S02.E01: Alligator Man

[Racj82]

It was killing that I saw no thread for this new episode of the new season. I thought I was taking crazy pills.

This show is as strong as ever.

The first scene shootout was blowing my mind. I know this is Robbin season but they were not playing with that title. I'm still shook after seeing the woman coming out of the car bloody.

The Florida Man bit was genuis. So many stories coming out of Florida about a man doing x,y and z. Brilliant.

Ernest is so awkward. It always makes me laugh.

Katt Williams blew me away. He's almost a revelation in this episode. So funny but also able to hit his dramatic notes with ease. The alligator coming out to Hey Love with Katt running as fast as he can goes on the top moments of this show list.

It still pisses me off that Paper Boi won't just offer Ernest a place to stay known he isn't with his baby mama right now. Come on man.

[Maire]

Such a great episode! I was worried though because we kept getting a nudity warning and I was afraid I was going to see a naked Katt Williams.

[Ohwell]

It's the little moments that get me with this show.  That scene when Earn mistakenly called Paper Boi's woman Regina, and Paper Boi waving his arm on the sofa had me cracking up. 

I know my friends in Florida appreciated the Florida Man bit.

I forgot how the last season ended, so I don't know what's up Paper Boi and Darius and why Earn can't stay.  I felt bad for him when the recently released ex-con was making himself comfortable on the sofa. 

 

25 minutes ago, Maire said:

Such a great episode! I was worried though because we kept getting a nudity warning and I was afraid I was going to see a naked Katt Williams.

Me too.

[Amethyst]

I thought it was great.  The intro really packed a punch.  If you didn't know it was Robbin Season, you know it now.

Katt Williams was hilarious, but his quiet moments were good, too.  Loved the alligator actually showing up.  Makes sense why it was in the promos now.

 

6 hours ago, Ohwell said:

I forgot how the last season ended, so I don't know what's up Paper Boi and Darius and why Earn can't stay.

I don't think it was mentioned in the finale, because I don't remember it either.  Last I checked, Paper Boi and Darius were still friends.  As for Earn not staying, maybe it's a matter of pride, or he feels he's not welcome.  I think PB has become more successful since last season.

[scrb]

Ah I didn't recognize Katt Williams.

Is the whole second season robbin season or just this episode?

Are they trying to show how gritty this place is?

Is Ernie going to resort to armed robbery because he's going to get desperate for money for the holidays?

Alligator Man and Florida Man just tales from the hood?

First season they dont didn't go into why Ernie left school -- Ivy League too.  Paper Boi was about to blow up so he latched onto that and now he's scared his cousin won't need him.

Presumably Ernie grew up in this place but there's a fish out of water quality to how he often reacts to what he sees happening around him -- kind of absurdist takes.  His mouth would be as agape as ours at that robbery attempt -- and was that a package of meat that he took out of that drum?  Because at least some of the cash would be at the register by the drive-in booth?

[Dee]

Earn's fish out of water quality is the chip on his shoulder his Uncle referenced.

So many of Earn's problems are due to his passing judgment on people, and situations, while simultaneously also wanting to feel he's the smartest person in the room, that he allows life to pass him by.

He's worried Alfred is going to abandon him, but too lazy to form a contingency plan. He has no place to live, yet he's too filled with pride to ask Al & Darius if he can crash with them.

Edited March 3, 2018 by Dee

[luckyroll3]

9 hours ago, scrb said:

and was that a package of meat that he took out of that drum?  Because at least some of the cash would be at the register by the drive-in booth?

It was drugs.  The manager was selling drugs through the drive-thru.

As someone who is from Florida, the Florida Man reference was great! (Although "Florida Man eats man's face" was actually a black dude!).

"Is the alligator friendly with you?".  Dead!  LMAO!  Is that really what you want to ask right now???

Such a great episode.  I was laughing so hard.  

Edited March 3, 2018 by luckyroll3

[Ohwell]

I sometimes have trouble understanding what these guys are saying even with the sound turned up, because a lot of what I hear is mumbling.  Why did Paper Boi ask Earn to go to his uncle Katt Williams' house?  Who was that woman, his girlfriend?  I guess the alligator had me all confused.

