A show with a premise this gimmicky shouldn’t be this great in the middle of its third season. The latest episode of HBO’s hit-com Barry, “limonada,” follows on from last week’s surprise cliffhanger. Gene spends most of the episode in Barry’s trunk as he drives around and tries to get him an acting job, convinced that if he can do that, it’ll make up for the murder of Detective Moss and earn him forgiveness.
The season is continuing to explore Barry’s regression into psychopathy. He’s been getting more and more narrow-minded ever since he was promised absolution. He’s also becoming less careful as he becomes more disillusioned, screaming at Gene locked in the trunk while a security guard is standing at his window. The show is creating a palpable sense of dread around what the inevitable consequences could entail.
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This show has always been about the ugliness of anger, and that theme takes a spotlight in season 3’s second installment. A hitman-turned-actor isn’t necessarily a relatable character, but a guy who can’t keep his rage under control is. Barry’s comfort as a killer is tied into a lot of self-loathing. He hates his own rageful tendencies, but struggles to manage them in real time. In the most shocking scene in “limonada,” he instantly snaps and yells at Sally in an office full of people when she tells him she can’t get Gene a part on her show.
Bill Hader, who also directed and co-wrote the episode, anchors the series with a captivating, multi-layered lead performance. He nails all the deadpan comedic moments, like angrily telling his exasperated hostage to shut up, but he also nails the subtler dramatic turns. When he yells at Sally, it’s not funny comedy yelling – it’s scary. But there’s also a lot of deep-seated pain behind his eyes. Barry knows he’s a monster, but can’t stop himself from falling deeper into that monstrosity.
Like last week’s season premiere, “limonada” explores the debatable notion that everybody deserves a second chance. This week, the writers draw an interesting parallel between Barry seeking a second chance to be a decent human being who doesn’t kill people and Gene seeking a second chance at an acting career after years of being notoriously difficult to work with (i.e. taking a loaded gun to his Full House audition).
Elsie Fisher, best known as the star of Bo Burnham’s social-media-age dramedy Eighth Grade, has proven to be a great addition to the cast of Barry. Her character was introduced briefly in last week’s episode – she’s a fellow actor starring alongside Sally in a TV show – but she gets more scenery to chew on this week. Fisher’s combination of naturalism and dry wit is perfect for the tone of this show. She plays Sally’s daughter in the show-within-a-show and she’s starting to look up to her as a maternal figure off-camera, too, which could create a compelling dynamic throughout the rest of the season.
Last week’s season 3 premiere introduced possibly the show’s most heartwarming storyline (and this is a show that doesn’t have a lot of those) in the form of NoHo Hank’s blossoming relationship with Cristobal. They’re a happy couple and the main conflict of their romantic storyline is that they can’t spend more time together. Sadly, since this is Barry, that happiness wasn’t going to last for long. This week, their domestic bliss came crashing down when Cristobal’s bosses came to L.A. eager to shed some Chechen blood. To keep Hank safe, Cristobal is going to have to break up with him. With one plot turn, the show’s happiest storyline became one of its saddest.
Not only does Barry have great writing and acting; it also looks spectacular. Along with Euphoria and Better Call Saul, it’s one of the most cinematic shows on television. A lot of TV shows have generic multi-cam coverage, but every episode of Barry is full of striking images. This week’s episode has an ill-fated gang shootout in which some Bolivian assassins sneak into the garden where the Chechens have been hiding to take them all out. A less imaginative show would follow the assassins into the garden, but Barry stays on a sinister locked-off wide shot that leaves a lot to the audience’s imagination: muzzle flashes can be seen behind plastic sheets followed by ominous blue flashlights searching for bodies.
The show employs intense close-ups for the creepy final conversation between Barry and Gene: “I love you, Mr. Cousineau. Do you love me?” This final scene – another staggering cliffhanger ending – also creates an eerie musical juxtaposition. Barry makes a grave threat to Gene’s family while the whimsical music and sound effects from Gene’s oblivious grandson’s video game plays on the soundtrack (and carries over the end credits).
In the spirit of its first two seasons, Barry remains unpredictable from week to week. It’s the polar opposite of a show that settles into a formula and everything goes back to normal at the end of each episode. Nothing ever goes back to normal in Barry. Like Breaking Bad (a show that it’s often compared to), Barry embraces change. The writers are constantly raising the stakes and shaking up the character dynamics to keep their audience guessing. Two fantastic episodes in, Barry’s third season is off to a terrific start. And, based on the writers’ track record, it’ll only get better from here.
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