The Prestige TV Podcast - 'Atlanta' Season 3, Episode 3 Recap

Episode Date: April 1, 2022

Van Lathan and Rembert Browne break down the third episode of ‘Atlanta’ Season 3, ‘The Old Man and the Tree.' They discuss the reactions to the season so far (:48) before digging into a character breakdown of Darius, Paper Boy, Van, and Earn (13:58). Plus, what is it with white girls snatching hats at parties (37:47)? Hosts: Van Lathan and Rembert Browne Producer: Donnie Beacham Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Okay, welcome to the Prestige TV podcast feed. Rembert Brown Van Lathen. Well, we are talking about Atlanta. Atlanta. Yeah, Atlanta. Well, is it, you're from there. So is it Atlanta or Atlanta? You got to drop that second T like Tarana.

Atlanta. Atlanta. Atlanta. College Park is not Atlanta. It's like A-T-L-A-N-U-H-H-H. Atlanta. Atlanta. Atlanta.

Atlanta. Okay, Atlanta, episode three. You know, before we get into episode three, Yes. The Old Man and the Tree. Have you been seeing as much reaction to Atlanta season three on social as you thought you were going to? For the first two episodes, it felt like everyone was ready. Yeah.

I didn't do like the giant deep dive on Twitter. like I did before the last one, but it did feel like people are like, I don't know what's next. Like I felt like the reaction was like, I think I enjoyed that, but I think that is the one of the complicated things with like prestige television,

which is like everything is supposed to be something. It's all, you know, and like that episode just felt like a vignette. of like a very if you are black and have spent time in like very weird white spaces which Atlanta kind of does throughout the course of the show I was like yeah that was a good episode of television but I can also understand folks being like wait so like what's going on right right I talked to some people that were like um you know I just want to hang out with Earn and Van and Paperboy and Darius, and I don't want all the other weird stuff.

I think that Atlanta is starting to really do what they want to do, which is push the envelope of what their viewers can expect and what they should be expecting from the show. Yeah. And also, like, even if these first three episodes felt like three very different things, like there are some common threads that we're beginning. to see. Like, I, so far, yes, the whole show, but especially this, it's just like white people

on display. Right. It's just like that is a theme. It's just like, look at white folks be white. And like, that looks so many different ways. And it kind of feels like that is an underlying thing of this season, which is just like, like, it's not even just mocking. it's just like, this is something that really happens.

Like, this is a thing that white people actually do. And so far, like, all of these things, I'm like, yeah, like, that happens. That happens. That happens. There hasn't been one thing where I'm like, that doesn't happen. Right, right. That's true. So this episode is episode three, the old man and the tree.

It takes place. We are once again still overseas. basically this is all of our favorite Atlanteans at a party at a billionaire's party where are we now? We're still in Amsterdam, I'm thinking. We're still in Amsterdam here. A billionaires party in Amsterdam

and just the goings on that happens there. But there are a lot of small little commentaries that are happening in this episode. Number one, Darius runs into a woman that is assuming he's trying to hit on her because she's Asian, very pretty lady. And in this, the entire party starts to rally around this terrible racist situation that Darius has had. That's one thread.

Another thread is that Paperboy has, I don't know why I always call him Paperboy and not by the character name. I just like the Paperboy. Paperboy gets wrangled into this high stakes poker game, wins, and is having trouble getting his money back. Okay? He also gets showed this tree by the billionaire who's only. it is when he thought it was really going to be smoking some weed you got trees he's got you got trees yeah I love trees he goes in there and it's actually he goes this is actually a motherfucking tree he gets shown a tree um and also you have something going on between earn and van earn is in a situation

to where he meets this young black artist who sucks and he has this dilemma on whether or not to mess up this young man's situation because he might be destroying things for young black artists that come past him. He's being basically subsidized by the billionaires who own this insane place where this party is taking place. His art is terrible.

And because his artist terrible earns not sure about whether or not to out him to this guy and change his guy's mind about the fact that this art is terrible or to let this young black man scan his way into having a better situation. This entire time, Van is acting weird.

She's stealing things. She's drinking. She's pushing people into pools. It seems as if they've all been thrust into this really interesting world to where they're all having these many little crises that are based around their personalities. Yes. Old Man in a Tree. Episode three, your thoughts. I thought, I'm going to follow your lead.

