Atlanta turns into a quiet family drama
Earn, Van, and Lottie embark on a camping trip in “Snipe Hunt”
TV Reviews Atlanta
Compared to the last three episodes of Atlanta, a truly stellar run of laugh-out-loud examples of the show’s chameleonic modes, “Snipe Hunt” is very chill. There’s no city landmarks or intricate surrealist set pieces; the conflict is interior instead of introducing some random antagonist like Nando or Zan. We don’t meet any new characters other than the brief appearance by the campground owner, which may be a record for this show. Instead, director Hiro Murai and writer Francesca Sloane produce a quiet family drama in the middle of a vast campground, focusing on characters and giving us more time with Earn, Van, and Lottie as a family unit.
Atlanta hasn’t spent extensive time in a rural setting since “Woods” (which Murai also directed). Back then, the woods were dark and menacing, even in the daytime, but “Snipe Hunt” has more of a dreamy, naturally sunlit vibe similar to the post-pandemic scenes from Murai’s work on Station Eleven. (If you didn’t catch Station Eleven, watch it. Please.)
Even though the forest is absolutely gorgeous, there also seems to be a hint of menace. At first, I thought it was just because I don’t fuck with nature like that, but there’s also a subversion in the shot composition. In the bookended shots where Earn and Van are loading and unloading the cars, they’re seen far away, like we’re peeking through the trees. There’s that great shot where Earn’s peeing and something emerges out of focus behind him, but it’s just Van and Lottie also peeing. Then there’s the moment of Lottie looking into the trees, like someone—maybe the campground host and his wife—is spying on her from a distance. Once I stopped getting close to the screen looking for some Haunting of Hill House hidden ghosts, I realized the voyeuristic framing can also signify an intimacy that comes from being alone with others in this vast landscape.
Once they arrive at the campsite, the trip isn’t the best ever or a catastrophe. It’s just slightly awkward. Van has obviously camped before (because of course she has), but Earn doesn’t really know what he’s doing. He tries to fashion a multi-room tent to a porch, but apparently a tent that large means they won’t have enough body heat to stay warm. While hiking later, he suggests crossing a river that would obviously sweep them away if they tried. Though Van brushes it all off, Lottie’s off in her own world, and as time goes on it becomes clear that she would rather address her mom than her dad. She even says while fishing that she wishes her grandma and grandpa were there.
While Earn’s frustrated by the distance between he and Lottie, it makes sense. The six-year-old would probably want to be around people she’s more familiar with; we saw in “Work Ethic!” that her and Van’s relationship is very strong, and Grandma babysits her and takes her to Kirkwood Chocolate movies. Like Earn says, the three of them hanging out doesn’t happen all the time, and it’s awkward. Assuming Earn is working more and not around as much as he was in the earlier seasons, there’s a strain between the father and daughter that will take more quality time to heal. Which won’t be easy if they’re three time zones apart.
When Van and Earn finally have the L.A. conversation, after a day of enjoying nature, it’s clear that they both have issues to get off of their chest. Van says the quiet part out loud, that Earn’s trying to spend his way into Lottie’s heart with extravagances like renting out the whole campground. This big-money Earn seems more of a fan of throwing money at a problem than having personal accountability (see “The Homeliest Little Horse”), and there’s a valid concern about whether a move would change anything regarding his relationships with Van and Lottie. Van says she would rather stay in Atlanta, where she has familiarity and friends, not to mention support from Lottie’s grandparents. Van fears that Earn sees her as a “security blanket,” and it’s fair to wonder whether Earn would move her out and then leave her and Lottie to their own devices, without investing time in them as a family.
When Earn restarts the talk in the tent, it’s very natural, with him fumbling around, getting his thoughts out, and coming off as cocky. He then says he wants to be a family, but with a focus on Lottie, pointing out that she’s “the physical manifestation of what happens when we get together.” (Again, Sloane’s script is brilliant.) Once Earn can finally get the words out and admit that he loves Van as a woman, not just as Lottie’s mom, it seems to surprise her. The pair’s relationship has wavered from romantic to friendly to perfunctory, but from Van’s expression, it seems like she assumed that he would always be around due to obligation, not desire. This is the most vulnerable we’ve ever seen Earn outside of therapy. It really seems like something has changed in him since Europe, maybe because that was a moment where Van actually felt far away, like he could lose her. Either way, Van sees his sincerity and says yes, even though it will likely take some weeks of actions to back up his words before she’s all in.
