Summary
Little America Season 1, Episode 3, “The Cowboy” presents a Nigerian man attempting to fit into America in 1981 when he learns that he cannot return home.
This recap of Apple TV+ Series Little America Season 1, Episode 3, “The Cowboy” contains significant spoilers.
- Read the Season 1 review.
- Read the recap of Episode 4.
- Read the recap of the previous episode (2).
- Access the archive of all the episode recaps.
Episode 3, “The Cowboy” begins with a Western genre film played on a big screen outside in Nigeria. The reel is ruined near the end causing the audience to groan. Iwegbuna hits the road with Chioke on the motorbike. Episode 3 then flashes forward to 1981 in Oklahoma; an older Iwegbuna is getting ready for the day.
Little America Episode 3 is about fitting in mostly and adapting to American ways. At a lecture, Iwegbuna does not get the hint that he needs to move from his seat and he asks his lecturer to stop smoking in economics class. He’s polite to everyone but way too forthcoming. When he gets home, he plays a tape that was sent from his mother. Chioke tells him to get a degree and then come back home.
Iwegbuna also goes to an after school class to learn how to ingrain himself into American culture. He gets up and talks about his weekend but then talks about Nigeria; the leader of the class tells Iwegbuna that as part of the speech he should not mention Nigeria. The next day, the lecturer tells him he is too pushy and does not try to fit in.
This sparks an idea for Iwegbuna. He goes into a cowboy shop and buys a hat for life. The shopkeepers also give him a pair of boots that end up chafing him. Iwegbuna is now a cowboy. He listens to another tape from his mother — she tells him to experience something in America. In class, a fellow cowboy notices his boots leaking and smiles.
Iwegbuna also heads to a farm and helps out a man with his cattle. To further his experiences, he heads to a bar and speaks to the fellow cowboy from class; he then proceeds to talk about various burgers and the obsession of the meal in America in his night school.
Reality kicks in later in Episode 3 when he tells his friends that he plans to go back to Nigeria soon; they all tell him that they have struggled to return home recently. Iwegbuna panics and gets in touch with home via a call center. Chioke speaks of a military take over and tells him not to come home. Chioke encourages Iwegbuna to make a name for himself. Iwegbuna is clearly devastated.
After small-talk for an assistant professor position with his lecturer and impresses him with his views on the single-product economy of Nigeria, he gets the job. He creates a new tape to tell his family the good news and how cowboys are real.
Little America Season 1, Episode 3, “The Cowboy” closes with Iwegbuna getting his first paycheck — he decides to buy a motorbike. The credits roll explaining that in real life, Iwegbuna is now a Dean of Economics in Louisana.
Looks like he finally fit in.
