‘Atlanta’ Season 4 Episode 4 Non-Spoiler Review – “Light Skinned-ed”

This week’s episode of Donald Glover’s hit FX surreal comedy-drama television series, Atlanta, brings in that one older relative that everyone has in their family, giving an all-too-relatable story about family dynamics and personal social networking. The fourth episode of the series’ final season is titled, “Light Skinned-ed”. It is written by Stefani Robinson and is directed by Hiro Murai.

In this review, I will be discussing Atlanta Season 4 Episode 4. There will be no major spoilers here, as the title of this article suggests. Nonetheless, please read ahead at your own discretion.

Please note that I have seen this week’s episode ahead of its airing.

Plot Synopsis

According to FX Networks, here is the logline for Atlanta Season 4 Episode 4—“Light Skinned-ed”.

My family is so crazy we need our own reality TV show. How you still got beef from the 70’s? Whew. And y’all need to stop flirting with people’s daddy.

FX Networks Press Room

Discussion

Atlanta: The Final Season‘s fourth episode beefs up the world of Atlanta established by Donald Glover through the way it connects back to prior episodes of Season 1 and Robbin’ Season. I find it remarkable how EP/writer Stefani Robinson is able to weave in past threads and tie them all into one strong episode. After having seen this episode twice, there are many reasons why I find “Light Skinned-ed” to be my favorite episode of the season thus far.

Now, depending on your outlook on life, there are two ways that you might view this episode. The first comes from the saying, “Reject Modernity, Embrace Tradition”, while the other saying goes, “Respect the Past, Embrace the Future”. A great portion of this episode follows Earnest “Earn” Marks’s (Donald Glover) father, Raleigh Marks (guest star Isiah Whitlock Jr.), as he spends his Sunday morning at the mall according to his planned schedule. Everything that he aims to do is for the purpose of feeling young, or at least, possessing a sense of youth that he has not had in the decades before retirement.

While Raleigh has his son deal with his wife/Earn’s mother—Gloria Marks (guest star Myra Lucretia Taylor)—and his in-laws as a means for himself to neglect dealing with family matters, there is something about the man’s own subplot that is just as troubling as the others’. As subtle as last week’s episode’s message had been, it seems that Raleigh has to face the tests of time.

The Chronic Illnesses of Capitalism

To be youthful does not necessarily mean to wear Forever 21 clothing, or wear makeup or hair products or fragrances to help give off that “young” appearance. However, Raleigh makes for a noteworthy example of someone whose time is running out. He finds his youth in the little things that should not really matter but do, such as an old-fashioned Bluetooth earpiece, polished dress shoes, an old timer’s hat, etc., and so a search for a new phone—whether he finds one or not—may not mean much to him.

We can juxtapose this with the Gen-Z teenagers of recent years with their “hip” clothing wear and accessories, e.g. a Gifts of Fortune trucker hat. There should definitely be a need for discourse regarding the treatment of older folks, but not all socio-cultural groups are there yet.

Other small things in the character’s subplot do not beg for much attention, yet they still point to this theme of diminishing sands in the hourglass. In the background of the mall’s food court, a glowing sign for DQ Grill and Chill can be shown. Personally, I never knew this was a thing because, before closing down, the only Dairy Queen in my area only served soft-serve ice cream; so for an American corporation to expand its menu speaks a lot about the evolution of capitalism. Raleigh even mentions Redbox at one point, which has been outmatched by the likes of Netflix. This signals the arrival of a new style and a new design of companies.

However, what really seals the deal for this specific theme lies in a small reference to Atlanta Robbin’ Season Episode 2, “Sportin’ Waves”. In both this episode and that episode, the sign for the Finish Line shoe store is displayed in the background. Of course, it could just mean that the characters are at the mall looking for new shoes. Although could this also represent the mortality of these people as well as of the show?

