Movies - TV
How Atlanta's Season 3 Finale Came
To Focus On
Zazie Beetz's Character Van
By ERNESTO VALENZUELA
The finale of "Atlanta," titled "Tarrare," features Van in Paris running cannibal-related errands with friends from Atlanta that she unexpectedly ran into and who eventually help her face her responsibilities as a parent. The carefully crafted episode addresses topical and sensitive issues, as it serves up morbid humor and confirms that Van has not been mentally well this season.
Stefani Robinson, the episode's writer, notes that the finale underwent countless revisions, re-breaking, and re-working as she was still looking for the emotional hook to drive the absurd and surreal moments in the finale. As funny and entertaining as the plotline for the episode was, if it didn't resolve or address why Van had been acting out the entire season, it would have been pointless.
More importantly, the episode features a surprisingly grounded-in-reality moment towards the end, with Van acknowledging her fears and insecurities, seemingly snapping out of her odd French persona. With everything that happened in the finale, it's unsurprising that the script went through so many revisions, in order for it to impact the season as a whole.
"Atlanta" has always been a series that's played into surrealism with a purpose. In the case of "Tarrare," Van's emotional moment at the end of the episode justifies the chaos and, according to Robinson, is indicative of the tone and themes of the entire season, making Van's journey and the finale that much more poignant.
In an interview, Robinson described Van’s journey as "a beautiful thing, but it's a scary, unsettling thing" and stated that when Van talks about "the darkness she's been struggling with" that "these are real feelings people go through." Season 3 may not have been what fans expected, but it manages to tell a compelling story while addressing real-world issues viewers can empathize with.