Barry (TV Series) a nice meal (2023) User Reviews

Worry not

[spacerboi · 10/10 · 22 May 2023]

This show keeps surprising me. The episode has struck a nice balance between drama and comedy and continues to pull us to the series inevitable conclusion. I'm sure, that it's going to be heartbreaking.

It's a story about changing as a person and whether it's even possible. Each character, more than ever wrestles with his own nature and meets demons from their past (besides Fuches maybe, but you know- he's his own Baba Yaga at this point).

This whole show has been a 10/10 for me and I'm willing to put my whole trust in the writers team for now and ever. The acting, writing, pacing, and thematic are just something else, man...

I really hope, that this series will blow up eventually after it's final episode. It deserves to be regarded as one of the greats aka Sopranos, BB etc.

Damn.

[Marco_Tontodonati · 10/10 · 25 May 2023]

I was extremely skeptical about the time jump at first, honestly not really liking it. But this episode made me finally see what the writers were going for and it made me really love the time jump for where it has put these characters now. I love Noho Hank becoming a kindof villain, he reminded me of Pagan Min. Barry kind of took a backseat but Sally and Cousino's stories are really great. It really feels like it is really clear on what note the writers want to end the show and it's been one of the best shows on in the past couple of years. Can't wait for the finale, this felt like the last 2 episodes of Twin Peaks: The Return.

Good Setup for the Finale

[MamadNobari97 · 8/10 · 22 May 2023]

This episode was surprisingly still really funny, and even though I kinda feel like the few previous episodes were better (yes, even the time jump one where we spend time with their new identities), I think this was a good setup for the finale of the show.

Now with how they set up things in this episode, you'd think there gonna be another season after this if you didn't know this was the final one. Because it's pretty much become a staple for this show to have so many plot armors and plot conveniences happen so the main characters could survive and escape dire situations. Keep in mind that I'm not saying this plot armor is bad, in fact, I'm used to it at this point, and like I said, it's a staple of this show and I don't really have a problem with it in this specific case of this show. After all, we wouldn't have become so far if they all got caught and killed in the first of the second season. Most, if not all, of these contain a really funny scene and they were there from season 1.

The reason I said you'd think there would be another season, is that these situations could easily be fixed by another funny plot armor scene so we could have more Barry, but I guess they thought it was a good time to end the show and I appreciate they didn't drag this longer, because it's kinda getting repetitive with how many times these characters get out of deadly situations by just dumb luck.

There also are many examples of this plot armor/convenience happening in this episode too. Namely, Hank's rocket missing the house which was really funny, and Barry, as always, getting to live because everyone else is even more reckless than him. And Barry just saying $250000 so Moss could let him live a little more.

Now I already said that I don't have a problem with this particular show using this many plot conveniences, the show is kinda surreal and it's established that literally any assassin other than Barry in this universe is a useless human bean and bad at his job. But one thing that bothered me in this episode was how Moss just left Barry so he could easily get away.

At first, I was sure he was gonna be sitting behind the door with a gun pointing at Barry or sitting on the chair having the TV on to make Barry think he wasn't aware. But surprisingly, the guy just actually left Barry with all his tools. Now you might say he was shocked by the money reveal and left quickly without thinking, but I disagree. This guy has been hyped as this monster of an interrogator and the guy who knows what he's doing, he's also the guy who caught Barry two times, something other people in this world have tried and failed. I seriously doubt he would just leave this master assassin and someone who killed his daughter and no one could catch him for over a decade in his garage with only his hands tied to the chair next to a torture table. Like even if we ignore the knives on there, why didn't he tie his legs or even bolt the chair to the floor? I'd expected him to have made a Saw trap for Barry in all these years, or at least when he realized he's gonna come back.

I don't think it's that big of a deal, we've seen this many times in this show, but this one somehow bothered me a bit and made it feel like it's the first time the writers didn't know how to get Barry out of the situation and just made Jim Moss dumber so he could get away. I also think that many people would find Barry and Jim Moss' interaction really disappointing especially if they really got hyped in the cliffhanger of the previous episode.

