Atlanta Recap: Van And Earn Attend The Great Awokening

***While not a conventional recap for BNP as we discuss the impact of each episode, please note there are full spoilers for episode nine, “Juneteeth” *** Nicole: What is this show trying to do to me? Between the come-to-Jesus moments and the not-today-Satan situations, I almost got whiplash. I want to start at the beginning, but since that’s tied so closely to the end, let’s start right in the middle of this shit. No use in wading in slowly. Earn and Van are on their way to a Juneteenth party [note my voice rising towards the end of that sentence because “party” don’t capture what that was]. So Earn and Van are at this gathering, pretending to not only be together, but to be married. What in the respectability politics is going on here? We get the context in the car ride over: whoever is throwing this party knows people and can help Van (and therefore the daughter she co-parents with Earn). Okay. But they have to pretend on so many levels to be other people. First, not only are they not married, but Van scooped Earn up at some other literally nameless and faceless woman’s house and took him to this party knowing he smell like a mix between weed and one night stands. (Let me just take a moment to appreciate the placement of the show’s title on the small of the back of Earn’s playmate. It’s the little things that keep me excited.) Second, it doesn’t seem like Van warned Earn at all about any of this. Especially not about playing the role of “Mr. Hubby” and I know I’d need at …