I thought paper boy was about as funny. as he's ever been in this episode. Yeah, absolutely. I thought that, like, I have this thought sometimes that, like, black people invented ad libs. It's just, like, little side, like, throughout the entire episode, he just has these, like, off-to-the-side comments that are just, like, so consistently funny.

I really do feel like he's the character we are, like, learning the most about so far in this season. and I thought that, you know, watching him go from, you know, that real struggle of like, I don't want to be here, but I want what you have. But like, I don't trust y'all. But like, I want to be one of the big dogs. Like, it was this, like, very interesting tension with him, which I think is, like, a very relatable tension of, like, in order to get where I need to go, do I have to kiss the ring of

these white spaces? You know, and like that is something that it seems like both him. Earn seems to be more in the like, yes. Like, let's just play the game. Like, Earn going to have Paperboy doing NFTs. You know, it's just like, you know, you got to play the game so you can get what's on the other side. And that is like a very real struggle. Like, do I play the game?

Do I smile in spaces that I don't want to smile in? Or do I just say, fuck all that? and just like keep it going. Like that is like that for me is the like underlying one of the underlying paperboy stories. Sure, sure. And it definitely is. And you know, they're still making their way in the world, right? Even though we're doing to the point now where paper boy, everybody knows paper boy and everybody likes people.

And they got money. You know, like earning. It's very interesting. Like we remember how broke earn was. Right. Sleeping in the storage facility. Yeah. Trying to buy a kid's meal, all of those things.

Yeah. And so like, Earn's like, like, Van, you need any money? Like, he's just like, we feel like we're good. Like paper boy is dumping out a backpack. Like, even if like he can't fully afford to act that recklessly. Like they are so clearly in a different place right now. Right. And it's a very interesting view of black celebrity, you know?

You've heard, I remember once hearing Lupe Fiasco talk about, how many billionaires he knew. And you're thinking to yourself, well, why would Lupe Fiasco know a whole bunch of billionaires? It's not even in Lupe Fiasco's ethos to be a guy who knows a whole bunch of billionaires. But by virtue of being Lupe Fiasco, you're going to meet a whole bunch of billionaires, right?

Because even if the billionaires in America, even if you don't know the Jeff Bezos of the world or the, even though I did see him on a yacht hanging out with Paul brothers, but even if you don't know the Jeff Bezos is of the world of Bill of Game, on the world, which he very well might, you're still going to go overseas to play concerts where your music is huge and these guys are going to be fans and then your blackness is going to meet your understanding of American blackness, which isn't steeped in poverty or the street

life, but there are certain realities that come along with being black in America. Those things are going to brush up against this tremendous and overwhelming privilege to where you feel like one of a handful of chosen people from around the world that now get to live this life. And I think that's what's interesting about this show or this particular episode of the show. We'll get into what our thoughts of season three are in a second. But what we're seeing is all of these people kind of deal with being the chosen ones to get out of Atlanta, some of the chosen ones, to get out of Atlanta and live this other lifestyle, right? We saw everything that happened with them trying to make it.

They haven't made it yet, but they're on their way. And as they go further, they're having to deal with a lot of different things. Even Ern's dilemma about whether or not to help out the young artist whose artistry sucks, but who's made it out kind of just like them, it's a crisis that you're only going to have when you're in that point. Do you think about the individual or do you think about the collective? You know what I mean? It's interesting in them having to volley these things.

around. Yeah. I think you're kind of getting to it and I'm very curious your thoughts on this. Like the dynamic between like what Eurn is dealing with. It is something I think about. I laugh about. I take seriously. It's just like what to do with black mediocrity? Like what to do with black scammers? Like it's a very interesting internal struggle that I have. I think it's very smart to have an earned character that says something like this is, you know, it's not very far away from like acting like this sets us back. Acting like this prevents more people getting through the door. Like the actions of this one scammer, less talented person that's popping.

Like that's a very real thing. Like I personally get very frustrated when the wrong black people. get influence because it's like y'all you're like you don't know how to actually pull up other black people like you were just like a uh an exciting black person to white people you know a mascot a masca and like sometimes that person pans out a lot of times it doesn't so yeah i've had you know i've had that those feelings before but also like when it i also go to the other side where it's like, yo, like, I'm not really down to be the gatekeeper right now. And it's like, it's kind of just like, let's flood the block. You know, like as many as can make it. Like that's and

it's so, it's so weird because you like, you'll look at somebody. You'll be like, man, why that nigga? But then you'll be like, shit, I ain't mad. I don't know. Yeah. You know, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's hard. When people were talking about the, the PPP scammers And, bro, it was so funny in LA when you were walking around Beverly Hills and just everybody was black and they were, they were scamming the PPP. They were scamming the EDD.