Now even though I think they could've done more to make Jim Moss not act dumber and made Barry's escape a little more difficult than just "hand-tied to a loose chair with 20 knives next to him", what it leads to next is really great and this is the reason I give a pass to this show's plot convenience and plot armors, because of what we always get next.

Gene seemed like a changed man in the last episode which was actually surprising, but with the first utterance of name-droppings of Daniel Day-Lewis and Mark Wahlberg he's back at his old self and his addiction to fame again which is really funny, and what it leads to is really terrifying and I didn't expect them to set him up as the actual mastermind behind Barry's wrongdoings in the eyes of the law, his late girlfriend's father, and his own son he shot eight years ago. This is the consequence of his actions and his gluttony for fame of course. Everyone seems to be getting the consequences of their actions. It was by far my favorite part of the episode and I wish there was more of it. If they actually go through with it and make Gene Cousineau take all the blames for Barry's crimes, he would become of the most tragic characters on TV, but I'm 99.99% sure they wouldn't do it and Barry is gonna die in the next episode and everybody would believe Gene again. After all, characters get plot armor left and right, so I seriously doubt they would. I would be shocked if they actually did and would praise the writers for not backing out.

Overall, I thought it was a really good setup for the finale where everything comes to a head, but I don't think it was better than most of this season's episodes. We're probably gonna have a really insane and action-packed finale and I hope they nail it and end the show on a high note. But I still think even if the finale is a total 10/10 masterpiece, season 3 is still the best of the show and my favorite season.

Lazy writing? I disagree.

[lovemichaeljordan · 8/10 · 23 May 2023]

After last week's excruciating episode, we finally get something fun. The scenes with Sally and John are so difficult to watch. It makes sense from a storytelling perspective, but also, who wants to cringe this much when watching an otherwise enjoyable show? Not me. This episode features more chaos and action like previous great episodes from the show.

Some people think that writing's lazy. I disagree. Some points are valid, but for the most part, this episode's writing is not so different from what we've seen before. Sure, there are unbelievable moments but they are mostly played for laughs. Sure, you could say that the character acts in a way to drive the plot forward, but it's very enjoyable seeing all these crazy characters cross paths in the most unbelievable way. It will be interesting to see how the finale ties the sack together.

Amazing set up for the finale

[azizalalatty · 10/10 · 22 May 2023]

This episode was an absolutely perfect setup for the finale, every plotline, every character arc, every theme feels like it's edging toward their respective conclusions.

My favorite part of the episode absolutely has to be everything going on with Gene, *THAT* scene was absolutely surreal, and it felt like it pulled a page out of a scene in Better Call Saul's finale but in reverse (if you know you know).

If I were to nitpick, I'd say we didn't see enough Barry in this episode, but I can't knock down points because I like that the writers are making us want more even at the very end of the show.

Next week it'll be so sad to say goodbye to Barry, during its runtime, it's absolutely proved itself to be one of HBO's best.

Episode 407

[bobcobb301 · 8/10 · 4 June 2023]

For the first time this season this show felt like it was worthy of the high-quality praise it gets regularly. The episode was funny, it was entertaining and it set the stage for a strong series finale next week.

I am not a fan of Noho Hank, but it had some good lines here outlining his attraction to one of the killers and his 500 deaths saying "More like 501" and then complaining about the oft-used office trope "EOD".

The show's pacing and format has been extremely shaky episode to episode this year, but this was quite enjoyable and actually got me excited about the series finale, something I did not expect.

Decent build up for a truly unexpectable finale

[mynameismrcheese · 7/10 · 22 May 2023]

The episode was better in terms of comedy wise than other episodes of this season. I like the scene where gene cousineau was played by jim Moss's father and how they are misinterpreting the whole barry killing moss situation now. The only time gene talked truthfully about barry seems to become the culprit of his demise. Sally still cant get go off her trauma. The situation of Hank and raven aka fuches has become very serious and at the same time funny as hell. Had a decent build for the finale as we have absolutely no idea how barry is going to save sally and his boy from Hank who is by the way the nicest guy of the show. Downside of the episode was how Moss's father left barry at his garrage, he knows he was in the marine and could easily get out from there if he wakes up. Felt like bad writing to push the finale, anyway excited for the finale as i give this episode nothing short of 7 out of 10.

