If you’re reading this, you have more than likely watched FX’s new hit show Atlanta. If not, go watch it. Now. As in binge the first season somehow (mainly because this article is going to have a few spoilers.) It is a really good show that definitely has longevity but at the same time if it stopped at season 2 I wouldn’t mind, as it already feels complete.

Actor, writer, and rapper Donald Glover (some might know him as Childish Gambino) stars in this well-written show loosely based on his life in Atlanta, GA. Glover, in the role of college dropout Earnest “Earn” Marks, is joined by Brian Tyree Henry as rapper Paper Boi, and Keith Stanfield as Darius (no description for Darius because he’s a character you can’t describe, but can think of at least one person you know like him.) The show offers a very unique and animated take on life in Atlanta through the eyes of Earn, who is trying to make a living by managing his cousin, Paper Boi. The deadpan humor combined with very clever dialogue and super awkward scenarios make for a great half-hour of television (please consider longer episodes in season 2) and while it doesn’t follow a linear plot like most shows on television now, there are certain recurring themes; one of which didn’t occur to me until the season finale.

Earn is an interesting character, but one that isn’t too unfamiliar. He’s a dropout that clearly has potential. It’s mentioned in the series premiere that Earn might have possibly dropped out of Princeton, but it is never explained why. Did he just quit? Was he no longer able to afford school? Whatever the reason is, I hope it was worth it because while we can’t determine what Earn’s life would have been like had he finished school. It couldn’t have been as bad as the things he put himself through this season. Getting arrested, being broke, disconnection from his family, being broke, providing for his daughter, being broke… you would think that with all this going on in his life he’d be losing all his hair by now, but throughout the series, even with his world not being anywhere near perfect, he keeps pushing (where was this determination in Princeton, I wonder?)

So here we are at the finale of what has been a great season thus far. The episode opens up like a scene from The Hangover where Earn finds himself waking up from a night of partying, missing his jacket. Now initially it sounded like just a jacket, but as the episode progresses he becomes more and more determined to retrieve it, despite everyone else’s unenthusiastic attitude towards it. Eventually, I realized that it’s not the jacket he wants, but rather something inside of the jacket. I was thinking a family photo of when he was a child, or maybe a cherished item symbolizing his love for his baby’s mother, Van. It had to be SOMETHING worth the stress and almost getting shot over (oh yeah, the police showed up and turned Earn’s Uber driver, who was in possession of the jacket, into a whiffle ball.) It’s not until the end of the episode that Earn finds what he’s been looking for this whole time: a key. But not just any key; it’s a key to a storage unit - aka his home.

Damn. There I was, watching another dope episode of Atlanta that had mystery, intrigue, and humor but ultimately ended with sorrow as I watched the struggling Earn make his way to his makeshift home in a freaking storage unit. I was sad, I’m not going to lie. I felt really bad for him. But then a friend of mine tweeted me saying how he thought it was a happy ending. How? What could be happy about sleeping in a storage unit? So then I went back and actually thought about the episode, which also made me realize a few things I’ve overlooked throughout the season, one of which was that Earn was homeless. And I don’t mean couch-surfing homeless, but I mean sleeping-in-dumpsters homeless. Remember in the pilot he was asked: “did you come from behind that dumpster?” (Earn even secretly asks the janitor how long he’ll be at work, and now I understand why.) He’s always seen waking up at someone else’s house. At first, I just thought he would just be partying until he passed out or sleeping around at random girls’ houses but no, he was homeless.

All the signs were there and I’m honestly ashamed to admit that I didn’t catch them in the beginning. Even his poor diet was mentioned in the pilot. I thought it was just him eating like a child or someone with the munchies, but maybe candy and other snacks were all he could afford to eat. So maybe the fact that he did have a little place he could call his own where he could go lay his head was something to be happy about. He felt accomplished. Yeah, it’s not the Ritz. It’s not even an AirBnB. But it was good enough for Earn because he didn’t have to rely on his child’s mother for a place to stay again. He didn’t have to rely on anyone this time. And even though it was offered to him, he turned down a place to lay his head at. Was it pride? Shame? Whatever it was, he felt happier going to his storage unit for the night.

So that made me think “damn, maybe it’s not that bad of an ending.” I mean, it wasn’t a lavish finish, but at the end of the day it all worked out, and not just for Earn but for everyone. This wasn’t the only good thing that happened in the finale: Paper Boi got booked to go on tour, a good look for his career (he even gave Earn a pretty nice payment for his services) and more importantly: Earn was acknowledged as a good father by Van. She didn’t have to fuss at him or bail him out of trouble; she got to enjoy a good wholesome night with her daughter and the father of her child which put a big warm smile on her face. So I guess all in all the Atlanta finale wrapped up things nicely and possibly laid the foundation for new things to come in season 2. Hopefully by then he’ll be working towards an actual apartment.