Atlanta takes a strange trip and drops a blockbuster cameo
Al and Darius get high and embark on an underground tour of Amsterdam in "New Jazz"
TV Reviews Lorraine
If Atlanta had let this season’s European tour end without at least one scene in which Darius and Al get high in Amsterdam, they would have squandered a natural character beat and risked a fan revolt. So here it is, the episode where the cannabis connoisseurs sample the fare at a local weed café and just let things unfold. But “New Jazz” isn’t mere fan service, and it wanders far from the path of least resistance; the setup is the least predictable thing about this deep and deeply funny episode. And then there is That Unpublicized Cameo, which exceeds all instant expectations.
So here we are in Amsterdam, as we were back in episode two of the season. Al and Darius are en route to sample the goods when they see a guy wearing a Goofy hat, huddled and shivering in a doorway. “A tourist,” says Darius. “Al—don’t be like him.” (Consider yourself foreshadowed.)
Of course, the duo’s partaking of the “Nepalese space cake” goes awry. Al and Darius get separated on their way to a spa. More Goofy hats are evident on passers-by. When Al wanders into an art gallery, the show introduces another one of its memorable guest stars: Lorraine (Ava Grey), a scenester and apparent burn machine who automatically dispenses a flurry of opinions: She hates Al’s hat (“A good friend should have told you that Chanel is for women”), hates rappers, hates art. But within minutes, she has progressed from small talk to deep dissection and has become Al’s Ghost of Christmas Future: “You have no clue where your money is,” she tells him. “Although your money is gone.” Who, she wants to know, owns his master recordings?
But no time to think about that now. Lorraine has slapped a Goofy hat on Al’s head (“Become what you fear!”) and leads him into a subterranean club, where she introduces him as “New Jazz” to the obnoxious clientele, who praise Da Baby and exhort Al to protect Dua Lipa. (A more perfect instant read on obnoxiousness I have not seen recently.)
And here we come to the Cameo Of The Season: Liam Neeson (previously the basis of a great comic moment in “Cancer Attack”) is sitting at the bar. “What did you do? Strangle a fan? Shag a teenager?” he asks Al. We see the bar’s name printed on a cocktail napkin—Cancel Club—as Neeson recounts his own real-life scandal.
The encounter is exceptionally written. It’s a comic jump shock that keeps escalating into more surprising places. Neeson—or “Neeson”—expresses contrition, then confesses that he can’t stand Black people, “because you tried to ruin my career.” Al is incredulous: “Didn’t you learn you’re not supposed to say that kind of shit?” Replies Neeson: “Aye, but I also learned the best and worst part of being white is, you never have to learn anything if you don’t want to.” In reality, Neeson weathered his controversy and continued making his blockbusters. In Atlanta’s reality, the incident doesn’t even register with Al at first—he just knows he loves Taken. This would be a bitingly funny exchange with a fictional (or fictional-fictional) character, but Neeson doing it creates something real.
The episode ends with two circular moments. Lorraine leaves Al with a few more financial home truths, and he collapses in a doorway, a mirror of the guy in the Goofy hat from the earlier scene. Ultimately, it’s revealed that Earn found Al passed out on the street and brought him back to the hotel. The last exchange of the episode packs an emotional wallop: Do we really believe that Earn, as an industry innocent, negotiated Al retaining ownership of his masters? This insecurity is a callback to the end of season two: Al was about to fire Earn—who, let’s face it, has never demonstrated brilliance at his job—and upgrade his management until Earn conducted that sleight of hand at the airport to protect him. Their alliance is built on shaky ground. But what relationship in the music industry isn’t, the show seems to ask; consider the integrity of the soil.
“New Jazz” is a powerfully creative vehicle for those themes. No matter how successful you become, exploitation and appropriation are lurking. Jazz, of course, may be Exhibit A in terms of both. Contemporary artists of all stripes continue to get taken. Al has justified anxiety about what will happen to his music and his money.
