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The season three finale of Barry has, I believe, one joke in it. That’s what I recall off the top of my head. Wait, there’s a second one. OK, two jokes. This is notable because Barry is, ostensibly, a comedy. It’s won Emmys for comedy. It will be in the comedy category at the next Emmys, and based on this season I expect it to win more. The show has always toed the line, given that it is a dark show about a hitman who wants to be an actor. As we’ve gotten further into his world, though, the darkness has enveloped it. Also, Bill Hader seems kind of tired of comedy, or of finding any humor in a hitman. That is, ultimately, the driving force of season three of Barry.
The writing, directing, and acting in this season was all “bravura,” if I may massage/mangle language in pursuit of my point. It is to the show’s credit that a comedy-free episode of Barry did not feel jarring. The show built up to it, essentially. You give us dark humor, and then you just remove the humor. Fortunately, it helps that Hader and, surprisingly, Henry Winkler, have proven so astute when it comes to dramatic acting. Winkler is, of course, the revelation of Barry. Sarah Goldberg is great, but I only know here as Sally. Winkler is always and forever The Fonz. To see him doing such stellar dramatic work is nigh incredible.
Would I like a little more humor in Barry? Sure, or at least a bit of a breather from the darkness. The season three finale is relentless. The violence is brutal. It’s a style of violence that is a little too visceral. It doesn’t feel cheap, but that doesn’t mean it feels anything other than unpleasant. Granted, that’s a tough needle to thread, but when you try and thread the needle, it’s imperative to do it.
At this point, I wonder if Barry will have any comedy in the fourth season. Will it truly be a half-hour drama, a rare thing in television. Will it end up in a different Emmy category? Probably not, because “half hours are comedies and hour longs are dramas” is the Emmy Awards’ thought process equivalent of “all cats are girls and all dogs are boys.” It’s almost like Barry is daring the Emmys to recontexualize, much as the show has done. Hader loathes Barry Berkman. He wants you to loathe him too. If that means dragging you into his miserable little world, he’s going to do it.
