So, it's very good in our days to remember that there shouldn't be a gap between genders. Women should have equally as many opportunities as men. We have seen a big flow of television series' that has had strong female protagonists and other shows dominated by the male gender, but with a powerful female character that stands out in the crowd. "Atlanta" is one of those shows, because throughout all the episode, I have constantly found Vanessa's appearances among the best acted and most consistent. I love her character and I love Zazie Beetz as an actress, because she brings so much life to a character that isn't interested in being in the middle of a male dominated show. Van is one of the greatest characters on this show. So, when I found out that I was about to watch an episode that centered around her, I was very excited, and the episode did not disappoint, because Donald Glover proves once and for all why Vanessa is a beast in this show.
The Van-centric storyline was such a breathe of fresh air. Her character had been absent from the last few episodes, and I had missed her presence on the show, so to get an episode that largely focuses on her, and only has Earnest in one single scene, was such a pleasant surprise. The episode made a switch in the leadership, and without completely changing the roles of the characters, they definitely placed them in the situation that the other character would have normally been in. This episode could have easily been with Earn as the main protagonist, but it wouldn't have been as powerful as it was with Van as the captain of the ship.
Beetz proves herself to be one of the strongest cast members in this episode, because her performance was both strong and powerful. Not only does she has this kind of sazz to her character that none of the guys have, but she has such a quick delivery that gives every single line a little more punch. She has a powerful presence to her, and she clearly owns her scenes. But there is still a sweet side to Van, and Beetz does a great job of clearly switching between her tough side and her sweet side, especially in a scene where she decides to do something with her friend that she probably should never have done. She is great, and this episode truly proved it.
I loved Earn's part in this episode. Most of the main cast took a backseat, and it was only Earn and Alfred who appeared in small cameo appearances. Earn had the parent role in this episode, something that we have mostly seen Van do in the previous episodes. There again, we see the switch in the character roles, and I loved the subtle way they did it. It never felt like they were forced to switch roles; it felt natural that Earn would take this backseat role, now that Van was the one in the spotlight.
But, in the midst of all this awesomeness, there is one big glaring weakness. The ending of the episode came across as very forced, and insanely cringeworthy. That entire scene was definitely the worst written scene that the show has ever had, mostly because it builds up to a completely different conclusion than what was ultimately handed to us. While Beetz still performed the hell out of that scene, and while it definitely didn't take away from the quality of the rest of the episode, it took a big chunk out of the enjoyment for me, because of the weird quality around that scene.
