Barry: 710N
May 31, 2022 8:14 AM - Season 3, Episode 6 - Subscribe
Fuches' schemes finally catch up with him. The Taylor's hunt for Barry, and Barry plans to re-connect with old friends.
It reminds me of the latest season of Toast of London/Tinseltown
It reminds me of nothing else on television, which is why I look forward to it each week.
If I had to summarize it for a newcomer, I’d say it is sort of a spiritual adaptation of Raising Arizona but the Nicolas Cage character is not a low-level punk knocking over gas stations but a skilled assassin.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:47 AM on May 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
It reminds me of nothing else on television, which is why I look forward to it each week.
If I had to summarize it for a newcomer, I’d say it is sort of a spiritual adaptation of Raising Arizona but the Nicolas Cage character is not a low-level punk knocking over gas stations but a skilled assassin.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:47 AM on May 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
I mean, it's not like I regularly confused s1 and s2 with The Wire
posted by ominous_paws at 10:21 AM on May 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by ominous_paws at 10:21 AM on May 31, 2022 [4 favorites]
The gun handoff killed me.
posted by ominous_paws at 10:22 AM on May 31, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by ominous_paws at 10:22 AM on May 31, 2022 [6 favorites]
Here’s a great article talking to Bill Hader about his directing style, both for this episode and in general. An interesting and revealing line: “But I do think since I was very young, because I watched a lot of movies, I was always thinking of shots. Always thinking of camera angles.”
posted by ejs at 12:31 PM on May 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by ejs at 12:31 PM on May 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
i don't understand suspension of disbelief. it's fiction. let it be fiction. realism in art is massively overrated. this was my favorite episode of Barry yet.
posted by JimBennett at 8:06 PM on May 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by JimBennett at 8:06 PM on May 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
I'm sympathetic to the people that feel like the show is breaking a bit too far in the surreal direction, but I'm not at the point where it feels like it's broken my faith with it. The AV Club recap has an interesting point to make about how bonkers the timelines for this episode (coupled with the one before it) are.
I'm all in on Barry and the gradual dialling-up of the over-the-top aspects don't faze me, but we've definitely moved from "could be real" show in the first season to "elevated reality" in the second, especially the episode with the nearly-flying ninja kid.
For me, realism ties back to stakes; I still feel like there are meaningful stakes here (Barry can theoretically be killed; the feelings that he, Sally, Gene and even Funches have feel real and true). But a nudge too far and it drifts into a "everything is possible so nothing matters" territory: who cares if Barry gets 'killed,' because maybe he has magical healing powers and also he can fly now. I trust Hader and Berg not to take us there, but the trend line is more in that direction right now.
posted by Shepherd at 4:28 AM on June 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
I'm all in on Barry and the gradual dialling-up of the over-the-top aspects don't faze me, but we've definitely moved from "could be real" show in the first season to "elevated reality" in the second, especially the episode with the nearly-flying ninja kid.
For me, realism ties back to stakes; I still feel like there are meaningful stakes here (Barry can theoretically be killed; the feelings that he, Sally, Gene and even Funches have feel real and true). But a nudge too far and it drifts into a "everything is possible so nothing matters" territory: who cares if Barry gets 'killed,' because maybe he has magical healing powers and also he can fly now. I trust Hader and Berg not to take us there, but the trend line is more in that direction right now.
posted by Shepherd at 4:28 AM on June 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
To me it kind of feels like the more Barry loses touch with reality, the more surreal everything else gets.
posted by thedward at 8:13 PM on June 2, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by thedward at 8:13 PM on June 2, 2022 [5 favorites]
The AV Club recap has an interesting point to make about how bonkers the timelines for this episode
I mean yes I guess they are but -- it really doesn't matter much to enjoying the show? Part of the skill of the writing and direction here is taking absurd premises and making them work.
The gun handoff killed me.
The comic timing of that stunt work, yes.
For me it was Barry loudly dictating his text to Sally in -- what, a Ross Dress For Less, something like that? Funny, and that Barry is so unaware that normal people exist and are affected by his actions makes his apology seem all the more insincere.
They clearly love Stephen Root too much to actually kill off Fuches.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 11:24 AM on June 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
I mean yes I guess they are but -- it really doesn't matter much to enjoying the show? Part of the skill of the writing and direction here is taking absurd premises and making them work.
The gun handoff killed me.
The comic timing of that stunt work, yes.
For me it was Barry loudly dictating his text to Sally in -- what, a Ross Dress For Less, something like that? Funny, and that Barry is so unaware that normal people exist and are affected by his actions makes his apology seem all the more insincere.
They clearly love Stephen Root too much to actually kill off Fuches.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 11:24 AM on June 3, 2022 [3 favorites]
Just because it was excellent:
Hey, Sally, exclamation point. I just wanted to say I appreciate you for calling me out for being a, quote, "violent asshоlе," end quote. I am sorry for all the shit I put you through over the past couple of weeks. Parentheses, yelling at you at work, comma, offering to break into your boss' house, comma, take sleeping pictures of her, et cetera, et cetera, end parentheses, wincing emoji. There is no excuses for that. B. Period. S. Exclamation point. Exclamation point. Exclamation point.posted by Marticus at 4:17 PM on June 6, 2022 [8 favorites]
This looks nice, and it's 40% off. Anyway, I don't think I'm going to do acting anymore. I found a new community with my Marine friends. I'm trying to move forward by going into the past like Marty McFly. LOL. Sir, you're talking too loud. shit, I'm sorry. Just please be quack ye shame Jonas Brothers haha fresh. Sally, I understand if you do not want to talk to me again. I will five you spaceship brittle teeth in the sunshine. Barry.
So, in the previous episode Fuches approaches the dirtbiking sister of the Marine that Barry killed, and initially she isn't interested in getting revenge. But then he mentions that Barry owed her brother $1700, and she and her dirtbike gang become interested presumably because they see an opportunity to get the money.
But then when do find Barry, they make no attempt to try and recoup the $1700? They just try to kill him immediately.
It has also struck me that throughout the whole "Fuches approaches the families of Barry's victims" plotline, it's apparently enough for a "private investigator" to walk up to them and, providing no evidence that Barry is the killer (or at least none that we see), they all accept at face value Fuches' story and go off to try and kill this apparently highly dangerous assassin.
Perhaps it's because the writing on this show is so good that these apparent gaps in explaining characters' motivations stick out. Although it's also possible I missed or misinterpreted something.
posted by good in a vacuum at 12:35 PM on September 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
But then when do find Barry, they make no attempt to try and recoup the $1700? They just try to kill him immediately.
It has also struck me that throughout the whole "Fuches approaches the families of Barry's victims" plotline, it's apparently enough for a "private investigator" to walk up to them and, providing no evidence that Barry is the killer (or at least none that we see), they all accept at face value Fuches' story and go off to try and kill this apparently highly dangerous assassin.
Perhaps it's because the writing on this show is so good that these apparent gaps in explaining characters' motivations stick out. Although it's also possible I missed or misinterpreted something.
posted by good in a vacuum at 12:35 PM on September 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
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It reminds me of the latest season of Toast of London/Tinseltown where they just said "the heck with it" and embraced all of the chaos and oddball humour and stretched it until the plot nearly broke. I guess by now people who are into it understand that you need more than just "normal" suspension of disbelief but I feel like until this season it was still balancing on the edge of straightforward plotting/character arcs.
posted by AgentRocket at 9:00 AM on May 31, 2022 [1 favorite]