On the surface, Atlanta is a comedy about a down-on-his-luck adult and young father who begins managing his up-and-coming rapper cousin. However, this concept mostly serves as a vehicle to explore more surreal and outlandish stories. Atlanta is incredibly hard to define. In some episodes, it’s a hard-hitting drama that explores the interpersonal relationships between its characters. In others, it’s a short horror movie. In others, it’s a straightforward comedy filled with wacky hijinks.
Called “Twin Peaks with rappers” by Donald Glover, Atlanta is a masterpiece that often uses surrealism to explore more grounded ideas. And those surreal scenes are something else, indeed.
Barbershop
Season two’s Barbershop is a hilarious and often frustrating episode. The simple storyline concerns Al getting a haircut before a big photo shoot. However, his trusted barber Bibby is incredibly distracted and takes Al on various adventures around town, which include visiting one of Bibby’s girlfriends and stealing some lumber from a construction site. They also commit a hit-and-run. The episode is intentionally frustrating, and despite his annoying personality, Bibby instantly became one of Atlanta‘s greatest supporting characters.
The Alligator
Season two opens in spectacular fashion with Alligator Man. Earn and Darius visit Earn’s uncle Willie, and the two talk about their past and their shared personality traits. Willie is also in possession of a loose alligator. Once the police arrive (answering a domestic disturbance call), the alligator is let loose by Willie as a means of distraction so he can flee the house and run away. While given a suitably epic introduction, the alligator simply wanders around and fails to pose a threat to anyone.
Most Of The Juneteenth Episode
Juneteenth is a day devoted to celebrating emancipation, and in the episode, Earn’s girlfriend Van takes him to a Juneteenth party. Van wants to network, and she thinks the Juneteenth party will be a good place for it. When they get to the party, they realize that it is being hosted by an upper-class white man who likes to spout racial slam poetry and that the drink menu consists of cocktails like Plantation Master Poison and Emancipation Eggnog. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Earn eventually goes off on the host, and he and Van flee the party.
The Glowing Chicken Wings
In one episode of the show, Darius and Al go to famous Atlanta joint J.R. Crickets and get some lemon pepper wings with “the sauce” on them.
When Darius opens the box, a beautiful yellow glow can be seen protruding from the box and onto his face. Darius and Al also look inside and barely hold back tears as they gaze at the beauty within. It’s likely just a reference to Pulp Fiction and its famous glowing suitcase, but either way, the glowing chicken wings is both hilarious and a little surreal.
Black Justin Bieber
In season one’s Nobody Beats the Biebs, Justin Bieber makes an appearance at a celebrity basketball game. Only, Bieber is portrayed by a Black, and the episode never acknowledges his change in race. His obnoxious personality is the same, as is his style of pop music. Of course, the change in race isn’t solely for the purposes of surrealism and comedy (although it certainly is funny). It also raises some important questions and thematic statements, with Glover himself stating, “It makes you ask yourself questions about the way you perceive Justin Bieber.”
The Man On The Bus
Atlanta made its surreal qualities known in the very first episode. Earn is riding on the bus with his young daughter when he is approached by an older male. The man sits down, whips out a jar of Nutella, and starts fixing a sandwich while Earn discusses his perceived failures. The man spouts some philosophical thoughts in return and orders Earn to eat his Nutella sandwich, and when Earn disobeys, the man gets off the bus and walks into the woods with a dog. He is never seen or heard from again.
Tobias
Season one’s Value mostly concerns Earn’s girlfriend Van, and it contains the greatest (and funniest) ending of the entire series. Van works as a teacher, and she is warned about a kid named Tobias.
When Van sits at her desk, she looks up and is met with Tobias wearing whiteface and staring at her with a smug look on his face. The episode then cuts to black, preventing viewers from receiving an explanation for Tobias’s behavior. There is no direct statement as to why Tobias chooses to do this, but the implication is that he does so to mess with his teachers. Whether or not there is a grander statement is up for viewers to decide.
The Man In The Woods
Season two often split up the characters, giving each their own unique episodes and storylines. Woods belonged to Al. After fleeing into the woods to avoid some violent people, Al quickly becomes disoriented and lost. While in the woods, he encounters a strange man who threatens Al with violence if he doesn’t “find a way out.” It’s the motivation Al needs, and he eventually comes across a convenience store. The woods helped to convey Al’s feelings and provide him with some welcome character growth.
Teddy Perkins
Teddy Perkins is arguably Atlanta‘s most famous and critically adored episode. This one follows Darius, who travels to a mansion to pick up an old piano. While there, he meets the mansion’s owner – an odd man named Teddy Perkins. Perkins seems to be referential to Michael Jackson, and it ends with Perkins’s “brother” Benny taking Teddy’s life and his own. It’s a dark, sad, and often very scary episode, and it is absolutely brilliant.
The Invisible Car
Perhaps Atlanta‘s most surreal scene involves a very real invisible car. Darius mentions a celebrity named Marcus Miles, who allegedly owns an invisible car. He posts pictures of his “invisible car” to social media, and Al rightfully calls it nonsense. However, the truth is revealed at the end of the episode when Miles speeds away in his invisible car and hits multiple patrons on his way out. The invisible car was completely real, and viewers are simply asked to recognize that invisible cars exist in the universe of Atlanta.
