'Barry' Season Three Finale is Greatest Panic Attack You'll Ever Have

by Julian Spivey
I saw someone online refer to the season three finale of HBO’s terrific comedy-drama “Barry” as a “30-minute panic attack” and I couldn’t agree more with that assessment. The only thing I’ll add is it’s the greatest panic attack you’re ever gonna have.
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After two years off television due to the Covid pandemic I worried about how season three of “Barry” would hit me – I didn’t do a re-watch of the first two seasons, which I truly should’ve leading me to struggling to remember what was going on heading into the season.

Season three of “Barry” has been like a four-hour film in that I honestly kind of wish I had opted to wait until the season finished and binged it, as opposed to watching it weekly as it aired (which is how I generally prefer watching television). I just feel like this series being so cohesive that it really would’ve hit more watching it over say four nights (one hour/two episodes a night).

Let’s jump into the fantastic finale “starting now,” which has been hailed by many critics and viewers alike since it aired on Sunday, June 12, as one of the best episodes of television in quite some time, if not ever.

Spoilers ahead … 

Photo: HBO

The episode begins with Fuches (Stephen Root) being locked away in prison in what is a quick end to his season three storyline, which saw him trying to get back at Barry for turning his back on him by telling grieving family members of his past victims as a hitman that he killed their loved ones. He finally wound up behind bars when the ex-military or law enforcement (or both, I can’t remember) Jim Moss (Robert Wisdom), the father of Det. Janice Moss from season one, was one of the people Fuches tried to use to kill Barry. There wasn’t a whole lot of Fuches and Root in season three, which I hope the show fixes in season four.
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There also wasn’t enough Noho Hank (Anthony Carrigan) in season three. He is the only one you could argue gets a happy ending in the season though, even though he has to go through Hell to get there. In the penultimate episode of the season Hank was captured in Bolivia while looking for his boyfriend Cristobal (Michael Irby), who was captured and taken back to his home country by his pissed off wife. Hank is being held in a dungeon, waiting for his certain death when he hears his Chechen buddies being tortured to death via panther attack. This was utterly amazing acting by Carrigan, essentially reacting to just sounds of horror behind a wall. Hank is able to break free, comes upon Cristobal being tortured by his wife in some sort of gay conversion therapy treatment, kills her and rescues his love. End of the only happy-ish storyline of the episode.

Earlier in the episode, Barry (Bill Hader) returns to his apartment after leaving the hospital where he was saved from poisoning in the previous episode and sees his ex-girlfriend Sally (Sarah Goldberg) waiting on him. She was deceived (at least in her mind) by her friend in the previous episode and wants to use Barry’s skills to get back at her. The duo is then attacked by the leader of the motorbike gang from the “710N” episode two weeks before (my personal favorite episode of the season). Barry is immediately knocked out by the leader, who then proceeds to strangle Sally almost to death – a moment bringing up horrible past memories for her – before she summons the courage to stab him in the neck with a nearby object. Barry and Sally plan to meet up later, but she’s last seen boarding a plane for her hometown of Joplin, Mo. In the episode.

While Barry is burying the gang leader’s body he is confronted by his old army buddy turned FBI agent Albert (who’s life he saved in the Middle East) and Albert demands to know why his life turned down such a tragic role. We think Albert (James Hiroyuki Liao) is either going to arrest Barry or force Barry to kill him but repaying a favor to Barry for saving his life he simply implores Barry to get his act together. The performances in this scene from Hader and Liao are terrific.

This might be the moment that finally turns around Barry’s life, something he’s been hopeful of doing ever since he stumbled upon the acting class in season one.

But earlier in the day Jim Moss had invited Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler) over to his place to talk and uses his incredibly interrogation skills on him getting him to finally admit that it was Barry who killed Janice. Gene calls Barry in a panic claiming that Moss knows Barry killed his daughter and he’s going to do something about it. Barry shows up at the Moss residence to find Gene with a handgun seemingly going to kill Moss to help protect Barry. Barry determines he’ll have to get rid of Moss, enters the house and I believe the season is going to end with him killing Moss. But, then the entire thing is revealed to have been a set up by Moss and Gene and season three ends with Barry being arrested for the murder of Janice.

I have no freakin’ clue where season four of “Barry” is possibly going to go from here and I hate that I’m going to have to wait at least a year to find out. “starting now,” honestly would’ve made for a good series ender, albeit a mostly depressing one – but I get the feeling whenever the show does end that it’s probably not going to be full of smiles.

“Barry” is probably the most unique show on television with a style and tone all its own mixing great laughs and funny moments with the most dire and dramatic of moments – the season three finale was almost completely dire and dramatic.