They were scamming the stuff. And sometimes being from where I'm from, I can't help but be proud of them. Oh. You know what I mean? Like it's, it's, obviously it's wrong. I don't know if it's wrong. But like, but I can't help but be like, shit.

At least they're doing their thing. Yeah. You know? America scammer. Like, we're just trying to, you know, so like I really do. I think the good thing about even the way they played it in the episode and the way we're talking about it, it's like, it's not a right answer. It's just like I've been on both sides of it context dependent. And I understand how you can look at it through one way, look at the other way.

And like, I try to get to a place where it's like, you. you're doing the thing that is just like not the way I would do it. Exactly. Like it's, I have to be like, ah, so what you just, it's not what I would do. But okay, go ahead. Yeah. Like that, for me, that is like growth. That happened to me in the pandemic where I went from like,

am I only on Instagram to like judge people? And like, and like, and then I was like, no, like what you were doing in no way negatively impacts the way I'm doing. I just like have a code that I. I live by. You have one that you live by. Let's both keep it moving. Right.

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so we're going to go break down the characters individually here. For Darius, Darius had this, this, this interaction. What happens is, you know, he's very attractive Asian lady, and he's actually tapping her to get her to hand him a gin bottle. She turns around and automatically thinks that he is hitting on her. And she says, no, no, no, I'm in a relationship. and he goes, okay? And could you pass me to Jen?

And she goes, oh, and they have a back and forth. And she basically says black guys always would hit on me when I was in Los Angeles. They have an awkward exchange, but that seemingly ends up with them understanding how each other is where they're coming from. It's awkward and it's fucked up. But it ends up being the both of them being like, all right, well, that was weird. Peace. Yeah. The people that overhear this in the party just simply will not let Darius forget about it.

He meets a guy, a guy who, interestingly enough, has a fucked up hairline. They have a back and forth about that hilarious. Wild, wild hairline. Shout out the big homie socks. Big homie socks. Sox is like, yo, man, your hairline is intense. You know, and they have a conversation about whether or not to shave it off. But throughout this entire time, it seems like this group of people,

Darius, this group of people is trying to influence Darius to understand just how traumatized he is. And I couldn't help but think about the Black Square phase of American life that happened post-George Ford's death. Black square. Where people are, well, sometimes we're in situations where we don't know what it is that we want sometimes. You want people to be aware and you want people to be helpful. but at a point if they're hyper aware or hyper helpful it seems like this weird

almost bizarreal racism that is in a little way more condescending and more fucked up is assuming that I can't deal with what's happening to me is kind of in a small way more it's like

infantilizing a little bit and I watching him go through that in a room with not a lot of people that look like him was sort of interesting to me. What did you think? It reminded me. I had this, it was like 2013, 2014.

I had like a, what came from a place of honesty. I genuinely believe a white man tell me like he was giving me unsolicited feedback about my own writing career, which I don't mind. I was like 25. I'm like, anything. And he was like, I think you should like, basically. Like, basically, I think you should do more to uplift black people in your writing. Like, and I was like, huh, like, this man just told me that I'm not doing enough for my own people.

And it was like one of the most shocking interactions because I was, it reminded me of, like, that's exactly where my head went, which is like, oh, like, you went from like hyper, unaware to like reading two books to like racing by me and now you are a freedom fighter and like my gut when this type of stuff happens it's like you probably just started this whole phase about like six months ago like you know it's that like it's that early white like it's the like shed like assumed shedding of guilt moment where it's like I have to do everything to make for those 300, 400 plus years of slavery at my job in my texts, like everything that I do. And so like I knew where it came from, but it also was like, I'm never going to like talk to you again type of. It's just like I get where that came from like you a wild boy.

I'm going to keep it moving, but like please stop doing that to people. And that was the thing that Darius couldn't get to. Like Darius, because it's Darius, it was so perfect that he just got like, he got stuck. He was just like, it wasn't that big of a deal. Yeah, Darius is not the kind of, he's not the type of the personality. He was our avatar in that situation because sometimes we're asked to be Darius. We're asked to be like, hey, that's not that big of a deal. Yeah.

