"Alligator Man" is the first episode of the second season of Atlanta. It is the eleventh episode of the series overall. It was released on March 1, 2018 on FX.
Premise[]
Ayyy! We back in the city but thangs feel a little different. Must be Robbin' Season. Free Paper Boi!
Plot[]
Curtis, a teenager, meets up with his friend Droop and they talk about popular rapper Clark County, another rapper acquaintance of theirs and his constant switching of style of music, and Curtis' inabiliy to find good weed. Droop brings up a rumor that a nearby Mrs. Winner's sells eighths if they order the "number seventeen," and they drive to it, Droop ordering with the code word. They mask themselves and Curtis jumps through the drive-through window with a gun. He hurries to the storage closet and finds the weed stored inside a barrel. He is attacked by a rifle-toting employee and flees the restaurant, and the employee fires after their car as it tries to drive away. It slows to a stop and they push a girl out, the only person in the car hit, and speed off as she starts to scream.
Earnest Marks awakens in his storage unit home to find the man who rents it to him evicting him, as his bosses know Earn is living there and will kick him out regardless. He goes to Alfred Miles' house and is greeted by an uncharacteristically dour Darius, finding that he and Al are not speaking to each other for an unknown reason. All three of them are still facing charges for their accidental involvment with a drug dealer and Al is stuck on house arrest, while Earn has Darius give him a ride to the parole office. While waiting to go, one of Al's girlfriends emerges from his bedroom and Earn accidentally confuses her with another woman, then awkwardly plays it off and she tells him to shut up. Before he leaves, he states that he does not know what is going on between Al and Darius but he loves them both, and Al's girlfriend laughs at him.
On the way to the office, Darius asks how Earn's parents are doing, and he tells him they are preparing to go to Florida to visit his terminally ill uncle Willy. Darius says he should warn them to "watch out for Florida Man," a legendary figure that he describes as an "alt-right Johnny Appleseed." Florida Man's real identity is unknown, and he is responsible for all strange crimes that occur in Florida, hence the reason why newspapers always describe the perpetrator as a "Florida man." Darius concludes to a disbelieving Earn that Florida Man is employed by the government to prevent black people from voting in Florida. At the office, Earn is told to pay three hundred and seventy-five dollars and his charges will be dropped. Getting gas, Earn and Darius notice police and a covered body around a storefront and Darius proclaims that as Christmas approaches, it is now "robbin' season" and "everybody gotta eat." Al calls Earn (refusing to speak to Darius) and asks him to go visit Willy, as his girlfriend Yvonne called Al claiming Willy kidnapped her and she is going to call the police on him.
Earn and Darius arrive at Willy's house, who has Yvonne locked in a back room for apparently stealing fifty dollars from him. He stops Earn from going into one of his rooms with rattling coming from it, claiming his pet alligator, Coach, is inside. Earn gets his keys and unlocks Yvonne's room. She insists she did not steal anything from him and Earn gives her his money, telling her to give it to Willy to tide him over and to thank Alfred for the money instead of him. The police arrive because of a noise complaint from Willy and Yvonne's arguing, the latter trying to defuse the situation while the former only further inflates it. He warns them that he will turn Coach loose on them, and his neighbors confirm to the cops that he does indeed have an alligator in his house. Earn steps in and begs the police to give him five minutes to convince Willy to come out.
Darius gazes at the alligator in fascination while Willy and Earn argue about him going out, (Willy references Florida Man and Darius gives Earn a smug look) Earn stating he is on probation and cannot risk trouble with the police. Yvonne gives him the money and tries to reason with him, but he angrily rejects her and she storms out, telling the police that Willy kidnapped her. Flabbergasted, Earn shouts at Willy that he needs to keep him intact because Al, the houseowner, asked him to, and Willy retorts that Earn is scared of losing his cousin's favor now that he is successful. Earn states that he is scared of ending up like Willy, a smart person that fell into stasis because of their attitude. Darius, not wanting to go to jail, leaves.
Earn states that he meant what he said to Willy but apologizes regardless, he is scared of Al leaving him behind, and that he said what he said because his still upset about something that happened between his mother and Willy. Willy gives him a gold-plated pistol, telling him that he will "need it in the music business" and to get rid of his confrontational attitude if he does not want to end up like him. Earn looks at a picture of Willy with his an Al's mothers, then takes it and the gun and leaves out the front, telling the cops he could not get Willy to leave. Instead of coming out, Willy releases Coach to distract the police and flees out the back.
Back at Al's, Earn informs him that Willy is not in jail. Al and Darius silently reconcile and share some weed together, laughing at the gold gun when Earn shows it to them. Al's recently released felon friend Tracy enters and joins in the mocking, and laughs "is you the landlord?" when Earn asks him if he will be staying with Al. As Earn moves to leave, Darius asks "you good?" and he confirms that he is before exiting. Earn stands outside Al's door and exhales, his breath coming out as vapor in the cold air, and walks away.
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