Atlanta concluded its campaign with the release of “It Was All a Dream”. The 41st episode in the series marked the end of the heartily loved show and was aired on 10th November 2022.
The show’s central plot focused on two characters who are on the way to becoming legit rap superstars in Atlanta, where the show is set. Directed by Donald Glover, Atlanta first aired on 6th September 2016 and was instantly appreciated. The series showcased some of the many issues present in the world, such as racism and discrimination.
Atlanta aired on FX and always had a big fan following as it was just too good for a comedy-drama show. The fourth season’s finale was somewhat similar to the finale of the third season, a feat that led us to believe in a feeling of déjà vu as the show concluded.
Let’s dive right in and explore the ending of Atlanta and see what the ending meant (or could’ve meant).
Darius’ Reality – What happened to him?
The finale saw Darius coming to the rescue of Earn, Al, and Van from a hostile situation at the sushi restaurant. What made absolutely no sense was the fact that Darius was in a pink Maserati, which had a zebra print on the interior of the car, a detail the viewers had never seen before.
Darius says that he had stolen the car from a valet but blows everyone’s mind away when he adds that he thinks he is still in his tank session. Earn tries to reason with Darius and tries to make him understand that he is not in the tank. This moment saw Darius say that all other characters had always been just parts of his dream, a statement that altered everyone’s mind.
Darius waits for the arrival of “thick Judge Judy” as he wishes to clarify his own mind. However, the viewers never get to see what Darius saw on the TV, as he just cracks a smile and the audience hears police sirens in the background.
Atlanta Ending Explained: “It Was All a Dream”?
What more could the viewers possibly want than a thrill-filled last episode? Titled “It Was All a Dream”, the ultimate episode really put the viewers in a dilemma – Was the final season nothing but hallucinations in the subconscious mind of Darius as he loses his senses, which is further highlighted throughout the show when he wakes up in the tank alone?
Some moments can be assumed to be more than a dream, just like the time when Darius shockingly visited his presumed dead brother Kevin. Another instance of the same thing is showcased when Darius has a head-on with his old friend Nate. Needless to say, the viewers never get the chance to fully analyze what just happened, as the question always lingers- is Darius out of the tank?
There were numerous other instances too, where the audience could have confidently said, “It was real”, like the scenes at the sushi restaurant with Van and others, but by the end, everyone’s mind was just blown away. One can argue that the producers were some kind of shinobis, with the number of deceptions they managed to pull off with the viewers.
When we really think about it, Darius proposed numerous times that his friends were only subjects of his imagination. This theory just blows everything out of the water, as it is entirely possible that the entire show was nothing but just a dream (Shutter Island 2.0 maybe? ????). Throughout Atlanta, the theory has been highlighted several times, with moments including invisible limos and possessed forests.
Hiro Murai, the director of the final season, stated that Atlanta “always lived a couple of inches off the ground of reality”.
Nevertheless, this absolute dilemma that the viewers are facing of whether the events of Atlanta were real or not is one of the main reasons why the show will be dearly missed. It could be very possible that a show of such calibre and high quality was meant to be only a dream for viewers and showcase what arguably should be the bare minimum for a modern show.