Hey. Or it's weird. Real agency is something being a big deal when we say it. it's a big deal. You know what I mean? It's like, I'll tell you, don't, you don't have to tell me. It's not about, don't center yourself.

I'll tell you when I feel offended. I'll tell you when I feel, like attacked, I'll tell you that. And then when I tell you, just listen to me, don't tell me I'm, I'm overreacting. And don't tell me I'm underreacting, right? And it's weird how all the characters at this party, this party is almost like a,

this party is almost like a, like a proxy for what it's like to sometimes deal with whiteness because there's a lot of privilege in the room right yeah the food is free the food is free the drinks are free they're helping you out but there's still a cost everything still costs every character in this is paying the cost right darius is paying the cost in his situations uh uh paper boy is playing a real cost got his hat snatched and won but still kind of lost in a way you know what I mean or has to go out and seek his money out that he won and maybe take it back to Atlanta to get what he's what he deserves you know and then you have this dynamic between van and earned van and uh van and

uh van and earn where they don't seem to know how they're supposed to communicate with one another right now. Yeah. It's like they're very they're very off and it's very interesting that they're so off because like I mean we talked about this previously like we don't have like the clearest sense of how time is past. Right. So like we don't fully know like all of the tension. Like we get drops here and drops here. We learn something about Lottie, blah, blah, blah, this, that. But like we don't really know what journey you've been. is on. It seems to be... No clue whatsoever. It's like,

okay, we got a little klepto energy. Like, did she steal that? Because, like, we deserve to steal stuff from white people or she's just like... Billionaires. Blah, blah, blah. It's like, I get it. But like, okay, what we do is she pushing multiple people in the pool? Is she trying to, like, self-sabotage? She's, like, you know, she has that moment when she's like,

can I have a vacation? And it's like, yes, but also, like, I still have a red flag up. Because, like, something is clear. clearly like something seems to be like building. Destroyed it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, she seems a little off.

And Earn doesn't know how to be there for her, which is oftentimes what we see between black men and black women. Earn doesn't know what she needs. Erin doesn't know if she needs to be talked to, if she needs to be taken care of. Yeah. He seems to be inequipped to deal with where he's at right now. And they're learning as they go.

A couple of questions about. about overall what we're seeing. Number one, these episodes don't really seem to have that much to do with one another. Atlanta has finally succeeded as being a total art piece. It's a total art piece. What they're doing is they're putting moving art on the screen and they're saying interpreted to however you would want to. It's not even a show anymore. It's a surreal art piece. Last week, we had these gigantic questions that me and you spent a little time on about whether or not earned had COVID because he was getting sicker and sicker

throughout the show. He's completely okay in this episode. Fine. And they did not address it at all. I don't know how much I saw discussion about whether or not he had COVID. I think maybe it was a bigger deal to me than it was to a lot of other people.

But it was not, he was totally fine. Like so that whole thing ended up being Yeah. Like nothing. It's like this almost could have been the first episode in the season. Yeah. I mean, there's no, there's no cliffhangers, really. That's like, oh, I know what's going next.

Like, right. I mean, like, you know, at the end of this episode, I was like, where's van? Is van in the car? You know? And I was like, like, like, you know that they are off to do something else, but it doesn't feel like the next episode is going to pick up where the, like, the last one left off. Like that's, that's to me the,

the artistic decision that's made, which is like, we're just going to pick up wherever they decide to pick us up. They're not going to hold us, hold our hands the whole way. And I'm, you know,

for me, it's working because I feel like we have four characters who are all, like, getting more interested. Yeah. Yeah. I,

I went from, like, kind of interested. And like, I've always been like, I'm here for the Darius journey the whole way. I'm like, I just want to see where this lands. But like, I really love this episode. I like this episode because we got to see all four of them together.

Just like going in like that thing where it's like you go into a house and then everyone has their own night. Like that's a very relatable story. And then reconvening and being like, yo, like, I cut down his motherfucker's tree. Like, that's crazy. Like, how did we even get to the point that you were shamsawing this man's tree? Like, they each have a story, especially Erd Paperboy and Darius. We don't really know where Van floated off to.

