Summary: Fuches is beaten by prison guards to reveal where Barry is gone but he does not know. He earns respect from other prisoners for not selling Barry out. Hank and Cristobal celebrate the sand, but Hank cooperates with the Chechens to kill all of their men. He tries to get Cristobal to join him to work with the Chechens but Cristobal is furious. He tries to leave and Hank fails to stop him. The Chechens kill Cristobal. Gene is isolated in his cabin and learns that Barry escaped. In his paranoia, he accidentally shoots his son who came to visit. Sally continues to help Kristen and tries to swipe her role when she fails. Realizing she has no career, she returns home dejected. Barry is waiting for her and she wants to leave with him. A hallucination/timeskip sees Barry and Sally living in the middle of nowhere with their son, John.
The Good: This episode is a testament to how interesting and compelling the supporting cast is in this show. Barry doesn't appear until the very end of this episode, and all other scenes are dependent on the supporting cast to create a compelling episode. As you would expect, "Barry" steps up in this department because the side characters are all terrific. Hank, Sally, Gene, and Fuches are more than enough to carry this episode on this own, and all of their stories are effective. Hank is definitely the one who steals the show. This episode creates a very memorable story with Hank as we slowly learn that Hank has sold his soul to the Chechens and finally embraced his darker side, something that I have theorized about since season 2. This development works really well. Hank has always been naive as he never had to do any typical criminal actions himself, but ever since his traumatic experiences in the season 3 finale, he's changed. We are seeing the results of that change in this episode as Hank is able to turn on these newly hired men in the blink of an eye, killing them all and almost killing Cristobal too. It's sad to see Hank change like this after being one of the friendliest people in the show for 4 seasons. Last episode saw Hank accuse Barry of being narcissistic, self-centered, and murderous, yet now we see Hank exhibit these same traits with how he turns on Cristobal. It's sad to see him fall into darkness and destroy his life, a pattern that we see throughout this episode. Cristobal's death was sudden and heartbreaking, and it forms the centerpiece of this episode. The sand-sinking scene came right out of nowhere, and it was horrifying to watch. The lack of music as Cristobal cried out for help, the visuals of us sinking with him, and the muffled sound effects were masterful at making this feel terrifying. For a moment I thought he was actually going to die like this, but that wasn't the case. Having this death fake-out does serve a greater purpose because it gets our guard down for later when Cristobal actually does die, making the moment hit that much harder. Hank and Cristobal's break-up is a tough scene to watch. Anthony Carrigan is fantastic throughout the scene showing Hank's varying emotions, and hearing him go from defending his actions to panicking and begging Cristobal to stay while apologizing was devastatingly sad. Even sadder was the extent of Cristobal's betrayal, as he's ultimately unable to even touch Hank after seeing what he did, which was so far removed from the Hank that he knew. Michael Irby and Anthony Carrigan played off of each other so well, making this feel so raw and emotional. The ending with Hank walking back, knowing that he won't see Cristobal again is an incredible moment, and the breakdown on the couch was really sad. The episode does one more excellent move by making us think that Cristobal has walked back in, only for it to be someone else. Ordinarily, this would feel cheap. But since Hank has his back turned and is also hoping desperately that this is Cristobal coming back, the moment works because it connects our emotions with Hank's emotions, adding extra weight to the moment that Hank realizes it's all over. I can't praise this sequence enough. Masterful filmmaking, terrific acting, and the intense emotional weight made this terrific. Sally's time as a teacher goes exactly where you would expect with her. She is caring and she genuinely wants Kristen to succeed as her teacher. But Sally has always been jealous, and when the time comes, Sally chooses to stop helping Kristen and instead attempts to poach her role by "auditioning" for Sian Heder (whose presence is a great meta joke on directors getting swooped up to do franchise films like Star Wars and Marvel). Seeing Sally switch over during her performance to appeal to Sian Heder was quite funny, and the confirmation that she is trying to steal the role is when she comically steps