Donald his brilliance.
The particular qualities oflater look back many of the instances of the show mean something completely new. This article sheds light on ten moments to place the viewer back in the very first episode.
Paper Boi Begins
The first time viewers meet Earn's cousin Alfred he is already also associated with being the up and coming rapper, Paper Boi. Earn is standing at work when his co-worker by his side begins rattling on about a new local rapper, flashing a music video in Earn's face, who then realizes that it's Alfred.
The Dog
The first episode begins and ends with Darius remarking on a dog in the parking lot that he, Earn and Alfred are in. They are involved in an argument with a man who knocked off Alfred's side mirror on his car, but Darius interrupts this to draw attention to the fact that he's experiencing deja vu in seeing a dog.
It's the viewers' first taste of the surrealness in the show which seems at the time to be just a quirk of Darius but ends up being a signature quality of the series.
The Man On The Bus
Earn is sitting on a bus holding his daughter and thinking to himself when a man in a suit gets up and sits alongside him. The man is making a Nutella sandwich and seems like he might be an unstable character.
He becomes what feels like an extension of Earn's imagination as he becomes a voice of wisdom and advice for the ponderous Earn. The man then disappears when Earn turns away, and Earn catches sight of him walking into the woods, leaving his Nutella on the seat.
Earn Isn't With Vanessa
Earn wakes up next to Vanessa, and it appears that the two are a couple, at the very least. Earn indulges himself in explaining his dream to Vanessa, something often associated with being pretty intimate with somebody.
The two are indeed intimate, but the viewer learns that Earn is not technically with her when Vanessa shares that she is going on a date that night, and that if Earn wants to keep staying over he needs to pay rent.
Nobody Knows Why Earn Left Princeton
It becomes apparent that Earn is college-educated, at least partially. He went to Princeton, but the viewer is only let on, so far, that he didn't complete his degree.
Alfred asks Earn's father about why Earn left school, but even his own father doesn't know, someone who Earn seems decently close to as he is earlier seen stopping by.
Earn Meets Darius
Darius is one of the most loveable and fascinating characters on the show and ends up being very close to Earn, yet it's strange to that before the first episode Earn is meant to have no idea who he is.
Earn meets Darius at the same time that viewers do, in the priceless moment where Darius answers the door with a knife in one hand and a plate of freshly baked cookies in the other.
Alfred Doesn't Trust Earn
Earn spends the most part of the first episode trying to become Alfred's music manager. The two are revealed to not be very close, despite being family .
It's implied that Earn is somewhat self-centered and withholding when it comes to personal information, such as why he left school. Alfred is unsure about hiring him, and so seeks Earn's father for advice.
Earn And Alfred Get Arrested
The end of the episode finds Vanessa arriving home from her date and seeing Earn and Alfred's faces on the news. The viewer hears a gunshot but doesn't know who exactly has been harmed, only that they were engaged in an argument in the parking lot at the start of the episode.
The TV explains only that Earn and Alfred are arrested in relation to a shooting, to which Vanessa responds, "idiots".
Earn And The Janitor
Earn has been talking to Dave, the peppy, offensive white guy who comes on-screen and immediately establishes himself as pompous and superficial by bragging to Earn about his recent experiences at a party, but then also quickly defines himself by casually calling Earn the N-word, as if there is nothing remarkable about this.
When Dave leaves, Earn asks a nearby black janitor if Dave ever calls him the N-word, to which the janitor responds with disgust, revealing that it is, indeed, only Earn.
Earn Embarrasses The Racist White Guy
Earn is later sitting with Alfred and Darius and calls Dave over to the car. He takes the opportunity of having other black people around to challenge Dave to speak to him in the same way that he did earlier, indulging himself in stories that he performs as hilarious around Earn but which become obviously stupid and offensive when put in front of a larger group that challenges Dave's self-indulgence and makes clear how ridiculous he is.