Right. She just disappeared. Do you think that Atlanta, based upon these first three shows, and the response to these first three shows and what's been going on is the show as culturally relevant as it was at its height. Yeah, I think so.

I think cultural relevance is like a spectrum in terms of like how you go about grabbing cultural relevance. I think one angle is to like be in your face a lot and be like having episodes and happening moments that just like stop time, you know, like in my mind, they could do a Teddy Perkins level shock the world episode whenever they wanted because we've seen them do it a couple times.

So it's like that's, we know that's in your bag. I think what we're seeing now is less of a holy shit episode to episode moment and just like we're about, it's like it's like songs versus a whole album, you know, like we're, it feels like we are being given an album, like a really complete album. And it's like, yo, like we're on track three. I can't fully judge this on the whole yet because we, we are in the early third of the album. But I think you can't do this season three without doing the first two.

Like you need, you need to build that cultural relevance base to take the fuck you swings. And what we're seeing now is like, this is the show we want to make, you know? And I think that is, and kind of when you take that angle, you aren't taking it purely for in the moment cultural relevancy. Like this is like a cultural contribution that it feels like they're trying to make that last longer than the Thursday night, Friday morning tweets. What do you think? I am doing this weird thing even as we're talking to where I'm trying to see

what the response of the show is and I'm trying to see I think that this season is an act of rebellion room yeah I get it I think that this season is an act of rebellion I even the people that I've been talked to I think that this season is an active rebellion I think that you know even in certain I think they are trying to bring the show

to some sort of level how can I really, I'm having trouble articulating it. What I mean is I don't think they want to be the biggest show in black culture. I get that. I think they want to be, and this is me climbing into the heads of the craze. I think what they really want to be

with Donald Glover, Stephen Glover, and the rest of the crew of Atlanta really want to be, is they want to be think pieces over and over and over again, but not think pieces in the way that we understand it. They want to be moving art that makes people watch it over and over and over again.

And this is kind of what Donald Glover has become. If you look at the, this is America video, the video was like a series of Easter eggs tied together to make us all go, what? Yeah. But all we knew is that it meant something. And what it meant to everybody is a little bit different. And some of the, and he never explained it.

Yeah. He never endeavored to explain what he was talking about. And a lot of what you're saying makes a lot of sense. You just have no idea where the show is going to go. All you know is that you're going to laugh a little bit. You're going to think a little bit. And you're going to experience these characters that you've gotten to know for a little while and whatever, wherever their life takes them. Also, I think that there's some criticism here that is abound as well.

I think the evolution of the show could be also a reflection of a growing disconnect between the creators of the show and the pulse of what I would say mainstream black culture is. And I don't think that the disconnect is, I think that the disconnect in many ways is intentional. And I've really, I've watched these episodes over and over again. I think the disconnect is intentional. And the reason why is because I think to be connected to something, you have to be a part of it. Yeah, I agree. And it's hard to be a revolutionary artist if you're a part of something. You have to be, in order to be a revolutionary artist, you kind of have to be ahead of it.

Yeah. And I really do think that Donald Glover fancies himself as being ahead of the culture in a little bit. Not in a condescending way, even though it's hard to be that way that's not condescending way. that's not condescending. I think he thinks of himself in a way that's where in order to push the culture, it's not even actually pushing them forward. It's running ahead of them and then making them catch up. Because there's just going to be a lot of people who simply don't relate to these first

three episodes of Atlanta, even though this is not that far off what we've already gotten from the show. It's not that far off. The show has always kind of been like this, but not to this degree. And in a time where you've seen people pouring over shows. shows like insecure or the entire power universe or whatever. The absence of Atlanta, the stuff has been a little bit more grounded since Atlanta hasn't been around.

And I think that it's going to be interesting to see what a kick in the ass some of this stuff will be. And, you know, some of it, you know, the guy up in the ante of the racist incident and saying that the lady said, all lives matter and all of that stuff, this is, we understand that those are common, that's commentary on how shit, how sometimes white culture ODs. For example, what Will Smith did was wrong, right? But like, they OD in now. Yeah.

Now it's like, like, now it was like, what he did was wrong. It's definitely wrong. A thousand percent 24 carry goal wrong. But like, now we got an OD. Now y'all. Now, yeah. Now, Will didn't just slap him. He pulled his dick out.

