Atlanta Review: “Barbershop”
This week, Atlanta takes a step back from meaningful character development in favor of an isolated episode that focuses mostly on the comedy and that’s not at a bad thing. With a combination of Donald Glover’s excellent writing and directing, “Barbershop” may be Atlanta “Robbin Season’s” best episode yet. As always, if you are not all caught up with Atlanta, know that there will be full spoilers ahead.
The idea that this episode of Atlanta is frustrating is an understatement. The entirety of the episode focuses on Alfred trying to get a haircut. This is a simple premise, but the buildup to Alfred actually getting a haircut is complicated. Alfred goes to the barber that he always goes to and asks for the usual. This is just the beginning as Alfred stresses to Bibi that he needs a haircut for an upcoming photoshoot and that he doesn’t have all day to get it. Every time Alfred gets close to getting his wish, Bibi insists that there is something that he has to take care of before he can cut Alfred’s hair. Bibi’s proposed errands become increasingly more ridiculous, from finding his son skipping school and insisting Alfred give him a pep talk to stealing lumber from a home under construction. This is an Alfred centric episode and, because of this, the audience feels the same frustration as him. Bibi’s ridiculous escapades across Atlanta take up the entire episode, with him finally getting a fresh cut from Bibi at the tail end of the episode. The episode concludes with Alfred’s next trip to the barbershop, where he goes to the barber across from Bibi, only to realize he has no idea how to tell the barber to cut his hair. The choice to focus on the comedy aspect of the episode rather than character development works really well for this episode, especially after following an episode as emotionally heavy as last week’s.
While there’s no overarching character development for the main cast, Bibi, as a side character, embodies the idea of “Robbin Season” perfectly. Almost all of his actions throughout the episode are a result of the tough times throughout the city of Atlanta leading up to the holidays. Much unlike the cold opening of the first episode, this embodiment of “Robbin Season” is executed in a more comedic fashion. “Robbin Season” hasn't been represented in the same dark light as it was in the first episode, begging the question if it will ever be represented this dark again during the rest of the season. Donald Glover has a knack for blending together dark themes with clever comedic writing, so it’ll be interesting to see how it is implemented in the last five episodes.
Once again, Atlanta proves that it is one of the funniest, smartest shows on TV right now. Hopefully this won’t be the last time we get an episode focusing on one main character, whether it be purely comedic or to develop the character further. Make sure to check back each week to keep up to date with everything Atlanta.
Zach Hall is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email zth5043@psu.edu
