WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for the first three episodes of Bel-Air, now streaming on Peacock.
One of the most disappointing aspects of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was how Karyn Parsons’ Hilary Banks was treated. She was a punchline for Will and Carlton due to her aloofness and obsession with fashion, which truly lacked depth. Even Ashley had her music career, but Hilary’s most emotive moment was that brief sojourn where her fiancee, Trevor, died while proposing to her. She quickly forgot about him, which sucked because she and Aunt Viv could have bonded more as mother and daughter, helping Hilary heal by encouraging her to move away from the superficial Los Angeles socialite life. Luckily, Bel-Air wasted no time by turning the franchise’s most ignored relationship into something more, giving both ladies a sense of sentimental conflict.
Here, Hillary is younger, but just as much in the limelight as a social butterfly killing it on social media. She dropped out of school to become a haute cook, and while it’s disappointed her mom, Viv is backing her teenage daughter. Luckily, they’ve got the money to help Hillary, but still, Viv is worried she won’t find her way as an independent star.
While Hillary is interested in fashion, as seen when she dressed Will up so he looked “fresh, fly and dope” for Lisa and could compete with jerks like Carlton, she’s not a cosmetic character. In fact, Hillary wants to start an inspirational, online movement, especially for people of color, through her cooking. It’s why she rejected a chance to work with businesses who came from places of white privilege, looking down on minorities and marginalized groups. Simply put, Hilary won’t have her culture diluted or identity appropriated, nor is she pandering to white people like the ’90s version did.
This impressed Viv, but she’s scared Hillary is burning bridges. In fact, one of Viv’s contacts reamed Hillary for blasting a business online after she recommended they use the social media star. Hillary didn’t care because she outed them for their discriminatory practices and under-appreciation of Black people, which had Viv’s other friends approving of.
Sadly, this left Hilary concerned and distrustful because Viv’s friends are seeing the fierce young woman that Viv just can’t recognize. It’s created a powerful dichotomy where Hillary wants belief, while Viv shifts from feeling ashamed to feeling scared Hillary won’t make it without academics.
To top it off, when Hillary reacted by blasting her mom for teaching art history rather than painting, little did she know Viv sacrificed that career when she had Hillary and had to make adjustments in life. As a result, they’ve got secrets to discuss in a story that’ll touch on the generational gap, as well as how millennials are trying to change the world as influencers. In doing so, this retelling of Will’s family has made Viv a lot more relatable rather than someone who felt like a cameo in the old days, and it gives Hillary an organic, feel-good reason to be bougie, yet driven by purpose with her social justice attitude.
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