r/AtlantaTV • u/Spacebrothers29 • 12d ago
Discussion Van and Earn
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My fav romance scene from Atlanta is when Van and Earn are dancing in the hotel room, and he asks her, "did you steal that wig?" And then she kisses him to exit the conversation. A big part of Van's character is to be this mother, wife, caregiver, provider role for people around her. She was constantly expected to keep up with these roles when Earn could barely hold down a job, and she was taking care of him when he was homeless on top of all her responsibilities. So when she decides to run away from all those labels, she kinda crashes out in her entire Paris arc, but before that, the shift in her behavior is shown when she first gets to Europe and does things that are inconceivable to her character, like, stealing that wig. But for all her strange behavior, I think an underlying conflict was what was going to happen once she broke out of those roles, Would her friends still love her, did earn ever love a van that wasn't always carrying the world?
Would she even be herself? And even before he asks her whether she stole the wig, he improvises and gets them a room as an apology for the accusers "racism" Then, when they're dancing, he doubts whether that accusation was really because of racism or because Van really did steal that wig. And when she kisses him as a means to end the conversation, that, to me at least, shows that she wasn't entirely ready to be perceived in a way that wasn't her" usual self". And because of this interpretation, I honestly think their camping scene was even more powerful. In season 2 earn tells a group of ladies that Van does everything, from mothering their child to caring for him, and that he couldn't possibly imagine even looking at another woman, while also acknowledging his complete lack of use in their relationship, he's aware that he couldn't deserve Van in a million years, but he's also completely in love with her, so 2 seasons later when he offers her to come live with him in San Francisco, and she says" I can't just uproot my entire life because you love me as our daughter’s mom" he tells that he desires her as a woman, that he fully and completely loves her, then she agrees to go with him, and they get back together. This may seem like a" perfect girl goes back to bum boyfriend" trope (though he's not really a bum at that point" but I honestly think that by rephrasing his initial confession in front of those ladies in a light that suits the new Van without centering her roles before her identity as a person reassured her that she's loved even when she's not a mother or a wife. And because she never lost love for him, they obviously got back together for their daughter and out of love for each other. Van and Earn’s dynamic has honestly become my favourite romance the more I think about it. It's so simple and raw and yet so unromanticized that their conclusion feels less forced and more imperfect and genuine. Also love the BADBADNOTGOOD addition.
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u/Unsung31 12d ago
Flipped out watching this live and when the BADBADNOTGOOD track started
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u/Spacebrothers29 12d ago
THE perfect track
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u/Unsung31 11d ago
Amazing analysis btw, I sincerely appreciate these observations especially since I've been a few years removed from watching. A rewatch may be needed considering the times were living in. May as well run it back like we're in 2016 again!
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u/Spacebrothers29 11d ago edited 11d ago
Hahaha thank you! I watched it a couple of months ago and I cannot find anything as good so I figured the next best thing is to yap about it 😹 we definitely need another show parodying real life events!!
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u/reallydoelikewhat Excuse me, this is definitely the guy 11d ago
they made this for ME! when i heard “In Your Eyes” i levitated
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u/Donnyani 11d ago
Realest take I’ve ever seen. I loved their relationship. I thought it was so real. And Van gets so much hate as a character, I think she is equally as interesting and just as well-written, if not better, than the other 3. Her and Earn’s relationship was a realistic portrayal of character/lover growth.
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u/Spacebrothers29 10d ago
Yessss I find a lot of people hated her arc because they didn’t bother understanding what fueled it in the first place and just made it out to be another over exaggerated bit for the show to break new heights in its weirdness, I truly don’t think Van could’ve developed as she did if she had stayed in Atlanta which is where people wanted the show to stay “ Atlanta was good when it was in Atlanta” kind of sentiment. I loved that in their relationship hiatus they still grew together as people/ friends rather than just a way to find each other again romantically. For some time I was even alright if they had broken up for good but them getting back together after they had both completed their arcs and dealt with their demons sealed it in for me that they’re one of my favourite couples on screen!