A crankier reviewer might consider Al being high a bit of a cop-out, as questionable narrative choices can be excused as the character’s literal sloppiness. For example, Cancel Club’s concept isn’t that clear. And why does Darius disappear halfway through the episode when the proceedings would have been even stronger with him there, at least for a while? The dramatic effect of things seen and done under the influence is generally diluted. But I was won over. For an episode with so much on its mind, it’s really funny. The burn quotient is particularly high. (Lorraine on an artist: “She’s kind of like white Lizzo…actually, Lizzo’s kind of like white Lizzo.”)
Yet I always want a show to do right by its characters, and I was struck by something Lorraine said as they’re entering the club: “These white people don’t want us here anyway; we might as well have some fun.” Except Atlanta’s characters never seem to. Just about everything about the European tour has ranged from irritating to borderline nightmare. We get it; the music industry is a coiled snake. But do these characters have to keep being bitten at every turn?
Stray observations
- A great comic moment: When the weed café barista asks Al if he’s ready for the experience, Al replies, “I had to see the movie Cats sober…I know extremes.” (Of course, Darius’ rejoinder is that Cats is underrated.)
- This season has given Brian Tyree Henry one well-deserved and excellent showcase after another, and he continues to deliver. Earlier this season, I thought I could watch him just do slow and rapid exasperation for an entire episode, and this was basically it.
- Continuing this season’s pattern, this episode was so well shot: Consider when Al ducks inside a door to dodge those enthusiastic teenage fans who start playing keep-away with a random infant as if it were a football—what better way to capture that the cake is kicking in and taking you to scary places—and the scenes of red-light Amsterdam at night.
- Darius’ playlist choices for their cannabis-inflected afternoon (Al gets Stereolab) are inspired.
- Another nice moment: As Al peruses someone in the red-light district window, she takes a photo of him. A celebrity can’t even shop for legal sex workers in peace.
- I would love to know how Liam Neeson was approached for his guest role and why he agreed to do it. With multiple mentions on the show, he’s almost a running gag.
- Lorraine, philosopher: “Everybody is nobody, but are you a nobody to everyone?” Try that one on your next Tinder date.
66 Comments
Between this and the new season of DERRY GIRLS, Liam Neeson cameos are all the rage these days.
I wish I could read these but Atlanta doesn’t air until 2:00 a.m. here. Though I do like a spoiler, I don’t want to be influenced by anyone else’s take.But, damn it, I saw that letter grade. Later.
RE: The header pic. Al’s got that “white people crazy” look. And, right there behind him – white people.
I know this was an Al episode and thus focused on his trip, but man, I really want to see what Darius tripping on “Nepalese space cake” is like.
100% agreed
I loved how completely in control Darius was when they started their day. Usually he’s just floating along in the background doing whatever, but in Amsterdam? He’s a man on the move. I hope the season finale is just a full hour of his day in Amsterdam.
He should just permanently move there lol
I wanted that too, then I wondered if Darius on space cake would just be like regular Darius.
I have enjoyed the one-off episodes more than this season with the group, mostly because they rarely look like they are having any fun and most of the characters inserted into each episode are odd and/or annoying (Liam the exception) but this tour is fascinating and not at all predictable—some surrealist trip and a half with everyone possessing good and bad traits. Down is up and up is down, with dizzying results just like the in-between visuals.
I know this was an Al episode and thus focused on his trip, but man, I really want to see what Darius tripping on “Nepalese space cake” is like. Read more https://dfysuiteagency.com/dfy-suite-30-agency-review/
You guys are on Atlanta Stans. This season is a meandering, pretentious mess
The “You know what they call her apartment? 106 & Park” is one of the funniest things I’ve heard on this show. Everything is just so perfectly put together.
Could you explain that reference? I know it was a show on BET, but I took it as another reference to being cancelled, because the show itself was cancelled, too.
Not at all. 106 was a mandatory stop for every hip-hop artist at the time. Anyone who was anyone “came” through there.
Ah, there it is. Thanks.
“Anyone who was anyone “came” through there.”I see what you did there
I assumed it was a reference to having sex with rappers? 106 & Park was a rap/r&b segment on BET.
106 & Park was, to be a little glib, basically a Black TRL. So there were a bunch of rap (and R&B) videos on it- like how there have been a lot of rappers in Lorraine’s apartment. Also maybe referring to how that show had a high host turnover through its run.
Its cuz she has slept with so many rappers.
