Atlanta - Season 4 Finale Ending Scene 

Hot take: I think he's really awake at the end. All of them are in fact alive. He really did steal the car. And despite the sirens, it is Atlanta. They may not even be coming for him. They didn't say he drove them all the way home with the car. Just that he stole it from the sushi spot. I think while, the dream interpretation everyone keeps pushing is highly possible, everyone keeps comparing it to Inception. Remember how Inception possibly ended? I sure do. At the end, Darius believes he is still in the float tank. But he never smiled at Judge Judy in the previous scenes. He still has guilt over his parents and his brother being gone. But he has a 'family' of sorts that replaced them. He checks the TV to see if Judge Judy do got booty. We don't see it, but she doesn't. He knows he's awake now. It scares him a little. But he has a small grin of acceptance. He listened to his brother. He's where he needs to be. Everything will be fine.

My mom had a take on the finale that I agree with. Consider how every person darius encounters in this episode while he is dreaming is someone he hasn't seen in a while. Like his brother or London. Consider the fact that this season we already know that Van and Earn are leaving Atlanta and Alfred seems to be spending more and more time on the farm that he got for himself. My mom's theory is that this episode takes place after Van, Earn and Alfred have all left Atlanta and Darius is the only one still left behind. Darius is dreaming about people that he misses. He is imagining a time when the people he cares about the most are all together again. He imagines a time where he brings joy to the people he cares about by giving them a crazy car ride and good food from popeyes. It's an episode about the passage of time and how we can start to lose our sense of place when the people we care about move on to different stages of their lives.

He definitely saw that judge Judy wasn’t thicc. I think he took his brothers words to heart and realized he needed to be outside the tank.

I love how the show started with Earn, focused on Alfred and ended with Darius..best send off I've seen in some time😔💯

That’s a smile of relief at the end. He’s awake

Everything that happened in Atlanta really happened, but from Darius perspective. Notice how he told the ladies at the spa that he does the tank “once a week”. A new episode of the show comes out once a week as well, so anytime we’re watching an episode, it’s a recollection of real events in the way Darius would perceive it. Even if he wasn’t present for events, I’m sure his friend tell him about them. This explains why he never seems worried, no matter how wierd the events of the show are. While Darius’ reality anchor is thick judge Judy, Darius is actually OUR anchor to the show. In the end, since we don’t see whether judge Judy was thick, we can interpret it as both since the show has realistic and magical aspects to it. In conclusion, it wasn’t ALL a dream.

This show made me grow up, and it was amazing.

Anybody notice that little backstory about Darius’ family. I think he might’ve lost everyone before the show started.

Ponder this thought. Of the entire series, we have seen Al’s home, Vanessa’s home or the places she’s stayed, Earn’s home and his parents home. Heck, we’ve even seen Earn living in a storage unit, but we’ve NEVER seen Darius’ home or family. Not even a old friend of his that the rest of the crew know… He has been living like a ghost to us, observing the present and the past.

This series is one of the greatest shows I've ever seen. Thank you to all of the people who made this show possible for us to see as you brought us entertainment since 2016 ♥

What a series. Bravo. Encore. The whole nine.

Been watching this for 30 minoots

Just like in Inception, Darius doesn’t care if he’s in a dream or not, he’s got a family in his friends and that is all that matters

The song at the end broke me down had me thinking about my Mom who passed this year.... Keep y'all head up don't look back!

What an inception ending

Was Darius dying the whole show? Every season seemed to get more and more surreal. His constant dreams of being face down, starting towards the end, seems like he's realizing his true situation. He's drowning, almost out of time, and is visiting his past and the people important to him. First kind strangers, then an old friend, then his only remaining family, and then his best friends. Every episode seems like it could be a lesson Darius has learned over the course of his life. The final smile looks like the smile of a person who's realized something huge, and their only reaction is to laugh at the gravity of the situation. It didn't look like relief, it looked like acceptance. Edit: The first episode is titled "The Big Bang". It's the day Darius created a universe in his dreams.

