What I’m Watching: Atlanta (Season Finale)

Atlanta: Season 1, Episode 10 “The Jacket” (B)

This is the end of the first season, but I suspect that, given its critical success, this show will be around for plenty of time to come, with a second season already commissioned and likely more beyond that. This wasn’t a particularly standalone episode, instead focusing on the aftermath of the big night at the club and doing its best to sum up the mundanity and insanity of his life. Waking up in someone else’s apartment with no recollection of how he got there and Paper Boi and Darius nowhere to be found was a typical start for Earn, and as he made his way outside, of course he’d be treated to sights of something minorly absurd like Free Chicken Sandwich Day. His episode-long search for his jacket was just the kind of mind-numbing adventure that we’ve become accustomed to on this show, mixed in with a far more serious event that was portrayed dryly and lightly. Paper Boi feeling like something was off with their meet seemed initially like it might just be excessive paranoia, but being surrounded by a whole crew of police was pretty intense. Watching the drug dealer they were supposed to meet get gunned down while he was running away was shocking, and Earn asking the cops to look inside his jacket made it all seem so trivial. It’s interesting social and political commentary that just feels uncomfortable in this instance. Getting the key delivered to his door before retiring to his storage unit helped him retreat to a more peaceful existence undisturbed by the progression of reality. This show is definitely interesting and creative, and I’m intrigued to see where season two and beyond take us.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Donald Glover as Earn