But if it’s a dream-crushing indignity, and perhaps a physically painful one, at least Roberto survives it, and perhaps he’ll finally acquiesce to his wife’s desire for him to seek a more stable career path. Roberto does not escape unscathed, as Al shoves him through the glass window of a store while an oblivious Roberto is trying to spit a few bars for him. Instead, it’s Shoe Man who catches a bullet when the shooter chases Al through the parking lot. Given the lurking menace of the Crank Dat Killer and this series’ willingness to go to incredibly dark places, the potential of Roberto becoming collateral damage feels uncomfortably real.

We are introduced to Roberto while he is in a car with his wife and adorable daughter. Technically, there is a third story of sorts, involving a brand-new character: Roberto (Adrian Mauro), an aspiring rapper who works at the mall’s food court while fantasizing about a chance to get discovered like when Big Sean rapped for Kanye at a Detroit radio station. The subplot walks a very narrow tightrope, making Earn’s reluctance to do so play not as homophobia, but as annoyance that he’s being asked to perform for this guy rather than being allowed to just pay for what he wants(*).

Shoe Man does not want their money, however, but the opportunity to watch Darius and Earn kiss. As always, though, Darius knows of a hook-up, and soon they are sitting in a back of the van in the parking lot of the same mall where Al is, negotiating with the mysterious Shoe Man (Terence Rosemore). In the other main story, Darius and Earn attempt to buy limited edition Nike Miracle sneakers, but are frustrated by how sneaker resellers have cornered the market. Eventually, Al heads to a local shopping mall in an attempt to hide among the crowd. (And we get a beautiful one of these near the end of the episode.) Here, he is jumping at shadows, constantly trying to calm himself down, and failing. The show has always taken great advantage of Brian Tyree Henry’s superhumanly expressive face, but usually in scenes where Paper Boi is feeling disgusted about the current state of events. In one, Al learns of the titular serial murderer, who targets anyone who has made a YouTube video where they do the famous dance from Soulja Boy’s 2007 hit “Crank That.” (Soulja Boy himself briefly cameos, as he is preparing to bug out of his mansion until the danger goes away.) Al, who recorded a little-seen dance video 15 years ago, starts feeling paranoid. As has been the case for most of this season, “Crank Dat Killer” starts off with separate plots that converge by the end.

Dreams of desire episode 6 mega