Ty Watches "Atlanta" Season 2 Premiere
/"Atlanta" returned for its second season last Thursday. I have been hyped for this for a year and a half now. As you all know, I adore this show. It was my show of the year 2 years ago. Donald Glover is a genius. The people working with him on "Atlanta" are all geniuses as well. This show is just perfect.
I sat down Thursday night and watched in awe of how great this show continues to be. I, of course, have seen all the commercials and trailers leading up to its second season, titled "Robbin Season". I was anticipating greatness and the season 2 premiere did not disappoint.
The episode started out with 2 random guys just chit chatting about some stuff. They were younger kids, one was playing video games, and they seemed to be talking business. They then traveled to a fast food restaurant and proceeded to rob it. It was crazy. It was one of the better action sequences I have seen, be it in movies or TV. The shoot out, which was tough to watch considering what has happened in America recently, was anxiety ridden and very well shot. As the one who jumped in the restaurant and robbed the registered got into the getaway car, the restaurant worker proceeded to follow and shoot more. Then the car stops and a girl gets out of the car and starts to scream and sob because she has been shot. It was scary, heartbreaking, well shot, well acted and just perfect. And all of this happened in a span of about 3 minutes. It was an amazing start to a new season.
After all this happens we cut to see that Earn (Donald Glover) is sleeping in a storage unit. That is how far he has fallen. The storage unit owner tells him he has a few days to get out and takes some of his stuff. Earn tells him he can't do that, that he has time to leave and the manager/owner tells him, "I have seen "Storage Wars", and this isn't "Storage Wars". It was perfect. Earn then makes his way to Paper Boi's (Brian Tyree Henry) house. He is greeted by Darius (Lakeith Stanfield) who seems to not be in a very good mood. Earn asks them what's up, and Paper Boi says that he is on house arrest, so he isn't going anywhere, and Darius will not speak to him. Some clutter happens on the phone and Paper Boi asks Earn to go to his Uncle's house and help him out. Earn doesn't have a car, so he asks Darius to give him a ride. They proceed to leave and get in the car. While driving, Darius is listening to some crazy heavy metal music. Earn starts to question him about what is going on between him and Paper Boi. Darius turns the music down and tells him it isn't his business. Darius then asks about Earn's parents and he says that they are in Florida.
This leads to Darius telling us one of the best written stories I have ever heard on TV about someone called "Florida Man". This story was insane and hilarious all at once. "Florida Man" is a mythical figure that does some horrible, awful and gruesome things, all in the name of suppressing the black vote in the state of Florida. It was truly an astonishing moment for TV. It was spectacular.
We finally get to the Uncle's house and are thrown into a whole domestic situation. Now, the Uncle is played by Katt Williams, and he is/was absolutely amazing in this role. He is stripped down from his normal frantic behavior on stage, which I love, and he plays this role with soft spoken craziness. He is known around town as the "Alligator Man". They call him this because he keeps an alligator in his bathroom at his home. He is fighting with a lady that he has over from time to time, and she has locked herself in a bedroom. Earn comes over to clean all this up because Paper Boi asked him too. Darius was going to stay in the car, but he said he wanted to go in because "this house has crazy vibes right now". I love Darius on this show. Lakeith Stanfield is doing something truly wonderful with this role. Anyway, Earn and his Uncle get into it because the cops show up, and Earn is on probation so he cannot get in more trouble. They fight and yell at each other and it gets to the point where Earn tells his Uncle that he doesn't want to be like him. They both calm down, and have a conversation in another room. Earn's Uncle tells him about the music business and gives him a gold gun, telling him he needs to have it. Earn then leaves, tells the cops he couldn't get him out and starts toward Darius' car. Oh, Darius has left the house because it now has "getting put in jail vibes". Tremendous.
When Earn is walking toward the car, we get some slow motion and Earn turns to see that his Uncle has let the gator out. It was such a weird and wild and awesome scene. I loved it. The camera turns to show Earn's Uncle running away from the back door, still in his house shoes and robe.
The episode finished with Earn and Darius back at Paper Boi's house. The tension between Darius and Paper Boi is done the moment he offers him some weed. I love that about this show. A beef is squashed so easily, and that is how it usually happens in real life. Earn then shows them the gun, they all laugh at him and he then says he is leaving and walks out the door into the cold night.
This premiere episode was everything I wanted and so, so much more. I am so very excited to see where this season goes from here. "Atlanta" is, by far, the best show on TV right now and it is my favorite show. People, if you aren't watching this show, start now. I promise you will love it. "Atlanta" is a real gem and it is a show that will go down as a classic. This Thursday cannot come fast enough. I am so excited to watch.
Ty