The Get Down: Season 1/ Episode 2 “Seek Those Who Fan Your Flames” – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

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Recap

As one dream seems to come to an end, an opportunity presents itself leading to one possibly flourishing. Though, as this happens, it seems a gang war is going to start.

 

Trigger Warning(s):
Gun Violence | Needles (Injecting drugs)

Major Characters

Mylene | Zeke | Fat Annie | Shaolin Fantastic

Main Plot (with Commentary)

Topic 1: No One Messes With Fat Annie (Fat Annie)

Summary: After her club getting shot up, and shut down, Annie is understandably pissed. After all, the club is her front and a place where she does business upstairs and sells downstairs. So with her insider at the police station, she hunts for a name. Of which she gets one called Napolean. Someone Cadillac brings in but with him being a fool, he ends up killing a kid on his dance floor and letting the other get away. Sad thing is, the kid was going to confess before getting shot in the head.

Commentary

I stand by my previous statement of wishing for more Fat Annie. For there is just something about seeing a heavyset Black woman running things and not being a joke. I mean, she is funny, you can laugh with her or at her, but she just oozes gangsta big momma which I so enjoy.

Topic 2: The Purple Crayon (Shaolin Fantastic and Zeke)

Summary: Grandmaster Flash has DJ’ing down to a science, a means of expression he could perhaps teach a class in, and the first lesson deals with understanding the purple crayon. A tool to aid beginners in knowing when to transition before the wackness of a song begins. But while Shaolin Fantastic eventually gets his groove, and Zeke even comes up with a few rhymes, unfortunately, the building being set on fire leads to the end of the dream.

Originally, Shaolin was going to take the summer off from hustling to solely work on DJ’ing, but with no turntables, he has to go back to Fat Annie who wasn’t happy about him asking to leave. So, needless to say, he is about to work his way back into her good graces. A plan Zeke isn’t for despite preaching about how they are a team, he doesn’t want any part of Les Inferno and the drug game. So, because Zeke isn’t supporting him how he wants, it seems Shaolin is parting ways with his wordsmith. At least for now.

Commentary

It’s hard to say how I necessarily feel about this. A part of me likes the idea of Zeke and company becoming Grandmaster Flash’s Furious 5, but there is no guarantee that is going to happen. On top of that, a part of me wants him to join Mylene and be the rapper to her singer, like how a lot of records are done in modern times. Though perhaps my grandest wish is to see what Ms. Green believes is possible, the boy going to college. For while Zeke did take a few steps back in terms of how he was dealing with his heartbreak from Mylene, he still remains the type of character you want to invest in. To the point, I hope this isn’t the first and last we hear from many of the actors. Though, lest I forget, we did just see Justice Smith in Paper Towns a year ago.

Topic 3: Daddy’s Little Star (Mylene)

Summary: Uncle Francisco (Jimmy Smits) pretty much runs the Bronx, as a politician, and has dreams of making it a bit more suburban. All of this is revealed in episode 1. In this episode, though, his focus is trying to help his niece become a star. So with a friend of his named Jackie (Kevin Corrigan) owing 25K in gambling debt, and being a music producer, he decides to push Jackie to go to his brother’s church.

The problem with that idea, Pastor Cruz isn’t fond of his brother’s influence on his daughter, and with him thinking he instilled the cardinal sin of pride in his daughter, he tries to send her to the back of the choir. However, with Zeke showing up, though originally he told her off for asking for a favor, she decides to catch the holy ghost long enough to get to the front and sing her tail off. All the while showing her tail in another dress which shows off her underwear.

Commentary

Child… Mylene is bad. Ambitious as heck, but bad. In a good way, though. With looks and talent, and maybe willing to manipulate people if need be, you can only hope we eventually see her future self-being a star. Though something tells me, for reasons I can’t put my finger on, that she may end up dying by the end of season 1. You know good things can’t happen to Zeke and with Shaolin going down the path he is, you know something has to go down and while Zeke may live, I picture one of his crew has to die. But the biggest punch to the gut would be Mylene’s death.

Review Summary

Highlights

We get a little bit more of Fat Annie in the episode, and she remains one of the standout supporting characters.

Grandmaster Flash speaking of DJ’ing as an art form really, in my mind, elevated the style to the point you almost want to watch old school turntable DJs do their thing. As you note the Grandmaster’s words.

Mylene’s singing, as always, was a welcome treat.

Though not mentioned in the review, I love Boo-Boo’s (Tremaine Brown Jr.) smart mouth. He is the realest person on this show and helps as a grounding force.

On The Fence

Being that Fat Annie has been set up so well, I can only hope whoever in Harlem is trying to take her out gets the same setup. That and whoever is running the Savage Warlords. Since, as of now, they are mostly unnamed teens and kids.