Glover wraps up `Atlanta’ with one of the best seasons in recent TV history
Photo by Bill Ingalls/ NASA via Wikimedia Commons
Writer-actor Donald Glover has wrapped up the fourth and final season of “Atlanta”.
December 9, 2022
Two-time Emmy award-winning actor and writer Donald Glover has ended his critically acclaimed comedy series Atlanta on a remarkable note.
In late 2020, Glover tweeted that Seasons 3 and 4 of the series would be “some of the best television ever made” since The Sopranos. That seemed far-fetched after Season 3 featured nonstop stand-alone episodes, an unfamiliar setting, and questionable writing choices. But the recently released Season 4 is truly one of his best seasons of television to date.
Atlanta is one of the highest acclaimed shows in recent years. It follows a rapper called Paper Boi, formally known as Alfred, along with his childhood friend, Darius, and his cousin, Earnest, who manages his career.
In this show’s final season, fans are given a glimpse at the characters at their most vulnerable. Earn reveals he has a therapist and opens up to his ex-girlfriend, Vanessa, about their unsteady relationship. Alfred tries to find solace in his secluded “safe farm” after a near-death experience. And Darius is shown grieving his late family members.
Yet amidst the heavy parts of the season, Glover fits in his signature over-the-top plot twists, which create some of the show’s best moments.
As usual, Glover’s references to pop culture are written in a way that doesn’t seem out of touch or forced for laughs. In the opening episode, “The Most Atlanta,” a mysterious rapper, made in tribute to the late MF Doom, is voiced by fellow rapper Earl Sweatshirt, and he orchestrates a scavenger hunt before his death, which sends Alfred down a cryptic rabbit hole. Within the same episode, Darius is chased by a familiar face in meme culture, and Vanessa and Earn are stuck in a mind-bending time loop together. It’s safe to say the eccentric aspects of this TV series are still present.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly which of the 10 episodes in this final season is the best, but “Born 2 Die” is definitely up there, being one of the most reminiscent of the show’s first two seasons. It’s weird and insightful under countless layers of humor, and the iconic character Yodel Kid is created in this episode.
One episode that sticks out the most is “The Goof Who Sat By The Door.” With two episodes remaining in the show, Glover takes a risk and produces yet another stand-alone episode. It’s so well put together that it genuinely feels like a program separate from the show.
The series finale, “It Was All a Dream,” concludes the show perfectly. In a very Sopranos fashion, the camera abruptly cuts to a black screen right before the episode’s climax, leaving the ending to the viewer’s interpretation. Everything about this episode is well-executed – the obscure sensory deprivation tank plot, the comic relief, and the brief social commentary before the episode’s climax.
This season offers something for everyone. There are moments of hilarity, contemplation, surrealism – and, of course, Darius’ chaos.
