Atlanta Recap: One Way Or Another, Van Is Going To Get This Work

***While not a conventional recap for BNP as we discuss the impact of each episode, please note there are full spoilers for episode six, “Value” *** Season: 1 / Episode: 6 / FX Network Nicole: Yes, I’m happy that we got a Van episode with only brief appearances by Earn and Alfred, but I’m not sure how I feel about the actual episode. Let’s start with Jayde and the friendship that wasn’t. [deep and weary sigh]. Jayde is on one level a caricature of black womanhood; she’s the gold digging-but-cultured groupie on the come up. I’ve seen this character before and so to see her again, here, was disappointing because this portrayal didn’t complicate the trope. And maybe that’s not entirely fair because we do see layers being added with a continuation of the show’s critique of persona-building and social media through her and the world’s most awkward moment as she takes a picture of her food while Van watches in disbelief. This ties Jayde to Zan and Van to Alfred as they mirror the robbing-a-toddler scene. William: So I was very curious as to what you would think of Jayde’s appearance and what exactly that meant to her relationship with Van. It is an interesting turn to see Van be insecure when I imagine that she often makes Earn insecure in some fashion just because she has her shit together more than him. The persona that was Jayde is pretty familiar and ultimately not likable (which may have been the point). The two moments that stuck out to me were of course the fight followed by…