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…

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…

it’s not just the music industry but every white dominant space that Black and non-white folks have to move through.

I figured Khalil was a thinly veiled Deray McKesson & the dude who Al refused to believe was actually black was definitely Shaun King.  

My own opinion, but I don’t think that anyone is actually dreaming in this season. It seems obvious that Glover is using elements of African Magical Realism. Many people know of Magical Realism from Latin-American art; magical realism is about the inclusion of fantastic and mythical elements into seemingly realistic…

• Both Socks and his portrayer (Hugh Coles) are standouts.

Def confused as to Sock’s end game here. What was he hoping to accomplish by throwing his phone out? Is he just some mad agent of chaos?

I think it’s dark depending on how you feel about reparations. I thought the episode was funny and the ending with affluent black people being waited upon by smiling white folk was kinda poignant.

Really important fact you either glazed over or missed entirely: E from the bar was the same guy as the guy in the boat at the start of the season. It might recolor that first scene as well. 

Hey, Black Mirror, this is how you do speculative fiction.

I’m taking the “moral” of this story from episode 1: The white man in the boat (later E) says “with enough blood and money, anyone can be white.” Glover is a smart and sensitive writer who, I think, sees how ‘payback’ can just shift the power equation but never end it.

“What should I do?

Can confirm. Yes. The actor is Tobias Segal. It’s not only the same actor. It’s the same actor in the same wardrobe.

this is a stupid complaint to me: “there’s another technical solution to do the exact same thing”

Hi Lisa — I’ve moved on from The AV Club (just watched this Atlanta episode though and was seeking out reviews) and am now king of only occasionally reviewing shows. Currently working fulltime as a showrunner’s assistant on a TV show. I did review the first couple of episodes though for TheWrap (and if the stars align…

This is a weird reply, considering that I mentioned Latoya Ferguson by name in my previous comment. She wrote excellent tv reviews for the AV Club for years. Joshua Alston, the previous Atlanta reviewer also did a good job. No need to be defensive about this, dude, not everything was made for you.

The second person Van pushed in the pool was struggling and wasn’t coming up! Somone dived to the rescue right as it cut to commercial. I know it’s awful, but that was my biggest laugh.

Hate to say it but it’s because a lot of pop culture tv writers don’t have the proper framing or cultural knowledge to draw from, to fully explore the themes of this uniquely black and nerdy show. Glover is a blerd (I say as a blerd myself), a lot of his weird nerd shit really hits with my white nerd friends, but…

The reason Van was pushing people in the pool is the same reason dude was scamming them. They were billionaires because they were first bank in Cape Town, South Africa. Van wasn’t staring at the art. She was staring at that pic.

Love these TV ‘reviews’ which just consist of the writer recounting every single part of the plot, something superfluous for anyone who’s watched it and offputting for someone who hasn’t, without going into why anything works or doesn’t.