Barry's Eerie Season 3 Turn Was In The Cards From The Beginning
"Barry" returned to HBO this year for its third season, as it follows the titular hitman-turned-actor as he tries to leave his life as an assassin behind. The show's third outing was met with plenty of praise for its brutally funny approach to crime drama, earning itself an impressive 100% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Not only does the season move away from the comedy value that Barry (Bill Hader) — a seasoned killer — is an aspiring actor, but it deconstructs him and looks at what really makes him tick. He has to reckon with his actions, while also trying to maintain the new life that he's built for himself.
Ultimately, the ending of "Barry" Season 3 leaves audiences with a giant cliffhanger, and Hader recently teased a little of what to expect in Season 4 when speaking to The Wrap. Hader said, "Where Sally and NoHo Hank specifically end up this season and giving them Barry's disease, like they murder people ... was something that, as we were looking at Season 4, it was kind of going like, 'Oh, that could be interesting to just have their characters be different.'"
In a more recent interview, the actor opened up about the season's dark turn, revealing that it was always planned.
Bill Hader says the darker episodes stay true to the characters
It's fair to say that "Barry" Season 3 is a plenty grim affair. Although the first two seasons are still pretty dark at times, it's evident that Hader and the rest of the writers really cranked it up a notch this time. From Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler) trying to get revenge on Barry for the death of Detective Moss (Paula Newsome) to Sally (Sarah Goldberg) beating a member of the motorbike gang to death, there are more than a few disturbing moments in "Barry" Season 3. Let's also not forget the discredited "conversion therapy" that Cristobal (Michael Irby) is subjected to by his mobster wife, Elena (Krizia Bajos).
All that is pretty bleak, even for a black comedy. But Bill Hader explained the darker turn when speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, saying, "It was always that way from the beginning, especially after the way Season 2 ended. You never want to make a decision when you're telling a story based on what your genre is, where you go, 'Here's what the characters would do, but it's a comedy so it has to be funny.' I really wanted to stay true to the characters."
He's got a point, it wouldn't feel natural if the characters continued to crack jokes when these intense situations keep escalating — Barry is a hitman after all. Even though the show's razor-sharp humor is one of its best qualities, it's still important to remember that it is set in a semi-realistic world.