The first season was terrifically quirky and funny. While the second season has a questionable start, this episode was horrible and amateurish. I won’t watch the show again.
4
This was becoming my favorite show, and now I have to seriously question that. It was definitely way over the top with the violence and gore. If you strip that away, it was just a very dumb/absurd episode. If there is another like that I don't think I can continue to watch.
2
I thought this was a great episode. For those who thought it was too violent or weird, did they not get that this show is about an assassin? Who, weirdly, wants to change careers into acting. Violence is to be assumed, and there were plenty of sudden deaths before this.
It was a fun, crazy ride, with completely unexpected twists, that advanced the plot and showed an assassination gone completely, insanely wrong. Hope that Bill Hader and crew keep it up.
39
Loved this episode. It was non-stop action and so exciting. Bill's so creative and I love the series. I'm not expecting a documentary and love Bill's flights of fancy. This was definitely a winner. Keep up the great work.
21
Also, yes, it was funny to claim the show might have jumped the shark, considering one of the stars, Henry Winkler, is the guy who initially jumped over a shark and gave us that term forever after.
Sadly for me, I actually saw Mr. Winkler on the street on Friday, quick as a blink, and missed my chance to get a photo with him or any dialogue.
11
This episode was way too over the top. I know Hader & Co. want to shock, but this one seemed like the series is losing its direction. On to something else.
7
Life has a habit of getting you out of your comfort zone and this episode did exactly that. Thanks to the talented cast and crew of Barry for keeping it real in a surreal world.
Break a leg.
8
I loved this episode. Hader is a gem as are all the other actors. The writers are so talented. Every bit of this series is a treat. This particular episode was gentle, violent, hectic, controlled, bizarre, funny, sad. No jumping the shark to me!! Give me more.
13
Jump the Shark, indeed. I just thought why does a killer show up to kill without his usual weapon of choice, a gun. If I suspend disbelief, then, it was a great episode of violence and comedy at its best. Particularly, the young lady was a great element in moving the narrative. Was she in shock, or just furious, or both. I loved it!
4
This young lady made it seem like a sequel to LOGAN (and that final primal scream seemed to come from that movie.) It is so off the hook, just a great episode, and seems destined for a scripting nomination. I love the way they write Barry into a corner and find a way out. And as someone who taught acting for years in NYC, this show, more so than Komminsky method, cleverly, and hilariously, amplifies the teacher and actor dynamics. So surprised by this series. Love it.
11
I loved it.
6
Loved the episode but my take away was...what about the blackmail material that the cop was keeping until Barry killed his ex-wife’s boyfriend. Someone is going to find that.
6
“We might have jumped the shark,” Hader said in an telephone interview last week. “If we did, well, who cares? It was rad.”
Well, Bill, I've been a diehard fan of this show, and I care.
I've talked up this show to everyone I know but last night was just disappointing. I'm not surprised to see how many people here mentioned "jumping the shark," because that was my exact thought all through the episode.
I'm all for stretching, allowing the imagination to sidestep complacency, but for me all the prolonged--and truly unbelievable--violence was just off-putting, grossly disproportionate to the true strength of the show, which resides in how much we care about the characters, their aspirations & foibles. This episode, for all its inventive drive, lost sight of that.
Onward. But please, not too onweird.
11
@Yab-Yum
My sediments exactly. What do you mean, "who cares?" I couldn't make it through and doubt I'll go back.
What kind of sediments are you talking about?
6
To stick with a show, no matter how out-there it may be, you need to be engrossed in its premise(s). And for that to happen you have to be able to willingly suspend disbelief about the narrative. I was distracted from the wow-factor and drama of the fight scenes by the fact that I had no reason whatsoever to believe that Barry could hold his own against a highly decorated taekwondo master (let alone the idea that people can just go on fighting, or even keep on walking around, after multiple devastating blows, which we've all seen in action scenes sooo many times...
Anyway, I've enjoyed the dramatic tension and the subtle humor of this dark comedy (like the "Fargo" series) - but it feels like they're starting to run out of ideas with this episode, and just ramping up the most cartoon(ish) aspects of the show instead.
