Atypical season 4 review: Saying goodbye to our support system

We were fortunate enough to see a Netflix original series like Atypical in our lifetime and, thankfully, we’re just as fortunate to see the series come full circle in its fourth and final season.

In reflecting on the show’s first three seasons, we’re reminded of how often this slice of life series reminds us that it’s okay to be far from typical and that we should embrace the things that make us different.

Atypical season 4 is no different in reminding us of these beautiful things, but what sets this season apart from its predecessors, was its inspirational theme that was apparent throughout these final episodes.

Atypical season 4 review

The previous seasons of Atypical called for us to embrace who we are as individuals; to not be afraid to let our quirky nature be shown to the world. After all, normal is boring, and falling in line makes life rather dull. However, in Atypical season 4, what the series called for us to do was understand that it is nearly impossible to be who you are without the backing of those who know and love you better than anyone else in this world does.

The theme that rang throughout each and every episode in season 4 was… support.

We open this season with plenty of seeds that lead to such diversified plants. We have Sam’s (Keir Gilchrist) seed that consists of going to Antarctica. We have Casey’s (Brigette Lundy-Paine) seed that is filled with doubts about her passion and her sense of belonging. We have Doug’s (Michael Rapaport) seed that struggles with the concept of rest, and we have Zahid (Nik Dodani) and Paige (Jenna Boyd), who both come with their own seeds full of struggles.

The seeds of these characters needed constant support to mature, just like actual seeds rely on the support of the elements to grow — without it, plants grow weak and wither away. We see the latter happen in Casey and a few other characters’ stories.

What happens in Atypical season 4?

In the fourth season, we saw Casey struggle with her identity as a runner and her overall identity as a person. She had difficulty voicing that she was under immense pressure as an athlete but simply tried to deal with it herself. However, by being her own cheerleader (and cheerleader for other people), she became overwhelmed with stress, so much so, she froze up during an important track meet.

Concurrently, Casey grew nervous and uncertain about her inability to feel community; almost feeling like an outcast amongst people that she thought she shared more in common. Ultimately, her feelings of alienation led to a bad habit that couldn’t go unnoticed.

With Doug, following the sudden loss of his best friend, Chuck (Karl T. Wright), we see he loses a big support system in his life. Naturally, while grieving, love from those that you cherish will bring you some sort of tranquility. However, being that Doug initially refused to allow his support to help him, he became irritated and often meddled in other people’s lives; he was spiraling.

When it was revealed that Zahid had testicular cancer, the first person he told was Sam. However, Sam was too focused on his turtle, Edison, to pay attention to Zahid’s somber diagnosis. The same lack of listening is seen in Paige’s character this season as she grew more and more frustrated with her job because she felt like being a potato didn’t align with her purpose. When she tried to open up to Sam (or anyone) about her displeasure, she was often ignored.

With all this being said, it is clear that Paige, Zahid, Doug and Casey all had instances of zero support.

However, with Sam’s story, he wanted to go to the cold and barren land of Antarctica, which, while doable, was extremely sudden and caused tons of concern. Still, he had his strong support system encourage him to take that leap of faith no matter how bleak it seemed. Sam had people around him to lift him up when he was down; Sam had support.

With this theme in mind, we saw these instances of Paige, Zahid, Doug and Casey be rectified as they either finally voiced that they needed help or as they finally received help from their loved ones.

How did Atypical season 4 end?

In the final episodes, we see Casey use her voice to set boundaries on what she does and doesn’t need help with. She let a friend help her figure out her sexuality and also let her girlfriend, Izzie (Fivel Stewart), assist with her next steps in her passion.

Though in a dream, Doug received help from Chuck one last time, urging him to take a break and spend his 54 vacation days with family. Additionally, both Zahid and Paige received the help they needed from the start from their loved one, Sam, who was also able to become a better support system for his girlfriend, best friend and family — something he may have learned from his altruistic mother, Elsa (Jennifer Jason Leigh).

As we’ve mentioned previously, the theme of support rings true throughout these final episodes, and we can’t help but reflect on how much Atypical has inspired us since its debut episode, aptly named, “Antarctica”. From watching Sam grow into an independent young man to watching Casey become the cool bisexual icon that she is, we are left with our minds motivated and our hearts full of thanks.

Atypical, thank you for being our support system for the past four years. Thank you for helping us not only embrace ourselves but embrace others. And most of all, thank you for bringing awareness to the wonderful lives of those on the spectrum.

It’s with a heavy heart that we bid this farewell, but we won’t say goodbye just yet — we’re still waiting on our Little Dude to come home so we can give him a nice big penguin hug… if he wants one.