I skipped over the actual snipe hunt from which the episode gets its name, but it’s the part of the plot that should become a classic family anecdote, mentioned offhandedly by Earn and Van as Lottie grows and they reminisce about her childhood through the years. When I first read the episode title, I definitely thought, like Earn did, that “snipe” would mean something racist, which means I fell for the same joke that he and younger Van did. The snipe hunt’s apparently an outdoor tradition, where newbies are tricked into searching for some mysterious animal with some made-up hunting strategy. The part where Lottie actually catches some hissing, land-eel-looking thing? Just a highlight of Atlanta’s Marks family vacation.
Stray observations
- I have never considered the purpose of sleeping bags besides, like, making sure you don’t touch dirt as you sleep (or a tent as shelter). That whole body heat thing does make sense!
- I always have an existential question when it comes to stunting: Is it that you have the money to burn, or does it just show that a salesperson/influencer/Instagram was able to convince you to get the flashiest, most unnecessary thing? (For the tent, the REI salesperson wins.)
- You know when people say a kid has “been here before”? Lottie gives that vibe, between the moodiness and catching the toad.
- Earn says he’s been dreaming of Van since Amsterdam, but they didn’t hook up until London. Amsterdam is where she started acting strange, though.
- Van’s “It’s a little Kanye being passionate…” can take you a bit out of the scene, but I get why the joke is there. Earn’s throwing a lot of emotion at her at that moment.
- The more I think about it, the more I love that this is just a chill episode. Atlanta’s proving that it can pull off anything, including familial slice-of-life.
- The needle drops of Sade’s “Your Love Is King” and “Love is Stronger Than Pride” bookending the trip are so lovely.
- The question Earn asks, “What’s so great about Atlanta that you can’t leave it behind?” It means little in the context of the possible move, but it is a theme I expected this season overall to explore more. So far, if anything, we’ve seen Al reckon with that question the most, as he gets reminders of his past and looks into a possible future. Earn’s been ready to cut and run maybe since those first therapy conversations, but he has already left before (for Princeton). It could be easier for him to leave. Basically, I’ve been waiting for the Earn and Al conversation about Earn’s move all season.
29 Comments
While some concern for Lottie’s relationship with her father is valid, for an episode full of subtle expressions of character it is of no small significance to see her in the last shot observing her parents from the back seat, looking at her father with certain regard and then reacting with a smile at her mother shown laughing just the moment before.
Austin Elle Fisher played that moment and others perfectly. She’s a very talented kid.
And she doesn’t have to do this if she doesn’t want to!
That was a great lowkey episode. Lottie’s smile at the end was everything.But what was the reason for filming it like it was a show from 2000 with the 4:3 aspect and everything?
Yeah, the 4:3 was another thing that made me think this was going to turn into some kind of horror episode. I honestly first thought it was something Hulu was doing.
I think the 4:3 aspect ratio was meant to evoke an old 8mm home movie.
I, too, noticed the letterboxing. I thought I was going to get a Westworld type reveal where this was in the past, or a fantasy, lol.
I think it was done to portray just the sheer vastness of their environment. They did a great job of making the viewer acknowledge, “wow, this really is an abandoned campground.”
Very much a sequel to the season 2 episode “Helen.” Both begin with shots of Earn and Van driving in the forest. “Helen” features an empty child car seat, and Lottie is not featured in the episode. “Snipe Hunt” however, features Lottie as the binding element for the parents. I like it.
Anyone who watched the episode… does Station Eleven or Haunting of Hill House have anything to do with what’s going on here… or did the author just watch them recently?
Station Eleven was also directed by Hiro Murai. That’s the only connection there.
It’s very very focused on natural beauty, like this episode, and relationships between people. Thematically similar I would say.
“It’s a little Kanye being passionate…” Without the captioning, I thought he said “It’s a little [like] Kanye being possessive.” I think that my error is more accurate. But if Earn said this, it would suggest that he’s far more self-aware than he actually is.
Wasn’t it Van who said that?
Yes, she did.
Good catch! I’m watching the episode again and Van says it at 26:25. I still think that “possessive” describes Kanye better, but no one asked me to edit the script, so… lol
Earn was trying to express his love and desire for Van beyond being the mother of his child. You know…passion.
