'Atypical' Season 3 Episode 1 review: Sam's 'Best Laid Plans' to beat autism statistics in college backfire during his summer of love with Paige
There are shows that premiere with a sharp storyline and sharp character arcs and sharp dialogues but grow blunt over the course of multiple seasons. Then there is 'Atypical' which premiered to welcome applause and managed to get better in every avenue with each passing season. They incorporated constructive criticism in their storytelling, paid heed to the demanded necessity for people in the spectrum working behind the scenes, and ensured that the whole series does not just revolve around Sam (Keir Gilchrist) and his special needs.
The premiere episode of 'Atypical' Season 3 is a testament to that. While the primary focus is on Sam gearing up for college, the storylines of his parents, and sister are equally important, setting the stage for what is to come in the coming episodes. 'Best Laid Plans' kickoff right where the Season 2 finale of the Netflix series left off, addressing the three major cliffhangers - Doug (Michael Rapaport) is at his female friend's doorstep, Casey (Brigette Lundy-Paine) is holding her more-than-female friend's hand in a car, and Paige (Jenna Boyd) is processing the information that Sam is in love with her.
Thankfully for those rooting for Doug and Elsa (Jennifer Jason Leigh), he has not cheated on her, but just wanted to vent to his friend, but his timing could not have been worse. However, it is clear that there is something brewing between them, and if you are planning on binge-watching the show you will find out what soon enough. It is clear that Doug and Elsa's problems haven't been fixed, and they may not be for a while, cheating is a hard thing to forgive.
We are very happy with the realistic unraveling of their story, especially considering the nuances of them being parents to two teenagers, one of them being autistic but the fact that they had problems in their marriage that led up to Elsa's cheating, and that while Doug needs to process everything the way he needs, Elsa doesn't deserve to be strung along. I mean, she shouldn't be strung along, unless Doug wants his mattress set on fire.
The same slow and realistic approach is used to address Casey's story as well. As anyone who has had to come out knows, it is a process, and sometimes it's about putting one foot out the closet and holding the rest of your body inside. Not only is friendship with Izzie (Fivel Stewart) important to her, but so is her relationship with Evan (Graham Rogers ). He has been the perfect boyfriend to her, and it would be uncharacteristic of her to throw that down the garbage disposal, grab a rainbow flag and march down the street.
We see how difficult and awkward it is for her tiptoe around everyone's feelings to get to the conclusion: "I am (potentially) bisexual". We are excited for Casey to take her time and reach her truth at her own pace.
Meanwhile, we get to see firsthand one of Sam's biggest challenges - focusing on one thing at a time. After obsessing over a statistic that states four out of five students in the spectrum do not graduate college, he gets distracted by Paige's desire to have sex before leaving for college. His "best-laid plans" to beat the odds at college get derailed by the potential of having sex for the first time, and when he realizes this, he gets angry with Paige - at her favorite pasta haven no less. However, the growth in Sam since we first met him is seen in his readiness to apologize to Paige.
Paige, as Casey puts it, gets him, and while they are back together, their plan to have sex is put on hold. This is also going to be a storyline we get to explore, but we hope that the pursuit to have sex is not too heavily focused on the show, because that would take away from the authenticity of who Sam and Paige are as people.
We give the premiere episode os 'Atypical Season 3' a solid A- and you can stream it right now on Netflix.