The Vince Staples Show has taken Netflix by storm with its five-episode rollercoaster ride of a banger new series. Featuring the multi-hyphenate rapper-actor Vince Staples portraying a fictionalised version of himself, the show offers a glimpse into the everyday challenges of life in his hometown, The Beach.
In the realm of surrealist comedy, where the absurd meets the poignant, The Vince Staples Show has carved out its own niche. Drawing comparisons to Donald Glover’s critically acclaimed Atlanta, this series takes us on a thrilling joyride through the lens of Staples’ satirical and sometimes surreal storytelling style.
Staples doesn’t quite mind the comparisons, taking them more as a compliment, as he told Variety, “That has never been a bad thing to me because those shows [Atlanta and Dave] are extremely successful. People comparing you with things that have been hyper-successful can’t hurt.”
At its core, The Vince Staples Show serves as a reflection of societal issues plaguing African American communities in the United States. From institutionalised racism to the pervasive spectre of gun violence, the show doesn’t shy away from tackling these pressing concerns with dark humour.
If you have binged all five episodes and are looking for an explanation as to what just happened, read on to find out.
What happens at the end of The Vince Staples Show?
The final episode of The Vince Staples Show mirrors the first. Despite a day spent in jail, when Deja (Andrea Ellsworth) asks, “Anything interesting happen?” to Vince he repeats his mundane response, “Not really,” to her.
However, the story takes a dramatic turn following a school speech when Vince encounters White Boy, a student’s father, that devolves into a conflict leading to a shootout at a mall. Vince emerges alone after a final gunshot and passes White Boy’s son in a car. A news broadcast mentions the shooting, reporting a fatality but no suspects, suggesting Vince, presumed to have killed White Boy, has escaped scrutiny.
In the post-credit sequence, White Boy’s son watches a commercial for Kapow! Pops—a nod to the Kaboom cereal box Vernita pulls a gun out of in Kill Bill, a callback to Vince’s entrepreneurial aspirations shown in the second episode. Perhaps this is an indication that White Boy’s son is priming himself for revenge on Staples. This ambiguity surrounding Staple’s fate only sets the stage for the story to progress in season two.
What lies ahead for Vince Staples’ character remains uncertain, as the rapper himself acknowledges the limitless possibilities within the show’s surreal universe as he tells Tudum, “There are 365 days in a year, so we’re able to have 365 episodes of this thing, anything can happen at any moment in life. Even though a lot of things on the show are surreal, even though a lot of things are crazy, that’s also part of life.”
You can watch The Vince Staples Show on Netflix and catch the trailer here:
