The first shot ofAtlanta’sfinal episode will have many wondering if they are indeed dreaming, though the sad reality is that this television masterpiece has come to an end, and “It Was All a Dream” will fulfill the expectations most fans of the show had going into it.
Directed by Hiro Murai and written by Donald Glover, the finale pays off the desire for another Darius-centric entry, all framed withinAtlanta’ssurrealistic storytelling and without losing out on its unique brand ofcomedy. It’s hard to say whetherAtlantacould have ever had a perfect ending, nevertheless, the series is surely bookended in a fitting manner with just the right dose of mystery one could expect from it.
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For that,Atlantacalls upon another TV legend: Judge Judy, who this time around helps Darius navigate through what is real and what isn’t without depriving fans of the opportunity to say their goodbyes to Earn, Van, and Al, who are luckily off to much more grounded adventure. Darius' latest eccentric pleasure is sensory deprivation, with this week’s session being the reason why he’s not off with the rest of the gang, much to the enjoyment of the audience.
Atlantais part of Disney’s corporate umbrella, so the fact that Judge Judith Sheindlin and her ViacomCBS show swing by just speaks volumes about how big the series became, as well as how bizarre it can be at times. “It Was All a Dream” offers some insight into Darius’s psyche thanks to a strange sequence of dreams, with the added revelation that Lakeith Stanfield’s normally stoic character suffers from anxiety.
Part of Darius’s charm has always been how elusive his origins are, so funnily enough,Atlantadecides to give viewers the best look yet at his background in the finale, offering a rare intimate family moment with his brother as they talk about their parents. Thejoloff rice is a callback to season 3, but this exploratory journey through Darius’s mind is just likeAtlanta: weird, hilarious, and at times, even a bit scary.
The second part is mostly thanks to London, an old love interest of Darius he encounters on the street, but that offers some of this episode’s funniest moments (along with Old McAlfred had a farm); whereas his day at the spa hassome hints ofGet Outto itin one of his hallucinations. It’s great to see Stanfield star in a singleepisode after Teddy Perkins (one ofAtlanta’sbest), which overall says a lot about how far the career of each of these actors has progressed since the series premiered in 2016.
Speaking of which, the entire lunch meet-up with Al, Earn and Van is also incredibly funny, asAtlantagives its audience one last taste at its brand of blackness with the concept of a black fusion sushi joint. Having the three roll with the punches next to these unsightly dishes is a treat, the same way thatAtlanta’snod to the 2020 chicken sandwich wars feels like it hasn’t aged a bit.
The camera work and how Murai dissects every scene isas great as anyAtlantaepisode he’s directed, and both he and Glover have said Darius' capacity to navigate this strange world is crucial to the show. Perhaps that’s why he’s the chosen one for the finale, but rest assured theD.A.R.I.U.S. machine is far superior toShe-Hulk’sK.E.V.I.N.
“It Was All a Dream"has a certainInceptionelement to it, only that there’s no totem as Darius’s connection to reality lies in the hips and curves of Judge Judy’s body. Again, it’s an incredibly odd creative decision, but one that falls perfectly into place with the character and the series’ tone.
Although linear storytelling was never somethingAtlantaconcerned itself too much with, here the audience does get to see Earn and Van as a couple, even if we don’t know whether the move to Los Angeles is going through. Similarly, the scene with all four aboard Darius’ stolen pink Maserati captures the joy and friendship between the group, and it’s all thanks to Popeyes, as well as the work done in previous episodes of this final season.
The dialogue and jokes tossed around in the sushi restaurant are signatureAtlantahumor, but so is its messaging. Demarcus wants Al, Earn, and Van to leave with a concrete idea of how he sees black culture, how it intersects with the fast food served by Popeyes, and the same could be said for Glover becauseAtlantais, after all, his take on blackness and whiteness in America.
The final scene leaves viewers wondering if “It Was All a Dream”, however, the people behindAtlantawould be the first ones to say it doesn’t really matter if Darius sees a voluptuous Judge Judy or not. Many TVshows likeWokehave tried to imitateAtlanta’sstyle, and they all fail to capture its blend of social commentary and surrealism, because what makesAtlantaspecial is that it can’t be replicated.
After four seasons, it’s hard to seeAtlantaend, and while some might hope for an eventual spinoff of some sort, that would feel a bit off-brand for the series. Fret not, because though it’s not easy to pinpoint what madeAtlantasuch a joy to watch, it’s all definitely here in the finale.
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