The first shot of Atlanta’s final 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 within Atlanta’s surrealistic storytelling and without losing out on its unique brand of comedy. It’s hard to say whether Atlanta could 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.
For that, Atlanta calls 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.
Atlanta is 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, Atlanta decides 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. The joloff rice is a callback to season 3, but this exploratory journey through Darius's mind is just like Atlanta: 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 has some hints of Get Out to it in one of his hallucinations. It’s great to see Stanfield star in a single episode after Teddy Perkins (one of Atlanta’s best), 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, as Atlanta gives 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 that Atlanta’s nod to the 2020 chicken sandwich wars feels like it hasn’t aged a bit.
The camera work and how Murai dissects every scene is as great as any Atlanta episode 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 the D.A.R.I.U.S. machine is far superior to She-Hulk's K.E.V.I.N.
"It Was All a Dream" has a certain Inception element 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 something Atlanta concerned 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 signature Atlanta humor, 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 because Atlanta is, 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 behind Atlanta would be the first ones to say it doesn’t really matter if Darius sees a voluptuous Judge Judy or not. Many TV shows like Woke have tried to imitate Atlanta’s style, and they all fail to capture its blend of social commentary and surrealism, because what makes Atlanta special is that it can’t be replicated.
After four seasons, it’s hard to see Atlanta end, 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 made Atlanta such a joy to watch, it’s all definitely here in the finale.