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WARNING! Spoilers ahead for Bel-Air episode 4.
Uncle Phil and Geoffrey have certainly been dramatized in Bel-Air, as the reboot's twist gives them a far more dangerous criminal edge. Just as expected, Bel-Air season 1 is giving the Banks family much higher stakes in their story, and not just in terms of Will’s arrival. Bel-Air has introduced several twists on Fresh Prince’s iconic characters, with their dramatic reimaginings quickly departing from the light-hearted motivations and comedic roles of their sitcom counterparts.
Bel-Air has truly leaned into the consequences of Will’s legal troubles, Uncle Phil’s power and status as a notable Bel-Air lawyer, and Carlton’s arrogance surrounding what sent Will to California. While Fresh Prince saw Will and the Banks family run into trouble with the law a few times, it was nothing compared to Uncle Phil’s illegal influence on the justice system and his own criminal activities that are portrayed in Bel-Air. In a strange twist, Bel-Air is beginning to turn the Banks family into a lavish version of The Godfather’s Corleones.
In Fresh Prince, Uncle Phil was just a lawyer who was talented enough in his craft to get Will and Carlton out of trouble. In Bel-Air, Uncle Phil’s status and power in Los Angeles have given him much more influence than just being a lawyer, as it appears he’s actually a secret crime boss. In Bel-Air episode 4, Geoffrey tells Will that he’ll take care of Rashaad, who has discovered where Will went after Philadelphia. In the episode, Will sees a mysterious man in a car watching him at school, with Bel-Air later revealing that Geoffrey has been working with him and that Uncle Phil is their “boss.” This revelation makes more sense when considering why Uncle Phil is keeping Will’s legal troubles a secret, because if someone like Fred Wilkes, LA’s police chief, started digging into how Phil got him out and subsequently how Rashaad was “taken care of,” the family would be in a world of trouble.
Unlike in the original series, Geoffrey is no ordinary butler in Bel-Air, as he instead seems to be a sort of consigliere for the Banks family, which essentially makes him Phil's Tom Hagan. Bel-Air episode 4 ends with Geoffrey telling Uncle Phil they have some “security matters” to discuss, with Will then getting a call from Tray that Rashaad was killed at a strip club. Even before the news of Rashaad’s death, Geoffrey had told Phil’s other hired man that Rashaad was trying to extort them for more money after the family had already offered him $10,000 to keep silent. Since the matter in which Uncle Phil helped Will get out of legal trouble in Bel-Air episode 1 was never revealed, it seems he and Geoffrey had likely paid off or threatened Philly’s officials rather than using his legal prowess.
Since Uncle Phil is also in the middle of his campaign for Los Angeles District Attorney, the idea that he also runs a type of crime ring - or at least hires others in the Los Angeles criminal underground to arrange such activites - makes his Bel-Air role all the more dangerous. If the details of him arranging Rashaad’s death are exposed, not only will Uncle Phil’s campaign be over, but the Banks family could also face legal trouble far worse than if Will had been tried for pulling an unregistered gun in a fight. The Banks mansion may have seemed like a saving grace for Bel-Air's Will Smith, but Uncle Phil and Geoffrey’s criminal activities are potentially making it far more dangerous than if he had just stayed in Philadelphia. While Bel-Air’s twist is an exciting development for Uncle Phil and especially Geoffrey, who was just the sardonic butler in Fresh Prince, it signals far more trouble for the family in the series’ future.
Bel-Air releases new episodes Thursdays on Peacock.
