Atlanta: Season 2 Episode 11
Atlanta Robbin’ Season started out with a low-key episode mostly about Earn’s Uncle Willie. So it’s fitting that the season ends with another low-key episode and, though Uncle Willie doesn’t appear, he’s central to the plot. “Crabs in a Barrel” is actually about character interactions between Earn and the people in his life. It almost feels like three separate vignettes, tied together by the impending trip to Europe. Earn and Al look into getting an entertainment lawyer, Earn and Van meet with their daughter Lottie’s teacher, and then Earn and Darius go get Darius’ passport renewed. These are all quiet, small scenes of communication and they provide a nice contrast to the madcap antics that took place before the flashback episode and function as an overall come-down from the rest of the season. Most surprising, but welcome, is that this finale offers some levity. It’s not crazy positive (that wouldn’t fit the season’s vibe), but there’s definitely more optimism than has been on display throughout the rest of Robbin’ Season. In fact, it’s almost a complete reversal of the rock bottom that Earn hit in “North of the Border.” The biggest surprise is that the season ends with Al keeping Earn on as his agent because he’s family and because they understand and care about each other. But it fits with the themes of Robbin’ Season that to get there, Earn had to become more cutthroat, planting Uncle Willie/Checkhov’s golden gun in Clark County’s luggage and he, in turn, plants it on his agent, who takes the fall off-camera. (Incidentally, the only reason I’m not giving the episode a perfect score is because all this gun-planting business lost me and I had to read people’s tweets to understand what happened. Arguably my fault, but I found it a bit tough to follow.) It’s a brilliant ending, because the gun brings everything back around to the season’s beginning, but with Earn having changed. What he’s done isn’t “right,” but for this season of Atlanta, it’s about as right as right can be. Oh, and it also turns out that Tracy was never really that important. They moved and didn’t even tell the poor bastard. We don’t get any clarity on why they moved, so it almost feels like they did it just to get away from Tracy. It would make sense if they left it here, with Paper Boi on the precipice of becoming a much bigger star. I don’t think Glover ever set out to do a series about making it big; it was more about the awkward and difficult journey getting there. So, if this is all we’re getting, I’m good with that. But if there’s more to come, I’ll definitely show up.
