Barry Season 3: The Gift That Keeps On Giving
An opinion piece on why Barry is arguably the greatest thing on television today.
As of late, many television series strive to rival the cinematic qualities of most motion pictures, however, to be condensed into a serial seasonal formula. One of the many genres that seem to have a difficult balance, is comedy. While there are few exceptions, series like Donald Glover’s Atlanta and HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones have shown that cinematic camerawork and production design behind it, can bring something new to the table in terms of television quality. Whether it be clever gags and jokes or charismatic performances. However, there has always been that one piece of work that stands tall amongst the rest in the popular, and that is Bill Hader and Alec Berg’s Barry.
There is something about Hader and Berg’s writing within each season of Barry that I find completely fascinating. For those unaware, the series follows ex-Marine Barry Berkman, as he struggles to find his purpose in life while on a hitman job is brought to an acting class and thus thinks that is his purpose. While that is the main narrative through-line for the first few episodes, the series deviates into far sinister territories, thus grabbing the audience from the very end. Within the first two seasons of Barry, Hader and Berg always manage to subvert audiences’ expectations and pull the rug from under them. However, in season two, we notice the genre shift start to become more noticeable. From comedy to at times horror, especially within its fifth episode titled Ronnie/Lily. And while the season would continue its comedic elements, it does so in a dark way. It is not overt like a traditional sitcom, it’s all via the performances. The entire cast from Bill Hader to even Henry Winkler owns their character, almost embodying them. However, Barry’s third season is a crowning achievement not only in terms of the entire series but as television as a whole.
Throughout the 24-episode series, Bill Hader has directed five episodes spread throughout the first two seasons but absolutely came into his own by directing another five in season three. Not to discredit Alec Berg’s own talent, but Hader shows a prominent focus in the show; adding both emotional and narrative moments that provide key elements in the season. Within this season, Hader provides audiences with comedy, thrills, and terrifying horror moments. There are moments that truly push boundaries of what modern television can prove and thus provoke Hader’s fans to do something outside of television directing and into a much larger field of storytelling, and I do not blame fans. Throughout the last back half of the season, Hader’s direction and ideas for blocking scenes truly shine creating some of the best moments of modern television. He does this while also adding a sense of control on the series through the characters and themes.
Fans of Barry will notice a similar approach to storytelling shown in the series first season. A man seeking a purpose through something larger while his past seemingly comes to haunt him. However, throughout the last few episodes of the season, we finally see some emotion from Berkman, especially within the last episode which could not have ended the season on a more perfect note that has my mind racing ever since I laid eyes on it during the season rollout.
Barry season 3 continues the outstanding writing in the already outstanding series and brings it to new heights. Characters feel more unhinged and are given new life with thanks on Hader and Berg’s terrific writing combined with performance that feel like true and realistic embodiments despite the insane nature of what’s happening in the show. The main cast truly defines their role, like their career’s have been working up to this moment. Hader and Berg’s genre shifts are something that rare showrunners have handled so well nowadays. As a person who must find the right show in order to binge it quickly, I could not recommend Barry enough, it has cemented it as the best series on television as of now