r/AtlantaTV • u/Spacebrothers29 • 21h 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.