A quick summary of Barry so far:

[devinpbuffington · 5/10 · 22 May 2023]

Barry Season 1: A story of an ice cold killer who finally realizes that death isn't his only talent, and maybe life is worth living. The sun is in fact behind the clouds, and sometimes all you need to help find it is real support. Unfortunately, even when you find the sun you can still get burnt.

Barry Season 2: Everyone makes mistakes, and sometimes your mistake might be worse than others. You can either live with that mistake and try to become a better person, or you can fall into a depression and let it consume you. However, even if you choose the first path it won't absolve you of guilt.

Barry Season 3: The past can and will come back to bite you, because your actions have a sometimes unknowingly profound impact on others, and a castle built on a bad foundation will absolutely crumble when the ground beneath it gives way. What makes you who you are? The sum of your actions, or the intention of them?

Barry Season 4: Um, so yeah then Barry is in prison for like 5 minutes I guess, then it's 8 years later for some reason, and we gotta kill Hank's husband, because that will give him a reason to be around and lose all his development....and uh, let's see, oh let's throw some faux horror stuff in there too, because if Jordan Peele can switch genres then why can we? Oh yeah, and let's shove all of this into the same number of episodes as the seasons before it even though it's pretty clearly meant to be done over more than 1 season.

Honestly, there is nothing the last episode can do now to make this show end in a satisfying way. Unfortunately this last season of Barry appears to be a sacrifice from HBO to hope that whatever new parent company they have next month will keep them. Bill and the team obviously still have their hearts in it here, but unfortunately their hearts are trying to pump blood into a frozen corpse. This show should have ended in season 3.

Thank god Succession is actually getting a well written ending.

It's Malickesque

[safenoe · 7/10 · 6 October 2023]

Without a doubt the tone of Barry has shifted quite considerably, with its Malickesque tone and the very controversial time jump that has left fans divided for sure. What can I say that hasn't been said by fellow reviewers, except to say that all credit to the creative and production team as they reach the end of Barry through thick and thin and the pandemic.

I remember first seeing Stephen Root in News Radio all those years ago, and he's certainly come a long way as a comedic actor originally. I wonder if there will be a Barry prequel or sequel with Barry's son leading the way. We shall see.

Poor and lazy writing

[thefoochie · 4/10 · 22 May 2023]

This episode further solidifies my worry that the timeskip would be a terrible idea. We now have one episode left, and I don't see how this show can wrap up in a satisfying way. This might be the worst episode of the show so far alongside tricky legacies. The writing is just terrible, with so many unanswered questions, such as:

• When Sally was on the phone with Gene, why didn't she let him know that his life was in danger? Oh I know, it's because if she had told him that, he would have met with her instead of the fake movie producer. This seemed like an excuse for the show to introduce this weird and unnecessary Gene subplot in the second to last episode. What is the point of Gene being accused of helping kill Janice? How does this help the story? This just seemed like a lazy and convenient way to separate Jim Moss from Barry, which brings me to my next question:

• Why does Jim Moss seem to care more about Gene than Barry? Do we really expect him to leave the man who murdered his daughter unsupervised? Again, this seemed like lazy writing. The writers needed a way to have barry escape (which was way too easy, why wasn't he detained better?) and so they tried to find a way to get Moss away from Barry in a subplot that serves no purpose whatsoever.

• After the three henchmen shot Noho Hank's driver, why didn't they shoot him too? I refuse to believe that those guys didn't see Hank run out of the car. He was clearly right there. And they were never called off by Fuches, so they were obviously attempting to kill him. Again, just a lazy way to keep Noho Hank alive.

