It's been seven years since every season of Atlanta is filled with the surreal storytelling that makes the show unique.

It can be hard to always decipher what it is Donald Glover is trying to say, and even he its that he ended Atlanta, in part, because it started getting too weird. That weirdness and unreliability of narration are crucial to the show, and while it may not make sense for a series that goes on ten seasons, four seasons is plenty of time for Glover to put all his quirky, philosophical, and crucially, hilarious, thoughts on the screen. One episode from season 2 embodies this more than any other, and I still have trouble deciphering what the intent exactly was.

"Teddy Perkins" Is Atlanta's Best Episode – And I'm Still Not Sure I Get It

The Titular Teddy Perkins Is An Enigmatic And Frightening Character

"Teddy Perkins" is the sixth episode of season 2, and is arguably the best episode of Atlanta. In the episode, in which Earn does not appear at all, Darius Epps (LaKeith Stanfield) answers a mysterious message board for a valuable piano for sale. When he goes to a mansion to pick it up, he meets the piano's owner, Teddy Perkins. Teddy is an odd white man whose face looks like a mask. Teddy is played by Donald Glover, and his appearance is unsettling, approaching horror rather than the comedy the show usually deals with.

As the episode continues, Teddy behaves more erratically, and Darius realizes he's not going to get out of this house easily, much less with the piano he was promised. It's a disturbing and gut-twisting episode, with the tension ratcheted up expertly by Glover. While Teddy's appearance may at first seem like an absurd joke, it becomes increasingly more bizarre and horrific as he stays on screen. It's a bold and mesmerizing piece of television, and yet I can't tell who or what Teddy is standing in for: racism, the music industry, the quest for fame, they're all viable answers.

The Behind-The-Scenes Stories About "Teddy Perkins" Make It Even Better

LaKeith Stanfield Did Not Know Donald Glover Was Playing Teddy Perkins

The behind-the-scenes stories about the "Teddy Perkins" episode only make it better. Glover refused to drop the character while he was on set, and Lakeith Stanfield did not even know it was him at first (via THR). Stanfield said,

"I was like, 'Wow, this is a very interesting fellow.' I wanted to know more about [the actor], so I started asking him questions. And Donald had a whole history prepared. He was saying he's been acting for a long time. And I was like, 'That's funny, because this is a very small business … I would not miss your face.' So I started asking around on the set, 'Who the fuck is this guy?' And then someone finally just spilled the beans, which now I'm kind of mad about, because I wish the illusion would've gone on a little longer."

Teddy Perkins is a creepy character to match his creepy episode, and the effects are so unsettling and Glover so hidden by the prosthetics that his own longtime screen partner was unable to recognize him. It adds to the mystery of the episode that Glover decided not to tell anyone on set who he was underneath the Teddy Perkins mask. It's already a meta episode, looking at fame and reality. That Glover kept even his own actors in the dark adds another level of metaness to the table.

Stanfield said that Glover never dropped the Teddy Perkins act either, staying in character as long as he was wearing the mask (via EW),

"And they called 'cut' and it was Teddy, and when I saw him get makeup done, it was Teddy. I didn't see any prosthetics, so I didn't know. I had no idea who it was and I still don't quite know, so it was very weird for me."

Glover's desire to stay in character tracks with his usual commitment to bits and TV shows, and he's always shown a propensity to go as big as possible with whatever he's working on. Whether it's producing "This is America" or writing on the reference-heavy 30 Rock, Glover has never failed to see how his art exists outside the medium it's in.

You Never Knew What To Expect From An Episode Of Atlanta

Atlanta Is Surreal And Hard To Define

It can get tricky to describe Atlanta and perhaps even recommend it, because it really does not follow a traditional television arc. Season 2 is arguably one of the more "classic" seasons of the show, and yet that's the season with "Teddy Perkins". There are episodes of Atlanta that have no bearing on the main plot and feature actors from the show playing completely different characters, then once those episodes end, the characters are completely forgotten about.

It's hard to guess what each episode of Atlanta will bring next, and the surrealism becomes a major part of the show as it goes on.

It's hard to guess what each episode of Atlanta will bring next, and the surrealism becomes a major part of the show as it goes on. However, that's also what makes Atlanta so special. Even seven years after it premiered, episodes like "Teddy Perkins" have fans scratching their heads, but most importantly, they keep fans thinking.