When it’s underwater, it becomes round, like a fish. “Unlike most animals, the lens of a penguin’s eye changes shape,” he says during one of many internal monologues in “Atypical.” “When it’s on land, it becomes flatter, like a human’s. Surviving an inhospitable climate is all about adaptation. Sam has always filtered his understanding of the neurotypical world through his deep obsession with impenetrable glaciers, enigmatic sea life and the complex social order of penguin rooks. Sam would be the first to tell you that certain species of Antarctic penguins leave the nest within weeks of their birth, and he sees his journey more like a migration than a matter of flying the coop. At once hilarious and moving, irreverent and reaffirming, Season 4 aptly chronicles the final stages of Sam’s move toward self-determination - and the South Pole.
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The concluding 10 episodes of “Atypical” deftly tackle those fears and more, cementing the show’s legacy as one of the best series to deal with autism and its butterfly effect on family, friends and loved ones. But for those of us who spent every waking hour helping our sons or daughters acclimate to a neurotypical world - from decoding mysterious social cues to tolerating the tactile assault of clothing tags to constantly standing guard against those who might try and tear them down because of their differences - it’s particularly heartbreaking and terrifying.
Watching one’s child strike out on their own is bittersweet for most parents.
Now the series’ fourth and final season, premiering Friday, finds Sam leaving the safety of his Connecticut home and venturing out into a perplexing world that often seems perplexed by him. I’ve been watching “Atypical” since its debut in 2017, when Sam, who’s on the spectrum, was just 18 and facing the realities of every teen‘s life: dating, the struggle for independence, impending adulthood. As a protective parent and fan of Netflix’s “Atypical,” I admit that I’m not ready for Sam Gardner (Keir Gilchrist) to leave the nest - or for the streamer’s sharp, poignant dramedy about how a family copes when one of its members is autistic to leave me for good.
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