‘Wu-Tang: An American Saga’ Season 2 Episode 5 Review: Contracts keep clan busy
Season 2 of ‘Wu-Tang: An American Saga’ is already four episodes down and so far, we have seen how Bobby Diggs (Ashton Sanders) vowed to walk on a new path leaving behind the dirty old world of crime and drugs. He finds a new direction in life as he convinces other passionate folks to come under one roof in order to form a hip-hop collective which is known as ‘Wu-Tang Clan’.
Episode 5 of the Hulu original is titled ‘Visionz’ and it continues where the fourth episode ended. Bobby Diggs now steps up his game as he walks towards his music dream. Talking about ‘Wu-Tang: An American Saga’, the show has been created by RZA and Alex Tse. The series has been executively produced by the duo alongside Brian Grazer, Merrin Dungey, and Method Man. Wu-Tang members namely Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa, and GZA serve as the consulting producers along with the estate of Ol' Dirty Bastard. The show dropped the first three episodes on September 8.
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Plot
The episode ‘Visionz’ starts with Bobby Diggs, who now goes by the name of RZA along with Divine (Julian Elijah Martinez) setting up a meeting with an attorney of a record label as they try to crack a deal for their debut project. The negotiation sheds light on album covers, posters, merchandise as Bobby tells the record label’s lawyer that he wants the company to be divided equally among eight members.
RZA then catches up with Sha Raider (Shameik Moore) and Dennis “D-Love” Coles (Siddiq Saunderson) as they all come together to work on their new studio. Minor glitches like electricity issues and giving out money for every small thing seem to irritate the members as they try to figure out the new mess. The plot thickens when RZA spots his duty manager on the same floor where the members set up their new studio. Dennis claims that if she sees all the set-up it is over as she is not aware of the fact these guys are setting up a studio in a rented apartment where Dennis resides.
Script
After shedding light on RZA and Divine in the initial episodes, the makers finally bring Dave East into the spotlight who plays the role of Shotgun aka Method Man. While hanging out in the neighborhood with his close buddies, we all of a sudden see Method Man dodging bullets as a rival gang attacks them. They, unfortunately, lose a friend in the gunfire incident. Method Man then catches with the rest of the members of the Wu-Tang who are still busy working on the new studio. We also see a list of tasks they have to complete that includes finances, electricity, album art, and business cards among a few other items.
The best part of the entire episode is definitely when Method Man hits the studio as he spits a few bars. The makers here show the emotional bond of all the members as they have a ball while enjoying the music and smoking blunts. The makers tried to stack the script with emotions as we see Dennis spending quality time with his wife and his newborn as he juggles both family and passion. He introduces them to the rest of the clan at their brand new studio at their apartment but his wife creates a little trouble. Dennis tries to convince her wife saying that they cannot afford to rent another spot. The last few minutes of the episode ‘Visionz’ see all the members going through their first-ever contract. A few arguments amongst them make RZA claim that they all got to keep their “s**t together” adding that this contract will keep them all under one roof. The episode wraps up with RZA and Divine understanding the technicalities and minor details of how to go right with vocals and mixing the sound.
Acting
Even though the makers tried to keep episode five heavy on the emotional side, we honestly, could not see the excitement or the happiness on the faces of the clan members as they try to set up their new studio. Despite a shootout sequence, it seemed forcibly put in the script just to show the gang wars which could have been easily avoided in this episode. RZA comes clean with his acting skills and Method Man too shines in the latest. However, others need a bigger screen space in order to make their character stand out.
‘Wu-Tang: An American Saga’ returns every Wednesday on Hulu.