The moment at the end when Al ask Earn where was Lorraine. And Earn, quizzically says, your Mother? I think that’s worth noting as another well written twist.
That exchange really moved me. It reminded me of the conversation Alfred has with the ghost of his mom in episode 8 of the second season. Maybe this Lorraine character we see, her spirit or her outlook on certain things mirrors Alfred’s actual mother. She admits to hating rappers early on when they first encounter each other in the museum, perhaps being a rapper is something Alfred’s real mom also never wanted for him. It does seem to me as something that might transpire during a hallucinogenic trip, where you are confronted with your inner demons, doubts or worries which may then take shape in the form of something you can recognize.
Yes! Thank you for mentioning this; I’m kicking myself for not including it.
lol didn’t disappoint.
You should be. This is a hugely important plot point. Wtf
I kept thinking that this episode felt a lot like a natural follow-up to the second season’s “Woods” while watching it, and that line from Earn confirmed it for me. So good.
We get it; the music industry is a coiled snake. But do these characters have to keep being bitten at every turn? it’s not just the music industry but every white dominant space that Black and non-white folks have to move through. Every single episode this season has given multiple examples of this. This is life for us, the coiled snake is everywhere, conference room, the fancy party, cubicle, storeroom floor, sidewalk, street, restaurant, office and on and on. I think you forgot about this when writing this paragraph.
Thank you for bringing this up. Just to be transparent, I wrestled with this closing line when writing it—I didn’t want to discount systemic racism or the show’s focus on it—and ultimately went with it as a style choice, a writer’s affect. I like these characters so much, I want to see them experience a bit more joy. I didn’t mean to minimize the reality of what non-white people experience on a daily, even hourly, basis.
I’m struck by how, even though I like the characters, they don’t seem to like *each other* all that much. Darius did say “no matter what, know that I love you,” but his refusal to pay for shit (which, he is definitely mooching off of Al’s success) speaks otherwise. Also, all of Earn’s concerns at the end could just be him being a good manager. I feel like there needs to be a reckoning soon; either they need to grow closer or shit’s gonna fall apart.
The article suggests that Earn could easily be lying here, but I felt like the show was saying just the opposite. Anyone who’s done psychedelic drugs know (mind)set and setting determine how the trip goes. The beginning of the episode is seeded with a bunch of stuff that later gets magnified during the trip.
Darius being cheap (mostly just poor), the hat thing, being stereotyped as a typical whatever. When we finally get to the big climax, it’s his deepest issue – the fear that everyone around him is really just there for the perks.
The way it ends, with Earn taking care of Al to the extent that he changed the man’s clothes? Even if we reason that there’s a good chance he’s lying based on previous events, the show is pretty strongly suggesting that Earn is dispelling his cousin’s insecurities here.
“In reality, Neeson weathered his controversy and continued making his blockbusters.”Sorry, which “blockbusters” do you mean?
I am going to start watching this show on the strength of this review. Don’t even know why I clicked it, but…Atlanta sounds hilarious.
Stray observations- What happened to Al’s purple hat? I was distressed after the swap in the museum to the Goofy shit.
With that ending, where maybe we’re supposed to doubt Earn, I’m thinking again about how we’re meant to doubt Van didn’t steal in an earlier episode. We’re filled with these moments questioning the presented reality. Is that the head we’re coming to at the end of the season?I’ve noticed that Earn has been incredibly competent this season. Is this the ultimate misperception? As much as he seems to be holding it down, there may be breaks at the seams we’ll ultimately find. (Although I like my original interpretation of things being that in the upside down world is Europe Earn is the only one who can keep his head on straight.)
Are we supposed to doubt Earn? My read on the ending was far less cynical than the review’s. And it is in part, because Earn has become a better manager. Here, Al just went on an oddessy where his pixie dream guide had him doubting everything about who he is and what he’s got, and in the end when he projects those doubts on Earn, it is revealed that yes, he owns his own masters. Earn’s got his back. He always has. I found it reassuring, after such a pessimistic journey.
That’s what I hope the real takeaway is. I just keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. Things have been going too well for Earn. I don’t mind it, but that’s not usually what this show is.