So please, Bill Hader, et.al., try to keep things somewhere within the realms of believability, if you possibly can.
5
Comparison to the "Pine Barrens" episode of The Sopranos is apt. I felt I was in Coen brothers territory in the best possible way.
Bill Hader's fearlessness and imagination remind me of David Lynch, who has many detractors but blithely carries on without compromising his bizarro take on the world and on the nature of consciousness. You either go along for the ride or you don't.
Count me in, until the last bitter episode.
22
Loved last night's episode, thought it was absolutely brilliant. I could see where a lot of people don't like this show because it's violent and falls outside of convention, but the violence isn't gratutious and the show's unpredictable nature is what I love about it (and perhaps what many don't). Always liked Bill Hader on SNL, who knew that was apparently just the tip of the iceberg as far as his talents? Was struggling to describe this episode to others - Pine Barrens Sopranos is dead on, thank you!
13
While watching last night’s episode, I said to myself, “This show just ‘jumped the shark.’” Ha! I will most likely watch the program until its conclusion... but most likely as background noise while I do the puzzle. Certainly not a show you’d watch more than once—unfortunately. I really thought this was going to be winner, sigh.
3
that was quick....I just watched the episode last night and the "jumping the shark" reference originated you guys with Fonzie who certainly plays a different (and wonderful) character here. surprised nobody mentioned that.
but it WAS so surreal and still not sure how I feel about it. how (spoiler alert) the guy just kept coming back again and again despite his injuries, what he did at end to detective (didnt see that one coming) and how despite how he's an assassin by trade, he's lost the killer instinct more than once and he's lucky to be alive as a result.
as a Kukiwon 3rd degree in TKD plus 2 other styles black belt, I was gonna complain about some stuff (his initial slide sidekick knocking Barry into closet door, spin back kick taking out one character in the grocery were great but limitations of TKD as a street fighting art were well exposed here) but the *whole story* just kinda jumped it. -and after previous episode which I thought would easily be worthy of an Emmy.
with a couple of loose ends tied up, as long as they can get that tape back and the girl cant identify him, maybe this can now go to a better, more logical, ending without Hank, Fuchs, entire Monk gang AND Barry all pushing up daisies but its not looking good for any of them right now.
we gotta keep it a little more real you guys.
1
@sam The actor is also an expert TKD guy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Bernhardt
4
All I could think of is how is Barry, in the series going forward, going to deal with that big wound on his back which may or may not be fully closed?
What is his girlfriend going to think? She's seen his back before.
5
This episode was so impactful because of what we see AND what we don't see. The whiplash editing of harsh violence and grocery store moments recalls the best of Pulp Fiction and The Big Lebowski. I'm laughing, I'm cringing, I'm uncomfortable the WHOLE TIME. I looked at my partner and said, What am I even watching? What is this!? By the end, I became concerned about the people we haven't seen for a while: Where's NoHo Hank? Is he OK? What about Sally and her terrible ex-husband? What about Mr. Coucineau? I was surprised by how much I care for these supporting characters, and it was this episode that shook me out of my expectations and refocused my love of the show. Bravo Mr. Hader and crew! (But please, more NoHo Hank!)
10
Big fan of the show. Haven't watched last night's episode yet. Let's talk about Barry being funny. It's not funny. It's not a comedy. The only funny character is Hank and the new creep who was in the Burmese episode with the watermelon head, he seems humorous. Does anything really think that Barry is a comedy?
1
@marge201
If one must draw a line, yes -- it's the blackest comedy on TV.
8
That bald Russian guy is very funny. And Henry Winkler constantly going after his students to pay up for any interaction is great.
4
Bill Hader and Alec Berg have given me such a gift with this phenomenal show, I'm more than happy to give Hader creative license to step outside the hula-hoop and offer up a wild-ride episode like he did last night. Probably my least favorite of the 13 episodes so far, but I am so in for the ride on this BARRY show journey. So in.
