While “Succession” crowds headlines with the unexpected twists of its final season, Barry Berkman is right around the corner, waiting to do the same to HBO subscribers. The cable king is losing two of its all-time biggest critical darlings this year as the final season of “Barry” premieres on April 16th with two episodes before its final run of six. Like “Succession,” this is a show that’s relishes taking thematic and tonal risks, and it similarly pushes its characters to a breaking point in this final season, leaving few doors open for a return. And “Barry” takes those risks a step further this season, tying themes together from the entire run in a way that feels more dangerous and definitive, even if one didn’t know it was the last season.
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Those risks have paid off. What started out as a comedy with a simple premise—a hitman tries to go straight as an actor—is now one of the richest shows of its era in terms of writing, asking big questions about trauma, responsibility, morality, and ethics. And “Barry” also avoids clichés by becoming more artistically daring with each outing. This final run feels like its least eager-to-please, a series of episodes that challenge expectations and, up to the final episode that hasn’t been sent for press, keep viewers guessing not only about what’s going to happen to Barry but even as to what fate they think he deserves.
The third season of “Barry” ended on a cliffhanger as the title character (Bill Hader) realized that he had been set up by Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler) and Jim Moss (Robert Wisdom) for the murder of Jim’s daughter Janice. There’s been something so rewarding in how “Barry” has been about the ripple effect of that decision. This is a world in which choices have serious impact, shifting the trajectories of its major and minor characters forever. Much will be written about what “Barry” was all about in the end, but that Janice’s death has become the main turning point for so much action is fascinating, as if that moment was a line crossed by Barry that could never be undone.
The fourth season opens with Barry behind bars and the immediate fallout for the other characters. Of course, Sally (Sarah Goldberg) is the most traumatized, even if her awful mother can’t be the support structure Sally needs to deal with her grief and guilt. Fuches (Stephen Root) is in the same facility as Barry, leading to some clever gamesmanship regarding whether or not they might be allies or inform on one another. Gene has difficulty keeping his mouth shut when reporters sniff around this story of the marine who killed a cop and must reconcile his need for attention with a pending trial. Meanwhile, Hank (Anthony Carrigan) lives off the grid with Cristobal (Michael Irby), but living an ordinary life is not really his thing, so the pair get involved in an amazing scheme to start another criminal operation. You know who they could use on their team? Barry Berkman.
More than ever, “Barry” feels like a show about people desperately trying to be something other than what they are. They’re all determined to chase an “if.” If Barry goes straight; if Gene gets the respect he thinks he deserves; if Sally makes it as an actress; if Hank can be a criminal mastermind; if Fuches can keep his control over Barry. Everyone here is looking over the horizon at something they think will fix their problems and keep their traumas at bay. And not only do they have trouble grabbing these impossible solutions, but they only look to the next thing if they actually do. Vengeance, domesticity, fame, credit—none of these things last. And it feels like season four of “Barry” is about its characters realizing that fleeting nature of happiness and, well, making some bad choices in the process.
While characters make those poor choices, the production makes some amazing ones in terms of casting. This season is full of wonderful character actors, including returning gems like Wisdom and Fred Melamed, new turns by the great Patrick Fischler, Dan Bakkedahl, and a certain Oscar-winning director that should set Twitter on fire. There are more that won’t be spoiled, but none of them feel showy (except for one, but the payoff is totally worth it). Every role in “Barry” has always felt perfectly filled, likely due to how many actors want to be a part of a program with writing this consistently sharp. Some criticize “Barry” for not really being a comedy, which will continue this season—“Succession” is arguably funnier despite being on the other side of the Emmy aisle—but there are still laugh-out-loud moments. A Rip Torn joke is an all-timer. And, on the dramatic side, the show does some incredible stuff with religion in the back half as Barry continues to seek acceptance.
The final half of the final season of “Barry” takes a turn that could end up more divisive than the recent one on that other lauded HBO show. Give it time. Actually, give this whole season time. It deserves it. And it works at a slightly different pace. As often as this is usually a lie in the prestige era, and as great as the writers here use their end credits as a punchline or cliffhanger, this feels more like a 4-hour film than the other seasons (or really a pair of 2-hour films), possibly in part due to the fact that Hader directed the entire run. That allows it to flow a bit differently, more drenched in sadness as these people realize that everything that they’ve fought to hold onto has come apart. And the melancholy that viewers won’t be able to watch them in the spotlight anymore. [A-]