What I’m Watching: Atlanta (Season Finale)

Atlanta: Season 3, Episode 10 “Tarrare” (B+)

It’s hard to understand how this show gets made and what content is included in each episode, but that didn’t make this season ender any less captivating. While we didn’t see any of the male leads, we did get to see Van, who has been a consistently mystifying presence this season. I did think that Van was going to pretend not to know Candace, who we’ve met before in a season two episode, especially since she was putting on a fake French accent, but then she went ahead and acknowledged her, even though she still kept on that accent and general aura. Alexander Skarsgard was the latest random cameo on this show, and I did appreciate his peculiar send-up of himself, which involved suggesting that everyone get naked and then being part of a prank with Van that apparently got him a dream role I would never imagine him actually taking in real life. The standout moment of the episode that will surely endure forever in my brain was the one where Van took out the stale baguette from her bag and beat a man to a pulp in a museum, an event I can’t quite explain that was still extremely watchable. Being asked about Earn almost ended the fantasy, but then we still got to see cooked hands served, which was just mind-boggling, before Van finally snapped back to reality and the episode ended with a truly regal urination. That’s not something I ever expected, and this show continues to mystify me. It returns for one more season, and I’ll be curious to see how much the remaining episodes are like this one.

Season grade: B
Season MVP: Brian Tyree Henry as Alfred