[Dee]

Yvonne is/was Willie's girlfriend. She told Al that Willie kidnapped her because Willie had locked her in the bedroom under the belief she stole $50 from him as he was sleeping. So Al sent Earn over there to handle the situation.

[DearEvette]

Paper Boi is on house arrest and couldn't in person deal with Uncle Willy so he sent Earn.  Yvonne was Uncle Willy's on-again-off-again girlfriend.  I get the impression their relationship is  ... volatile.

This was a strong premiere, imo.  Now that I know what to expect with Atlanta I know not to have a lot of expectations of what they are going to do and just roll with it. 

I loved Darius and his even more pronounced emergence as a conspiracy theorist.  This goes along with his last season personality as an Observer and Commenter of Random Things.

Wonder if they are ever going to revisit whatever the beef was between Darius and PaperBoi or if it'll just never be mentioned again and is just one of those Atlanta quirks?

Katt Williams and Uncle Willy was brilliant.  Just fucking brilliant! The episode immediately electrified with the scenes in the house.  Not only were there absurd moments of comedy but the swift tonal shifts back to drama were effortless and believable. 

I think Earn's chip is his attitude of being over it all.  Or just feeling like he is the smartest guy in the room and is impatient and condescending of everything else.  I immediately think back to the Juneteeth episode where Earn was just so dismissive of it all.  Yeah, they were over the top and a little ridiculous, but I felt they were more self aware than Earn knew.  Like the conversation Van had with the owner of the house, these were the compromises she made to get what she wanted.  Earn is too uncompromising.  I get thought we were supposed to realize that Uncle Willy was Earn back in the day is now a cautionary tale.

Final thought, I loved the music and thought the musical selection was supposed to augment the scenes, most especially at Uncle Willy's house.  First there was Rene and Angela's 'I'll Be Good' when Earn gets to Uncle Willy's house.  And then when he's talking to Yvonne Jeffrey Osborne's 'Love Ballad' comes on that contains the lyric 'what we have is much more than they can see' (which totally would describe Willy and Yvonne's relationship).  and Finally Curtis Mayfield 'When Season's Change' which contains the lyric 'Can't call no names when you got your own self to blame' which closes the show and feels like a reference to Earn.

[meep.meep]

Well I want to know what happened between Uncle Willy and Earn's mother.

Loved the alligator strut.  And whatever Darius said about not recognizing time.

[Ohwell]

4 hours ago, Dee said:

Yvonne is/was Willie's girlfriend. She told Al that Willie kidnapped her because Willie had locked her in the bedroom under the belief she stole $50 from him as he was sleeping. So Al sent Earn over there to handle the situation.

Ok, thanks!  I thought I heard something about her taking $50 but I swear I couldn't understand exactly what was going on.  

4 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Now that I know what to expect with Atlanta I know not to have a lot of expectations of what they are going to do and just roll with it. 

Yes, exactly.  Admittedly, I sometimes have trouble with the dialogue but I just roll with it and go huh?  

[mrsbagnet]

7 hours ago, Ohwell said:

I sometimes have trouble understanding what these guys are saying even with the sound turned up, because a lot of what I hear is mumbling.

 

I have to use closed captions sometimes during this show, especially when Darius is talking.

My favorite moment was the little girl saying "He do got a alligator." It was so real.

[Lois Sandborne]

On 3/3/2018 at 12:05 AM, scrb said:

Is the whole second season robbin season or just this episode?

It's a theme for the season. I think it's meant to contextualize things and raise the stakes a little bit through the time and place, all the extra desperation in the atmosphere.  I don't know if that'll translate a bunch of stone cold vignettes like the one we got this episode, but I hope not.  That was rough.  When they pushed that lady out the car hollering and bloody, a piece of my soul died.

I'm glad my show is back though.  I missed Darius so much.  I've always loved Florida Man jokes, but the idea that he's become some kind of urban legend/mythical creature in Atlanta is delightful.  And then Uncle Willie picked up the thread!  I hope those two meet again, with better vibes.  Katt Williams was fantastic; I didn't know he had those depths.  Seeing him here made me really happy for his personal reboot.  I too would like to know what happened between Willie and Earn's mama, but I doubt we ever find out.  That line from Earn?  Whatever he said about being sorry for saying what he's not sorry for saying?  Classic Earn.  Also classic Earn, just taking a gun somebody hands him.  I felt for him when everybody was laughing at him later.  I know this is Atlanta and things get dropped, but I have a feeling we're gonna see Chekhov's Golden Gun again.

