Champagne Papi (Atlanta)

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"Champagne Papi"
Atlanta episode
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 7
Directed byAmy Seimetz
Written byIbra Ake
Produced by
Featured music
Cinematography byChristian Sprenger
Editing byKyle Reiter
Production codeXAA02007
Original air dateApril 12, 2018 (2018-04-12)
Running time26 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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"Woods"
Atlanta (season 2)
List of episodes

"Champagne Papi" is the seventh episode of the second season of the American comedy-drama television series Atlanta. It is the 17th overall episode of the series and was written by Ibra Ake, and directed by Amy Seimetz. It was first broadcast on FX in the United States on April 12, 2018.

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. In the episode, Van and her friends attend a New Year's Eve hosted by Drake, hoping that meeting him will improve her image. At the mansion, she discovers one of Drake's secrets.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.694 million household viewers and gained a 0.4 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received extremely positive reviews from critics, who praised the episode's absurdist themes and performances. Its exploration of feminine beauty ideal and negative effects of social media drew attention.[1][2]

Plot[]

On New Year's Eve, Van (Zazie Beetz) meets with her friends Candice (Adriyan Rae), Tami (Danielle Deadwyler) and Nadine (Gail Bean), with all four planning to go to a party at a mansion hosted by Drake, who will be present. Van wants to improve her Instagram page by meeting Drake, as she feels that it only involves Lottie and Earn (Donald Glover).

They are picked up in a party bus, which leaves them in front of Drake's mansion. One of the attendees is revealed to have a fake invitation and is restrained by the security guards while the rest of the girls are allowed inside. Van and her friends meet Candice's boyfriend, DJ, who claims that Drake is moving around the house. DJ gives Van, Tami and Nadine marijuana-infused gummies to consume, although Nadine reacts badly as it is her first drug use. Van leaves Nadine in a room to recover and meets a man named Brandon, who claims that his cousin is Drake's nutritionist and takes her to Drake's studio to charge her phone. After Brandon leaves, Van sneaks into one of Drake's rooms (which contains a Mexican flag), where she puts on one of his jackets.

Nadine has left the room and is now conversing next to a pool with Darius (Lakeith Stanfield), who is explaining an argument related to the Bostrom simulation argument, claiming that everything is a simulation and nothing is real. As Van continues wandering through Drake's rooms, she receives a message from Candice, who is leaving the party with DJ to go to another party hosted by T-Pain. Meanwhile, Tami gets into an argument with a white woman who is dating a black celebrity attending the party (whom Tami likes). The man suddenly appears as his girlfriend is leaving, saying "sorry" to Tami before he leaves too.

Looking for her friends, Van eventually reaches a room where a Spanish-speaking man (Carlos Guerrero) states that Drake isn't in the mansion and that he is actually Drake's grandfather. He then points to a calendar, which reveals that Drake is doing a European Tour. She leaves the room and is dismayed to discover guests paying $20 to take pictures with cardboard cutouts of Drake to pretend that he was with them. Van eventually finds Nadine with Darius, who states that he got access to the party as he knows Drake's chef. Nadine shares Darius' simulation theory, with Van saying that Drake doesn't exist. Tami then arrives to tell them that the party is ending and they must leave. The next morning, as Van, Darius, Nadine and Tami walk home, Van suddenly concludes that "Drake is Mexican."

Production[]

Development[]

"Yeah girl, we gonna party tonight! But if you don't post about it, did it really happen?"

 Official description in the press release for the episode.[3]

In March 2018, FX announced that the seventh episode of the season would be titled "Champagne Papi" and that it would be written by Ibra Ake, and directed by Amy Seimetz. This was Ake's first writing credit, and Seimetz' second directing credit.[3]

Casting[]

Gail Bean, who played Nadine in the episode, auditioned for the role by performing two scenes that could take on a party, explaining "It was just me in line at the bathroom and somebody was cutting in and bumping into us, and I said something, but Zazie's character Van is the one who got a little hostile. I believe the second scene I did for the audition was... It was a whole weird thing where I was talking to Young Thug, and he was having a situation with one of his females and I was supposed to be giving him advice on how to handle it. And then Darius shows up, of course, like he always does and I'm like, how does he know Young Thug, and he's like, 'Oh, he was my ride for the party.'"[4]

Reception[]

Viewers[]

The episode was watched by 0.694 million viewers, earning a 0.4 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielson ratings scale. This means that 0.4 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode.[5] This was a 11% decrease from the previous episode, which was watched by 0.776 million viewers with a 0.4 in the 18-49 demographics.[6]

With DVR factored, the episode was watched by 1.45 million viewers with a 0.8 in the 18-49 demographics.[7]

Critical reviews[]

