uncle Phil (Adrian Holmes) has shed a few pounds. His tough-love approach remains but there’s something a little calculated about the way he approaches any given situation.
Aunt Viv (Cassandra Freeman) seems to be having some regrets when it comes to the direction of her career, Ashley (Akira Akbar) is barely a footnote and Hilary (Coco Jones) has an entrepreneurial spirit that is a far cry from the shopaholic we knew.
One of the biggest departures from the original show is Jazz (Jordan L Jones) not flying from the Bel-Air mansion having been chucked out by an enraged Uncle Phil. It’s practically criminal.
Related: Is Fresh Prince reboot Bel-Air worth watching?
Arguably the most drastic change, however, is Olly Sholotan’s portrayal of Carlton. The goofy, loveable teen who couldn’t hit a beat on the dance floor to save his life has morphed into a ruthless, well, meanie. And quite frankly, this is great.
Fans don’t seem to be feeling the new change, however, and have unleashed the Twitter hate, lambasting him a 'super villain'.
"Ok so to be clear we ALL hate Bel-Air’s Carlton right? Lol," said one fan, while others said: "They got Carlton out here like a super villain on Bel-Air," and, "He just gets worse and worse and we're only 3 eps in."
It’s a pretty bitter pill to swallow, having our naive Carlton become a seemingly twisted individual but let’s just unpick why this new edgy personality is actually a good thing.
So far we’ve seen Carlton initiate a fight with Will and ostracize him from his peers at school (because in this universe Carlton is popular and has sway over the student body – let that sink in). He lashes out, takes drugs and throws teenage tantrums when he doesn’t get his way. Who is this man?
But what we’re seeing here is a deeper, more complex character. On the surface, he exudes popularity: he’s academically successful and doesn’t do too badly with the ladies. "Charming", is one of the ways his ex-girlfriend Lisa describes him (just one).
Underneath though, he has a vindictive, scheming streak which he uses to keep Will a social outcast. All this is just a front for his insecurities, which display themselves when Will gets close to Lisa. Their new bond provokes him to do some pretty nasty things, like lashing out against Will and treating Lisa with disdain.
This onion-like Carlton, while it may reduce you to tears, makes for a more interesting dynamic between him and Will. It seems Will’s presence brings out the worst to him. He is threatened by Will’s enigmatic nature, his potential for popularity and the closeness he can see he and Uncle Phil gaining as time passes.
Will’s intrusion is met with resentment and hostility, which leads to a deeper exploration of not only Carlton but Will too, testing what kind of man he is when faced with aggression even in his own circle.
It seems this deviation from the original Carlton was extremely deliberate on the creators' behalf.
"I remember when I got the initial audition, in very big bold letters was, 'Do not copy the original at all whatsoever,'" Olly told Looper. "In trying to replicate any of those performances, [we'd be] coming from a place of imitation rather than truth and honesty."
When talking about the complexities of Carlton’s world, especially when dealing with race and class, a point of contention for he and Will very early on, Olly said: "It's easy to look at Carlton and be like, 'Oh, this is a kid who sees Black people as lesser than,' but when you realise that a lot of his opinions are as a result of him trying to survive in his community and in his very privileged corner of Bel-Air, then you see why he feels the way that he feels.
"For me, it made sense. When I read that scene, I was like, 'It totally makes sense that Carlton would feel that way about that.'"
Judging by the direction of the narrative and what we’ve seen of Carlton and Will so far there is plenty more brewing that should make for an interesting ride.
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