Color Palettes

With the help of O’Brien’s production designs, Hasbourne’s costume designs, Ayala’s set decorations, and interesting face makeup from Tunnell, “Light Skinned-ed” brings us a colorful array of hues to present different shades of comedy and drama. It all begins with a certain color of dancers at Sunday church, reminiscent of a specific Season 1 episode…

There is an intriguing focus on the colors, yellow and brown, specifically. Aside from Aunt Jeanie’s (guest star Michole Briana White) yellow floral Sunday dress (see the above photo), we have Alfred “Paper Boi/ Al” Miles (Brian Tyree Henry) calling out for yellow cards in a game of Uno. In addition to this, some characters answer their phone in the most hilarious manner. (Do you know where I am going with that?) In terms of brown colors, we have Earn’s brown casual top (see the above photo), and later discover the dark face of a certain figure.

Colorism

On the topic of dark colors and light colors, Glover and his team return to this specific conversation and what it means to be Black in America. This is often the case with many episodes of Atlanta, but this past spring’s third season made sure to make the juxtaposition of Blackness and whiteness a key theme.

Colorism stems from these discussions as a crucial point of concern. While I may not understand how severe this can affect members of the Black community, I can at least empathize from the perspective of a Filipino. In my culture, we have light Filipinos (e.g. Vanessa Hudgens) and dark Filipinos (e.g. Black Eyed Peas member, APL.DE.AP). Discrimination via colorism should be treated as seriously as racism. However, I do believe it is also important to never discredit another person for having a lighter skin tone.

These themes of color and colorism climax in a chaotic Where’s Waldo?-like moving image, with the viewer momentarily searching for a certain character amidst a room full of people.

Continuity

While “Light Skinned-ed” showcases the return of Earn’s parents and their home (as introduced in the Atlanta pilot, “The Big Bang”), there are other threads weaved into the narrative of this week’s episode. Similar to the second episode in the Atlanta series premiere, “Streets on Lock”, another character in the family is forced to take an uncomfortable and, in a way, disrespectful photo “for the ‘gram”. In this week’s episode, there are layers developed (no pun intended) prior to the capturing of this photo. Frankly, I appreciate the emotional and psychological undertones of this subplot, which leads to a rather disquieting closing scene.

As teased in the official trailer for the final season, Uncle Willy (guest star Katt Williams) makes his return. Recalling his conversation with Earn in the Robbin’ Season premiere episode, “Alligator Man”, Willy spoke about the logic and semantics of kidnapping. This time, he is back at it again, now with more family members. More on that and his performance thereof in just a bit.

Lastly, the final scene of the episode involves two characters and how they deal with a dinner bill. This subtly mirrors Atlanta Episode 103, “Go For Broke”, where Vanessa “Van” Keefer” has a dinner date with Earn. I won’t go into detail on what exactly happens, but I did note some similarities between the two episodes.

The Crew of Atlanta 

Donald Glover, Paul Simms, Dianne McGunigle, Stephen Glover, Hiro Murai, and Stefani Robinson serve as the executive producers of the series. Janine Nabers serves as the co-executive producer, while Alex Orr and Kaitlin Waldron serve as the producers. Ibra Ake, Taofik Kolade, Jamal Olori, and Francesca Sloane serve as the supervising producers. Jordan Temple, David Swinburne, and Christian Sprenger serve as co-producers.

Alexa L. Fogel serves as the casting director. Tara Feldstein Bennett and Chase Paris serve as the Atlanta casting directors. Kathryn Zamora-Benson is the U.S. casting associate.

Christian Sprenger serves as the director of photography. Isaac Hagy is the editor for this episode of Atlanta. Jen Bryson, Cameron Ross, and Gracie Hartmann act as the assistant editors. Eric Binmoeller works on visual effects, while Ashley Sengstaken serves as the visual effects coordinator.

Jen Malone and Fam Udeorji return as the music supervisors, with Whitney A. Pilzer as the associate music supervisor.

Timothy O’Brien serves as the production designer, while Taylor Mosbey serves as the art director. Tiffany Hasbourne serves as the costume designer. Liz Ayala is the set decorator. Denise Tunnell is the head of the make-up department, while Shunika Terry is the head of the hair department.

The Cast of Atlanta

Donald Glover and Brian Tyree Henry portray Earnest “Earn” Marks, Alfred “Paper Boi” Miles, respectively. LaKeith Stanfield and Zazie Beetz are credited as their respective characters, Darius Epps and Vanessa “Van” Keefer.

