‘Atlanta’ Season 4 Review: Donald Glover’s Series Comes Full Circle in Final Season

thewrap.com:

“Atlanta” have talked about the series has led viewers to attempt to truly decipher what the series is trying to do with every season.

Originally, creator and star Donald Glover referred to the show as his attempt at doing “Twin Peaks with rappers,” which is something that could technically be considered the larger throughline of the series. (And arguably something that Season 4 completes the circle on.) The second season, subtitled “Robbin’ Season,” memorably had the “Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation” descriptor that honestly made a lot of sense as the season unfolded.

Season 3 was the series’ attempt at making a “Black fairytale,” short stories that Glover would want to watch. It was a far dreamier season than the first two seasons, and one that took the characters out of Atlanta (albeit still bringing Atlanta to Europe) while also alternating between focusing on the main characters and anthology episodes set back in Atlanta.The reception to Season 3 was the most mixed of the series, as there was an argument to be made that the anthology episodes—no matter how you felt about the quality of the episodes and what they were trying to say—could’ve simply been their own separate show.

The end of the season — which did focus on Van (Zazie Beetz) but also felt ultimately like the culmination of this anthology trip — managed to close the loop, connecting the episodes in a sense, somewhat confirming that they were “real,” but there’s still debate on whether or not the season was successful in its larger undertaking.“Atlanta” Season 4 — which finds the characters returning to Georgia for the final season — is in a lot of ways a return to form for the series, while also having the distinction of being the huge.