Atlanta: Money Bag Shawty

March 18, 2018 7:35 PM - Season 2, Episode 3

Earn is out here making that money. Too bad he still look broke as hell. This whole city runs on stunting, you feel me? [Official synopsis] / Along with earning social media attention, Paper Boi's newest single goes Gold, so Earn decides to take Van out for a night on the town to celebrate. Meanwhile, Alfred and Darius visit Clark County in the studio to record guest verses. [Clipped from Wikipedia summary]

Atlanta Review: Mo' Money, Same Problems (Jacob Oller for Paste Magazine)

Last week, Atlanta showed us what happens when you give a taste of cash to someone who isn’t ready for it and deny that taste to someone too thirsty for it. With “Money Bag Shawty,” the series suggests that money magnifies the essence of the person who has it: Earn (creator Donald Glover) has money, so of course the (often self-positioned) underdog is going to push his ego onto it.

Atlanta Review: Season 2, Episode 3 — "Money Bag Shawty" (Mike Jordan for Hip Hop DX)

Every major city has a vice that the rest of the world has at least heard about. In Atlanta, that vice is the strip club. Atlanta went in last night, and somehow we all came out a little smarter.

What makes “Money Bag Shawty” special is that it looks at all the ways black spending power is treated and tricked back into the system in Atlanta and cities like it. Tourists who’ve heard the songs and memorized the landmarks are ready to spend, along with regular locals who like feeling wealth and its illusion of self-worth, even if only for one night or weekend. And there are plenty of people willing to help Earn rid himself of the financial windfall he and Alfred received from their dealings with Fresh after last week’s “Sportin’ Waves” episode. But we see that even though money is supposed to be an equalizer, sometimes it’s still looked on with suspicion when the hand that passes it contains ratios of melanin higher than half.

Atlanta Robbin’ Season Recap: The Stunters and the Stunted (Bryan Washington for Vulture)

Honestly, this entire recap could be all about Van. Partly because it’s her first appearance in Robbin’ Season, but partly because, Darius aside, she’s the show’s most enigmatic character. It’s not even close. Earn, we can wrap our heads around: He’s searching for himself in a new-old environment. Al’s situation as a dude coming to terms with his rapidly changing life is honed with every episode. But Van is loads more nebulous: She’s still with Earn, sort of, except for the times when she’s not. She’s raising a child mostly on her own [footnote: And this is generous.], although we don’t catch wind of the kid in “Money Bag Shawty.” She’s vaguely conscious of where she’d like to end up, which is a lot more than any of the show’s male characters can say, but she isn’t disillusioned by the fact that she may not find herself there, or that her current situation might be as good as it gets.

Songs heard in this episode, as noted on TuneFind

posted by filthy light thief (3 comments total)

I loved the ending.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 8:00 PM on March 19, 2018

I love Clark County. That character is such a good foil for Paperboi, and the actor playing him is perfect.
posted by gladly at 10:51 AM on March 21, 2018

That was the freeze frame from hell.

I love this show but I understand why some online fans are angry that this is the losing/robbin season. We're just not accustomed to this level of losing from a lead.

But that's life: one minute you're going to a strip club you can't afford, then the next Michael Vick smokes your ass in a parking lot.
posted by Freecola at 4:40 PM on March 25, 2018