"Champagne Papi" received extremely positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating for the episode, based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The site's consensus states: "While not quite as surreal as its preceding episode, 'Champagne Papi' delivers an effective and entertaining critique of social media obsession and vanity."[8]

Joshua Alston of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B" and wrote, "'Champagne Papi' is a weird comedown after the tense mindfuck that is 'Teddy Perkins', neither wildly inventive as that episode or as intimate as 'Value'. It's a grab bag of frequently fun moments (including that killer final line), but it doesn't do enough to illuminate a character I always want more of."[9]

Alan Sepinwall of Uproxx wrote, "So, no, it wasn't 'Teddy Perkins 2: The Secret of the Ooze', but there was no way it could be, and 'Champagne Papi' was quite fine in its own right."[10] Hanh Nguyen of IndieWire wrote, "Although seemingly more straightforward than the horrifying 'Teddy Perkins', Thursday's episode 'Champagne Papi' goes deep and questions the very nature of reality."[1]

Matt Miller of Esquire wrote, "It's a visual re-creation of 'Hotline Bling' told from the woman's perspective. Van and all her friends just want to get a picture with Drake for the 'Gram, but nothing goes exactly how they planned."[11] Bryan Washington of Vulture gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "We don't end up learning much about Van in this episode, but she learns a little more about herself. There's the hype before the show, there's the posturing throughout, and then there's the walking back to your car afterward: a journey we all make alone, at the end of the day, stuck inside of our own heads. It isn't the most that we could ask for, but considering what we've already been given, I think that it's enough for now."[12]

Leigh-Anne Jackson of The New York Times wrote, "It's both a big-picture observation and a critique of the posturing - social media-fueled and otherwise - of the partygoers around the characters."[13] Jacob Oller of Paste gave the episode a 8.5 out of 10 rating and praised Powell's performance, "At the end of the night you're gonna be walking home with the rest of the losers on your own social rung, so you might as well take the revelations where you can. And in that, there may be meaning. Even a terrible party can be worth something."[14] Miles Surrey of The Ringer wrote, "On most shows, that would be perceived as a metaphor. But on Atlanta, where NBA players drive invisible cars, Michael Vick is ready to race you for cash outside a nightclub, and Justin Bieber is black, perhaps it's literal. Maybe Van's right: Maybe there is no Drake."[15]

Drake's response[]

A few days after the episode aired, Drake reacted to the episode, posting on Instagram, "this shit is surreal, I'm too high for this."[16]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Nguyen, Hanh (April 12, 2018). "'Atlanta' Goes Deep by Questioning the Nature of Reality (and Drake's Heritage)". IndieWire. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  2. ^ Ransome, Noel (April 13, 2018). "Only on 'Atlanta' Does a Trip to Drake's Mansion Make You Question Reality". Vice. Archived from the original on November 14, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "(#207) "Champagne Papi"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  4. ^ Nguyen, Hanh (June 19, 2018). "'Atlanta': From Bibby to Van's High Gal Pal, These Scene Stealers Took the Show to New Comedic Heights". IndieWire. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  5. ^ Welch, Alex (April 13, 2018). "Thursday cable ratings: 'Jersey Shore Family Vacation' stays on top, 'Atlanta' holds steady". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 14, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  6. ^ Welch, Alex (April 6, 2018). "Thursday cable ratings: 'Jersey Shore Family Vacation' dominates, 'Swamp People' ticks up". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 7, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  7. ^ Porter, Rick (April 26, 2018). "'The Last O.G.' scores for TBS in cable Live +7 ratings for April 9–15". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on April 26, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  8. ^ "Atlanta: Robbin' Season, Episode 7". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  9. ^ Alston, Joshua (April 13, 2018). "Van has fake people showing fake love to her in a very Atlanta New Year's Eve". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  10. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (April 12, 2018). "'Atlanta' Follows 'Teddy Perkins' With Van Trying To Meet Drake". Uproxx. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  11. ^ Miller, Matt (April 13, 2018). "Atlanta Reimagined Drake's 'Hotline Bling' Into an Entire Episode". Esquire. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  12. ^ Washington, Bryan (April 13, 2018). "Atlanta Robbin' Season Recap: It's a Simulation, Van". Vulture. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  13. ^ Jackson, Leigh-Anne (April 13, 2018). "'Atlanta' Season 2, Episode 7 Recap: Drake Has Left the Building". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  14. ^ Oller, Jacob (April 13, 2018). "Atlanta Review: Amy Seimetz and Zazie Beetz Are a Winning Combo in "Champagne Papi"". Paste. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  15. ^ Surrey, Miles (April 12, 2018). "Drake Is Everywhere and Nowhere in Another Surreal 'Atlanta' Jaunt". The Ringer. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  16. ^ Moore, Sam (April 17, 2018). "Drake responds to the 'Atlanta' episode about him". NME. Retrieved February 9, 2022.

External links[]

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