8
I loved this episode. Did anyone else get a 'Walking Dead' vibe? Barry's blood mouth and then the way he was staggering around like a zombie, the little girl in white who turned out to be a kind of surreal monster-child (cute and vulnerable on first glance, then truly terrifying!), and of course the face biting-- all reminded me of TWD in its glory days. It was strange and crazy and hilarious. I think this show just gets better and better!
9
Yep, your comment just clarified it, the little girl reminded me of the first little girl zombie Rick encounters in episode 1, way way back when.
2
I looked at Ronny and thought I know this guy and realized he played Kiril in John Wick. He was in that gorgeous, balletic, hand to hand fight with John in the disco. That fight was one of the most beautifully choreographed and filmed sequences I've seen in a long time. Daniel Bernhardt's his name. Try it. It's breathtaking.
6
I abhor violence on screen, but last night's episode was brilliant and funny. Mr. Hader, y crush on you grows deeper by the moment, you may be a creative genius.
8
@Fromjersey.
meant to say "my" crush!
1
This show, and last night's episode in particular, are brilliant...original, creative, incredibly humorous and surprising. The violence is cartoon violence (I am a person who cannot watch violence that is "serious", can't do Game of Thrones or those videos where people accidentally hurt themselves, and can't bear football in which people actually play a game despite getting traumatic brain injury), but the violence here is so over-the-top that it is hilarious. What happened to the acting class? I don't care. How does he walk around with blood all over his face? This makes it even more surreal. Hader is a creative genius.
12
I laughed almost continually throughout this episode! I do agree about seriously hurt person with a crushed windpipe was too much to believe. However, the in the store bit was fantastically fun so I guess he had to be almost a superhero. Just loved this episode. I must note when we went to see Pulp Fiction, I was the only one in the theatre laughing - so it might just be me!😬
9
As a fan of Bill Hader's from his early SNL days, I began watching Barry last year but was disappointed in the way the series thread was going so I stopped watching.
But reading this review and many of the comments left here I will watch last night's episode and give it another shot.
As for the person who advised Bill Hader to stop trying "new things" and to stay in front of the camera to "read his lines," that person does realize I hope that he's no longer on SNL where cue cards reigned supreme.
In Barry, the actors memorize their lines. When they stand in front of the camera. And act.
3
@Len
Can't recommend highly enough that you pick up where you left off FROM LAST YEAR and then keep going. I'm a writer (not on BARRY), and I'm telling you, this show is brilliant. Just brilliant.
10
Truly funny episode. Loved it. The little girl was amazing.
20
Barry is a remarkable show in it’s capacity to whipsaw between poignancy , violence and absurdity and maintain a certain believed -in reality . All within 30 minutes . When that was no longer balanced in last evening’s show , it removed me from involvement in each characters life , took me away from the story line and instead brought my focus to the director’s intentions . Not a good thing in my opinion . Hopefully , Barry will continue to be great fun to watch . After all , every writer is entitled to their exit the bear moment .
7
This episode evidences what I think of as the commanding element of Barry, and more, of Hader on screen: Total unpredictability and more vastly more imaginative than TV shows usually are, all of it played out with a strong sense of “Barriness”—guilelessness and irony. Brilliantly done. And yes, exceptionally well filmed. Just trying *imagining* storyboards for this episode!
20
Ironic that Hader would use the term “jump the shark” while co-starring with Henry Winkler, whose shark jumping on water skis as Fonzie on ‘Happy Days’ birthed the term
27
I love the series but this episode went so far over the shark that it was lost in the clouds.
All I could keep thinking about were the fights between Peter Griffin and the giant chicken on Family Guy. On Family Guy they're treated as cartoon sarcasm but I couldn't even find that here.
8
I've watched this show on and off...mostly off because I didn't think it brought Bill Hader's incredible humor to light as much as it should have. Last night's episode was what (in my opinion) what it always should have been. Congratulations, Bill and company! You've hooked me. Hope the rest of the episodes are this "out there."
6
@Jack Cardone
Good for you Jack. Yeah, I've always thought of "Barry" as Gross Pointe Blank meets Dexter meets Portlandia. And yeah, last night's episode was out there, but I think the folks who criticize Hader and Berg for this forget that at it's core..this is art.
