Barry

[Bachy]

Just watched the first two episodes today. This show definitely looks promising. It certainly has my attention.

https://tvseriesfinale.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/barry-hbo-season-1-ratings-cancel-renew-season-2-590x331.jpg

[Swykk]

I am really digging it so far. It reminds me a bit of Grosse Pointe Blank. Hader is excellent and Root is equal parts supportive of Barry but with an understated amount of terrifying. He clearly cares for Barry but I can see their relationship falling apart and going real bad, real fast.

[onthewall2983]

The moment I knew I was going to love this show was when Brad is dressed up in the dreadlocks and did the scene from True Romance and got the concept that everything practiced in this are scenes from movies, as opposed to more traditional theater. There's a cynicism there but it seems based in practicality because it's based in Los Angeles.

[onthewall2983]

Gonna have to do a remit on that last post. This might be the first new show I've loved out of the gate since perhaps BoJack Horseman. Hader and Root are tremendous together and it's really got potential to turn both the comedy and thriller genres on their heads.

[Bachy]

This last episode was the best of the season. I love the serious tone this show takes at times. Bill Hader really crushed in this particular one.

[Ruined]

Great first season. Last two episodes were really dark and hit just the right note. As others stated, Hader really shines in this role. Can't wait to see where they go from here.

[onthewall2983]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFWt-Abv9QY

[ltrandazzo]

I fucking love this show and am beyond excited for it's return. Henry Winkler was a goddamn delight.

[onthewall2983]

Last night's premiere was great. Very funny and I can see how potentially dark it's gonna get for the next several episodes.

[onthewall2983]

Is anyone else into the 2nd season like I am? It's walking a major tightrope but I think it's going well so far.

[onthewall2983]

God damn Sunday's episode was intense

[imail724]

God damn Sunday's episode was intenseEvery episode has been super intense since about the middle of last season. I remember when I started it thinking it was a comedy. God damn this show is DARK. And I love it.

[Kodiak33]

"WHAT?" Haha

[onthewall2983]

Last night's episode...was sure something

[imail724]

Last night's episode...was sure somethingYou're not kidding. Just watched it now and God damn that was a wild half hour!

[imail724]

Nononononono

[ldeaf2]

The third season finally premiered on Sunday. I love this show so much. The acting, writing, and casting are just amazing.

[Cookster426]

The third season finally premiered on Sunday. I love this show so much. The acting, writing, and casting is just amazing.

Anthony Carrigan doesn't miss a beat as NoHo Hank. I laughed my ass off during his interrogation. If he hasn't won an Emmy yet, he needs to this season.

[Jinsai]

I really like this show, but it makes me feel really 'strange' when I watch it. The humor isn't funny, the drama feels 'humorous.' There's really nothing I'e seen that's really like it, and at the same time, it kinda makes me feel drained if I marathon episodes.

[onthewall2983]

Hader is absolutely terrifying in this week’s episode.

[ldeaf2]

Hader is absolutely terrifying in this week’s episode.

The scene with Sally and the scene with Gene at the end were both equally terrifying. This season is going to be something special and hard to watch.

[M1ke]

Jesus, I've watched the first two seasons, this show is incredible.

[onthewall2983]

Goddamn

[Kodiak33]

Vanessa Bayer was fucking hilarious this week.

[M1ke]

Ow. I'm sore after watching that.

[otnavuskire]

Ow. I'm sore after watching that.

For real.

That was a serious downer of an episode to start the day with. Damn.

[ImTheWiseJanitor]

I’m way behind, working my way through season 2 after starting the show last week, but I just had to say this somewhere.

Holy shit, was I not prepared for the end of “What?!” This show’s been on fire the whole way through so far, what took me so long?

[ImTheWiseJanitor]

Double post, because I’m all caught up now.

Fuck me, this show is brilliant. I think I was wide-eyed and covering my mouth for most of the last two episodes. I’m on the fence about there being a season 4, because I do want to see more, but I also hope that season 4 will be the end of it. 8 more episodes would be just enough time to wrap things up really nicely without pulling a Dexter - letting this story go on way longer than it needs to. But I suppose we’ll see.

I just...wow. It’s been a long time since I was invested in so many characters on one show. The entire cast absolutely kills it.

[onthewall2983]

https://youtu.be/xW7Ld5iwRnQ

[Jord]

Hell of a quick turnaround for this season! I am hyped.

