WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Bel-Air episode 7!

Aunt Viv is on a journey of her own with her art career in Bel-Air, which is a refreshing change that fixes her character’s problems in Fresh Prince. While Aunt Viv was initially set up as an important, integral character to Will Smith’s story in Fresh Prince, she was slowly pushed to the background of the major conflicts, especially after season 3 when Aunt Viv’s actress was recast. The second Aunt Viv was noticeably different from her original Fresh Prince character, but Bel-Air’s version brings back the best of both Aunt Vivs and makes her an even stronger presence.

Bel-Air season 1 is particularly focused on giving Fresh Prince’s original characters more emotional depth and complexity, such as Geoffrey essentially being Uncle Phil’s “fixer” and introducing an arc in which Ashley’s changed character explores her LGTBQ+ identity. The Bel-Air character closest to their Fresh Prince counterparts is Will, though Aunt Viv’s personality remains very similar to that of the first Vivian Banks. That said, Bel-Air has dug much deeper into Aunt Viv’s character than Fresh Prince, and ultimately fixes where the original sitcom went wrong with her role.

Related: Bel-Air Introduces A Major Ashley Change From Her Fresh Prince Version

Portrayed by Cassandra Freeman in Bel-Air, the new Aunt Viv has been heavily featured in the reboot series, and not just in terms of supporting other characters’ storylines. The original Aunt Viv ended up being largely confined to the background as a supporting character, with the majority of her storylines only being featured in terms of another Fresh Prince character’s conflict or what was occurring within the Banks family’s home. While the new Aunt Viv is still involved in the conflicts of her children, primarily Hilary and her nephew Will, Bel-Air primarily presents the character when exploring her own storylines outside of the larger family. Bel-Air’s Aunt Viv isn’t confined to the mansion or maintaining the typical sitcom mom role, as her conflicts in the reboot surround the agency and independence of her character by exploring her art career.

Aunt Viv Reed Bel-Air

As Fresh Prince progressed, the show’s storylines increasingly focused on Will, Carlton, and Uncle Phil, with the rest of the family taking on less integral supporting roles. Bel-Air fixes this problem primarily in reference to Aunt Viv and Hilary, with the former character’s storyline for her career being just as important to the story as Uncle Phil’s. Aunt Viv’s life outside of the family was hardly explored in Fresh Prince, and gave her virtually no independence as a character of her own when considering her background given was that she met Phil in law school, became a law professor (though her teaching was never shown), and then was completely transformed into a homemaker in season 4. The fiery ambition of the original Aunt Viv was effectively lost once her actress changed, but Bel-Air finally revives this personality that made the first Fresh Prince character so revered.

Proving how underutilized Aunt Viv was in Fresh Prince is the fact that she was so quickly recast and transformed into a completely new persona after Aunt Viv's season 4 recast, suggesting she and her original personality weren’t integral to the story. With how present the new Aunt Viv is in Bel-Air, it’s clear that she’s far too important to abruptly change, as she’s just as much the heart of the show in supporting Will as Uncle Phil. Bel-Air has also dropped hints at a more complex future and backstory for Aunt Viv that don’t necessarily rely on Will, Uncle Phil, or the rest of the family being present. From her return to the art scene to Hilary mentioning a significant fall-out with her sister Vy, Bel-Air season 1 is changing Vivian’s role to be one of the most intriguing aspects of the reboot.

Next: Bel-Air Corrects One Of Fresh Prince's Biggest Will Story Problems

Episodes of Bel-Air air Thursdays on Peacock