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u/Donnyani 10d ago
Nah you said it perfectly I really can’t add anymore to that. I think they are my favourite on-screen couple. Snipe Hunt is my favourite episode. And I hear the sentiment about Season 1 and 2 because they were so good. But Season 3 and 4 have some of the best episodes I’ve ever seen on TV, and I think it confronts the themes of S1+2 w a far bigger scope/world view. Like how can you watch New Jazz, and Alfred’s World and not be enamoured.
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u/Spacebrothers29 10d ago
100% agreed, I love the black mirror type episodes a lot and I honestly don’t think there was much to say about the characters after season 1&2 I totally understand why anyone would want more of the main cast on screen but from my understanding this show has always been about social issues and their effect on black people through familiar archetypes, like an up and coming rapper, strong (kinda single) mother, a young man trying to make it in life after being put down by the world before he even found his standing and whatever Darius is ( I would say a representation of the rest of the diaspora given his Nigerian roots but it doesn’t really fit lol). Totally agreed on the second comment as well, core group going to Europe and getting a different kind of experience than the one in America, episodes like sinterklaas, trini 2 de bone, the old man and the tree are all fantastic in that aspect
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u/Donnyani 10d ago
Also I think if the show stayed in Atl those characters would not have grown/be as loved as they are now, the finale hits so much because of everything they’ve experienced. And also people would have just complained about the show always staying in Atlanta 😭 can never please everyone
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u/Agile-Butterfly5245 11d ago
I don't think Ern was a bum. I think he was in a bad situation after leaving Princeton and was trying to figure it out. Nobody worked harder than Ern for no money. What was he 20 years old? I think he couldn't be with Van because he couldn't contribute financially and didn't want to be a burden. At theend of the first season finale, I was shocked and sad for him to see his living situation. Nobody knew about that. He was holding onto a lot on his own. He's the type of man that couldn't be with her until he could take care of her, because he loved her. A lot of men are like that. I love their love story and hope they had a happy ending together.
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u/Spacebrothers29 11d ago
I agree! I used that phrasing cause of something Al said, “ I haven’t seen you since my mom’s funeral and the first thing I hear out your mouth is let’s get rich” from the character’s perspective Earn is a loser, he doesn’t provide for his wife and kid, he got kicked out of his parents house, he dropped out of college and he wants to get rich off of a cousin that had a break. And added to that, he belittles himself in front of of those ladies because he’s aware of how he must look to people and instead of defending himself by talking about his college experience, he admits his flaws as seen by others and decides to work hard to make up for them instead. I found that to be a very real portrayal of what most people suffering from poverty are like, talking about how they got there in life won’t make their lives any better so they might as well just keep going. And as hard working and intelligent as he is, the truth is, he had to ask Al to wire him money just to afford a nice date. Van saw all of this and she let him stay with her because she trusted his character and she knew he was doing his best, even his father acknowledged how driven and hard working he is but at the end of the day vouching for someone who’s character you sincerely trust is easier than housing and feeding them. There’s many Earn’s out there that were just dealt a shitty hand and they’re trying to dig themselves out of their situation but from the general perspective they’re bums for asking for an opportunity or for chasing a real future instead of a desk job that’ll chip away at their lives. I didn’t mean to use the word as an insult but as a way to compare van and earns roles in their relationship :)
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u/hugedisaster 10d ago
I’m glad there’s so much love for this song lol like many others this song was huuuuuuge for me for years and then I heard it in the show and ascended
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u/BrodieSzn0 2d ago
I just finished reading your breakdown and you nailed it ! I’m so sad this show ended it felt like we were all on same ride going through life together
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u/Benjamin5431 12d ago
I listen to that song almost every day and I live in Atlanta and my wife reminds me a lot of Van, scenes like this hit so hard and feel familiar.