You know what I mean? Now. Now is OD And so now they're like You know like we got a we got to call Department of Family Children's Services Get Jaden and Willow away from that family That's a violent man that man

We have got to put him in At the raft the MCU prison For all superhuman villains You know it's like it's just You know and so those Those real things exist and it's completely surreal That's such a good analogy And literally that's exactly what it is

It's just like, y'all don't know when to stop. And just like, chill out. Tell me if you agree with this, but I've thought about this, even before this episode. But, you know, I've been thinking about Donald for a while. And so, like, I do think what you're saying is interesting about, um, it's not throwing yourself under the bus, but just like making the art that needs to be made.

so people can make better art, you know, is a thing. But I also, I wonder about this because if you look at Atlanta seasons one and two, it got to a place where it was like very lauded by mainstream America. Like this is like, this is one of the great shows. And I think there's a couple of ways, you know, when I think about my own life, I realize it wasn't like that complicated. It's just like we all have like a series of choices to make that like take us in one direction or the other.

And something I struggle with is like when white people are telling me that I'm the shit, my instinct is to stop and go do something else. Exactly. And my instinct is to be like, oh, okay, like I need to rethink what I'm putting out into the world because what I do doesn't make sense if it's just like, if you like it. If you like it. Right. If you put me on a pedestal, you aren't.

you aren't getting it or something like that. And so I see if I'm following kind of where you're going with this, which I more and more agree with, is like if you've gotten the mainstream, blah, blah, blah, like everyone loves you show and then you have an opportunity to take a, to fall back and come back, you either give them exactly what they want to be more beloved by this group, or you're like, this is the moment where we do what we do.

like this is the moment where we confuse them again because they thought they got too close to thinking that they got it and they got a little bit too familiar and now we just like we're going we're going to put them back on their heels again like I like fuck how like fuck the episodes blah blah blah like that is a line of creating things and making things that I subscribe to and it's it's it's risky and it's difficult but if you think that what you're making making deserves to be out in the world. And that's like a level of confidence you have. Like, I'm for that.

Yeah. And I personally think that this show right now, this episode of the show, is probably more authentic to Donald Glover's current experience or his experience for the last X amount of years than some of the earlier stuff was he's probably, in the earlier seasons of Atlanta, Glover and his guys, they were probably, reminiscing right now about on on how things were right now I think earn and all of this this is probably more of a statement of their current situation and what they've been used to yeah this is probably commentary on how things have been going for them recently as he's been anointed uh one of the I think

he's one of the top five creators in the entire entire industry you know from music to comedy to writing to acting. He's just all over the place and he's doing a great job. And so I think this stuff is probably more the current biography of these guys and anything else. These are the parties they go to. These are the incidents they find themselves in. This is the weirdness that has become their life as they've been anointed these guys. And it's interesting to see whether I know that this is all currently critically acclaimed, right? This episode has a 100% approval approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. And we should say that it is written by an incredible writer.

The writer's name is Talfiq Colade. Tawfik Kalade. And so obviously produced by Donald Glover, Stephen Glover, Stephanie Robinson, some of the people that you know. I like that. Let's shout out the writer every episode. I like that. Absolutely.

I love that. Sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Some guest appearances, Patrick Kennedy is Will. Daniel Feathers is Fernando. Jip Hall as the party goer. Can I, can I, can I, um, throw out a couple just like details that I liked from this episode? Of course. Um, Nando's.

Love that. I love that he was like, I need Perry Perry sauce. I didn't know that Nando's was a real thing. Nandoz is a real thing. and it's just like it's a hysterical thing for a very rich person to tell me about nando's i don't know about nando's um if my memory um serves me right nando's is a uh dc um operation that's where that's where my experiences um they got lots of sauces and i'm like a sauce boy like for me for me food is like a vessel to get sauces.

That's how I moved. And so, but yeah, it felt like a, I don't know if it's outside of D.C. Just like every time I've gone to Nando's. I love that. I loved, it was like a small detail. I really liked Earn's shirt. That was a really nice orange shirt.

And I was like, damn. Like, Earn, he got his little Frederick Doug. He got his little Frederick Douglass part going on. I'm like, you know, like, and then the final detail, the final detail. And this was like, honestly. Donnie Beecham Jr. Yeah. Yo.