Our smoke sessions won't be the same IMMA miss u ATLANTA..best show on tv yo.. .my interpretation of this show is....life is no more than a hallucination...an my boy finally woke up...

that he looks he gives them over the back of the couch feels so real. taking a second in a normal moment to recognize distant between people you felt close to, because of something they’re unaware of separating you from them

Can't Lie Would've start crying if just started playing 3005 in the background

Lakeith killed this scene

“We are all inside a simulation.” -Darius Epps, Season 2

I started watching this show at 14, I’m 20 as of the airing of the last episode. It feels in a strange way that this show showed me different aspects of growing up in different contexts. Earn taught me to find a way, show people you can make a way wether a dropout or not, dedication is key. Alfred taught me that although it’s important to be down for that action when the moment calls, it’s equally as important to not need the big lavish lifestyle to be happy. Sometimes you just want some good weed, tasty food & peace to be happy. To seize the moment but never put yourself in dangerous situations. Be aware. Darius taught me that not everything must be taken at face value, there are different roads and interpretations you can take life situations as, sometimes thinking in these different avenues will save your life. Sometimes moments that call for emotional response don’t NEED the emotional response. It’s easier to process quietly and allow yourself to accept life as it comes. Stoicism basically. I’ve learned so much, thank you Donald, Steven & everyone involved.

Everything in this show was real and this finale changes nothing! The only truth this finale reveals is that Darius has been drowning himself in Drugs & Excessive Psychosis (DEP) to cope with his issues. Just listen to the end credits song, “The Song is Familiar” - by Funkadelic. The final shot of this show was Darius smiling at what he saw on tv… IN MY OPINION, Darius closes his eyes, to imagine/create his own reality (thick Judge Judy). When in actuality, it’s all in his head. This is actually very depressing. What a great damn show…

Darius. 😭😔 him and Al were my favorites. This show was an absolute gem. Never seen anything like it. Can't wait to see what Donald Glover does next.

DID YALL NOTICE how Darius said he has a “float sesh” weekly. The employee also said he was in there for “30 minooots” in the very first episode of Atlanta Darius said “wait, I had this dream before. Wheres the dog with Texas on it?” The title of this episode is “and it was all a dream.” I think every episode was just Darius float sesh/a little bit of reality but he can’t tell what’s real or isn’t real just like he said in the pharmacy 🤯

I’m gonna miss this show so badly

The part when the song start always gives me chills, it's so perfect

This show was absolutely amazing. Best finale I’ve seen and that song at the end (The song is familiar- Funkadelic) is like my new favorite song

Atlanta choice of music is perfect.

Damn it’s actually pretty great how plausible all these different theories are

Anyone else break down crying when they heard the song and the smile on Darius face?

It’s like the ending to inception. We see the thing keep spinning, and right before it cuts to black, you see it start to wobble. Implying he’s not dreaming. In here he doesn’t respond to judge Judy like he did earlier. With his brother it was like damn she thick. This time was like an amazement. Thinking he was dreaming, but found out it’s real.

Atlanta thrived in this limbo between reality and fantasy, most questions about what was real never being explained or even being asked in the first place, things just happened and the characters accept it. So having the finale of the show finally give a clear answer on what's reality and what's fantasy, and then showing it to one character and not the audience is just perfect. Plus showing it to the character who provides the most mystery just to top it all off, the main character who'd had maybe a few sideplots of his own, getting the full final episode and answer to the series biggest question. Couldn't think of a more fitting ending for the show

Popeyes do be good

We need a spin off of Darius or a anthology Atlanta series similar to what they was doing in season 3 with episodes of other characters

I’m wondering - at first viewing I didn’t catch the faint sound of the poh-lice sirens in the background, just before the Funkadelic jawn “The Song Is Familiar” kicks in (AMAZING choice for the final scene of the series BTW) - but in the previous scene, Darius shows up JUST as Earn, Al and Van are about to be locked inside of the sushi spot and presumably forced to eat the “might could be poison” dish that the chef prepped. Darius basically appears in the nick of time to liberate and rescue his peeps - but what if Darius didn’t show up, and Earn an’ ‘em got strong-armed into eating that sus sushi and it was indeed poisoned…? Whatever the “real” ending, it’s truly just testament to the absolute genius of all involved that this achingly beautiful, unforgettable series left is with something that we will be looking for an answer to for however long. Thank you, Donald and co, for this gift that - though at an end - will truly keep on giving to all of us who loved and cherished every moment of it.

