In a recent interview on Conan O’Brien’s podcast, Conan Needs a Friend Bill Hader admitted that in a conversation with Curb Your Enthusiasm star Larry David he asked the Barry showrunner “why?” he would continue the show for another season after the way season three concluded. For those who need a refresher, season three ended with Barry being caught in an elaborate trap set by his acting teacher Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler) and Jim Moss (Robert Wisdom) and sent to prison for the murder of Detective Janice Moss—Gene’s girlfriend and Jim’s daughter back in season one.
Historically, when the criminal protagonist of a series dies or is sent to prison, that means the show is over. But Hader and the rest of the writers took it as an opportunity to explore the cast of flawed characters even further. As a result, this season is the darkest of the series yet, as the show seeks to answer the question if repentance is possible for a killer like Barry, even if he originally intended to leave that life behind him to pursue an acting career.
Season 4 begins with Barry still processing what happened to him to lead him to jail. During a jail call with Gene, he asks him, “Are you mad at me? Did you trick me?” showcasing his continued immaturity. Or maybe that’s his attempt to act sorry in hopes that Gene will still be his friend. The show is about acting, after all.
While he’s in prison, the show focuses on the side characters, and I wonder if this is what led Hader to direct every episode this season for the first time. Sally heads to Missouri after her career is in shambles, thanks to a viral video of her cussing out her assistant and the public’s reaction to her relationship with Barry. Gene is salivating over all of the new attention he’s getting from the story of sending his former student to jail.
Hank and Cristobal are finally living together. Cristobal says they are “finally able to be happy and safe,” but Barry’s prison sentence and the allure of running L.A. bring them back. Barry is full of rage in prison, frequently slapping himself and punching a wall until his knuckles are bloody.
When a guard tells him that “we are all more than the worst thing we’ve ever done,” Barry reminds him that he’s a cop killer and that he wouldn’t hesitate to kill him and his entire family. Viewers of the show know that he’s not bluffing. This leads to another impressive shot where the camera is in a close-up of Hader’s face as the cop strikes him on the head, and the only thing we see is the blood trickling down his face; for a show about a hitman, the violence is rarely ever shown explicitly.
The show’s deft ability to be funny even after the body count continues to pile up throughout the seasons continues in the final season, with fan-favorite character NoHo Hank (Anthony Carrigan) and his associates having an energetic meeting about their next scheme at the “bestest place on earth” Dave and Busters.
This leads to a dazzlingly shot scene that pans back and forth between Cristobal and Hank as they circle their table pitching to the goons in opposite directions until a waitress asks if they want any appetizers. “Yes, jalapeno poppers for the table, please.” Shortly after, they all meet in the party room with gleeful smiles across their faces as they clutch stuffed animals and other prizes they won from the arcade games.
Barry has always been its best when exposing the contradictions of these criminals in darkly funny ways. Another example would be the full transformation of Barry’s mentor Fuches (Stephen Root), to the fully tatted “The Raven,” who’s also in prison with Barry, or a debate about which Fast and Furious movie is loud enough to drown out the screams of a man being beheaded. “The one with Lil Bow Wow? Tokyo Drift? No, the one with the plane.”
Barry loves the dark contrast between these characters and regular people, and it’s hard not to laugh at these ridiculous conversations/situations. The last few standout jokes I’ll mention would be two failed assassination attempts, cameos from famous director Guillermo Del Toro and CODA director Sian Heder going from her Best Picture win to directing a CGI-heavy superhero film called Mega Girls. The show’s commentary on narcissistic actors and the current state of Hollywood doesn’t end there.
Midway through the season, there is a time jump, which is a bold move that allows us to see Barry’s attempt to use moral and religious grandstanding to make up for his past sins. In the episode entitled “Tricky Legacies,” he praises Abraham Lincoln for his “pragmatism, optimism, and compromise.” Later he finds out about his problematic actions, and Abe’s reputation in his house goes from the guy on the penny to someone with “a tricky legacy.” It’s almost Barry reassuring himself that even if someone as revered as Lincoln has dirt on him, then he shouldn’t have regrets for his actions. Later he does something similar when listening to religious podcasts about sins until he finds one that will excuse murder.
After disappearing after a violent incident, Gene gets sucked back into Hollywood when the idea of a movie being made about Barry’s story is announced because he doesn’t want to glorify his actions. But once the idea of Mark Wahlberg and Daniel Day-Lewis starring in it is brought up, he has second thoughts. He goes from viewing Barry as a psychopathic killer to a “sympathetic soul.” Perhaps that’s what the show has done best across the four seasons: exposing all of its main characters as narcissistic hypocrites who will change their tune when the opportunity benefits them.
While the pacing of the season felt a little rushed with its duty to close so many arcs over eight 30-minute episodes, every character gets some screen time and actions that are open to interpretation. The last few episodes especially felt like several season-long arcs compressed into a few episodes. As a result, some characters, like Sally, have arcs that aren’t as interesting when taken out of L.A.
Still, on the whole, Barry lands the plane for its characters in a way that is shocking (the last episode is called “wow”) and retains the dark humor that the series is known for. After watching the last season for a second time, I’m more convinced than ever that the audacious choices that Hader and his team made to conclude the story will hold up over time. The show is a reminder that none of us can choose to go after we die, no matter how much we repent; all we have control over is our actions in the present. The characters in the show continued to be seduced by fame (pride/lust), wrath, and greed. Deadly sins, indeed.
Final Rating:
‘Barry’ is streaming now on Max.
Rated TV-MA.
(Photos: HBO)