Earn should have just said “ I love you and I want to be with you for the rest of my life.” But…all men have been there and didn’t say that. It’s our own fault and love is “Stronger than Pride.” We should’ve said it when we had the chance.
Nah, some of us aren’t emotionally stunted.
I really enjoyed this episode. Very beautiful and dreamlike while also feeling very grounded when it cam to Van and Earn showing how comfortable and familiar they are with each other. It’s really a credit to the show that they can have such tonally different episodes and still have everything work.
I loved that the episode was sweet and uneasy in equal parts. Really nice and subtle. Just like this show to sucker punch you with some low-key realism when you least expect it.
Fantastic write-up, Quinci. I arrived late to Atlanta, as a non-TV viewer who’s never really maintained a steady diet of shows to keep up with. I basically speed-ran through the first two seasons within a week last year.Needless to say, Atlanta has since become my one and only mandatory watch.“Snipe Hunt” was a beautiful portrait of contemporary family units, relatable in its depiction of the unique challenges faced when relationships are strained, or simply too much time has passed. The love is there, it just has to be drawn out. Kind of like a snipe.As the author stated, this was possibly the most vulnerable we’ve seen Earn. For the most part, he’s maintained a cold and business-like detachment from Al since stabilizing his career and piling up that paper, paternal instincts in “New Jazz” notwithstanding. He approached therapy in a noncommittal way, and pulled out entirely once forced to address uncomfortable trauma. While he cares for his parents, they’re now strange ships passing in the night. His parents seem to feel they’ve fulfilled their obligation as Earn’s emotional support, and his failure at Princeton might’ve been the final straw. His parents seem nonplussed—if not completely disinterested—in his chosen career path. Nevertheless, things like his fathers detachment don’t seem to phase him outside of the moment.In this recent episode, we find Earn acknowledges Van and Lottie as the only thing in this life—the only uncomfortable, awkward, occasionally ugly thing—worth steering into, and it speaks volumes about the transformation Earn has gone through, both as a man and a provider. It’s a wonderful bookend for an intricate, fallible character whose personal journey and priorities have shifted so much in just a few short years.Van’s reaction in the tent felt so genuine. It’s clear Van never envisioned herself as anything beyond a baby mama to Earn; someone to maintain a cordial, if not occasionally fiery relationship with, but for the benefit of their daughter. The weight of that moment was tangible for her, and Zazie knocked it out of the park.I will miss this show, and the unique tapestry of stories and characters it has managed to weave together these past three seasons. I’m dubious that the Marks family rides off to L.A. in the sunset, but I would be pleased to find that’s the outcome.Sidenote: In the closing scene, I got big “Magnolia” (1999) vibes from Lottie. Very, very similar sort of quick cut ending with a smile. Intentional nod?
Sidenote to the sidenote: You could seriously cue up Sade at an insurance seminar, I would probably still sit through it. The woman improves any medium she touches.
Also I have no idea why I thought this was season 3 when it’s clearly season 4.
Earn seems to have become a good capitalist. It looks like he’s begun to take a lot of things for granted and there’s this sense that he might lose everything. I don’t think Glover is going to let his characters off that easily. White supremacy is always waiting for a slip-up – or creating it.
The title alone reminded me of that Camp Lazlo ep where Scoutmaster Lumpus pranks the scouts into hunting for a snipe. Didn’t realize the snipe thing was so common lolSide note, been loving how they’ve been integrating Lottie into this season, her actress is doing great work fleshing her out/making her believable as a 6 year old.
The snipe hunt was also the plot of a very funny episode of Cheers, back in season 3, I think. I guess that would be about thirty five years ago!
It was also in an episode of King of the Hill.
Nice episode.Van was afraid Earn would use her as his “security blanket”. But she is literally his blanket. Earn doesn’t know how to stay “warm”. He uses his money to buy a too big tent, ignorant of the fact that it would be too cold for them. Just throwing money at the problem like someone said.At night he’s cold. Just like he’s relationshiop to his family is. When he’s allowed to lie next to Lottie he gets a little warmer. But still cold. It’s only after he really tell he’s feelings about Van that he’s allowed to lie next to her. And for the first time he’a warm again. He is whole.
Probably in the minority here, but I don’t think Van is worth it.
She’s kind of a shithead. I get why a lot of her behavior is there, but I don’t really see much as to why Earn would be so into her. Then again, he too is kind of a shithead.