I think there’s too much pointing at the fact it’s a dream. Why even allude to it if it’s not? Plus you can hear sirens in the background towards the end signaling they’re coming for him and the fact Judy is about to get up and it’s gonna show her standing at all, plus the lyrics and meaning of the song that plays. I think they’ve all passed and Darius is trying to cope by mixing reality with escapism. Sad and real but so is the show. The thing that really pains me is as much as people wanna say Inception or Atlanta are up for interpretation, there is a definitive explained answer that the creators in their own mind have definitely chalked up to a conclusion and they’ll never share it for the sake of being “illusive” but that’s alright cuz i can connect the dots of this show for the next 20 years to the real answer or just watch it in a week in 30 years and walk away satisfied.

When he realized Judge Judy wasn’t thick he knew it was real and he wasn’t dreaming

Great❤❤❤

He was dying: as you "watch your life before your own eyes" he imagined a perfect life, with good friends and a place where he can be accepted for who he is, that's why he woke up several times. Sirens and thick Judge Judy gave it all away. Liked how they interpreted the cliché "and then he woke up" finale. There's this anime called Captain Tsubasa that had this as a meme years before memes were popular where the main character, a footballer kid achieved his dream of winning the World cup, only to wake up and see he was on a coma this whole time and without legs. I'm watching it again and again. Atlanta is up there with Sopranos.

Paperboys reaction is like the true best friend of an aloof person. like “i’m not even doing this today.” 😂

G.o.a.T show 💯💯💯

I just realized that when Darius is in the tank, there’s no significant passage of time. Maybe an hour or two in his dreams/visions. But the ending has them going from dinner, to full blown night. It’s probably real life

The Song is Familiar - Funkadelic - your welcome!

The music choices tell me,the crew left an he stayed….,maybe he’s alone an missing them!!! 1st song“There’s a place In my head I go when I’m feeling low”🎶 2nd ”there’s a quite place, there’s a song,,that I sing whenever, I’m sad,,,feeling bad🎶

I'm surprised Glove never made an episode in White Water. White Water is such a thing that all Atlanta kids know growing up.

El viaje de #Atlanta ha terminado y al mismo tiempo inicia para otros viajeros que verán este comentario más adelante. ""It Was All a Dream"

1:06 I love how they threw that line in just to make everybody question the reality of the entire show

I loved Atlanta, the first couple of seasons, I followed, then the show changed networks, and I missed the other episodes I hope they would come to Netflix, so I could catch up.

He seen judge judy wasnt thick which is why he smirked, but he stopped smirking because he realized hes not in the tank and everything that happened was real and he cant tell the difference between fantasy and reality

Y'all remember in thr first episode when he had deja vu and looked for that dog? I feel like he definitely in the tank

The interpretation is up to our view, but this ending feels bittersweet. Darius felt that his weird zen disciple began to crumble and he getting accept the reality around him - he'll be alone for long time. Whether it was a dream or not, the last shot he gave to us was a sign - we leaving Atlanta now, maybe forever or not. But still, this Atlanta will be what we missed most.

Darius is smiling because he's finally awake

I think he definitely sees she isn't thick, which is the only reason why he'd appear nervous at the end.

You can hear police sirens for the car

I don’t think he’s in the tank because paper boy leg in a cast

I've done the 1:17 reaction before so many times lmao

Inception like ending, was he really awake or dreaming we will never know

I think the whole show was a dream for all the obvious reasons everyone has pointed out plus, Darius told the ladies at the tea room that he goes to the tank once a week. And we of course get episodes of this show once a week

I don't think it matters if it's a dream, Darius is happy and so are the rest of the gang.

