Barry season 4 premieres on HBO on April 16.
Knowing when to end a TV show before it gets stale is a great skill, particularly when characters are constantly being painted into corners with seemingly no escape. Barry creators Bill Hader and Alec Berg have perfected the latter, and the final season of the hitman-turned-actor dark comedy is another HBO series going big before it goes home in 2023.
Thankfully, unlike the gap between the second and third season, we don’t have to wait three years to find out what happens to Barry Berkman (Bill Hader) after he finds himself in yet another impossible scenario. His luck evading the police had to run out eventually; if death didn’t get him, something else would. Or rather, someone else. As a surprise to everyone, the season 3 finale saw Barry’s acting teacher and surrogate father, Mr. Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler), delivered the performance of his life, leading to Barry’s arrest for the murder of Detective Janice Moss. That episode is the series at its most audacious, and this enticing momentum continues in season 4, with the action picking up as Barry gets booked into prison.
Whether a person can change has been a prevailing theme, and this continues throughout the seven episodes (of eight) made available to critics. What sets Barry apart from other stories exploring someone trying to outrun their past is how guilt and narcissism overlap for every major player caught up in a web that started spinning when this hired killer tried his hand at an acting class. Out of that absurd premise has come brilliant, imaginative, edge-of-your-seat scenarios coupled with an unexpected emotional depth exploring regret, guilt, and free will.
“
Considering this is still a comedy, it is impressive that no other show can create this many hold-your-breath-moments punctuated with farce. Yes, there are still laughs beneath the darker mood that has always been a prevailing Barry signature, even if the premiere episode leans harder toward the consequences of his actions.
Peeling back the layers of Barry’s apparent quest to become a good person when he’s behind bars for a crime he did commit allows Hader to nail the despair that has lingered beneath the surface since the very first episode. Figures from his past haunt him (his body count is very high) in a purgatory-like state, emphasizing the existential crisis enveloping the titular character, and his complicated journey with absolution continues. In prison, surreal elements are destabilizing factors that add to the emotionally charged mood. While these scenes are undoubtedly brilliant, the simplicity of when Barry faces himself in the mirror is an image that will linger.
One of the reasons Barry has been so effective in balancing humor and horror is within its exploration of organized crime and Hollywood. The line between assassin and actor has always been thin in this series, showcasing how cutthroat both industries can be and that each requires you to wear a mask of sorts. Barry found a freedom in acting that let him reveal his truth in performance, and the showbiz aspect remains vital in the final season. Yes, some gags about streaming and superhero movies have an inside-baseball quality to them, but you don’t need to get every reference to understand Sally’s (Sarah Goldberg) drive and despair.
The last time we saw Barry’s ex, she was getting on a plane back to her hometown of Joplin after she had an extremely violent (and deadly) encounter. While the time spent in the Reed family home before returning to LA is brief, it effectively confirms so much about Sally’s insecurities and why her short-lived TV series tried to rewrite her personal history. In this role, Goldberg has been consistently brilliant, painting Sally as a narcissistic yet sympathetic figure. Even when she’s compassionate, her ambition is not too far away. She is one of the most fascinating characters on TV at the moment, and it’s a growing disappointment that Goldberg has been largely overlooked when it comes to the awards she’s worthy of.
Barry’s incarceration separates him from people he has forged meaningful connections with during his time in Los Angeles (including Sally), and the changes within these dynamics ensure the final season feels fresh. In some ways, Barry becomes a supporting character, and the ensemble has equal time while grappling with the news of Barry’s arrest. Gene is caught between stardom and not wanting to anger Janice’s dad, and this precarious position leads to some hilarious moments. Any time Winkler shares a scene with Gene’s agent Tom (Fred Melamed), it is comedy dynamite and a reminder that, for all the darkness, there are still two old men trying to survive the current Hollywood landscape while making some very dumb choices. The most I laughed at this season (so far) features this duo proving they are no masterminds.
“
Plans go awry at every turn, and one character who has had his fair share of victories and disasters is NoHo Hank (Anthony Carrigan). He is a fan favorite for a reason, and despite not having seen the finale at this point I feel confident naming Carrigan the MVP of the final season. This character could’ve easily been nothing deeper than comic relief to balance the bleaker elements with his theatrics; thankfully, Carrigan has a wealth of material, including Hank’s tender romance with Cristobal (Michael Irby). It is business as usual, but the horrors of what went down at the end of last season linger, and there is nothing cartoony about this character. Carriagn’s performance continues to offer surprises even in the fourth season, and once again, I am thrilled that Hank wasn’t killed off in the first episode (as was the original intention). There is also a very fun cameo in Hank’s criminal enterprise storyline to watch out for.
One reason now is a good time to finish the series is to avoid going in bloodthirsty circles. Fuches (Stephen Root) has some surprises as this story nears its thrilling and arresting conclusion. Loyalty is a sticky concept that runs in tandem with the exploration of consequences, and Fuches has been a constant thorn in Barry’s side. But even though he has tried to kill Barry many times (including building a vengeance army), there is something about this bond that has been hard to break.
Throughout it all, Barry is one of the best-looking shows on television, and I can’t think of another example that uses sound (including its absence) with this level of emotional precision. The only element slightly disappointing this close to the end is how little time is spent on the psychological repercussions of a couple of incidents. However, those missed opportunities are always quickly diverted from; no matter how often you think you can predict the next move; Hader and Berg zig when you expect their story to zag.
Hader’s performance as Barry is still as sharp as it has always been, but I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that he also directs every episode this season. It is quite the feat, and the choices made behind the camera keep us on our toes, whether opting to shoot a gunfight from a distance, using a tight close-up to show a character spiraling, or showcasing a business presentation in a dizzying fashion. Inventive and creative visual flourishes like these would be superficial bells and whistles without the goods to back them up, but it is clear that Barry’s final season has nailed its central themes of change and consequences with pinpoint accuracy. All that’s left to see now is if the series finale episode sticks the landing.