I think Earn put his finger on the chip on his shoulder when he said he didn't want to be someone smart who never made anything of himself because he just let stuff happen to him.  The chip is his circumstances, in total.  When he asked the parole officer if he would have to do those BS classes if he could pay the fine, when he tried to pull the Storage Wars auction card on the storage manager, when he opened the door to the cops after Willie slammed it; his continued homelessness because he won't/can't ask Al or Van for a place to stay and can't get one on his own steam; the nebulous reasons he caught this case in the first place; his vulnerable situation trying to hustle himself into a secure spot as a manager people will take seriously, but knowing that depends on the whims of his family; his dropout status; his pride; his blackness, and then he realizes he only has his smarts pitched against all of that.  It's a lot.  I love this show, but it drags me, which is why I usually just sit back and let it wash over me.

"This ain't that."

"What flavor is a Flamin' Hot Cheeto?"  "Hot."  "I am tasting hot."

"N*gga, take me off speaker."  I also wanna know why Al and Darius were fighting, and why they made up.

"It's like an Azalea Banks snapchat in here."

The alligator's name is Coach, y'all.  Priceless.  Godspeed, Coach.

I hope we hear from Van next week.

Edit: Vulture points out that Willie is probably Al's dad.  I totally missed that.

Edited March 4, 2018 by Lois Sandborne

[Dee]

2 hours ago, Lois Sandborne said:

The alligator's name is Coach, y'all.  Priceless.  Godspeed, Coach.

Yvonne's nonchalant reaction to Earn asking if Coach had been there when he stayed there cracked me up.

[scrb]

I can't recall if there were any examples of Earn demonstrating his value as manager last season.

If not to his cousin, at least to himself.

Is the show depicting Paper Boi as the real deal or a one-hit wonder so far, who may or may not become a star?

I guess Ernie believes the latter or maybe going back to school is not an option.  Seems like with his skeptical nature, he wouldn't chase long shots.  For instance, he'd know the low probability of high school or even some college stars making it to the NFL or NBA and having a long lucrative career.  He'd know for instance that most athletes on scholarships won't make the pros or have long careers which would make them independently rich, so they'd be better off getting degrees.

So has he made a similar calculus about aspiring entertainers who gain some notoriety in a community or a city becoming a national or international star?  Because unless he manages a big star, it's probably not worth throwing away a chance at an Ivy League education.  Presumably he had the drive to get into an elite university at one time, because just being smart isn't enough for most people as they'd have to work hard, not just academics but extracurriculars as well.

The drive would indicate that he wanted to get out of where he grew up, like other high-achievement students who grow in ghettoes or small towns.

I hope at some point they explore why he bailed out of school.  And why not going back is not an option.  If he had enough ambition to get into Princeton, you'd think being homeless would motivate him to change his circumstances because betting on making his cousin a big star seems like a get-rich quick scheme which would contradict the ethos he must had had at one time.

[Sheenieb]

Quote

I hope at some point they explore why he bailed out of school.  And why not going back is not an option.  If he had enough ambition to get into Princeton, you'd think being homeless would motivate him to change his circumstances because betting on making his cousin a big star seems like a get-rich quick scheme which would contradict the ethos he must had had at one time.

2

Same. This is what frustrates me about Earn. He's proud but has nothing. Too unmotivated to get a steady hustle and a place to live. How does Paper Boi have a home and Earn doesn't? I can't imagine Paper Boi paying a mortgage and bills, yet, he's not the one sleeping in a storage space. I also want to know what Van saw/sees in him. He has nothing to offer, really. 

Glad this show is back, though. I missed the weirdness. 

[wanderingstar]

Quote

The Florida Man bit was genuis. 

I didn't get it at first, but once I did, I howled. And when Willy said later on, "I'm NOT Florida Man!" - just too funny.

I just binged season 1 to get ready for season 2. Enjoyed this episode. It had all the absurdity-driven laughs I loved from season 1 (the gator strolling out to "Hey Love" was too much).

Not enough Paper Boi, though.

[Dee]

Originally Earn had a steady hustle, selling credit cards at the airport.