I believe Atlanta (the city in this series) is an allegory for purgatory and this show as a whole has been Darius’s simulated purgatory and, as the audience, we follow his perceived remembrance of his real life and the lives of his best friends before he went into his own purgatory (whether the purgatory is because he’s in a tank, he’s sleep, he’s dead, or neither is up for interpretation still). Revisit season 1 episode 1, the scene with Earn on the bus talking to Ahmad White. Earn: “Are there people on earth that are just here to make it easier for the winners?” Ahmad: “Actual victory belongs to those that simply do not see failure. Let the path push you like a broken branch in a river's current” is this not the same philosophy we’ve seen Darius follow the entire show? Especially the final scene of that finale, the face Darius makes isn’t one of relief or fear, it’s acceptance. Whether real or fake, he perceives that moment no different and sees neither option as a bad thing. This makes him the victor and the broken branch yet thru the whole show we’re seeing the POV trials and tribulations of characters (Earn, Al, Van) whose entire existences in essence are to provide comfort or joyful experiences for Darius (the winner in this situation) in his own earth/purgatory simulation. Shidd in the first scene of the episode Darius had Deja Vu of Ahmad White’s dog and this the same Ahmad White you only know from your dreams lol (iykyk). Rewatching the series is great for connecting certain dots to the finale (or completely reaching which is still fun too lmaooo)

I think he was dreaming still because how else would he know to punch that sushi chef

“It was all a dream” is hella appropriate for the title. Was it?

Judge Judy depicts simulated court proceedings for small claim arbitration cases. I think the weird in between of how Judge Judy is a real licensed judge practitioner while carrying out a cartoonized depiction of court is a good clue of what the message here is. Real or fake those televised cases have consequences and viewers make judgements based on what’s shown. Not exactly sure what the point is but I’d say that’s a crucial detail.

I’m still in the tank..😂

Judge Judy was thick at the end...it was all a dream

What is the song that was playing at the end

30 minooooooooots.......

He's been in the tank too long now he thinks he's in a new movie for Disney's Haunted Mansion with Danny Devito

:D

clean, without a pistol...

take theres nothing more to the story other then all of the charecters being a figment of each others dream's and nightmare's

This had to be a dream. How would Darrius know exactly where they were and that they were in danger. He was thinking about them. Just like he was thinking about his brother and having a conversation with them. Maybe parts are true maybe he did steal the Maserati but he was in the car by himself and just imagined himself saving his friends.

thanks to this episode, I have strong floating phobia now) I mean, can something like this happen in sensory deprivation tank?)

What it is music name?

Perhaps they died during the covid years and he is coping.

It just hit while watching this ending for the millionth time...Darius smiles because Judge Judy is her normal size, and he's not in the tank. I noticed this time around that when Darius takes that last long look at Al, Earn, and Van, he has a look in his face that seems to read, "I wish this was real. I wish they were really here." Then he looks at Judge Judy, studies her, and smiles, and it's a genuine smile of happiness. All this is real. He's really with his friends, which are now his other family. Of course, that means the cops may be coming for them (we hear the sirens in the background), but I'm sure they'll all be okay. 😀😀❤️❤️

Of course it was a dream... There was an invisible car from the first episode 🧐

What is the song?

im glad this show ended because as high as the quality stayed for every single episode, you can see a decline in the writing quality around the middle of season 3 and all of season 4. somehow all the comedy disappeared and much of season 3 and 4 circles around being creepy and dread filled. why? or did covid screw this show up entirely?

They all died

I think ep.9 was the ‘true’ ending. just watch the ending with the song and Al sitting on his porch talking to earn. I really think this WHOLE ep is a dream it started with judge Judy and ended with her.

I don’t know, at 1:43 I hear a banging noise in the background and it’s making me wonder if that’s Darius in the tank. It’s so weird!

Dont mean to be this guy but isnt this from Season 5?

No he's in the tank

👎🏿🗑️

*Gone be funny watching people try they HARDEST to flip what was not a series finale into this oh ohhhh shit this was the plan the whole time.* *It wasn’t, they tapped out cause they all got famous and they schedule got too busy. The top falls in inception. STOP. MAKING SHIT THAT AINT DEEP, DEEP.*

Here is some fn truth for yall...... 1.) Darius stole the car and he's going to jail/prison. 2.) A Goofy Movie is NOT a BLACK MOVIE. 3.) The third season SUCKED. 4.) I Loved the fact that Earn got his life together.

What is the name of the song at the end