TV Review: 'Atlanta' Robbin Season Episode 2

Paper Boi experiences Robbin Season up close and personal while Earn comes into some money in Season 2 Episode 2 of the FX hit series Atlanta. Fresh off of his house arrest, Paper Boi (Brian Tyree Henry) is eager to find some good weed. Unfortunately, his new found fame means that even his long time dealer assumes he has a lot of money and thus we get the theme of this season of Atlanta, Robbin’ Season as Paper Boi is robbed at gunpoint and doesn’t even come away with something to smoke for his trouble.

Episode 2 is titled "Sportin’ Waves" and in it we get to know a little more about Paper Boi’s new house guest, the fresh out of prison Tracy (Khris Davis). The Sportin’ Waves of the episode title relates to Tracy’s hair relaxer but that isn’t much related to the plot, unlike last week’s "Alligator Man" which had a much better payoff for its title. Tracy has a job interview but first he offers to help Earn with his newfound money.

Somehow, via dogs and one of Darius’s (Lakeith Stanfield) connections, Earn has come into money, 4,000 much-needed dollars. Unfortunately, Earn gets greedy and takes ex-con Tracy up on a scam involving mall gift cards that Tracy claims can double Earn's money. Just as Tracy is about to interview for a job, he takes Earn to the mall where he immediately finds trouble before helping Earn to find his own trouble. This being Robbin’ Season, you can imagine that Earn's new money is in trouble.

In the episode's other plot, Paper Boi enlists Darius to find him a new weed dealer. This leads to a series of comic encounters with dealers who happen to be huge fans of Paper Boi’s record. Fame in Atlanta may earn you respect, and even a little bit of money, but it comes with a price that Paper Boi is clearly not comfortable with just yet. His and Darius’s comic encounters with would be dealers are the highlights of "Sportin' Waves."

The standout cameo in this plot is Dylan Cheek as a stoner with a family connection to weed. Just when Paper Boi thinks he’s found a perfect dealer, he makes a mistake that I’m sure many celebrity weed smokers have made and ends up regretting it. It’s a quick series of scenes but each one gets a good laugh, especially a group text and a shot at one of the lamer YouTube trends of recent years.

"Sportin’ Waves" doesn’t have the laid back charm of "Alligator Man," or its more consistently laugh out loud punchlines. What it does have though is the same narrative consistency. The two story structure weaves together well with both Earn and Paper Boi learning a little something new about the meaning of Robbin’ Season. Both made big mistakes and paid a comic price for it.

Money comes and money goes in Robbin’ Season but at least you might come away with some new shoes or some good weed. The universe returns to its balance in "Sportin’ Waves" with Earn, though still homeless, at least learning a lesson about trust and gift card fraud. And Paper Boi learned that from now on he should perhaps have Darius acquire his weed if only to avoid his celebrity status getting in the way of his high.

"Sportin’ Waves" is a minor step down from "Alligator Man" but that season opening episode was so good that such a step down is no surprise. There is still no sign of Van (Zazie Beets) and not even a mention of her whereabouts in "Sportin' Waves." This is a narrative oversight, however, that should be corrected in next week’s episode titled "Money Bag Shawty." We can also expect to see more of Paper Boi’s new ‘sorta’ rival, Clark County (RJ Walker), whose YooHoo commercial is a highlight in "Sportin’ Waves."