What I’m Watching: Atlanta

Atlanta: Season 1, Episode 8 “The Club” (B)

This was a solid improvement over the previous episode which was far too outwardly satirical and over-the-top for my tastes, even if not all that much happens. Earn scheduling Paper Boi for a public appearance at a club played out like most of the things in his personal and work life do, which is that a great idea and intention can end up turning into pointless monotony. Earn just trying to get paid led him through a repetitive maze that ended with him ingesting way too many shots and then casually throwing up while asking Chris for his money, which, due to expenses, ended up being less than a fifth of what was promised. I love that Paper Boi marched in there upon hearing that news and smacked Chris and just took the money from him. His time at the club really was a waste, even if he had a nice chat with the woman who was going to listen to his music but had a boyfriend. I like that Darius was so into Marcus Miles and his pictures of his invisible car, just the kind of thing that would get Darius excited. Ending the episode with shots fired outside the club and everyone making a running for it helped to return the show to a certain inevitable seriousness, followed by our three protagonists sitting together in a diner and eating a meal. Not much changes for these guys, and a failed club outing is just the latest attempt to seem relevant and try to engage with the world.