IndieWire ranks the ten best 'Barry' episodes ahead of tomorrow's finale
"None of this would've happened if I hadn't tried to understand myself."
After four seasons at HBO, Bill Hader's "Barry" is ending this weekend. Here's a look back at the 10 best episodes. https://t.co/P5kzDDJRQw pic.twitter.com/FkWUY8JzUS
- IndieWire (@IndieWire) May 27, 2023
• Over the past four seasons, Barry has transformed itself more times than anyone can count.
• IndieWire's list reflects Barry's unique tone. Some episodes are absolutely pitch black, and spend a lot of time examining the cycle of violence or the fallout of extreme violence. Others indulge in extreme absurdity or surrealism. The best do all of it at the same time.
7. “Forgiving Jeff” (Season 3, Episode 1)
[reasoning]
Where’s Barry: Opening on a sallow Barry standing in a field with a wavering client and his would-be mark Jeff, the unnerving Season 3 premiere sparked the end for Barry’s hellish Hannah Montana lifestyle. With a particularly snaky Sally thriving on the set of “Joplin,” Barry attempts to achieve a work-life balance: recklessly blending his identities in an episode that sees him asking a jilted murderess for flower advice one minute (“Do the colors mean different things?”) then holding a wise-up Cousineau at gunpoint the next - in the same aforementioned field, no less. “Forgiveness has to be earned,” the grieving thespian says in a moment of panic: teeing up the season’s brilliant, bloody thesis with the second of two (imagined) bullets to the forehead.
5. “Berkman > Block” (Season 2, Episode 8)
[reasoning]
Where’s Barry: From the opening seconds where Fuches is threatening to kill Gene to the closing moments when Gene remembers what Fuches whispers in his ear, the Season 2 finale is a tough one for ol’ Barry Berkman. He’s constantly reacting to the actions of others, which is great for his acting resume - like when he lets Sally play out the confrontation she never had with her ex-husband - but awful for his soul. Barry wants to believe he’s changed for the better. He tries to protect Gene from Fuches, and he tries to help his acting teacher avoid a murder charge that Barry’s responsible for. But when lured back to his old ways, he gives in: killing an entire army in pursuit of vengeance he can’t quite reach.
Click to view3. “Loud, Fast, and Keep Going” (Season 1, Episode 7)
[reasoning]
Where’s Barry: Making his biggest mistake yet. After a botched attack on the Bolivians leaves several men dead, Barry is forced to deal with the stress while prepping for his acting class’ showcase. His friend Chris is taking the fact that he killed someone to protect Barry even worse, and decides he needs to hand himself in to the police. Knowing that this will put himself in a position to go to jail, Barry reacts calmly: by shooting Chris dead and staging the scene as a suicide.
2. “710N” (Season 3, Episode 6)
[reasoning]
Where’s Barry: Driving up 710N. Everyone’s on the downswing this episode: Hank’s lost Cristobal, Sally’s show was canceled, and Fuches rejects the love of a good woman in favor of his desire for revenge against Barry. But Barry, still reeling from his breakup with Sally, seems to be on the upswing when he gets invited to a dinner from his military friend/murder victim Chris’ widow Sharon - only to get into attacked by a murderous biker gang pinned on him by Fuches while trying to deliver beignets to the party.
thoughts on the list? surprised by what was left out? surprised by what's number one?
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