Warning: This review contains spoilers for season 3, episode 8 ofBarry.
The third season of HBO’sBarryhas been the most captivating chapter of the series to date, and the finale episode – “starting now” – is every bit the emotional rollercoaster that fans were promised. Talk about a nail-biting half-hour; this episode is wildly unpredictable from start to finish.Barry’s season finales are notoriously mind-blowing. The first season culminated in Barry murdering Janice Moss and the second season culminated in Barry’s killing spree at the monastery. Somehow, the season 3 finale has managed to go above and beyond. “starting now” goes to even darker and more disturbing places than the finales that came before it. Fans will need a couple of hours to process the events of the episode after watching it.
Some of this season’s episodes have focused more heavily on the deadpan humor than the harrowing twists andedge-of-your-seat action, but the finale is the complete opposite. “starting now” is a non-stop thrill-ride with very few laughs. Most of the scenes in this episode have no jokes at all as series creators Bill Hader and Alec Berg focus on the culmination of all the season’s story threads. This finale delivers one jaw-dropping plot turn after another. Sally, as expected, asks Barry to psychologically torture Natalie. But then, the scene takes a completely unforeseen turn when they’re attacked by another one of Fuches’ footsoldiers. The feeling of dread that washes over the audience when Sally is being strangled stays there for the rest of the episode.
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Based on the promo of a makeshift gravesite on the outskirts of Los Angeles,Barryfans expected a major character to be killed off this week. As it turns out, none of the fan-favorites die in the season 3 finale, but what does happen is even more shocking. Gene, Sally, Hank, andof course Barryall survived the episode, but the true horror is what they all have to live with following the events of the finale. Gene has to live with a betrayal, Sally has to live with a killing, Hank has to live with the sounds of his friends being mauled by a jungle cat, and Barry has to live in prison.
As always,Barry’s latest episode showcases incredible acting from the cast. The actors are usually given a few one-liners to break up each scene, but every horrifying scenario in “starting now” is played completely straight, and the cast knocks it out of the park: Hader’s screams of terrorwhen Barry is confronted by Albert; Sarah Goldberg’s raw, authentic shock in the wake of killing a man; Anthony Carrigan’s look of horror as Hank hears his friends being ripped apart by a panther in the next room; Henry Winkler breaking down in an intense two-shot with Robert Ray Wisdom in the interrogation scene.
Not only does “starting now” resolve allthe disparate plot threads from season 3; it also brings the ongoing theme of forgiveness to a head. Gene finally standing up to Barry to get justice for Janice is his true redemption moment. Helping Annie’s career was more for Gene’s self-satisfaction, but turning on Barry in the finale has earned him real forgiveness. Barry, on the other hand, is still struggling to earn it, but he comes close a couple of times, like when he offers to take responsibility for Sally’s own killing. Albert is willing to forgive Barry because his daughter wouldn’t exist if Barry hadn’t saved his life in the war, and now, thanks to Gene’s setup, Barry will finally have to face consequences for his many crimes.
Above all,Barryis a study ofthe cycle of violenceand the psychological effect that violent acts have on both the people impacted by them and the people who commit them. The final shot of the episode – in which Jim Moss stands outside his empty house, reluctant to go back inside – sums up that thematic throughline perfectly. Throughout season 3, Barry Berkman has been put through the wringer: his father figures abandoned him, his girlfriend broke up with him, an army of his victims’ loved ones came after him,he got poisoned by a woman he widowed, and he eventually got arrested.
With a true sense of finality and comeuppance, “starting now” has the feel of a series finale. If the show ended here, it would be a hugely satisfying conclusion to the overarching narrative. Barry’s world comes crashing down and justice is finally served for all the terrible things he’s done. But it’s not the series finale; HBO hasconfirmed a fourth seasonwith Hader directing all eight episodes. Following the bombshell events of the season 3 finale, what will happen in season 4 is anybody’s guess. With Barry and Fuches in prison and Sally on the run,Barry’s next season can’t arrive soon enough.
