There’s spoilers in this recap of episode three of Woke, “Gig E. Smalls,” so you know, you’ve been warned.
Last time on the comedy inspired by co-creator Keith Knight‘s comix, cartoonist Keef (Lamorne Morris) got woke after the SFPD attacked him for being Black in the wrong place at the wrong time.
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This episode’s TL;DR: “I’ll Venmo You.”
We open with our roomies in what I can only describe as an indoor alleyway—or, as Gunther (Blake Anderson) puts it, the Amazon of the streets. They are there to buy sneakers for Clovis (T. Murph). Gunther is outraged that even the black market has adopted Venmo. Meanwhile, Keef is annoyed because he’d rather be drawing. Clovis is peeved that his hippie shoe hookup is sneaking political flyers into his boxes.
After, the guys run into Ayana (Sasheer Zamata) as she waits in line for new kicks, the legal way. She’s not too impressed by Keef’s roomies. Especially when Clovis tries to hit on her. But she does like Keef’s latest comic, Toast -N- Butter 2.0, in which Toast “kneads to kneel.” Nice. Ayana does agree to think about maybe running his work.
Later, outside the guys’ apartment, this bald, intimidating looking white dude (Adam Kirschner) tells Keef he’s a fan and asks for an autograph. Sadly, he then shoots a quick “you’ve been served.” So, umm, is this how it goes in real life? Because according to Hollywood, yes. Anyhow, Bloom & Hill is threatening to sue Keef if he runs anymore Toast -N- Butter comics. As it turns out, they own the rights to Keef’s characters. Ugh. Sometimes it suuuuucks being an artist. The things you have to do to make a buck. Speaking of bucks, B&H wants its advance back. Which is a problem, considering Keef’s already spent it. He can’t even afford to hire a lawyer to fight the cease and desist.
See, what all this means is that Keef has to join the gig economy. Instead of delivering weed, he opts for dropping off people’s step kids. Well, joining a ride-sharing service, that is. His anthropomorphic Marker (JB Smoove) is pretty PO’d about his decision to work for Rides 4U.
Meanwhile, Gunther and Clovis are hungry. Gunther wants to go to the brick and mortar Chinese restaurant. For human contact. However, Clovis is busy low-key cyber-stalking Ayana and wants to just Postmates the food. Congrats, Clovis, you’ll do well in the pandemic. But, for the record, I agree with Gunther here. Clovis, any kind of stalking is creepy, no matter the key. Gunther, I agree with Clovis. You’d be difficult to be friends with. Exhibit Z: temporary landlord (???) Gunther’s refusal to accept a tenant’s rent electronically.
Although, would Gunther really want people to use paper unnecessarily? This is a great scene: the punchline being that the restaurant is right next door to their apartment.
Next, we see Keef at work. He talks a lot. Mostly about his problems. Sometimes to tell passengers not to spill sauce all over the seats. He only makes $61 after one whole day. Clovis points out that that’s a whole lotta money in some parts of the world. Unfortunately, the trio live in San Francisco, not Istanbul. So, Clovis hires Keef to drive 40 miles to buy a pair of sneakers Clovis plans to gift to Ayana. Keef doesn’t wanna go, but since donating sperm isn’t an option— he doesn’t masturbate in public (anymore)— he’s gonna have to.
Later, Keef is driving a middle-aged rich white lady (Diana Pavlovska). He starts telling her his life story. Turns out she’s a super fan of T-N-B. She invites him to a party at her house that night. Actually, she pays him to attend. Keef’s roomies rib him about the gig because they’re convinced it’s a sex thing.
So it’s not a sex party, but it soon becomes clear that Keef wasn’t hired to draw. The RWL (Rich White Lady) commissioned him to add some color to a very white room. To make things worse, two more RWL (Sarah Rodgers and Leanne Allen) paw at Keef, going as far as to stroke his beard. Barf. People keep bringing up The Boondocks when talking to him. Wakanda. OJ. Reparations. But this is the first time being the only Black guy at the party has bothered Keef.
Over in Clovisland, he’s tracked down Ayana. At her favorite cafe. Clovis slides into her IRL, freaking her out. When he presents her with the sneakers, she gets ready to peace out. But Clovis doesn’t give up. So, Ayana schools him on the fact that pursuing and stalking are eerily similar. Women let you know when they’re interested. Then, she takes the shoes and says she’ll Venmo him.
Back at the party, Keef meets Adrienne (Rose McIver), a fellow artist who can match his wit. She helps him hide from a RWL who calls him her “Chocolate Bear.”
Meanwhile, at the apartment, Clovis is moaning that Ayana only paid him $59.99 for the sneakers. Meanwhile, Gunther is annoyed that the same pay app tenant from earlier interrupts his yoga sesh. A little blackmail over inflated rent forces Gunther to give up his morals and let the guy Venmo him.
Later, Keef is chowing down on hors d’oeuvres like he’s at a university club meeting. He and Adrienne banter about the depths artists go to support themselves, financially and creatively. This leads Keef to come up with an idea: Black People for Rent.
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Overall, I enjoy spending time with these characters; they feel lived-in and real. But, I almost wish this were a one-hour show. We’re a third of a way through the season now, but the show could have incorporated a lot of what we’ve established in these three episodes in the pilot. That said, I still want to see what’s next for Keef. There’s so much potential. So, how are you guys feeling out there?
Join me next time as I recap Woke here on Geek Girl Authority!
Season One of Woke is streaming on Hulu now.
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