He hastily ditched that gig to hitch his wagon to Al's rising star.

The problem is Earn doesn't have any aspirations of his own, beyond chasing get rich quick schemes, while expecting everyone else in his life to support him.

[possibilities]

I was really worried the cops were going to shoot someone at Willy's house, and then that they were going to shoot the alligator. I was too on edge to enjoy that part of the episode until after it was over.

Van tried to get Earn a job as a security guard but he didn't want it. So it's hard for me to be sympathetic to his poverty. He has options. It would be different if he was trying and there was just nothing available. But how I'm taking it is that he's depressed. He kind of wanders around being buffeted by circumstances and never really directing himself. He didn't even get out of bed in the morning until forced. That's not someone who's pursuing his dream. It's someone who's given up. He probably realizes that he blew it by dropping out of school, now that Paper Boi doesn't need him. PB never actually needed him; he tried to make himself needed but it never really worked. He took a big risk and it failed and now his parents are pissed and he's kind of hanging around his friends but they don't seem all that excited about having him there and he doesn't have any motivation anymore.

What makes me really angry though is not that he's sleeping in the storage place. What makes me angry is that he doesn't take any responsibility for his daughter. He doesn't care, as far as I can tell. He kind of went through some of the motions, minimally, in the past, but it was never his priority and I always got the feeling he did it more because he wanted access to Van and her apartment for sex and free shelter.

He's just not that likable.

Edited March 7, 2018 by possibilities

[Dee]

Earn does give Van the money he earned managing Al, and seemingly commits to spending quality time with Van & Lottie, as a family, during which Van tells him he's a good father, and invites him to stay, which he turns down.

So, I agree that he's definitely depressed, quite lazy, and seriously unlikable at times, he's not a total lost cause IMO.

[Amethyst]

IA that we need to learn why Earn left school.  I think it will explain some things about his behavior.  He probably is depressed.  He's living day-to-day, and doesn't seem to have any real aspirations for his life besides being PB's manager.  And is that something Earn always wanted to do?  Be a music manager?  Did he just see it as another opportunity for cash, or did he believe Alfred has real potential as a rapper?  

I don't think Alfred makes much money rapping, but he sells weed.  So there's his backup plan.  Earn still has no plan, but he does have a child to help support.  He really is going to need to suck it up and get a job.  Maybe he can move back in with his parents for a bit while he's trying to find a place.  It's better than him loafing on their couch, having no job to speak of.

[Phishbulb]

20 hours ago, Gillian Rosh said:

I didn't get it at first, but once I did, I howled. And when Willy said later on, "I'm NOT Florida Man!" - just too funny.

What pushed this joke to an extra level was Darius's "See? I told you!" facial expression to Earn afterwards. 

[scrb]

If Ernie isn't street smart, what made him think he could manage an aspiring rap star?

 

I have a feeling they won't address why he left school.  He might have left because he couldn't cut it, didn't have a scholarship and couldn't pay or decided it wasn't for him.

The people who drop out of Ivy League schools have other options usually.  Ernie was selling credit cards at the airport and now is trying to become a music manager?

 

He seems to feel he's above it all, especially the things which have happened on the show.  But after some humbling and even humiliating experiences, maybe he'd be motivated to go back?  If not Princeton, then a good public university, even if he has to go into deep debt.  Maybe he ends up with a soul-crushing corporate job.  But it's not terribly uplifting to be homeless now.

 

"Dropped out of Princeton" may just be a shorthand way of saying Ernie is real book smart (but maybe not street smart) yet just drifting at this point in his life.  So we may never hear more of it other than a few mentions periodically to label him as smart.

[JenE4]

I want to continue this interesting discussion  on Earn’s career prospects, but since I want to use some examples from episode 2, taking it to the “Sportin’ Waves” thread...

Edited March 9, 2018 by JenE4

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 3/4/2018 at 1:11 PM, scrb said:

I hope at some point they explore why he bailed out of school.  And why not going back is not an option.  If he had enough ambition to get into Princeton, you'd think being homeless would motivate him to change his circumstances because betting on making his cousin a big star seems like a get-rich quick scheme which would contradict the ethos he must had had at one time.

I assumed it was him becoming a father.  Not that he's much good to the baby.