There's a certain greatness to "Atlanta" that's not seen in a lot of shows these days. This show has had some weak episodes over the years - especially during its third season - but it still manages to find ways to improve on itself and expand the world, which is only set in a small part of Atlanta, Georgia. In the third season, the show wasn't exclusively connected to the main characters anymore, but had these small anthology episodes that would continue the themes and situations that they couldn't put onto the leads because they were making their tour across Europe. However, those episodes felt very heavy-handed because they were so lost in trying to be something shocking that they forgot the best ingredient of this show, which is the main characters. If this season has done anything, it's taking the show back to its basic roots, but still had time to deal with the anthology stories, but still including the lead characters as important roles in those stories. That's the kind of storytelling I've been enjoying from this show. Talking about all this, though, seems like it's unnecessary, because this may have been one of the most classic-feeling episodes of "Atlanta" in a while, focusing on Earn having problems in his personal life, this time with his entire family being in a ruckus over Earn's mother "kidnapping" his grandfather. This episode had the heart and soul of the show, as well as the classic humor; however, it also managed to be profoundly affecting and heartbreaking as well.
This episode seems very dedicated to the idea of family. Earn's mother's family is clearly not getting along as well as they should, and most of it is because of a crazy aunt. But again, this show has often shown us that family is a complicated subject, but it's mostly been through the relationship between Al and Earn. This time, we get some expanded "Atlanta" lore with the family coming into play again. It felt great to see this whole thing unfold, and even greater to get a little cameo from Katt Williams, reprising his role as Uncle Willie.
The episode in general provided a huge mixed bag of emotions. Not only was it heartfelt because of the dedication to putting light on family, especially Earn's mother and her love for her father (and appreciation for that love being two-folded). But it was also heartbreaking as we see what hatred can do in a family, and how it can split everyone apart. The scary truth is what this might signal for Al and Earn down the line, but the show seems like this is a relationship that'll stay golden. So let's hope they continue to signal that to us.
There's also a subplot going on with Earn's father (another great use of this anthology storytelling device), and it hits on the idea of the forgetful father, which was the episode's main ideal. In many ways, the treatment he faced from the youngsters seems like a divine intervention for him not taking any interest in what his family is doing, but it's still heartbreaking to see Raleigh in that situation. It goes to show that cycle of anger and how we take sadness out on other people with the waiter at the end. In many ways, really brilliant writing here.
The acting in this show has always been praised, but the guest stars are really what made this episode. Donald Glover and Brian Tyree Henry provide great performances as always, but the performances of Michole Briana White, Isiah Whitlock Jr., and especially Myra Taylor was incredible as well. Taylor also stood out in the first episode, but this really gave her a lot to do and she fits right into Glover's world of insanity here. Obviously, Williams' cameo was legendary as well, and hopefully, we'll get a little more of Willie this season. Is that really too much to ask for?
"Atlanta" is coming back to the greatness that it was for its two first seasons and "Light Skinned-ed" is one of this season's very best. The family theme was a perfect callback to especially the first season, and the performances as well as the strong writing made this one truly memorable among a lot of greats.
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