It focuses on Richie Finestra, American Century Records founder and president, whose passion for music and discovering talent has gone by the wayside.
With his American Century Records on the verge of being sold, a life-altering event rekindles Finestra's professional fire, but it may leave his personal life in ruins.
In the episode, Richie and Devon go on a double date with Hannibal, while Kip is forced to fire a band member in order to secure a gig.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.618 million household viewers and gained a 0.21 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
Julie (Max Casella) fires Clark (Jack Quaid) after he fails to find a new act for American Century.
Richie also meets with Andrea "Andi" Zito (Annie Parisse), a former employee and flame who now works for Jervis (Ken Marino), failing to convince her in joining him.
In March 2016, HBO announced that the fifth episode of the series would be titled "He in Racist Fire", and that it would be written by Adam Rapp and directed by Peter Sollett.
Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode a "good" 7.4 out of 10 and wrote in his verdict, "'He in Racist Fire' worked to splinter Richie and Devon even more while also costing the label one of its biggest artists.
"[5] Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "We've been waiting half a season now to find out what kind of musical deus ex machina will swoop in to save Richie Finestra and American Century from bankruptcy (or worse, irrelevance).
"[6] Noel Murray of Vulture gave the episode a 2 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "As soon as the writers figure out that these women can be witty, compassionate, creative, independent, and even joyous, they may just unlock Vinyl as a whole.
After the pilot, directed by Martin Scorsese, set off its fireworks, the show has settled into a predictable weekly groove where Richie Finestra careens around making a mess and everyone around him tries to pick up the pieces.
"[9] Tony Sokol of Den of Geek gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Richie Finestra might be the most self-destructive character on TV right now.
I've been waiting for HBO to find a show worthy of a true Manson Lamps character and here we have the original, David Proval, as Richie's father.
"[10] Robert Ham of Paste wrote, "We get a taste of the post-Transformer Lou Reed experience via a decently-mimed performance of 'White Light/White Heat,' and an interesting look at the compromises that bands sometimes make to succeed, with the Nasty Bitz's leader agreeing to kick his friend and lead guitarist out of the fold.