Bel-Air EP Breaks Down That (Fatal?) Season 3 Finale, Reveals the Fresh Prince Easter Egg You Probably Missed
Warning: We’re about to spoil the Season 3 finale of Peacock’s Bel-Air. Haven’t watched? You’ve been warned.
More from TVLine
TVLine Items: Couple to Throuple's Future, Aaron Rodgers Docuseries and More
NFL 2024: How to Watch the Eagles/Packers Game in Brazil Live Online
Get Peacock for Free With Instacart+ to Stream Live NFL Games and More
A wedding, a pregnancy, a kidnapping and a potential death? Bel-Air just gave us a finale with a capital F.
“We wanted a big, juicy cliffhanger that would keep people on the edge of their seat,” showrunner Carla Banks Waddles tells TVLine of the Season 3 finale, now streaming on Peacock. “We also wanted to stay honest to the threads that we’d set up all season, so it didn’t feel like it just came out of the blue.”
And there was plenty of juice to be squeezed from this one. Just ask Hilary and Lamarcus, whose nuptials nearly fell through when her engagement ring turned up in Jazz’s shoe; or Aunt Viv, who was surprised to see a positive result on her pregnancy test; or Will, who was kidnapped at the end of the hour, presumably by one of Geoffrey’s many enemies. The finale also saw Carlton and Amira part ways, while Ashley and Lucia took their relationship public with some wedding PDA.
But the real jaw-dropper came during happy couple’s honeymoon, when Hilary discovered Lamarcus unconscious in bed appearing… well, less than alive.
Below, Waddles addresses that potentially deadly ending, plus several other twists we didn’t see coming — including the incredible Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Easter egg you likely didn’t catch:
Is Lamarcus Dead?
Hilary and Lamarcus’ honeymoon took a dark turn when the bride returned from grabbing one last mimosa, only to discover her new husband unconscious and unresponsive in their hotel bed. But if you’re looking for confirmation of Lamarcus’ death, you won’t get it from Waddles.
“I like that we don’t know,” she says of the ambiguous ending. “We’re not sure, but he seems like he’s compromised. And in Season 4, we’d find out how compromised he is.”
Regardless of whether Lamarcus survives, Hilary has some very “complicated” emotions coming her way, likely including guilt.
“Hilary and Lamarcus have been on a journey since he had his accident in the third episode,” Waddles says. “She thought she might want to get out of the relationship, or that she wasn’t sure because of how she was feeling about Jazz, but she couldn’t walk away after his accident. She felt like she had to make it work.”
Is ‘Trevor’ Confirmed?
If you weren’t paying close attention to the couple’s wedding vows, there’s a good chance you missed an epic callback to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Waddles knows that from the moment Lamarcus was introduced in Season 2, fans have wondered whether he might share the same fate as Trevor, Hilary’s fiancé from the original sitcom. Trevor famously died in a bungee-jumping accident, so when Lamarcus suffered his on-field injury earlier this season, fans were even more convinced.
“We gave those people a little wink in the vows,” Waddles says of #TrevorNation. “When the pastor marries them, he says ‘Lamarcus Trevor Alton.’ So if you thought he was Trevor, and you know that story, you definitely caught that.”
Is Baby Nicky on the Way?
One of the more exciting finale surprises came in the form of Aunt Viv’s positive pregnancy test, though it probably shouldn’t have been that much of a surprise. After all, Viv famously gave birth to a son named Nicky in The Fresh Prince‘s third season.
“I think everybody online is already calling him that,” Waddles says of the bun in Viv’s oven. “It’s definitely a nod to the original show, but who knows! We’ll see what happens in Season 4.”
This being a drama, Bel-Air will take a more serious approach to Viv’s unexpected pregnancy. “We can be true to stories, take time with stories, explore emotions and have real conversations about things,” Waddles explains. “Not everything has to be tied up in a neat little bow at the end of 30 minutes so we can move on to the next episode.”
And Viv certainly has a lot more to think about than just which color she’s going to have the nursery painted.
“She just restarted her career, and she’s finally stepping back into something that she enjoys doing,” Waddles says. “She and Phil also went through it this season, so they were sort of looking forward to having an empty nest. They were hoping to get back to [focusing on their marriage], and now that might change.”
One thing that’s not changing? Waddles promises not to recast Aunt Viv as soon as the baby is born this time. (“We love Cassie!”)
Where’s Will?!
Will didn’t make the best choices in Season 3, but he was riding high by the end of the finale, especially with the newfound success of his and Carlton’s Blackccess business. We can’t think of many things that could rain on Will’s parade at this point — except, you know, getting kidnapped! The hour ended with Will being approached by several strange men, who then shoved him into a car and drove off.
“We don’t know what happened, but it seems to be connected to Geoffrey,” Waddles teases. “The last thing Geoffrey wants, which he says in that voiceover, is to put the family in any sort of jeopardy because of him.”
The only silver lining (and it’s thin) to Will getting kidnapped is that it will certainly pause Geoffrey’s plan to leave Bel-Air for good. We can’t lose him yet. Somebody has to run that house!
Is Bel-Air Returning for Season 4?
Of course, none of what we discussed above will come to pass if Peacock doesn’t pick up Bel-Air for a fourth season.
“It’s totally up in the air,” Waddles says of the current status of the show. “In this business, you don’t know until you know — and even then sometimes you don’t know. I feel good and proud of the season that we all created, and I think the response from fans has been so good, so I’m just hoping that that pays off in Season 4 being picked up. It’s still anybody’s guess.”
In the spirit of fan response, it’s time to get critical. Weigh in via our polls below to grade the finale and season overall, then drop a comment with more of your thoughts. Which twist(s) left you gagged? And what are your hopes for a potential fourth season?
Best of TVLine
Sign up for TVLine's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.