Earn suddenly having the business side figured out after being out of his depth for so long just makes me think there’s another shoe to drop. I’m starting to wonder if he maybe he’s made something shady on the side.
I mean, it’s been at least a year since the events of season 2, so not really “suddenly”
Yeah, I feel like since the first season, there has been an internal conflict between Al’s insecurities about the fact that his friends and family might be taking advantage of him and that their inexperience and level of competence could hurt his career and his understanding that they’re also the only ones who might have any non-monetary reason to care about what happens to him. It works because both things seem to be at least partially true, but I think they show has pretty consistently come down on the latter side, albeit with some caveats.
That’s how I first read it, but this review is reminding me of the context from the past seasons. Maybe Earn *is becoming a better manager, but Al is still clearly hung up on what exactly their relationship is. Lines have gotten very blurry; does Earn actually care about Al, or is he just being a good manager?
“he collapses in a doorway, a mirror of the guy in the Goofy hat from the earlier scene”-I took it, that it was actually him, and they were one and the same. Perhaps one of the show’s strongest examples of Afrosurrealism this season.
You can see people dressed as Al and Darius walking past in the background. That WAS supposed to be him. Yes, it was surreal as hell (actually reminded me of Polanski’s “The Tenant”…damn, I wish that dude wasn’t who he was. He’s an incredible filmmaker), and also, the Neeson cameo was genius. Don’t do drugs, y’all!
And you can hear those people in the background saying the same dialogue that Al and Darius said as they walked by the first time. Definitely a fun little time loop thing happening there.
Don’t do drugs UNLESS you wanna find out some shit about yourself.
It was a fun twist, but I don’t think one can call it Afro-surrealism. This particular element in storytelling has been around for a loooong time. An easy (a relatively recent, but not really recent) example was how it was used time and time again in the Back To The Future films, which wasn’t exactly Afro-surreal, ha. And yes, it was him.
It’s really not at all like Back to the Future, a movie that has literal time travel by way of time machine. This here is an unexplained, shifting-perspective quasi-magical situation. More like Toni Morrison than Robert Zemeckis.
Maybe. That’s sorta fair. But if you want stay in the vein of unexplained, shifting-perspective, quasi magical type of story, we can look at some examples like “The Sixth Sense” or “The Shining”. “A Christmas Carol” going back farther was Dickens in the 1840’s and fits the criteria, which was surely influenced by fables and parables that were written well before even that era. I’m not trying to argue about it, I’m just saying that it’s not a super original story arc.
Darius disappeared because otherwise he would be able to talk Al through the trip. It reminds me of one of my favorite Darius moments: when Vanessa’s friend reacts badly to a weed gummy, freaks out, and nobody can find her. Cut to her sitting by the pool talking to Darius. The moment we see him talking her through it, we know she’s going to be okay.
On-topic: I can’t believe they got Liam Neeson to agree to that scene. Wow. Just wow.
I want Lorraine to stick around. Great character. Made quite an impression.
Liam Neeson and Brian Tyree Henry were both in Steve McQueen’s WIDOWS. They didn’t share scenes but I wonder if they got to know each other and that’s the key to why Neeson would trust playing such an incendiary version of himself. The turn halfway through his scene was jaw-dropping, turning what I thought was a chance to double down on an apology into a TV moment I still can’t believe really happened.
The annoyed performance artist was fantastic. If nothing else, the theme this season is “victimization.”
Big picture-wise, I’ve been wondering about the use and meaning of the Salvidore Dali-esque Season 3 theme picture and I’m wondering if the theme is about drug use. In the 5 epis with the boys now (Van, where are you, girl?),have we seen any epi where no one got high? It’s one thing to let yourself go on your home turf but are we seeing the downside of doing that in a strange land? How much is what happened going to affect Al and his relationship with his career, with celebrity, with Darius, and with Earn? I’ve known a few people who have woken up in the gutter – to some it was a huge wake-up call, to others it was just another night. But if this was all in Al’s head as a drug trip, this has to be seen as his sub-conscious sending out a huge “Danger Will Robinson” sign – the questions he was asking himself. (I actually thought he looked quite dope in that first hat – so what does his sub-conscious making him change into the Goofy hat mean?) Theres also the analogy that one takes drugs expecting to have a great time -the same as the expectation of a being a famous rap star on European tour would have to be awesome yet it doesnt seem like anyone is really having fun. Its kind of a nightmare filled with weird bizarre people whereever they go. Have they interfaced with anyone at all “normal”? Maybe the manager of the Budapest venue, but who else? I am having a difficult time imagining Al taking a deep look at himself after this and deciding that this is the world and these are the kind of people in it that he wants to continue to inhabit.We’ve been thrown off-balance by the unexpectedly different and varying nature of the epis this season – could Donald Glover and Company be so outre as to using his platform to send a “drugs agent always cool” message? Or just this particular vehicle to give Al a wake-up call to re-evaluate?Whatever it is, I dearly hope this was all just the drugtrip – that image of the lads playing toss the baby is still immensely bothering me.
