Barry S1 (2018) Review

 

Barry S1 (2018)

Barry Season 1 introduces us to Barry Berkman, an ex-marine turned hitman who, after going to LA to kill a target, finds his true passion in life—acting.

Upon revisiting HBO’s Barry, I can wholeheartedly confirm it is one of the most well-made and thought out shows on TV today. It strikes a wonderful blend of dark humor and horror, making you laugh but leaves you tense at it’s subtle ability to turn a scene so dark, so fast. Its premise is so out there and corny, but that’s why it works well. Barry is believable as this immature, child-like assassin who questions his own morality and suffers from PTSD. It’s his budding interest in acting though that makes his old lifestyle so conflicting, as the acting class introduces themes and conflicts on the stage that tend to play out in his other life, a excellent parallel that haunts Barry as the season progresses.

Having Barry go from a “good guy” that kills bad guys, but then grows a conscious and doesn’t want to kill anymore, forcing him in positions to murder those he wants to be like is such terrific character development and the taxation of it all increasingly shows across Hader throughout.

Episode 7 is still one of the best singular episodes of any show ever, stretching Barry to his mental limits on the stage and off and the scene with him & Chris in the car is scarily perfect in the sudden realization on Chris’ part where his friend morphs into a hitman who’s gonna kill him.

The cast is great, featuring Henry Winkler, Sarah Goldberg, Stephen Root, Anthony Carrigan, & Bill Hader. Carrigan as Noho Hank is a personal favorite as his polite admiration towards Barry is a hilarious scene stealer. Hader shows the most range of his entire career thus far, with his usual comedic abilities on point, but his tortured psyche and gradual mental melting are eerily good.

Barry Season 1 takes an oddball concept that on paper just seems like your usual semi-dark comedy, but takes itself to daring places where it excels most when it isn’t funny, but when it’s mentally and morally disturbing, providing deep and moving moments where the stage often mirrors real life.

9.5/10