Juneteenth

"**Juneteenth**" is the ninth episode of the first season of *Atlanta*. It is the ninth episode of the series overall. It was released on October 25, 2016 on FX.

## Premise

Why my Auntie trying to make me go to one of these bougie Junteenth parties again? I don't like them sadity people and I'm gonna miss my shows. Le sigh.

## Plot

Earnest Marks wakes up in a woman's bed and smokes until his phone buzzes, causing him to spring up and hastily get dressed. The woman asks if he is coming back tonight and he tells her that he is not, and thanks her for her hospitality. Vanessa Keifer is waiting for him in her car and they drive off. She asks if he is high and he responds with "not really," making her sigh. He rolls down the window and she rolls it back up, not wanting the wind to mess up her hair, and they begin silently fighting by rolling it up and down until she snaps at him to leave it. She reminds him that the event they are going to her is good for both her and their daughter, Earn noting "why else do you think I'd be here?" in response to the latter.

Their destination is revealed to be a Juneteenth party at the mansion of Craig and Monique Allen, an interracial couple that Van is hoping to use to make connections. Monique greets them at the door and Earn, at Van's behest, introduces himself as her husband. As they walk inside, he notices their staff is all black and jokingly asks if they are up for auction, eliciting a laugh from Monqiue. White Craig introduces himself to the couple and muses that Earn looks familiar to him, asking if he met at a country club, and Earn flatly states that he must have confused him for a different black man. Craig asks if does not think he is capable of telling black men apart and Earn awkwardly plays it off until Craig laughs, stating he was just joking. Van asks Earn to get her a drink at the bar and he complies, but finds they are only serving slavery-themed drinks such as the "Underground Rumroad" and the "Forty Acres and a Moscow Mule". Earn orders the "Plantation Master Poison." Monique sharply orders the staff to smile and tells Van that she reminds her of herself, and that they are going to do great work together.

Earn enters Craig's study and finds it filled with photos of influential black men and African memorbilia. He pays particular attention to a painting of a shirtless black man killing a massive griffin-like monster and Craig enters behind him, reciting a Malcolm X quote about freedom that he says inspired the painting. As he makes Earn a real drink, Earn notes that he has an "interesting" interpretation of the quote, and Craig responds that it is the only interpretation of the quote, because it "accurately depicts the plight of the contemporary black man." He is delighted to learn that Earn is a music manager and that "a brother is on the business side of music" because of his belief that black musicians are puppets for white appropriation. Earn realizes he is drinking Hennessy. He asks if Craig is an archeologist of African studies, (he is actually an optometrist) noting a picture of him in Africa. Craig explains it was a "pilgrimage" to "pay my respects, ask for forgiveness." Craig is shocked to learn that Earn has never been to Africa and asks where his roots are, and Earn bluntly states that "I don't know. This spooky thing called 'slavery' happened and my entire ethnic identity was erased" causing Craig to chuckle and say "exactly."

Earn asks Van if they can leave early, comparing their surroundings to a "Spike Lee-directed *Eyes Wide Shut*" and notes that decorations on a buffet table are meant to look like slave ships. Stretched thin, Van snaps and asks if Earn thinks she is truly happy having to put up with the party for a job opportunity and if he thinks she is happy that she needs to be around him for the opportunity. He snidely responds to both questions with "maybe." Exasperated, she asks "can we, for once, just pretend that we aren't who we are?" Earn and Van chat up a playwright, who tells them about her upcoming play *With Tail Between Legs* about two gang members who hold several people hostage in a strip club in the middle of Hurricane Katrina. The (white) playwright insists that "black Americans have to keep fighting for good art" as the couple continue to pander to her. They later awkwardly try to placate the reverend of a megachurch.

When asked what he does by a trio of women from the Jack and Jill of America organization, Earn states that he does nothing but support Van and praises her for her hard work and endless contributions, stating that "gun to my head, I don't think I could even look at another woman." As he kisses her cheek, an overwhelmed Van awkwardly leaves. She restrains her tears in the bathroom and murmurs "what the fuck am I doing?" before going back out. Earn stops her and asks what is wrong. She tells him that he is mean and leaves to go drink when he apologizes. Monique stops her and leads her away, and Craig has Earn sit in on his poetry reading. Van and Monique go to the balcony and joke about Craig's obsession with black culture. Monique notes that she married him because "can't eat unless you open your mouth." She confirms that she married him only for money and states that "the only way to stay fed in this world is to keep the right company." Van asks if she wishes she had someone to confide in, as it is obvious that Craig does not understand her. She equates it to something Craig had her read: "it is redundant to be both black and sorry in the world." Van notes that she is quoting Tyler Perry's *For Colored Girls*.

Earn listens to Craig's Jim Crow-laden poetry and zones out until a guest accidentally bumps into him, and he recognizes the smell of Red Bull and vodka from the man's drink. The man points him to the bar and he moves towards it until he is stopped by two young valets, who know he is an associate of Alfred Miles and want to take a picture of him. Earn insists it is not a good time as one of them tries to give him his fan sister's panties to give to Al until Monique, Craig and Van appear, the former swiftly ordering the boys out. Craig asks Earn what he thought of his poetry and realizes Earn works with Al when the valets mention him, making him doubly excited. A massive fan, Craig explains who Al is to Monique, who is less passionate about Earn when she learns Al is a rapper. She becomes passive-aggressive when Craig mentions the shooting Al was involved in and asks Earn if he is going to shoot up the party, and he flatly responds that he "wasn't planning on it." When she notes that "every decent person has at least one trifling thug in the family," Earn loses his cool despite Van's protests, deriding the party as "dumb" and telling Craig to stop fronting his knowledge of black culture and telling Earn to find his genetic roots. He becomes more irate when Craig apologizes and tells him to stop being so outwardly likable as an embarrassed Van leads him out.

As they drive away, Earn apologizes to Van and she has him pull over. He asks if she is okay, and she silences him with a kiss and initiates sex.

## Trivia

* Though he is mentioned, this is the first episode where Alfred is absent this season.
* This is also the third episode this season where Darius is absent.
* There is also an easter egg in this episode where the album cover of Donald Glover's third studio album "*Awaken, My Love!*" is shown in Craig's study.