Atypical season 3 is here and, this time, diversity is the name of the game. Over on the autism side, Sam is doing his best to beat the odds and become a college graduate, while in the LGBT corner, Casey finds herself at the center of a heated love triangle. But, with all these changes going on in the Gardners’ lives, is a switch of the status-quo enough to salvage the lukewarm season 2? Unfortunately not.
While previous iterations of Netflix’s premier autism show have been accused of doing little for representation, 2019’s instalment oversteps the mark. This subsequently leads to the kind of heavy-handedness usually reserved for my neighbours closing their flat doors at night, and culminates in two-dimensional characters, trapped in yet more stereotypical storylines. So where did it all go wrong?
How is Autism depicted in Atypical Season 3?
In short, Atypical has always depicted autism pretty abysmally, but in season 3 this isn’t for lack of trying. This can be seen in the show’s earnest attempt at tackling topics like independent autistic living or how an autist can struggle in a morally ambiguous world. However, despite a fairly balanced discussion, themes often feel hollow in Atypical season 3.
Perhaps this is due to Atypical’s lead autistic character, Sam, giving his most aggravating performance to date. A decption in which all of his character development is reserved for the final scene – something which arrives a little too late, (especially after watching an entire season in which he is abusive to his girlfriend Paige).
Nevertheless, Season 3 does try to rectify this by taking another shot at depicting the spectrum outside of Sam – with a new neurodiverse college group. Yet even this doesn’t carry the weight intended, as it is often forced to take a backseat to other plots, in what is Atypical’s unquestionably most bloated season.
This lacklustre attempt at autistic representation is even more tragic, as not only does it mean we spend less time with new faces (like the exceptionally charming Sidney), but also the new elements which are given precedence over the group don’t make use of this extra time. Speaking of which…
How is Sexuality depicted in Atypical Season 3?
Sam isn’t the only character doing a bad representation of a community in Atypical season 3 though as, when it comes to the latest series, the once showstealing Casey has seemingly been ruined between series, transitioning from ‘likeable and relatable to toxic and a ‘b****’ – as my friend Holly and her girlfriend Ellie put it.
Further to this, Casey’s story doesn’t only go against her character, but it doesn’t meet our expectations from last season either. ‘I will watch anything with lesbians in it’ Holly jokes ‘but Casey’s story is so slow that it seems like they’re more focused on turning her into Elsa [Casey’s mum] than delivering on the final scene [in series 2] where Casey and Izzey are holding hands.
This lack of commitment turns what could have been the show’s saving grace into a pandering mess and, as Ellie states, whilst ‘not every lesbian story has to be Blue is the Warmest Color, it feels like they are just jumping on the lesbian boat. It feels disingenuous’.
It’s not all bad though with this representation as, unlike the autistic aspect, Holly and Ellie feel that Casey’s established character traits made her progression feel natural, which was ‘refreshing’. However, it’s the lack of inspiration and the slow pacing of the development which has made the depiction one they can’t get behind.
‘You probably don’t watch many lesbian films’ Holly continues, ‘but they’re always the same – they meet, get together someone cheats on their boyfriend and someone always gets hurt. I don’t understand why there always has to be a strong polarity. Sometimes gay people are just gay’.
Of course, this could just be the start of the Casey storyline, and both Holly and Ellie say that they ‘like the actors and hope it will get better’. But this only highlights that the show is just too pedestrian for its own good; opening its mouth to discuss a pivotal topic without thinking of what they want to say first.
Is Atypical Season 3 THAT Bad?
Despite spending the majority of this review dragging Atypical’s name through the mud, I do believe that the series is a step up from the last. I like that the show is trying new things by introducing interesting new characters – with Sara Gilbert (Roseanne/The Big Bang Theory) being a particular highlight. I even surprised myself by how invested I became in parents: Doug and Elsa.
But, with that said, the script itself often feels incredibly clunky in places, with the setup to future scenes always taking precedence over the moment itself. This often results in most twists being easier to pick out than the moment when Zahid’s shirt appears in Sam’s wardrobe. I get that Chekhov’s gun is a thing but, do we need this much signposting when it often comes at the cost of the final blast?
As such, while I don’t completely agree with Holly and Ellie, who stated that Atypical season 3 ‘Just isn’t very good’, I do believe that it’s not even close to being as spectacularly progressive as it intends. With that said though, perhaps this was something I should also have seen coming, when Atypical removed the ‘normal is overrated’ tagline from its poster. This series was not only underwhelming from my autistic perspective, but painfully bland for LGBT viewers too.
Carry on the Conversation
I would like to thank Holly and Ellie for sharing their perspective and opinions (as well as this site’s first curse word) today, something which you can also do in the comments below (minus the swearing).
And, lf you would like to hear more of my thoughts on Atypical, then I have a whole back catalogue. So, when you’re done, why not check out my reviews for Season 1 and of Season 2?
As always, I can also be found on Twitter @AutismRevised and via my email: AutisticandUnapologetic@gmail.com.
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Thank you for reading and I will see you next Saturday for more thoughts from across the spectrum.