Let it be what the artists decide they want it to be. As a former stand-up myself, who also did some talk radio and film work, it's pretty common for stand-ups to go from stage, to sit-coms, to drama / suspense. There's nothing wrong with that. Look at Jordan Peele from Key and Peele going to the horror genre.
At first I was kinda having trouble with episode 2.5 because, sure, we've lost the tenderness of the early episodes, and there wasn't anything with Gene and the class. But what makes this series so appealing is it's originality. There's nothing like it on tv or in the movies.
The fun part about this is, you HAVE to watch the behind the scenes of every episode, so you can listen to, and watch Hader and Berg explaining it, and also watching how much fun they're having doing it.
I know last night was a real departure, but having read this piece and hearing about the backstory of how the little stunt girl was introduced, honestly..I love it. What a thrill for her and her parents. What an explosive debut. Can't wait to see what happens next.
I'm not gonna judge Barry, and put it in a box like those who hated 2.5 seem to be doing. I think it's cool, and I'm totally diggin' it.
3
My husband and I have been fans of “Barry” since the first show but last night we were not. Another episode like that one and we’re done with it.
6
“We might have jumped the shark,” Hader said in an telephone interview last week. “If we did, well, who cares? It was rad.”
You did, and I care.
This episode illustrates the worst-case result when a self-indulgent actor decides he's a writer / director. Stay in front of the camera and read your lines, Bill.
7
@Randy
I think we're all grateful for your incredible insights. I hope Hader has the good sense to check with you before trying anything new. As for "Stay in front of the camera and read your lines, Bill." - I'll bet you're used to being ignored.
35
IMO the level of violence was over the top to the point of being like watching the craziness of oriental martial arts movies; its too unrealistic to be entertaining. The young girl was the best part of this episode, but the constant fighting of seriously injured people who somehow overcome the pain and injury to keep on going was ridiculous. Lets go back to just having Barry shoot people on occasion.
8
When Jessie bites Stephen Root's face and he can't shake her off because his hands are glued to the steering wheel!? I mean C'mon, who doesn't go through that at least once a week.
28
@Matt586 Don't be ridiculous - it only happens to me a few times a year.
7
Let the Emmy nominations for Jessie Giacomazzi commence!
9
I'm just tired of the constant "upping the ante" on violence and profanity. Having seen three episodes, I think there might be a great and provocative show at the heart of Barry, but it's just buried under conventional ideas about what modern audiences need to feel provoked into thought.
9
@Deborah I haven't seen any episodes of Barry yet but watching Season 1 of West World last week, and watching several movies recently, I've noticed how frequently people are shot in the head and/or through an eye. When did graphic gore have to become so incredibly graphic? Also, get creative! Bump off your victim/s in different ways!
1
That’s what I love about this show – not knowing if I’ll laugh, cringe or go “What the…?” The stunning little girl was as creepy as the child in “The Ring,” and that’s saying something. The dream sequence was also surreal. Barry will always dance with the dark, but his moral center will stand strong, if a little splattered with blood.
17
Bill Hader accomplished in 30 minutes on Sunday what Quentin Tarantino has failed to do over the past 25 years since "Pulp Fiction" -- employ ultra-violence that not only is in service to the story, but is entertaining and humorous without being gratuitous. He has great skills as both a writer and director, and also seems to be a genuinely good guy. More, please!
57
@Ron S. I'll watch the Barry episode after reading what your wrote. I tried to watch Tarantino's Hateful Eight but between gagging over the extreme gore and trying to find some semblance of a plot I could find no redeeming anything in the movie. Oh, wait a second. The snow looked really pretty. That's not enough.
1
I have watched this series sporadically and think it's pretty good. This episode was laugh-out-loud funny.
32
Sorry I tried watching this series last season and I did not think it was funny or very well written. It was a series of already been used plot lines from some other series. It was pedestrian, predictable, boring.
6
@Critizen, too bad you feel that way. This is a well written, well acted series. One of the best on the tube!
15
@Critizen A brilliantly ironic review!
1