right in front of Kristen while performing. This is a pretty disgusting thing to do, but it's absolutely in-character with Sally, who gets jealous of absolutely everyone. Thankfully, her attempt her doesn't work and Sally is faced with the harsh reality that her career is essentially done. No matter how good she is, no matter what she tries to do, she will never be able to have the career that she dreamed of. The despair of everything being done gets to her, and when faced with reality, she has opted to run away with Barry instead. The final scene between Sally and Barry is excellent with Barry stepping out of the darkness. His presence has lingered throughout the episode with us never knowing where and when he's going to turn up. This reveal made the most sense, and followed by a fantastic time-skip/hallucination scene (see: The Unknown), ends the episode on a great note. Gene and Fuches have less to do in this episode, but their stories are still good. Gene is consumed by paranoia, and it looks like his paranoia may have just cost him his son. In his sheer panic, Gene ends up shooting his son (hopefully not fatally), and I suspect that this may be the straw that breaks the camel's back for Leo. The saddest touch is that Leo was likely just trying to surprise his father by dropping off the coral tree cafe that he had been asking for. Fuches is comically beaten up immediately upon the realization of Barry's break-out. Fuches absolutely deserves this for all that he has done, but funnily enough, it works in his favour. Despite genuinely not knowing where Barry went, the prisoners think that Fuches is remaining loyal to Barry and that earns their respect. Next time we see Fuches, he may just have that gang he was talking about a few episodes ago. There are a few other great moments in the episode. The cops charging into the D&B and annihilating everyone was hilarious, and the comment of "there was one guy in a Houston Oilers hat which was confusing" is a great joke. I continue to enjoy Tom, and his comment on how his phone "leapt to life" is quite amusing. The Bad: I do have some problems with Hank and Cristobal's break-up. As well-executed as the scene was, I was a little confused by Cristobal being so fundamentally against any form of violence or killing. Cristobal always has been a softer leader, just like Hank, but he has never been so innocent and legitimate that he would never condone murder. His first scene sees him getting his men to kill everyone in Barry and Taylor's car when they tried to bum-rush him. Later, in season 2, Cristobal allows Ester's men to burn Hank and the Chechens alive in a bus, which is extremely messed up. Considering this, I found it difficult to believe in Cristobal making such a big stink over Hank being willing to murder. Should Cristobal have been furious? Yes, absolutely. But this should not be the main reason. He should be furious that Hank never told him any of this and didn't even look for an alternative to killing everyone, and he should be furious that Hank's actions nearly killed him as well. I wish the scene had leaned into this angle more. The Unknown: What is that ending scene supposed to be? Is this another hallucination? The desolate landscape is similar to what we've seen in Barry's head, and details like the donut in the fridge (the same one Barry was eating in "forgiving jeff") suggest that this may be a vision, just like previous visions in Barry's head. Or is this actually real? It's hard to see how this could be a reality, but you never know with this show. I was tricked into thinking the sequence at Gene's cabin to conclude season 1 was a hallucination, when it was actually reality. Is it possible that Barry and Sally went off the grid and established a new life in the middle of nowhere, with a sheltered child who they desperately do not want to become violent like Barry? Where are Barry and Sally going? How will Jim get involved? Is Leo going to survive his gunshot? How will this affect his relationship with Gene? What's next for Hank now that Cristobal is dead? Will he lean further into his villainous side? What's next for Fuches? Will he also get out of jail, or will he build a community for himself? Best Moment: Hank and Cristobal's break-up followed by Cristobal's death is an absolutely devastating sequence acted to perfection by Anthony Carrigan and Michael Irby. Character of the Episode: Hank. Conclusion: Another excellent episode. Though this one leans further into the drama side than comedy, it is just as effective. Still, this episode is a testament to the strength of the supporting cast, and it provided a shocking, tense experience. Score: 73
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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