When Donny came on, I was like, yo, you look like Earn. You look like Earned. Donnie Beecher Jr. Our producer. Donnie Beacher Jr. Our producer has got this whole, he's just a swaggerjacker. Yo, Donnie, you know, he used to. Lice.

He used to be, you know, Donnie used to be in the storage unit. Now look at him. He in Atlanta. Look at him. He in Atlanta. Van, tell me if this triggering thing has ever happened to you. Sure. It, like, shocked me that it, like, triggered me so much.

A white girl stealing your hat at a party. Bro, what the fuck, dog? Yo. Hey, bro, can I ask why, though? Like, when that happened to him, all jokes aside, bro. I was, bro, when that happened to him, I was like, Why do they do that? Yeah.

Donnie, has that ever happened to you, Donnie? It hasn't, but I don't wear a lot of hats, though. So that's the thing. Yeah. Because you got that Lodom head. Yeah.

But like, but like, but like, Donnie's like one of my favorite people in the world. But like, I've had that happen. And when you, for me, whenever I was wearing a hat,

it was always about the fact that I like didn't have a haircut. Yes. Yes. Or, or some shit like that. And you get like in a black part nobody has ever,

It's never happened. But white girl just yanking your hat off your head and running away. A non-white person has never removed, has never been like you're wearing something. And I would like to put my head lice inside of your hat. Why do they do that? Seriously, why does that happen? Here, this is like a 15-year research study that I'm saying my results right now. Because it started when I went to college.

And I went to a very white college. And I would notice at parties, I'm always. always wearing my like, I was wearing like a very lids, 5950 Atlanta hat. The girl would take it, I would look over, and she's laughing and has it cocked to the side. And I'm like, oh, this is what's happening. This is what's happening.

Oh, this is, you are doing urban. You're, you're, it's giving urban. And it, um, not once made me laugh. And every single time. felt like an invasion of space. And every single time, my hair was 100% fucked up under that. A fucked up hair and they just snatch it.

Like, I'll be like, I asked my, like, one of my friends, his wife did it to me at a party. They're now married. She snatched the hat off.

I'm like, yo, and I'm like, yo, yo, man, why y'all do that, man? Give me my mother fucking hat back. Like,

why? Why you do that? Why you snatch the hat off? my head and then put it on your head. Like, I'm not that, I'm not that, I'm not that, I'm not that, I'm not that hat snatching nigger. Don't snatch my shit. Apparently for years I was. Apparently, apparently I was too.

I was giving off like snatch my hat is going to be giggles. And it never was. And like that was one of those moments where like coming back, I was like, I need to give off a different energy. I need to give off a little bit of a like, I'm not the one to steal the hat from. So like when I see something like that in a show, it makes me laugh because I'm like, this is what happens when you have writers rooms that look like this. Because someone has someone has a very similar story to me and you, which is like why they do that. And now it's an episode of television.

Absolutely. All right, you guys, that has been, remember Brown and Van Lath on episode three of Atlanta. Thumbs up, thumbs down, Rem. Thumbs up. The white man at the end said racialism. and that shit made me laugh so hard. He said the wedding is off. He said the racialism was so big

that I had to cancel my wedding because I can't keep the not unwoke white people around me because that's a reflection on me, a woke white man of esteem. Yeah, yeah. Atlanta's doing that thing they are cooking. I am going to be interested. What I'm going to start doing for each podcast

It's keeping tabs on social with how people are enjoying the season. As Atlanta continues to grow and as this season continues to hit people in the head with amazing art, funny stuff, and thought-provoking situations. I am Van Lathen. That is Rembert Brown. You can find me, higher learning with Van Lathen and Rachel Lindsay. Remember, where are you at? At Rembert.

R-E-M-B-E-R-T. You'll find some tweets. Most of them I'll delete about five minutes after. But if you catch one, don't quote tweet it. It's going to mess up your feed. By the way, happy birthday, bro. Happy birthday. Yo, can I just say something about being 35 real quick?

Gave it to me. Just got a whole level of confidence. I feel so wise. People ask me stuff, but I'm like, here's the answer. Turn left. And they're like, damn, you seem to get it. You seem to have like a different energy. So yeah, I appreciate that.

It's nice to have made it to 35. Black Man in America. That's what we, we keep trying to put them years and them hours and them seconds on. 100% do. Press the H.T.V. Podcasts. We'll see you guys again next week.

Peace.