The following contains spoilers for Barry Season 3, Epsiode 2, “limonada,” which aired Sunday, May 1 on HBO.
Bill Hader’s HBO series Barry has taken its title character down a much darker path in its third season. He’s losing his cool, as well as his grip on what’s real and what’s not, after the events of the second season. Admittedly, given all the secrets he kept as a Marine and then as an assassin, it’s not surprising that the character is breaking down.
However, Barry doesn’t have the patience, composure or understanding to deal with his emotional collapse. As a result, rather than try to find salvation like he’d done before, Barry’s giving into his growing darkness — hurting his inner circle and becoming a full-fledged villain. His latest character development could destroy him and end up alienating the show’s audience along the way.
Barry toed the line in the previous two seasons as he tried to stymie the beast within. He was able to do so because he found two other people to lean on. He was falling in love with his fellow aspiring actor Sally, and feeling like a son to his teacher Gene Cousineau. But in Season 3, he’s alienating both of them — and showing his violent nature in mortifying ways that foreshadow their deaths.
Gene discovered Barry killed his girlfriend Janice to cover up his dark past. Unfortunately, Barry response to that was torturing Gene, carting him around town after a failed revenge attempt, mentally and physically harming him in the process. He was forcing Gene to accept new acting gigs and to say he loved Barry — because if Gene hates him, it would reinforce that Barry was a fiend. But that was exactly the case, because Barry threatened to murder Gene’s family if he didn’t forgive him and become friends again. That was sadistic even for Barry, because killing kids wasn’t something it seemed like he’d entertain.
Barry then had a meltdown on Sally’s set, yelling at her to cast Gene in her new show. His behavior was toxic as he pinned her against the wall, leaving the cast and crew wondering how aggressive they are behind closed doors. Seeing him losing his temper like that after he imagined killing her and Gene reinforces that time’s running short for both characters. If Gene does tell Sally the truth, it’s plausible that Barry will follow through.
The fact Barry hung up on Sally — who bought him a video game controller to replace his fixed one and try to fix their domestic woes — says all fans need to know about Season 3. She was left saying “I love you” to a dead phone line, which reinforced that the narcissistic Barry doesn’t care about anyone else or the adverse effects he has on their lives. He only cares about himself, and this type of ego is something no one can heal. Barry continues to damage everyone in his unpredictable, dangerous orbit, and ruin any second chance he may have had with Gene or Sally.
The first two episodes of Barry Season 3 are available on HBO Max, with new episodes debuting on Sundays on HBO.
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