[otnavuskire]

Hell of a quick turnaround for this season! I am hyped.

It's been a year. That's a normal amount of time for a TV show.

[Jord]

It's been a year. That's a normal amount of time for a TV show.

I think I got carried away and forgot to remind myself that the pandemic held things up last time to be honest :p

Nevertheless, definitely something to look forward to!

[Cookster426]

Just watched the first two episodes of the series finale. Laughed my ass off on the second episode. Everything is about to go nuclear.

[Cookster426]

Anyone else watching the series finale? Another great episode last night. Guillermo Del Toro has a small role in the beginning!

[otnavuskire]

Fred Armisen had me laughing so hard.

[Cookster426]

Fred Armisen had me laughing so hard.

Yes I was laughing until I couldn't breathe!

[Kodiak33]

Man what a show, just a fantastic season so far.

[otnavuskire]

Wow. This week's episode left me both heartbroken and speechless.

[Santos L Halper]

This season has been great! Can't wait to see how it all wraps up!

[ImTheWiseJanitor]

Fred Armisen had me laughing so hard.

I nearly spit out my beer. Absolutely one of the funniest surprises of the show. The second he was on screen with that face, I was dying.


Anyone else watching the series finale? Another great episode last night. Guillermo Del Toro has a small role in the beginning!

I couldn’t believe that was actually him, I had to look it up. What a fantastic list of names that have been on this show.

Side note - I introduced a coworker to Barry because he was looking for a new thing to watch, and ever since then he’s been coming over while I’m sorting mail and just quoting random bits from the show. Always good to see new people finding out about this, seems like a lot of people are sleeping on it. Such a brilliant show.

I’m also really happy that they’re ending it on a good note, and not dragging it out into some bloated 10-season program for no real reason, where someone is “almost catching him” every season. I’ll probably be watching this for years.

[Jord]

What an episode. I lost it a bit last season (will definitely need to rewatch), but this one went 0-100 real fast. I watched episode 4 last night and it was absolutely breakneck but incredible - my jaw dropped.

Cannot wait to see how they are going to wrap it all up.

[Something Underneath]

I’m also really happy that they’re ending it on a good note, and not dragging it out into some bloated 10-season program for no real reason, where someone is “almost catching him” every season. I’ll probably be watching this for years.
Funny you word it that way cause that's my one(but big)gripe with the show. Barry/Fuches/Hank or Christobal etc constantly evaded police,other criminals/getting caught,getting killed etc for seasons even when their assassins had the upper hand because everyone around them become extra idiotic when it comes to those moments. I understand the show started out as 50% silly comedy,50% serious but as they significantly made the drama darker/more complex it came off as a lazy crutch to me to use pretty much one gag to always get them out of trouble. At first it was subversive,by the end it's rote. Oh look 58th scene where Fuches will attempt to harm/kill Barry. Oh of course he failed cause the assassins are comically stupid. Oh look scene 59 where he changes his mind and forgives Barry until the next time where he attempts it again and both of them will get away without consequences. Riveting...

[Cookster426]

Another great episode despite I knew what was going to happen at the end. Only 2 more episodes left.

[theruiner]

Holy shit. That was one of the best episodes of the entire series.

[Cookster426]

Holy shit. That was one of the best episodes of the entire series.

I agree. I certainly hope the final episode next week is at least an hour. I can't see them wrapping everything up in a 30 minute span.

[ghostaustin]

Oh wow

[otnavuskire]

Oh wow

Indeed. Not sure how to feel about that.

[theruiner]

Very good episode, final five minutes is 10/10, though. Absolutely perfect.

And Jim Cummings!! I love that dude. I was distracted through most of the "movie" because he popped up in it. Well deserved. Great actor, great filmmaker.

[otnavuskire]

I really don't like the very last bit. Doesn't feel right that via the movie they turned Barry into a hero and Cousineau into a villain.

[ImTheWiseJanitor]

Funny you word it that way cause that's my one(but big)gripe with the show. Barry/Fuches/Hank or Christobal etc constantly evaded police,other criminals/getting caught,getting killed etc for seasons even when their assassins had the upper hand because everyone around them become extra idiotic when it comes to those moments. I understand the show started out as 50% silly comedy,50% serious but as they significantly made the drama darker/more complex it came off as a lazy crutch to me to use pretty much one gag to always get them out of trouble. At first it was subversive,by the end it's rote. Oh look 58th scene where Fuches will attempt to harm/kill Barry. Oh of course he failed cause the assassins are comically stupid. Oh look scene 59 where he changes his mind and forgives Barry until the next time where he attempts it again and both of them will get away without consequences. Riveting...

