‘Atlanta’ recap: Season 2, Episode 2: ‘I got them vampire feet’

Season 2, episode 2 | “Sportin’ Waves” | March 8

While last week’s premiere benefited from Katt Williams’ cameo as Earn’s Uncle Willie, this week’s installment, “Sportin’ Waves,” is a return to multiple storylines. Yet, like the previous episode, this week’s begins with a jack move and Paper Boi is the victim. Not only do things kick off with him being held at gunpoint by his plug of 10 years — just when you think you know somebody, I tell you — but the crime is committed by the most polite, respectful and contrite robber in the history of robbers (who doesn’t how the child safety lock works on his car door). He didn’t want to hold such a veteran client at gunpoint, but as we know, it’s robbing season. And everybody has to eat.

Let’s run down 10 highlights from this week’s episode. …

• The marketing firm. Earn said it best. “This place, um, has a vibe.” Earn’s still assuming the role of Paper Boi’s manager, because what other gig does he have lined up? And it’s hard to fault him for wanting to increase his cousin’s visibility as a rapper. They just happened to choose quite possibly the most socially awkward marketing agency in Atlanta. From Pete Savage calling himself “35 Savage” to the unidentified artist dancing on the table while people from the agency stared at him a la Bobby Shmurda to the live performance that never was from Paper Boi, the entire experience was a train wreck. Earn and Paper Boi were attempting to market their music via a collection of people who have no clue about the inspiration, the direction or impact of the music. Consider it a not-so-subtle jab to the nature of American economics and how hip-hop is constantly manipulated for financial gain while being stripped of the cultural circumstances under which it was created.

• Alone in a crowded space. That’s what happened to Earn. He’s looking through the glass as Al begrudgingly goes through with recording playlist drops. As he looks, the entire office (all white people) stare at him. When he turns to look at them, they return to work — making an awkward moment that much more awkward. Nearly every black person can attest to being the lone (or one of very few) people of color at a work event or get-together and having it be explicitly clear you’re the “different” one. Also familiar is when Earn is the odd man out in a conversation between the aforementioned Savage, the rapper Clark County and his manager: Clark County’s code switch game is nearing Kanye levels as the tone and demeanor do a complete 180 on call. More on this in future episodes.
• Darius is a man of his word. One of the coolest moments of the show is when Darius — the show’s most reliable character, if we’re keeping it G — gives Earn $4,000 as payment for breeding the King Corso dog they sold at the end of last season’s episode four. “People love dogs!” exclaims Earn — immediately bringing back memories of yesterseason when Darius was kicked out of a gun range for using a dog sketch for target practice. The synergy between seasons was dope, and didn’t overpower.
• Earn just doesn’t learn. Admit it, though — you knew the entire blessing was going straight to hell in a handbasket. Re-enter Tracy, Paper Boi’s homie whom we met at the end of episode one. Speaking of …

• Tracy is a keeper. Maybe it’s the authenticity, how much he sounds like a dude straight out of Atlanta. Or maybe it’s that authenticity combined with the fact that Tracy is already one of the funnier characters on the show. I legit spit out my water when he said he needed a pedicure because he had “vampire feet.” And just like many a black man, he loves his waves, calling himself the “Prince of Tides” but not allowing anyone to see them until he’s ready for a job interview he’s been preparing for. More on that in a bit …

• A good plug is hard to find. Because Paper Boi can’t go back to his original plug for aforementioned reasons, the search is on for a new connect. Paper Boi and Darius visit two connects, and both appear solid until both completely ruin their chances — by being thirsty. The first can’t help but to not-so-secretly snap a picture of Paper Boi perusing the product and posting it to Instagram. The second, a hippy-looking white guy, gets Paper Boi’s phone number, only to try and promote his girlfriend’s music (she has an acoustic cover of his local hit “Paper Boy”). As we all come to find out at some point, Paper Boi is seeing how some people only want to use him for who he is, and how his presence can benefit them.
• The “No Chase” policy. Tracy says he can double Earn’s $4,000 with a foolproof gift card scam. Earn should’ve kept his money, but here we are at the mall. Tracy, still prepping for his job interview, is telling Earn about the shoe store they’re in, and its “no chase” policy. This prompts the hilarious exchange:

“Those gift cards. They work in here?” — Earn
“Ionno. I’m just gon’ take this s—.” — Tracy

Tracy runs from the store with shoes he never had a single intention of paying for, and they didn’t chase him. The alarm didn’t even set off. Tracy’s a legend already.

• Paper Boi’s missed bag. Earn takes advantage of the gift card scam but ends up having to take the bus back because Tracy left him at the mall. At the house he promptly hits the blunt offered to him by Paper Boi. It’s here they see the aforementioned Clark County rapping (and Milly Rocking!) on a YooHoo commercial claiming to “drink YooHoo like it’s dirty Sprite.” He’s getting money, but at what cost? Paper Boi refuses to sell himself out for a check, but at what cost? “I hate this s—,” he says. The game is the game. And it’s not always pretty.
• Tracy’s Half Baked moment. We finally get to see those waves Tracy has been hyping up all episode as he sits in his job interview at a marketing company. Does he have waves? Sure, but he looks to have the 2018 version of the conk Malcolm X talked about in his autobiography. Needless to say, to the surprise of no one, Tracy doesn’t get the job because the gentleman who interviews him (plot twist, an older white male) says they don’t have any openings at the moment. Which, of course, makes total sense — to conduct interviews for a position that isn’t even open (to someone who looks like Tracy, with Tracy’s background). This prompts Tracy to launch into one of the greatest exiting rants since Scarface’s legendary scene in 1998’s Half Baked. “Y’all racist as hell up in here, man! F— you want from me, man! Get some black people up in here! That’s ya muhf— problem, boy! I don’t wanna work for you anyway! Amerik-k-k-a, n—!” Never have I ever heard a more fitting final quote to a 30-minute weekly television event.
• One final question. Uhhhhh, where is Van?