• I know they will hopefully explain this in the finale, but I still need to ask: what is up with that cop whose eye was bleeding? Was that even real? If it wasn't real, why are they implementing surreal lynchian elements towards the end of the show? I don't even care if it's explained in the finale, I want an explanation asap. The most charitable interpretation I can give is that it's somehow connected to the hillbilly guy getting something stuck in his eye last episode, which was also never explained.

The motivations for the characters make no sense either.

Barry: I know they explained why he went to LA, but it's still nonsensical. Why does Barry want to kill Gene and him alone? He's fine with the movie being made, but he only cares about whether Gene is involved? I know Barry is a sociopath, but I'd assume he's smarter than this. And of course he immediately wants to kill Gene instead of verifying whether Gene was involved in the making of the film. He could've easily just waited until there was more information and then seen the article about Gene being against the movie. But then oh no, if that had happened we wouldn't have this dumb plot!

Sally: her motivations haven't been explained at all either. We still don't know why she even left with Barry, even though she had career opportunities. It's not like she loves him either, since she's miserable with him. I was hoping they'd give us an explanation but nope. Also, we still don't know why she choked the hillbilly guy last episode but then let him live. And now what is she even doing in LA istg. I know I know, it's to save gene blah blah blah, but this is clearly just a way for her and John to be in danger, and now Barry has to save them.

Noho hank: uhhh so why is Hank now starting a war against Fuches? I'm assuming it's because of the comment he made about Cristobal, but a) is one comment really enough to make him launch a war? It's been 8 years, get over it man. And b) he clearly doesn't have the resources to fight Fuches, he's at a disadvantage, so why fight him?

Fuches: Do I even have to explain myself. This guy is the most poorly written of all the characters this season. He's constantly switching between loving barry and wanting him dead, and now all of a sudden he's a crime lord and we have no idea what he even wants. Does he still care about Barry? Even better, are we given any reason to care about him?

Yeah, that was a lot. This whole timeskip has been just awful, I don't know what Bill Hader was thinking when he was writing this part. The timeskip seemed like a lazy way to abandon loose ends and completely change characters without actually developing them, such as showing why Barry became religious, why Sally stayed with him, how Fuches became a gang leader, and showing Gene becoming "selfless." Now that the timeskip has happened, the writers can just say "who cares about all these questions? It's been 8 years, there's no need for any explanation!" But after the timeskip refused to answer any of those pre-timeskip questions, now there are even more unanswered questions in the present! I can't believe how bad this show has become. I've lost hope, and there's no way I'm getting my hopes up that they can end the show well. I'm expecting a terrible finale. The show jumped the shark in episode 5, but somehow it's getting worse. 4 out of 10, but honestly it gets worse the more I think about it.

When Barry meets Sally

[tolstopus · 3/10 · 23 May 2023]

You should remember the end of the 2nd season, right? Great climax with tons of bodies, in a chirch made by Barry only, walking and screaming Fuuuuches! What a time!

Now we got near the end of the season barely keeping eyes open. We went through 8 years time jump, drunken Sally, bearded Cusino and for no reason mentioned Deniel Del Lewis. NoHoHank is funny. Again. Missile attack is the best moment of whole season, a spark of light in dark bold story. Barry doing nothing once again acting as a chair, I expect he rise like a Batmen in the final episode and kick all the asses. Maybe that'll be fun to watch.

But now there nothing but poor and lazy writing.

Just sad to see

[maximumcool · 2/10 · 5 June 2024]

For a show that was so good it is absolutely amazing to see how terrible it is in this season. Characters change their positions and alliances so quickly they don't feel like actual characters any more. There's no motivation or real emotions here. All their decisions feel like they were made by asking "What's the most irrational thing they could do next?" And there's no real consequences to any actions. No one significant ever dies no matter how dire their situation is. The whole thing is an absolute mess and if the series had started out like this it wouldn't have made it past the first season. It's just sad to see a show start so good and then turn into complete drivel. I just don't know what Bill Hader and the rest of the team is even trying for any more.