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TV Review: 'Atlanta' Robbin Season Episode 1

'Atlanta' Season 2 kicks off with excellent 'Alligator Man.'

By Sean PatrickPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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Earn is homeless and Darious and Paper Boi aren’t speaking for unspecified reasons as we join the story of Atlanta Season 2: Robbin Season. Donald Glover’s remarkable FX series returns for season 2 with the same sense of style and humor that made season one so very memorable. Can Robbin Season match the heights of season one all year long? Well, season 2, episode 1, “Alligator Man” indicates that indeed it can.

The "Alligator Man" of the episode title is Willie, played by guest star Katt Williams. Williams is not known as an actor or even a comedian of great depth but he’s pretty great in this role. Willie is possibly Earn’s uncle, or was a relative of convenience or proximity. His home is one where Earn has stayed in the past. He’s called to Willie’s house by Paper Boi who received a distressed call from Willie’s girlfriend about being kidnapped.

Since Paper Boi owns the house that Willie is living in, he’s concerned about the cops showing up and especially concerned about the various things they might find. With Darius in tow, it’s up to Earn to diffuse whatever situation may be unfolding and, hopefully, keep the cops at bay. With his own freedom on the line from last year’s drug bust, Earn has plenty at stake in this situation.

I won’t spoil the fun by going any further with descriptions of what takes place. I will only say that the title of the episode makes for one of the funniest gags in the show. The levity is needed after the episode opener which gives us insight into the season two subtitle Robbin Season. Robbin Season in the parlance of Atlanta is that time just before Christmas when robberies begin to pick up. Criminals celebrate Christmas as well.

We know from last season’s finale, "The Jacket," that Earn is homeless and living in a storage shelter. In "Alligator Man," he loses the storage shelter. He also seems to be somewhat on the outs with Paper Boi. The two are distant, but that could be more of the strangeness of Paper Boi and Darius rubbing off on Earn. Darius is always a little strange but Lakeith Stanfield is working an almost alien vibe in "Alligator Man."

The scenes set at Willie’s house are the stand out moments, not merely because that is where most of the plot resides. Katt Williams is genuinely great in this episode. When Willie refuses to leave the house claiming that the police have no authority to remove him from his house, spoiler alert: yes, they do. His manner is agitated but no more agitated than he is throughout the entire episode.

The vibe that Katt Williams is working as Willie is purely comic but comes with just a dash of pathos, especially when he gives Earn a gift that Earn most definitely does not want. The gift, which I also won’t spoil for you, is a brilliant visual gag that pays off not once but twice, when Earn takes his gift over to Paper Boi’s house. The reaction of everyone, including the stranger now sleeping on Paper Boi’s couch, where Earn had hoped to stay, is quite funny.

Season one of Atlanta set a brilliantly funky tone that had room for dramatic moments amidst some very funny moments. Episodes like "B.A.N" with its brilliant commercial satires, played perfectly alongside episodes such as "Juneteenth" which may not have been entirely dramatic but had strong dramatic moments. "Alligator Man" is more on the funny side of Atlanta but keeps that wonderfully unusual tone that allows for these characters to feel so very real.

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About the Creator

Sean Patrick

Hello, my name is Sean Patrick He/Him, and I am a film critic and podcast host for the I Hate Critics Movie Review Podcast I am a voting member of the Critics Choice Association, the group behind the annual Critics Choice Awards.

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