This episode reminds me of a time I was studying abroad in Argentina. I walked halfway across the city, was supposed to meet up with a girl, she called and cancelled, so I rather morosely looked around, and went into a nearby art museum. It was a strange layout; it was L-shaped, with the exhibits on a slanted walkway leading up. The higher up it I went, the more the sun went down, and the darker the museum got. I got to the top, and the hallway led into a long dark room. At the end, a black-and-white video was playing; all you could see were people’s feet, shuffling about in a dark alleyway, and all you could hear was their footsteps, and loud industrial banging. No-one else was there. It freaked me out. There was a door at the end of the room, so I went through, and somehow, I was on the roof of the museum. The sun had set, and the lights of the city were emerging. I was surrounded by giant art pieces and statues lit up in rainbow colors. To this day the most surreal thing I’ve ever experienced. I felt like I had passed beyond the veil for a moment; to have terror and beauty right next to each other, with next to no barrier. I wouldn’t be surprised if, when I left, I turned around and the museum wasn’t there anymore.
sigh. i just counted thirteen (13!) individual instances in this piece where the reviewer was simply praising the show for being good/funny. my guy, we are all here for the recaps because WE ENJOY THE SHOW and want to discuss the episode in detail. we don’t need a book report of the plot and we don’t need you commenting that you liked something or thought it was funny. that is not analysis. it’s wild to me that TV Club used to be the home for some of the most well-written, in-depth cultural criticism on the internet and now we’ve got someone who doesn’t even understand the show they’re tasked with recapping. (ie: how did you not pick up on the super obvious fact that the man huddled in the alley was actually Al??)there are major elements of Afrosurrealism and cultural context that are being entirely ignored here; if you’re not up to the task of reviewing the show with the critical lens required to do so, you should really pass this assignment off to someone else next season. (if AVC hasn’t stripped the site for parts by then.)
I’ve been noticing a general switch from thoughtful “reviews” to “recaps” everywhere lately. My theory on it is that because some idiots were loud on the internet that “reviewers don’t know shit” etc. because they were critical of their guilty peasure viewing or whatever…. basically it now seems standard to do recaps instead of reviews so as not to challenge and frustrate we the masses. We did this to ourselves.
Don’t worry Michael Martin will probably comment on your comment soon apologizing for his incompetence while continuing to be paid for his incompetence.
Thought I’d be transparent and foster some discussion about the show, which we could all have together, since we’re all watching it together. But you know what, you’re right. Forget it. I’ll just sit here and silently spend all this money I’ve earned for my incompetence until someone better can take over.
🤭
What is TV Club?
Lorraine vibes
Good god you’re insufferable
TL:DR! Were you so impressed/disappointed you needed to rewrite the article?
Please do us all a favor and get over yourself. Or better yet, bless us with this mind bending and provocative prose that seems so obvious to a cultural genius like yourself.
Came to read these comments to see if you’d praise commenters again and claim “I wish I’d written that” yet again this week like a true professional. It’s really annoying to read these reviews each week followed by more nuanced criticisms in the comments sections and you, the one being paid, apologizing for the article in the comments.
Can we just have someone else?
I just watched this episode on Monday of the next week. That’s how far Atlanta has fallen down my priority tv watching rankings. It’s really a become a nothing show this season. And really wants you to think it’s brilliant.
What was up with Loraine just straight-up disappearing when they were seated at the club?