I am very good at relating to fictional characters (that might say a lot about me, actually), and I know how much it sucks to be broke. Actually, it sucks very much. This show has done such a beautiful work of making these characters relatable and put them in very realistic situations that engage with the audience. The first two episodes have done a great job of setting up this world and setting up these characters to the point where we know so much about them. We know that Earnest is not the best at making money, but that he still has a good sense for business, which is something that Paper Boi (who makes a fair amount of money) could really use. I have a rule that I won't quit a show before I watched three episodes of it, because I believe that a show really needs three episodes in order to get going. Not in the meaning that I wouldn't continue to watch the show if this episode wasn't any good, but I would still like to have three episodes before I decide. While this episode isn't as good as the first two, it was still a very enjoyable episode with great writing.
Once again, Stephen Glover is behind writing the episode, and he is proving hmself as real force when it comes to comedic writing. What he does in this episode is that he uses the chemistry to pair up the right people. It's no question that Donald Glover and Zazie Beetz have amazing chemistry together, because they really do, but he also gives Brian Tyree Henry and Lakeith Stanfield their own little subplot, because they have great chemistry too. It's the perfect mashup of characters that this show could possibly have, so this episode felt very confined in that episode, which I really enjoyed. A comedy doesn't have to have a straight narrative through all the episode, and this show is really using that to create some memorable standalone episodes.
There is also a great balance in the writing, because it is very clear that Glover gives the comedic moments to Henry and Stanfield, because their story calls for the more funny moments, while Glover and Beetz' story already has that lighthearted element going in. And the banter between Henry and Stanfield is so hilarious and they have some great and subtle moments together. They have always had some great lines, but I feel like they really got to give something in this episode that they hadn't in the last two.
This episode also addresses something that I have been thinking about during the last two episodes. These are very stereotypical characters in some ways, and while I didn't know if that was on purpose or if it just came to be like that, I always noticed it and let it go. However, in this episode, Beetz' character comments on the notion that she is being shown as the "stereotypical black woman," which I thought was a great way to address the fact that the writers are fully aware that these are stereotypical characters and has nothing against it. It might be easy writing in some ways, but it also works.
I think that Zazie Beetz stole this episode with her performance. It wasn't that showy, but it was just enough that she managed to steel the show from Donald Glover, which is not an easy thing to do, because Glover is amazing. There is one scene towards the end of the episode where Glover has a very cliché monologue, and instead of doing the expected thing, Beetz has the best comeback that I could have imagined and that made me really appreciate her performance.
This episode, however, did get a bit confusing at times, and I think it was a little bit tonally uneven. It didn't become a straight-up drama, but it did feature some very dark things that left me a little confused. But, when you think about it, that really isn't that big of a deal when the rest of the episode was kind of amazing.
Once again, Stephen Glover is behind writing the episode, and he is proving hmself as real force when it comes to comedic writing. What he does in this episode is that he uses the chemistry to pair up the right people. It's no question that Donald Glover and Zazie Beetz have amazing chemistry together, because they really do, but he also gives Brian Tyree Henry and Lakeith Stanfield their own little subplot, because they have great chemistry too. It's the perfect mashup of characters that this show could possibly have, so this episode felt very confined in that episode, which I really enjoyed. A comedy doesn't have to have a straight narrative through all the episode, and this show is really using that to create some memorable standalone episodes.
There is also a great balance in the writing, because it is very clear that Glover gives the comedic moments to Henry and Stanfield, because their story calls for the more funny moments, while Glover and Beetz' story already has that lighthearted element going in. And the banter between Henry and Stanfield is so hilarious and they have some great and subtle moments together. They have always had some great lines, but I feel like they really got to give something in this episode that they hadn't in the last two.
This episode also addresses something that I have been thinking about during the last two episodes. These are very stereotypical characters in some ways, and while I didn't know if that was on purpose or if it just came to be like that, I always noticed it and let it go. However, in this episode, Beetz' character comments on the notion that she is being shown as the "stereotypical black woman," which I thought was a great way to address the fact that the writers are fully aware that these are stereotypical characters and has nothing against it. It might be easy writing in some ways, but it also works.
I think that Zazie Beetz stole this episode with her performance. It wasn't that showy, but it was just enough that she managed to steel the show from Donald Glover, which is not an easy thing to do, because Glover is amazing. There is one scene towards the end of the episode where Glover has a very cliché monologue, and instead of doing the expected thing, Beetz has the best comeback that I could have imagined and that made me really appreciate her performance.
This episode, however, did get a bit confusing at times, and I think it was a little bit tonally uneven. It didn't become a straight-up drama, but it did feature some very dark things that left me a little confused. But, when you think about it, that really isn't that big of a deal when the rest of the episode was kind of amazing.