Atlanta returned with the first episode of season four, “The Most Atlanta,” only four months after the finale of season three. The latest and final season opened with the main cast: Earn, played by the show’s creator Donald Glover (Solo: A Star Wars Story, Community), Alfred (“Al”), played by Brian Tyree Henry (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, If Beale Street Could Talk), Vanessa (“Van”), played by Zazie Beetz (Joker, Deadpool 2), and Darius, played by LaKeith Stanfield (Sorry to Bother You, Knives Out). All had a part to play in the characteristically bizarre episode.
Darius attempts ironically to return an air fryer while the store is being looted. The initially fearful employee eventually helps him with his return before deciding to also steal from the store. On his way out, Darius and others are blocked off from the entrance by a disabled woman in an electric wheelchair. She doesn’t believe Darius is here to return the item and thinks he is stealing it. He walks around her. The other looters spray her with fire extinguishers until one of them shouts that she has a knife. The lady heads towards Darius with the knife out and the wheelchair whirring. He attempts to flee by walking away quickly, and she follows him.
Because of heavy traffic, Darius can return to Al’s car. They sit there and listen to Blueblood, a rap artist who recently passed. They both reminisce on his concerts that were the reward of scavenger hunts. As Alfred talks about how much Blueblood means to him, Darius spots the knife-wielding woman in the rearview mirror. She is charging down the highway toward him. He gets out of the car to flee and narrowly escapes her knife swings. Al sits on the highway for a bit longer until a fan gets out of the car in front of him and starts live-streaming them together. He proceeds to the gas station and hears Blueblood talking about eating a zoo pie from D&D’s – the place right next to the gas station. He orders the pie and waits for it while hearing an unreleased record by the deceased artist. The box containing the zoo pie also has an address in it. He asks the server, who is as quiet as possible, whether this is a scavenger hunt and whether Blueblood is alive. The server responds by asking who Blueblood is.
Earn goes with Van to Atlantic Station so that she can get her phone fixed. On the way to the store, they bump into Kenya, played by Sh’Kia (Talk Black, Black Lightning), Earn’s ex. They catch up briefly and innocuously. As Van looks for a replacement phone, another woman knocks on the window, waving at Earn – another of his exes. Immediately after, an employee at the phone store approaches Van and recalls their last date. They both recognize this as strange. Continuing around Atlantic station, they point out to each other that many people around them are people they have dated and agree that they should leave.
Darius cannot flee the electronic whirring of the stalking chair and lady. He tells her that he did not steal it. She doesn’t care. He climbs onto higher ground and hops through a fence to get away. She motors on, seeking to keep up with him.
Al continues following the clues. He follows the hints of the music and beats video game high scores, goes to pool lockers, watches movies in 3D, and even scans the QR code tattooed on a man’s forearm. At the end of it all, Al ends up at Blueblood’s funeral. He meets his wife, who notes how the artist worked so hard without getting as much back. She wished he had more fun in his life. Al speaks to his appreciation of the artist.
Van and Earn are unable to find their car. They look for a way. On the way, they speak to Kenya again and realize she has been trapped at the station for years. Van doesn’t want to go through the questionable exit. Earn says that he’ll come back for her. When she rebuttals about becoming just like his other exes here, he assures her that he will never let that happen. They proceed together and come out to join Al at Blueblood’s funeral. Kenya followed them and came through as well. Outside, they meet up with Darius, who gives Kenya the air fryer because she forgot to get her dad a gift. The episode ends with the haunting sound of the wheelchair arriving and stopping behind Kenya.
It was terrific for Atlanta to turn around into season four so quickly after the fantastic third season concluded. The humor and horror of the weaponized, irrational lady combined in a way that has become such a hallmark of Atlanta. Earn and Van’s dilemma was freaky and creative, with a pay-off that was rather on the nose. Al’s scavenger hunt to a funeral was entertaining, simple, and wild and suited his character to the bone. The reuniting of the characters at the end, combined with the unexplained happenings at Atlantic Station, demonstrates how captivating television can be when it has the creative freedom to surpass logic and reality.
Rating: 9.0/10