Summary: Barry and Sally have dinner with Sam. Barry asks Sally what that was about and she reveals that she never stood up to him. Sam sneakily watches Sally rehearse and Barry confronts him. Sam insults Sally and leaves an infuriated Barry behind. Sam invites Sally to his place so he can give her something. She declines but eventually Sam twists the strings enough to get her over. Their meeting initially starts fine but Sam shows his true colours. At the same time, Barry angrily goes to Sam's with the intent to kill him and almost shoots Sally by mistake. Ashamed, Barry tries to contact Fuches who declines, not wishing to turn him in anymore. Barry goes to Gene where he opens up and reveals what happened after Albert got shot. Gene gives him some good advice and sympathizes with him, surprising Barry. Barry tracks down Fuches and tells him about what Gene said but also gives his confession. Loach offers Barry a deal. If Barry kills Ronny, the guy who has been sleeping with Loach's ex-wife, he will let him go.
The Good: This episode quite literally was an emotional rollercoaster. It took me on a ride with so many ups and downs, and I felt so many different feelings throughout the episode, changing between them so suddenly that at times I actually felt like I was on a rollercoaster (especially that final moment which I'll get into a little later). The first half of this episode explores the conflict that comes up when Sam returns to Sally's life. The reason for him being there makes enough sense though not perfect sense (see: The Bad). Regardless of why he's there, the episode explores what Sam's return does to both Sally and Barry, and I think it does a damn good job. Sally is unnerved by Sam's presence and she is forced to face up to the fact that she has been lying to herself this entire time. It's almost too much for her until Barry comes in with his own experience about lying about his past in front of others. He tells her it's okay and actively encourages her to avoid accepting the past and tells her to keep believing the lie. The scene is wonderful, because while it sounds like solid advice, Barry is only telling Sally to avoid facing up to who she is, the exact same thing that Barry is doing to avoid facing the consequences for his actions. The scene has some wonderful layers and allows the show to continue exploring morality in interesting new ways. As the episode went on, the tension gradually increased. Sam's presence was uncomfortable since the beginning, but it managed to get a lot worse when he verbally abuses Sally in front of a seething Barry. Then the episode builds up tension expertly for the next 10 minutes as Sally gets lured into Sam's room while Barry makes his way to Sam's hotel with the intent to kill him. The sequence was edited brilliantly to leave us in maximum suspense, clearly leading to a big climax. Things starting getting crazy once Barry was in the hotel and when Sam started showing his true colours by attempting to harass Sally. Everything led to a suitably horrifying moment as Barry almost kills Sally when trying to take a shot at Sam. However, the moment snaps Barry back to reality and the weight of what almost happened sets in for him. The scene winds down very effectively, allowing me to slowly release the tension I felt. This entire sequence was paced, edited and directed perfectly, and is yet another example of why execution is so important for TV shows. Had this not been executed perfectly, this could have been a pretty dull, and even laughable, sequence. Shockingly enough, all of this was just the first half of the episode. The second half took a different turn and focused heavily on Barry's inner conflict, allowing him to do things he hasn't done before. Fuches unavailability forces Barry to go to Gene instead, and for the first time we get to see Barry open up to somebody about his dark past. It's an unexpected surprise, but it signifies a big change for Barry. Barry always thought that his past made him a horrible person and he tried to suppress it. But now he has told somebody who understood that what he did was wrong, and they forgave him for it. It's not what he expected at all, and he's suitably excited about this. After all, this means that there is hope for his new future! But Barry makes the mistake of going back to Fuches, to tell him about what he just discovered, and it bites back badly at him. It's complete heartbreak for Barry, and by extension for us as well. Just as Barry finds hope for his future, it's all gone and he is forced to face the consequences. I especially love the storytelling touch that it's Barry's relationship with Fuches, who is representative of Barry's past, which defeats him. But it's over for Barry now and a vengeful Loach will ensure that justice is dealt to Barry. At least that's what I expected to happen. What came next was one of the most unexpectedly brilliant plot twists I've ever seen. Right at the height of suspense, when it's clear that Barry is in danger and that we might be hit with a hugely cathartic moment, the tension is completely thrown away. Loach reveals his true motivation: not to avenge Moss, but to get himself a hitman to take out Ronny, who has been sleeping with his ex-wife. This was a genuine shock for me, and I was left as speechless as Barry. Then the titular "what?!" comes out and the episode ends. After one of the most intense and exhilerating episodes of the entire show, we are hit with a sudden relief of tension as "Barry" drops one of the best set-up punchlines I've ever seen. The ending is nothing short of a genius decision, and it provides a hilarious conclusion to an episode that truly put me on edge. Sure it's all pretty absurd, but "Barry" has always been a little bit ridiculous, so this actually fits with the style of the show. The episode ended with one of the most impressive comedy moments so far. But it also had a damn good moment at the beginning of the episode. The timing and placement of the title card in this episode was superb and it made for a stellar joke to kick off the episode. If there's one thing that this show is absolutely nailing, it's using creativity to always surprise the viewer in pleasant ways. The Bad: Unfortunately, there was more attempted comedy in this episode. The two jokes at the beginning and end work very well, but everything else fell woefully short. Regardless of how skillfully put together this was, there were still a lot of tonal issues. For such a serious episode with so much natural suspense, there should not be any jokes squeezed into it. I was too on edge to laugh at anything, and many of these jokes only served to lessen the tension that the rest of the episode had done so well to build up. It's a shame that my immersion was being broken so frequently because this could have otherwise been an all-time great example of how to do suspense in a TV episode. Would Sam really learn about Sally's play? Not very many people watch these things, so I find it hard to believe that word would get passed down to him. The Unknown: I imagine we will see Sam again? Is he going to be angry with Sally about her performance? What will he do? Will Barry deal with him somehow? Apparently Loach wants Barry to go kill Ronny. How is that going to work? Will Loach literally just let Barry and Fuches go if they succeed? Also how long has Loach planned this? Was this his plan from the very beginning? It certainly seems like it, and it actually makes sense too, looking back on what Loach has done this season. Best Moment: Barry telling the story of Albert to Gene was pretty stunning. Barry's enraged murder is quite shocking and it makes it clear that Barry has always been overly violent. More subtly, the show even answers why Barry has been indebted to Fuches all along, which I appreciate. But what makes this scene truly great is Gene's speech that follows. Gene is understandably shaken by this reveal. But he actually puts in the effort to help Barry out, connecting his own story with his son to Barry's experiences and leaving him with the positive message that your mistakes don't define who you are. Character of the Episode: Barry. Conclusion: This was terrific stuff. The tension was top-notch and the writing was even batter. This was a really well-crafted episode that built to one of the most ingenious endings I have ever seen. Had this episode not been filled with attempted comedy that bogged things down, it would have been even better. Still, this was easily one of the best episodes so far. The first half of season 2 has certainly delivered. Score: 74
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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