Atlanta puts Al through the wringer while submitting Earn and Darius to an entirely different kind of suffering in a darker and slightly terrorizing episode that, nonetheless, will have viewers laughing out loud.
“Crank Dat Killer” is peak Atlanta when it comes to comedy, yet its entire setup subtly points out numerous differences between how the entire cast was doing back in season one, as opposed to their current selves. As usual, the series sends its characters on separate quests that somehow come together towards the end, but even if Al is the main focus here, the subplot is just as good as Paper Boi’s personal nightmare.
Most people with a decent degree of awareness in 2007 might notice the title’s callback to failed Twitch streamer Soulja Boy’s hit single from that year, a forerunner in YouTube’s early days that helped spawn the trend that’s now become TikTok dance challenges. Here, the Atlanta native rapper and fake video game console entrepreneur’s song has resurfaced in the media due to an unknown serial killer going out and about murdering those that ever dared to upload their own “Crank That” videos.
Naturally, aspiring YouTuber and rapper Alfred Miles was among the people who did that, and though the topic of the Crank Dat killer is brought up by Earn and Darius, Al is visibly scared by the sheer possibility of someone hunting him down for his embarrassing past. Solo Al plots in Atlanta are amazing because of his whole no-nonsense demeanor, he is by modern standards (if not by age) the archetypical boomer, given he still has a very specific need for cable news.
As the gang leaves the studio, shortly after ditching their recording neighbor Some Guy Called Doug (there’s a real rapper using this name), Al’s paranoia continues building up; and, even despite Atlanta finally stating out loud that Grammy award-winning producer Paper Boi considers himself rich, he knows there’s little protection from a demented serial killer as guest star Soulja Boy promptly reminds him. As if that wasn’t enough, his 25 views YouTube video has a brand new skull emoji comment that sends shivers down his spine.
It’s then when viewers meet Roberto, an aspiring rapper working a dead-end job at the mall, though the first shot of him featuring his Skullcandy headphones right after the YouTube comment could be the writers trying to tell us something else, beyond Atlanta’s usual aesthetic finesse. Roberto wants to make it, he just needs a chance to spit his lyrics to a well-known rapper, but little does he know that's not going to turn out as he imagines.
Arguably, the subplot is even funnier, as Darius and Earn venture out to find some new Nike Miracle sneakers that are sold out everywhere, thus leading them to the former’s “Shoe Man”, an underground reseller. Now, Nike has been cracking down on bots used for buying up and scalping sneakers stocks faster than PS5s or GPUs in recent times, so it’s easy to imagine the Shoe Man asking a high price, regardless, nothing will prepare Atlanta viewers for what he wants.
This voyeuristic sneakerhead literally wants Darius and Earn to kiss in the backseat of the mall parking lot van. The line is delivered incredibly well, and the sheer absurdity of the whole situation is Atlanta at its finest. For all the deep cuts social commentary and existentialism the show tries to push forward, it’s easy to forget its jokes can sometimes hang up there with classic sitcoms such as Seinfeld, or contemporaries like Schitt’s Creekand Ted Lasso.
The pair’s bargaining process is a treat to watch as Earn, ever the upstanding man he is refuses outright to take part in the act, whereas Darius uncharacteristic material desire sees him bend the knee quite easily. Earn boasts about the $900 shoes he wears nowadays, while Darius manifests his latest fixation, but both characters' takes stem from the construction of their entire personas.
If Teddy Perkins showed what lengths the man would go to for a piano, then this Darius showing off his usual openness as it's just a tiny kiss for some sick Nikes — the kiss scene is just as funny, if only for its bizarre conclusion tying up directly to Al.
Paper Boi happens to be at that same mall, where his Captain America incognito attire fools no one, and he’s finally ambushed by a gun-wielding killer that chases him down the entire mall. Unbeknownst, Roberto chooses the worst time possible to land himself an audition so Paper Boi sends him flying through a store window as he runs for his life. Truly hilarious stuff.
Al is magically saved by Doug, who finally convinces him to record an abysmally bad song with him — if Atlanta’s “Born 2 Die” featured some laughably bad white rappers, Doug beats them by a mile. The episode fades out to the sound of their joint track, which Darius rips on while trying to dance to its horrible beat in his new kicks.
There are some pretty early callbacks to Atlanta’s “The Streisand Effect”, a fitting choice given that was the entry that cemented Earn and Darius's friendship, but overall, it's funny as hell while continuing to hint at each character’s progression ever since as the show heads towards its dreadfully titled finale “It Was All a Dream.”