See, I feel like most shows about killers probably fall into that trap. You can only have so many developments in that story, and so many different takes on that trope, before you start going in circles. It's just gonna happen when you give it enough time. But personally, I give Barry a pass on it, whereas something like Dexter bored me to absolute tears with it, for a couple reasons.

Barry has 4 seasons, 10 episodes each, about 30 minutes per episode. About 1,200 minutes. These characters are cartoon characters in a farcical story that's just trying to move from one beat to the next, even if certain events wouldn't actually pan out that way. I don't really care, because I'm enjoying myself along the way, having a laugh, and not being bogged down in things trying to be too realistic and serious, or needlessly long runtimes. Nice and quick, doesn't overstay its welcome. An additional four seasons of this would probably make me lose interest, even if they kept it short and sweet.

Dexter, however...8 seasons, 12 episodes each, plus a 10-episode "revival" for a total of 106 episodes, each one anywhere from what...45-55 minutes a piece? About 5,300+ minutes? All that time spent alternating between "almost being caught again" and "muh dark passenger." That's...SO much time - more time than I can personally be bothered to invest in something like that. That's not even to say I thought Dexter was bad, but boy, will I never feel the need to watch it again. It was fine, but I got it the first time around. The limited series didn't even need to be there, but they did it anyway, because whatever, they could I guess.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It's just gonna come down to personal taste, like anything else.

[M1ke]

I really don't like the very last bit. Doesn't feel right that via the movie they turned Barry into a hero and Cousineau into a villain.

I think the fact that it doesn't feel right is part of the point

When I finished it last night, I was conflicted at first. Sad about some parts, felt gross about others. And then I watched it again, and I felt angry.

And that's not a bad thing, or a negative statement about the show....it's kind of one that's forced a bit of relfection that I wasn't really prepared for.

[Toadflax]

I really don't like the very last bit. Doesn't feel right that via the movie they turned Barry into a hero and Cousineau into a villain.

Yeah, as stated above, that's the point. People want to tell themselves the story that makes the most sense; not necessarily what really happened. And of course this is a show that satirizes the film industry, so it makes sense to end on Hollywood telling a cheesy version of the wrong story.

As for my overall thoughts, the show started to fall off for me around the third season, I think. I loved the blend of comic and dark in the first two seasons, but then it seemed like the show leaned really hard into both of those, making for a show that was sometimes incredibly silly and sometimes incredibly dark and fucked up. The more that happened, the more it started to feel tonally disjointed to me. But I'm glad they wrapped it up when they did and that they took some big swings along the way.

[onthewall2983]

Best thing on HBO in 20 years

[Wretchedest]

Finally, finally got around to binging the final season, all in one sitting. I'm surprised at how much was unspoiled for me, given that I couldn't avoid succession spoilers at all. I'm not super spoiler averse, I try not to care about that stuff, because not caring is the only way to really protect yourself from spoilers.

I was surprised about a few things. For one, this season felt much less dark to me than season 3, which felt a bit overbearing to me, and my expectations that this season would be even darker was one of the reasons I was putting it off. Obviously, still quite dark and serious. But the comedy was still very present. Ultimately I feel like Barry stuck it's landing albeit with a few rough spots. Cousineau's father in law got some expanding as a character that wasn't necessarily convincing nor smoothly integrated, and since so many of his choices direct the out come of the show, I wish they had put more work I to making him convincing. I also think that the show really failed NoHo Hank in the end by subjecting him and his partner to one of media's most notorious homophobic tropes and then giving him kind of a flat and shallow end. Hank and the actor who played him were the breakout star of this series and so it's a bummer they chose to go that route.

The time jump stuff is extremely jarring, but I think that awkward implementation served it well. It felt sufficiently surreal and uncomfortable and wrong and that I think conveyed the feelings of everyone in that situation. And it's final ending is also sufficiently bizarre and uncomfortable and still kind of funny.

[theruiner]

Best thing on HBO in 20 years
*stares in The Leftovers*