Michole Briana White guest stars as Earn and Alfred’s Aunt Jeanie. Myra Lucretia Taylor and Isiah Whitlock Jr. reprise their Atlanta pilot roles as Gloria and Raleigh Marks, Earnest’s mother and father, respectively. Katt Williams briefly returns as the cousins’ Uncle Willy. Tatiana Neva plays a hat saleswoman.

James T. White co-stars as a janitor. Bob Banks plays the cousins’ Grandpa, while Georgian rapper Gunna portrays himself. Teresa L Graves plays the cousins’ Aunt Pearl. Travis Powers and Jamal Akakpo play two cops.

Kelvin Hodge plays a teenage boy at the mall, while Jessica Craig plays an employee at a recording studio. Nicholas Newton plays a teenage waiter.

Performances and Character Developments

There is a good development in Glover’s Earn that started with the Robbin’ Season premiere episode. In “Alligator Man”, he told Willy that he does not want to repeat family history with his own cousin. By refusing to end up like Willy, Earn aims to break the cycle/spiral of blood drama. I believe he is going somewhere with that sentiment. In this episode, the character reiterates that he does not want himself and Alfred to end up like their older relatives. Hopefully, by the end of the series, we can at least find Earn and Al forging their own path and coming out of the spiral to make new life decisions. Of course, that is only six episodes away, so there is still time to see that development.

I enjoyed the comedic timing of both Glover’s and Henry’s characters throughout this week’s episode of Atlanta. With that said, I have to give credit to the guest roles of the episode—the cousins’ older relatives.

The Older Relatives

Once again, Williams is excellent in his Emmy Award-winning role of Uncle Willy. Compared to the other family members, he doesn’t get much screen time. When we do see him, he is as laugh-out-loud hilarious as ever. With that said, I don’t think his guest appearance can earn the comedian another Emmy nomination. However, I do think that the other adult characters in this episode have what it takes to get that award.

After her introduction in the pilot and her extended appearance in Robbin’ Season’s penultimate episode, “FUBU”, Taylor’s Gloria Marks delivers a lovely performance in the longer screentime that she is given. She is truly a gem in both comedy and drama. The character is emotionally sensitive at times, yet is the type of on-screen mother that Earn should be around more. Gloria’s time in the episode is never pointless, and I enjoyed her as much as I do Raleigh.

Following the actor’s time in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, Whitlock Jr. continues to be incredible as Raleigh Marks. While we’ve only seen him in the pilot, his return to the screen in this episode is worth the wait. Raleigh does not like wasting time, although, for someone his age, he can still be quite unwise. There are two dramatic scenes towards the end of the episode that begs for an Emmy nomination. I can only hope that he is considered for a nomination for his stand-out role.

Never Dream of Jeanie: A Newcomer to the Atlanta Family

Simply put, White’s Aunt Jeanie is pure evil. If you thought William’s portrayal of Uncle Willy in “Alligator Man” was mad, then imagine a female version of him. That is Jeanie. She embodies that one older relative that we do not favor being stuck in a room with. White puts on a mighty fine performance for someone you are not supposed to like at all—interrogative, manipulative, and completely unlikeable. I would love for the actress to be nominated for an Emmy. She shows as much promise as do Taylor and Whitlock Jr.

Final Thoughts on Atlanta Season 4 Episode 4

“Light Skinned-ed” is one of the more revered episodes of Atlanta Season 4 for those who will see it. While light-skinnedness is a fragile topic in the conversation of racism and colorism, there are still steps to make. On one hand, we should never invalidate someone due to the color of their skin. At the same time, it is also important to have good judgment of character. There is one Bible verse spoken in the background of the episode at one point—John Chapter 10, Verse 10. The inclusion of this line of Scripture is important. It serves Aunt Jeanie’s subplot but also works in favor of Raleigh’s.

With the extrapolation of the theme of family dynamics, we could only hope that this will earn itself an Emmy nomination. Overall, this is definitely an episode of the final season worth returning to. Alongside the work on appearances, we have to give credit to the music team for including old-school music in this week’s soundtrack.

Donald Glover’s Atlanta Season 4 is now airing on FX and is streaming via Hulu!

Have you seen Glover’s series? If so, then what are your thoughts on it so far? Let us know! For more comedy and drama-related news and reviews visit and follow The Cinema Spot on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!