The Atlanta Season 4 Episode 4 Scene That Broke Fans' Hearts
Season 4 of the popular "Atlanta" television series is certainly not pulling any punches, but that's to be expected considering the previous seasons. Predominately about Earnest "Earn" Marks (Donald Glover), "Atlanta" sees the character attempt to get his life back on track. Season 4 has helped to fill in some of Earn's past and, by doing so, allows viewers to understand him better and begin to realize what his ultimate goals are and why. So far, Season 4 has seen several moments of racism, as well as tragic and unforeseen deaths. Episode 4 is a real dozy, and it features some familial conflict, a missing grandfather, and Earn's father Raleigh (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) purchasing a new hat, which almost immediately backfires.
Speaking with Interview Magazine in April 2022, Donald Glover expressed his enthusiasm for Season 4 with a prideful boast by saying, "The people need to know this is high-end s***. I'm saying 'Atlanta' is osso buco served with risotto, prepared by a chef who studied in New York City, spent five years on the road, worked at a Michelin star spot for three years, and used the money to buy a small farm." He continued, "He invites you over to try out some recipes he's been working on with his friends using the produce they grew together. Even if you don't like it, you can't say it's not high quality. The quality is undeniable." It seems, though, that several "Atlanta" fans have had quite a visceral response to one particular moment in Episode 4, but which one, and what exactly are fans' thoughts on the matter?
Fans took issue with the response to Raleigh's hat
It turns out fans of "Atlanta" have a fair amount of sympathy for Raleigh's plights and, specifically, his newly acquired wardrobe. As mentioned earlier, Raleigh is convinced by a salesperson to purchase a fancy new hat while he attempts to avoid the Sunday church crowd. Raleigh is happy with this purchase, and as he leaves the mall upon realizing that the area has become crowded, he is stopped by a group of young men, with one of them poking fun at his brand new hat, commenting that he looks like the musician Prince if he got fat and old. The youth then begs for a picture for Instagram, and Raleigh eventually relents, but his next scene sees him taking it off in despair. It is this moment that fans have taken issue with, and they definitely feel bad for Earn's father.
Taking to Reddit to express their feelings, u/_pixel_perfect_ said, "Felt so bad for Earn's dad, those kids didn't have to diss his drip like that." Others also felt sympathy towards Raleigh, with u/chuckxbronson stating, "Earn's dad getting clowned like that actually broke my heart. Kids are so f***ing mean, dude. Hat was kinda ugly, imo, but that's no reason to get publically trolled like that. I hope he doesnt become a meme in later episodes, i'd feel so bad for him." u/unclesketchy added, "Why those kids had to clown Earn's pops man." With these words in mind, it appears as if viewers did not particularly care for this exchange between Raleigh and the group of teenagers and truly feel bad that Raleigh was shamed into not wearing the hat because of this interaction.