The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an iconic sitcom and a '90s staple. Its theme song still inspires impassioned sing-alongs in bars and cars across the world. No one can stop themselves from joining in when they hear "Now this is a story all about how..." As loved as the show is, many viewers aren't aware of all the Fresh Princefan theories that cast the show in an entirely different light.
Reddit is rife with crazy Fresh Prince conjecture that suggests that Will passes during the opening credits fight and that the mansion in Bel-Air is heaven. Supposedly, the whole show is actually set in the afterlife, not sunny California. Check out the list below to see all the reasons this reading could be true.
What if the "one little fight" that Will gets himself into in West Philadelphia - the one that scares his mother so much she sends him to Bel-Air - is so bad that Will doesn't make it out alive? What if he is shot or stabbed instead of being picked up and indelicately spun around?
This fight then becomes the inciting incident for Will's trip to the afterlife.
Some fans think the taxi driver that takes Will to Bel-Air in a "rare" cab is God. The cabby escorts the young Philly native to the pearly gates of Uncle Phil's Bel-Air mansion - or heaven.
What's a better setting for heaven than a huge Bel-Air mansion? Though Will gets shot in one episode (some fans think that this represents Will's coming to terms with his passing), and he and Carlton experience racism from police in another, Will lives in the lap of luxury and he rarely has to deal with anything other than contrived sitcom inconveniences.
The greatest support for this theory is the house's white aesthetic - it could easily be described as heavenly.
Appearances by Will's parents are few and far between throughout the series. Some fans think that because Will is in heaven, the only time his parents show up to the mansion is when they're actually visiting his grave. In the episode "Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse," Will's dad Lou shows up after a 14-year absence.
Perhaps it took Lou so long because word of Will's demise only reached his estranged father when it was time for the funeral.
Maybe DJ Jazzy Jeff Is Thrown Out Of The Mansion For A Reason
DJ Jazzy Jeff is frequently and forcibly removed from the mansion by Uncle Phil for causing mischief and hitting on Hilary Banks. Fans suggest that Jeff can visit Will because the former is in the hospital for terminal injuries, on the verge of the afterlife.
A doctor always resuscitates him, though, and he is abruptly yanked from heaven and thrown back to the land of the living.
Some of the lyrics in the full-length version of the show's theme could be interpreted as supporting this theory. If you assume that Will was hospitalized during his "one little fight," then you can also assume he had to be put in a coma.
Maybe his mother is coming to terms with pulling the plug. Consider that scenario with these lyrics:
I begged and pleaded with her day after day
But she packed my suitcase and sent me on my way
She gave me a kiss and then she gave me my ticket
Put my Walkman on and said I might as well kick it
It may be a reach, but one could read that as the mother sending Will to heaven. Now check out the next verse:
First class yo this is bad
Drinkin' orange juice out of a champagne glass
Is this what the people of Bel-Air live like
Hmmm this might be all right
But wait I hear they're prissy, bourgeois, and all that
Is this the type of place that they just send this cool cat?
I don't think so I'll see when I get there
I hope they're prepared for the prince of Bel-Air
These lyrics could definitely be read as Will's internal conflict about whether he's worthy of admittance to heaven. He might not be sure that he'll fit in with all the fancy-pants folks. Regardless, he makes it to the cab.
