Atlanta Episode 3 Recap: Scamming Season?
CelebsThis one was cool. Going to rich parties and meeting weirdos. Season 1 was better.
As Earn (Donald Glover), Van (Zazie Beetz), Darius (LaKeith Stanfield), and Al (Brian Tyree Henry) navigate the European leg of Paper Boi’s tour, the crew is invited to a party hosted by a billionaire whose taking a liking to Al’s music. As they walk through London neighborhoods to get to Fernando’s home, reluctant as away Earn has to explain to Al why this would be a good look. Earn lays out the stakes of their invitation. “How many billionaires do you know?” Earn asks Al rhetorically. Establishing the value an investor relationship would bring to the table, access to money facilitating their dreams and ideas.
Upon arrival at Fernando’s place, It looks as if Earn was tricked by another white men who illustres a picture that is far from the reality. Expecting a home behide iron gates we see a ran down hoke that looks condimed whit the window covered by newspapers to block off anyone from seeing what lays inside. Earn knocks on the door and is greeted by a white women who looks to surprise to see them as they are her. But Will (Patrick Kennedy), the wealthy investor, takes them up a set of steps and leads them into a much swankier, elaborate home within the “decoy home.” Fernando (Daniel Fathers) explains that the house’s duplicity functions as a security measure that allows him to hobnob with “influential people from around the world.” Fernando flexes his wealth after Al is impressed by the in-house Nando’s fast-food chain, which, in true exclusive fashion, is free for all invited guests. “You the Nando Nando?” Al asks Fernando, but no, he just likes the peri-peri sauce and is wildly rich.
Earn eventually finds Al, and the two vent about their rough nights. Earn faced with an apparent moral quandary, to protect that poor (but actually extremely wealthy!) white man from his own gullibility or let it continue to happen. Earn’s concern is partly selfish and misguided; he thinks TJ will make it harder for himself to access Will’s capital. The way Al sees it, sure, TJ might be scamming Will, but TJ is Black, and there are plenty of white kids scamming. As the words wash over Earn, he goes back to find Will but is stopped in his tracks by a framed photograph of three white men at the founding of Cape Town’s branch of the First Bank. Behind them, a Black man stands shackled in the shadows. Suddenly, Earn realizes the error in his thinking: The Black scammer is no match for white plunder. Thus when Earn finds Will, he decides not only to play along with TJ’s scheme but to get in on it as TJ’s manager. Will, of course, eats it up.