"Three Slaps" is the first episode of the third season of the American comedy-drama television series Atlanta. It is the 22nd overall episode of the series and was written by executive producer Stephen Glover, and directed by executive producer Hiro Murai. It was first broadcast on FX in the United States on March 24, 2022, airing back-to-back with the follow-up episode, "Sinterklaas is Coming to Town".

The series is set in Atlanta and follows Earnest "Earn" Marks, as he tries to redeem himself in the eyes of his ex-girlfriend Van, who is also the mother of his daughter Lottie; as well as his parents and his cousin Alfred, who raps under the stage name "Paper Boi"; and Darius, Alfred's eccentric right-hand man. For the season, the characters find themselves in Europe in the middle of a European Tour.

The episode focuses on a dream being had by Earn of an African American boy, Loquareeous, who lives with his mother and grandfather and is boisterous at school. The white teachers and administrators at his school are troubled by his mother and grandfather's perceived abusive behavior and call social services when Loquareeous's family physically assaults him, extremely lightly, in front of the guidance counselor. Through errors in communication, he winds up in a foster home with two white, hippie women, who have adopted several other black children who silently work for them in their home and garden. The episode was inspired by the Hart family murders.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.310 million household viewers and gained a 0.1 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received critical acclaim, with critics praising the performances, directing, writing, cinematography and creepy atmosphere. The episode was also praised for it not acting as a de facto premiere, as none of the main characters apart from Earn appear, nor are the events of the past seasons mentioned.

Plot

At Lake Lanier at night, White, a white man (Tobias Segal) and Black, a black man (Tyrell Munn), are out on the water in a small boat, fishing near a bridge. The white man tells a story about the town beneath them, populated by black people, that was flooded to make the lake. In the process, he says, people who refused to leave drowned, and the lake is now haunted. He says these black people were so prosperous and successful that they were "almost white", opening a discussion of what constitutes "whiteness", in which he proclaims that black and white people are both cursed. As the scene turns darker, the white man turns around to reveal his eyes missing and the black man is grabbed by the hands of the souls of the black people in the lake.

The scene then turns to a classroom, and the dream of an African American boy named Loquareeous (Christopher Farrar), who dozed off at his desk. When the teacher announces that they will be taking a field trip to see the new Black Panther movie, Loquareeous dances with joy, cheered on by his classmates. But the teacher disapproves, and he gets into trouble when he continues to dance despite her ordering him to stop. Loquareeous' mother and grandfather meet with the principal and the counselor. While his mother insists that her child be put in detention, the counselor suggests that Loquareeous is acting out because the schoolwork is too challenging for him, and that he belongs in special ed, with the mentally disabled children. The counselor then runs into his mother in the hall, while she is giving Loquareeous an intense warning about how white people can harm and kill him if he doesn't take their rules seriously. His grandfather lightly slaps him three times, as well. The white counselor mistakenly believes this to be child abuse and reports the events to child protective services, who show up at Loquareeous' house along with the police. His mother mistakenly believes Loquareeous has called the police on his family. Hurt, and not realizing what has actually happened, she kicks him out.

Loquareeous is put into a foster home, where a married, white lesbian couple consisting of Amber (Laura Dreyfuss) and Gayle (Jamie Neumann) are his new parents. They have three adopted black children: Lanre, Yves and Fatima, who are totally silent, sickly and thin, and only communicate with him with their eyes and facial expressions. Loquareeous begins noticing a strange behavior with Amber and Gayle, who seem to force the kids into adopting their alternative lifestyle and is further frustrated when they nickname him "Larry" because of his long, "difficult" name. During dinner, Loquareeous complains that the sparse and undercooked food is "nasty". Gayle has a violent outburst and breaks the phone when a caller interrupts dinner.

The next day, the underfed kids are forced to work in the gardens, and then sell kombucha and produce at the farmer's market. In a series of images based on the viral photos of Devonte Hart, Loquareeous is forced to wear a "Free Hugs" sign and stand in front of their booth. Starving and frightened, and sick from eating the raw chicken they feed the kids, Loquareeous flees his captors and grabs onto a cop, begging him for help. But when Amber and Gayle arrive, they insist they are his parents and that all their children are troubled as they have been rescued from terrible, abusive homes. The white cop believes the white women, not the black child, and forces Loquareeous to return to the white women. The white women then use the photos of Loquareeous clinging to the cop in fear to promote themselves as white saviors in the media.

After neighbors report that the children are sickly and starving, a new child services worker arrives to inspect the house, where she notes the poor treatment that the kids are receiving. Gayle then asks to speak with the worker in private and then returns alone, saying that "everything is fine". That night, Loquareeous is haunted by nightmares involving some events at the house. He then wakes up and goes downstairs, where Amber tells him that they will go to the Grand Canyon. As they leave in a van, Loquareeous notices a large body shaped bag next to the worker's clipboard and pen.

At the van, the kids exchange a silent conversation where they recognize the women's weird behavior. That night, Amber and Gayle step outside and free their dog. They then get back into the van and drive off. As they approach the bridge from Loquareeous' dream, they hold hands, preparing to commit murder-suicide. Gayle suddenly notices that their dog is still onboard and Loquareeous escapes the vehicle before it goes off the bridge. The vehicle crashes into the cursed Lake Lanier.

Loquareeous walks back to his previous house by morning and quietly begins to do the dishes and other chores. His mother wakes up and, showing little emotion but relieved, accepts him back into her home. She thinks he ran away, and has no idea the trauma he has survived. He sees news coverage of the other kids by the side of the road - they also got out of the vehicle and survived. An indifferent Loquareeous switches the channel to American Dad. As the floorboard starts to creak, he turns around. The scene then turns back to regular Atlanta characters on tour in Europe, with Earn (Donald Glover) waking up in a hotel room next to a woman, suggesting that he had dreamed all the events of the episode.

Production

Reception

References

External links

• "Three Slaps" at IMDb