"Atlanta Season 3" I'm Fine With What the Show has Become


     Throughout my entire binge of Atlanta by Donald Glover, my one consistent complain is that I wish they focused on the main four characters of Alfred, Earn, Darius and Van more. I suppose that's just my brain wishing, for a bit more of a cohesive story, a bit more of a traditional format that doesn't try and venture outwards, and it's time to stop expecting it. Y'know, I actually enjoyed this season quite a lot, I thought the one-shot episodes were still well done, even if I felt like some of the Europe episodes with the main cast felt forced.

    I mean, look, while I do love Van running around beating people up with a stale baguette, it almost makes you question why they left it until the very end. Like it makes more sense that she was having an episode and that's why Lottie was rarely brought up, but I feel like they had a real opportunity to address how Earn is sort of like an absentee father at times, and it's taking its toll on Vanessa. Though, a focus on her being more than just a mother, more than just Earns baby mama, is a welcome direction.

    Moreover, while the show did not find a way to fit all the themes of blackness into the overall narrative it's presenting, the one offs that serve as a commentary on race and culture still do impress me. From the black babysitter raising white kids as a nanny, to the whole reparations episode, and lastly the episode about black kids receiving scholarships, this season is chock full of episodes touching on topics that take oftentimes take these situations revolving around race to the extreme.

    I have to admit though, as much as I liked this season, specifically now that the group wasn't just a bunch of people struggling to survive, I do miss the urban Atlanta setting it once had. It's not that I hate Europe, it's just I expected them to eventually return to Atlanta, to demonstrate how wealth has changed the way they can operate and be viewed in the community they once were a part of. I mean the European settings are nice and picturesque I suppose, but the show is called Atlanta for a reason, and it mysteriously never shows up.

Final Score: 65/100

    I wonder what the final season will be about because supposedly it actually provides closure to the characters. Will it be as short as the development was this season, or will it do away with the one-off episodes in favour of actually wrapping the show up in a satisfying manner? I wouldn't know, I just hope they get back to Atlanta, and continue delivering what they do, because while it's not my favourite, it's good to see a show tackle real issues about race without feeling forced or tacky.

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