Round Two: Atlanta

Atlanta: Season 1, Episode 3 “Go for Broke” (B)

This show is nothing if not very unique and different. Starting off with Earn trying to get a kids’ meal at a fast food joint and then finding some minimal satisfaction in getting away with filling his water cup with soda framed it all within a humorous lens, although one more akin to that of “Louie” or “Curb Your Enthusiasm” that find their protagonists struggling to make it through easy day-to-day activities without offending someone and being called out for it. Earn’s ensuing problems throughout the episode mostly had to do with his lack of funds, something that made taking a very pissed Van out for a date incredibly difficult. The waitress eagerly suggesting a market price item and Van already being angry about Earn’s attempt to use the random guy on the street to watch his illegal parking spot didn’t help matters much, and Earn let loose on the waitress when she tried to upsell him to the dessert menu. After we saw Paper Boi far more in charge of his own surroundings in the first two episodes, even while he was in jail, here he and Darius were totally subject to the every whim of their new contact, who was far more eccentric than the up-and-coming rapper. Darius really is hilarious, and the way that Paper Boi responds to every one of his comments is perfect. This show’s tone still confounds me, jumping back and forth from Earn being broke to Paper Boi and Darius watching people getting hunted for sport, but I’m willing to give this show a bit longer to develop.