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**SPOILERS FOR BARRY**
The last season of Barry is underway. There are only three episodes left in the series. When the trailer for this season came out, we had theories about what was going to go down. But episodes four and five showed us: We. Had. No. Idea. Proceed only if you are okay knowing what happened.
So episode four was bonkers. Barry had escaped from prison and there was an intense manhunt for him as the cast found out he’d escaped. Everyone who wasn’t Barry was so wrapped up in his escape, it wreaked havoc on their lives. But the real WTF moment was the end when Barry and Sally were in some pastoral setting with their son at the end of the episode. Some theorized it might be a dream but no, episode five confirmed, this is where we are now in Barry’s timeframe. Ep. Five began eight years in the future and Barry and Sally are parents to John. Barry has found religion while Sally waits tables for money and drinks away her demons. Whew boy. So folks asked Bill Hader – what the what? Why the jump without explanation? Bill said the eight years of how’d they get there bored him, so he just skipped over it.
Barry star Bill Hader didn’t care how Barry and Sally got to where they were going; his only concern was that they were there.
Written and directed by Hader, the fifth episode of Barry’s final season confirms that the ending of episode four was anything but fantasy. It’s now been eight years since Barry and Sally (Sarah Goldberg) decided to run away together and the couple, who are now known as Clark and Emily, are living with their son, John (Zachary Golinger), in the middle of nowhere. Barry is suddenly a man of faith who perpetually stays at home to school his son and shelter him from the truth of who his parents actually are. Meanwhile, a wig-donning Sally is working as a server at a diner, and she routinely drowns her sorrows in a bottle to get through the days. She may have had dreams of being a working actor, but her real-life role as Emily is a nightmare in every way.
In an era where so many stories obsessively show their work and over-explain every last detail, Hader was indifferent to the idea of spelling out how Barry and Sally evaded what was likely a nationwide manhunt for the hitman-turned-fugitive, as well as how they set up their new identities and residence.
“I didn’t find [watching them be on the run in real time] very interesting. In season one, he has a daydream about he and Sally and a boy taking a family picture, and so I was like, ‘Well, maybe that’s what he wants,’” Hader tells The Hollywood Reporter. “So, it was more about them being there. It’s been eight years, and this is where they’re at. That was just more interesting to me.”
The longer interview in The Hollywood Reporter has a lot more about what’s behind the episode. There’s a Whitey Bulger connection and it talks about the imagery and why Barry’s suddenly religious. Honestly, I respect Bill’s take on the jump. I find shows and films sometimes take too much time trying to explain something fantastical when the audience has already agreed to an absurd premise. Barry is about a hitman who tries to change his life and become an actor. So much of the show asked us to bend reality already so, yeah. Just say it’s eight years later and they eluded the manhunt. We know Barry’s clever. The ‘how’ would have bored me too and taken too much time. Granted, the sudden introduction in ep four was jarring, but it was a different approach, so I appreciate that.
The real question is where do they go from here? Bill said that they evaded the police didn’t interest him but that doesn’t mean they are ultimately successful. There’s always a chance he’s discovered and now Sally’s an accomplice. And there’s apparently a whole story about Cousineau’s personal journey in that time. There is actually a lot to pack in to the last three episodes, even with the eight-year gap.
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I have watched Barry over every season, and just saw the latest episode. The eight year jump was jarring, but the writing is always good, and it was easy to assimilate into Barry and Sally’s new circumstances. I may be the only one, but I enjoyed the general air of serio/comedy about all the characters so far, and I loved SoHoHank…hilarious. However, if this is how the main characters lives have evolved after their escape, it makes me wonder if any of it was actually worth it, and if they would have been better off just staying put and accepting the consequences of their actions. Sally seems to be just going through the motions, and drowning herself in alcohol to numb her everyday reality. Stealing from the till and assaulting men in the bathroom is the only time we see any animation in her life. Her son seems to be an afterthought and she gives him very little attention.
It is a strange turn in the series of events, but maybe Hader has a plan as to how this will all play out. I do wonder if the overarching point might be that consequences can only be avoided for so long, and actions take unforseen tolls on all involved. It will be interesting to see.
We were three episodes behind on Sunday night and my husband campaigned to watch all three back-to-back-to-back, which I was originally not on board with (it just gets to be too much for me) but after the end of ep. 4, I had to see the next one.
I was initially shocked that Sally went with him, as in ep. 4 it seemed like she might have a way back to the life she wanted in front of/behind the camera. She is clearly miserable and checked out, although I’m not surprised that someone with as little self-awareness as she has thought she’d be happy in anonymity and poverty forever.
I really want to know how all of the other storylines resolved in the ensuing 8 years. What happened to Gene’s son? Janice’s dad? NoHo Hank, who I can’t help but feel sorry for even though he’s a terrible person? Fuches? I want to know all the things, lol.
I am very interested to see how this all plays out. It is such a well-written and well-acted show. Bill Hader is an enormous talent and I am excited to see what he does next. “Barry” is next-level black comedy.