Trini 2 De Bone

In March 2022, FX announced that the seventh episode of the season would be titled "Trini 2 De Bone" and that it would be written by co-producer Jordan Temple, and directed by series creator and lead actor Donald Glover. This was Temple's first writing credit, and Glover's fifth directing credit.[2]

The episode featured an appearance by Chet Hanks as Curtis, a person who speaks in a Trinidadian accent despite being born and raised in Tribeca.[3] Cracked.com said, "Chet Hanks sucks for lots of reasons but this was an admittedly funny scene. And his presence may tie into another of the episode's themes: parental neglect. In this story, the rich white couple buck many of their parental responsibilities, and are content to let a woman they know virtually nothing about raise him. And Sylvia’s children vocally resent the fact that random white kids were afforded the attention and care from their mother that they never got to have."[3]

The episode explored the concept of parental neglect.[3] Vulture saw similarities in the episode to the non-fiction book, Raising Brooklyn: Nannies, Childcare, and Caribbeans Creating Community, by author Tamara Mose Brown. In the book, "the lives of Afro-Caribbean women in a singular borough in New York City are explored through the often informal and exploitative childcare economy fostered by the city's white upper crust. Keying in on the nanny networks, mutual aid, and cultural connections that provide these West Indian women with crucial support and solidarity, Mose situates the women behind the strollers as strategists who expertly negotiate care work and community in the ways that stave off the cultural alienation and isolation embedded in their work. This week, Atlanta turns toward a white family who employs an Afro-Trinidadian woman as they grapple with, in Mose's words, 'losing ground' to her ingenuity and influence in the rearing of their child."[4]

The episode was watched by 0.152 million viewers, earning a 0.04 in the 18-49 rating demographics on the Nielson ratings scale. This means that 0.04 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode.[5] This was a 26% decrease from the previous episode, which was watched by 0.203 million viewers with a 0.1 in the 18-49 demographics.[6]

"Trini 2 De Bone" received generally positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating for the episode, based on 5 reviews with an average rating of 7/10.[7]

Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone wrote, "It's hard not to miss Al, Earn, Darius, and Van — especially when the European episodes have been so on-point and varied — but this was a really good one, feeling thematically linked to the season's other anthology episodes without being a stylistic rehash of them."[8] Jordan Taliha McDonald of Vulture gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Throughout this season of Atlanta, the show has grappled with the ghosts of the past at every turn. In this episode, we witness how these hauntings and histories produce ghosts and gaps in our present as well."[4]

Other reviews were more mixed. Michael Martin of The A.V. Club was more critical, giving the episode a "B-" and writing, "Part of the problem is that Atlanta has raised the bar for itself so high that it's easier to stumble, or seem just okay. And part of my issue is that I want to see Paper Boi's adventures in Paris or Berlin. There's a whole continent of possibilities for these characters, and it feels like we're getting just slivers of narrative. The reason for the split focus may be actor availability, or COVID, or who knows. For the viewer, there's a fine line between willing to go wherever the show takes us and feeling like this isn't what we signed up for. We'll take what we can get, but is this what the show's richly drawn and portrayed characters deserve?"[9] Micah Peters of The Ringer wrote, "After the third stand-alone episode this season, this much is clear: No one knows what kind of show Atlanta wants to be anymore."[10]

Deshawn Thomas /Film wrote, "With these standalone episodes, it feels as though Atlanta is aiming to rival or compete with someone like Jordan Peele — and falling short of doing so in any meaningful way. Sure, the end result is amusing, but is it really thought-provoking? Maybe to people who don't normally think about or live with the reality of these things, but I can't imagine that type of person would be tuning in for Atlanta to begin with. It doesn't even feel quite like commentary so much as disappointingly hollow satire, or maybe a funhouse mirror of sorts. I can't tell if the show thinks it's smarter than it actually is, or if I had too much faith in it and have unintentionally orchestrated my own disappointment. Whatever the case may be, there are now three episodes left in this uneven season of hits and misses. As I mentioned in my review of 'White Fashion', I'm hoping things all come together in a grand, satisfying way by the end of it all."[11] Kyndall Cunningham of The Daily Beast, "I think more than any other episode this season, this one highlights the identity crisis Atlanta is currently experiencing regarding who its audience is and who the writers are crafting stories for. Listen, I get it. A lot has happened in the four years since the show last aired that would alter the direction and energy of any show. I also wouldn't be surprised if Robbin’ Season walking away with zero Emmys in 2018 made Glover overthink some things."[12]