WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Bel-Air episode 5.
In adapting the youngest Banks daughter for the modern reboot, Bel-Air episode 5 introduces a major change from Ashley’s character in Fresh Prince. Peacock’s 2022 reimagining has already made several significant deviations from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’s original characters, the most drastic of which has been a twist on Uncle Phil and Geoffrey with illegal dealings. Alongside Carlton now being a popular jock and Hilary being an influencer, Ashley completes the Banks children’s transformations into more emotionally complex figures for Bel-Air.
Similar to the trajectory of the original series, Bel-Air season 1 seemingly struggled to find a place for Ashley in its first few episodes. Although she played an important role in Fresh Prince season 1 as one of the few characters to truly embrace Will’s arrival, Ashley was largely absent from Bel-Air episodes 1-3. After reintroducing her familiar Fresh Prince rebellion in Bel-Air episode 4 when she secretly met her online friends in South LA, Peacock’s reboot has finally given a glimpse into the personal conflicts and new characterization of Ashley when she opens up to Hilary in episode 5.
Bel-Air episode 5 sees Ashley, who begins the reboot at 12 years old, asking questions to a new influencer colleague of Hilary’s, Monica, who specializes in sex-positivity. Bel-Air season 1’s Ashley asks Monica whether they think the future of sexuality is more fluid, then follows up by asking if it’s even worth making distinctions between sexualities at her age. Later in Bel-Air’s episode, Hilary and Ashley have a chat in which the younger sister asks the older about relationships. Ashley confides that she has a crush on her friend Lucia, then–almost as if speaking to the audience full of Fresh Prince viewers–asks Hilary whether she’s surprised about her being part of the LGBTQ+ community. Hilary is extremely supportive and says she’s not surprised, but this change did come as a slight shock to Fresh Prince fans when comparing Ashley to her original character.
Ashley’s sexuality ended up becoming an important aspect of her Fresh Prince version, partially because the series couldn’t figure out exactly what to do with her. Many of Ashley and Will’s conflicts surrounded her dating boys and the real Will Smith’s original Fresh Prince character being extremely overprotective, which became much more pronounced as she embraced her rebellious teenage years. Ashley’s boyfriends and dating life became a key part of her character (outside of her singing career), so Bel-Air’s modern reboot is introducing a major twist on her old storylines. It seems Bel-Air will continue to explore Ashley’s character in terms of her sexuality and dating life just as Fresh Prince had, but will do so under a modern lens where the 2022 series can more fully embrace characters from and give representation to the LGBTQ+ community.
Bel-Air appears to be giving many different types of relationships a chance in the reboot, with much less of a focus on Will’s playboy days from Fresh Prince. From Ashley exploring her fluid sexuality to Bel-Air giving Hilary and Jazz a possible romance or Will and Carlton fighting over Lisa, the relationships of Bel-Air’s teen characters have taken on a significant role in the series. Since Ashley’s Bel-Air version will be much more complex with more intense emotional conflicts, like the rest of the reboot characters, it’s refreshing that the series is setting up future storylines with a clear vision for her so early on.