by Chantal Ashford, Contributing Writer
It’s time to say goodbye to an era. In 2016, Atlanta got introduced to our households, and it’s dropping the mic after four seasons.
It’s the story of Earn (Donald Glover) and his rapper cousin, Alfred, aka “Paper Boi,” (Brian Tyree Henry), as they maneuver through Atlanta’s wild, otherworldly hip-hop scene. Along for the ride is Earn and Alfred’s eccentric friend, Darius (LaKeith Stanfield), and Earn’s on again, off again girlfriend and mother of his child, Van (Zazie Beetz).
We watched the wild journey of the three friends sitting on an abandoned couch in the neighborhood to sold-out shows in Europe after Paper Boi becomes famous. The outlandish but relevant plot lines drove this show off the beaten path into one of the best dramedy series of the 2010s.
After staying in Europe in the previous season, we see the crew back in Atlanta in the fourth and final season. We watch them dealing with racist TSA agents, their families, untalented rappers, vengeful old classmates, and a Tyler Perry-esque character. That’s just to name a few misadventures they go through.
The fourth season is a step up from the last. We see more of the original cast in the city because they are in Atlanta. The series would be lost without the main quartet. It’s like seeing the family for the first time in a long time (it’s been since 2018 that we got Season Two, before getting Seasons Three and Four almost back to back this year).
Glover, Henry, Stanfield, and Beetz are outstanding, always showing their acting chops. No matter if it is funny or emotionally charged, they never miss. Their acting in this season should be nominated, and someone should be winning.
I have two standout episodes: Episode Seven, “Snipe Hunt,” and Episode Eight, “The Goof Who Sat By the Door.”
In “Snipe Hunt,” it’s Earn and Van’s daughter Lottie’s sixth birthday. They go on a camping trip, but it’s a chance to see how far Earn and Van have come from the first season. Earn has grown up and wants to show Van he’s ready to be there for them, and there’s an intimate moment between two lovers, finding footing again and admitting their love. The episode is quiet and had no drama. We’re watching a family become an actual family.
As for “The Goof Who Sat By the Door,” we have a revisionist history of A Goofy Movie. The plot line is about Thomas Washington, a Black animator who got accidentally voted in as the CEO of Disney and wants to make the blackest movie of all time. The episode is presented as a documentary aired on B.A.N. The story explains how the film became what it is today, and how this Disney cult classic left an essential mark on Black culture. It had nothing to do with the show I loved the most. This episode is thrown right in the middle of a season that was good, only to make it better.
In the last episode, “It Was All Dream,” Darius has a date at a flotation therapy spa before meeting up with Earn, Al, and Van at a Black-owned sushi restaurant. As we follow Darius to his session, which deals with meeting up with an ex, getting pulled over by the cops, stealing the cop’s gun, and hitting some woman on a bike, we realize the man is dreaming. Darius only knows he’s still dreaming if he sees a thick Judge Judy on the television. Various dreams are going on while watching the present with Earn, Al, and Van, wishing for a Popeye’s chicken sandwich with the popular food chain taunting them across the street.
As the series comes to a close, we won’t know if this was real or all in Darius’ head. So that is the question. Was it all a dream? The answer: does it matter?
Score: 9/10
Atlanta is currently streaming on Hulu
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