Season One Talk

[ElectricBoogaloo]

A+ use of "Leaving on a Jet Plane" at the beginning and end of the episode!

[vb68]

I'm such a huge fan, but this episode is the best work I've ever seen Bill Hader do. He was just astonishing.  I totally agree with "Wow.". If there's any justice, he'll win an Emmy for this phenomenal work. 

I'm shook too. Gonna be thinking about this for awhile. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I just remembered how much I loved Fuches and Hank (who I keep referring to as Smiley Zsasz) were chatting on the phone, commiserating about Barry's death and then Hank followed that up with, "Well, we're going to have to kill you now."

[teddysmom]

4 hours ago, vb68 said:

I'm such a huge fan, but this episode is the best work I've ever seen Bill Hader do. He was just astonishing.  I totally agree with "Wow.". If there's any justice, he'll win an Emmy for this phenomenal work. 

THIS x 1,000,000.

I was thinking the same thing. This is the guy who plays "Stefon" ,  pranced around with a pair of sweatpants on his head playing Little Edie Beale in Sandy Passage on Documentary Now!, and was fantastic in Skeleton Twins. And now Barry.  The range Bill Hader has is amazing. 

Barry is definitely striding into Breaking Bad territory. Dark, funny and brilliant. 

Chris had to go. He would have gotten his wife and child killed, and Barry knew he wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut. I am surprised Barry didn't try to explain "yeah you killed a guy but you saved ME. "And I TOLD YOU TO GET OUT OF THE CAR". 

[Silenus]

There seems to be a lot of Shakespearean elements in this show.  Barry's killing of Chris reminded me of a quote from Hamlet,  "I must be cruel only to be kind. Thus bad begins and worse remains behind." 

Sometimes doing something bad will prevent something worse from happening.  As said previously, Chris not keeping quiet would have likely resulted in his family getting murdered.  Plus it would come back to Barry eventually and would have possibly gotten people from the acting class killed as well.  Barry didn't have any great options so he took the one that would ultimately do the least amount of damage.

After this episode, I think I'm in it for the long haul.

[vibeology]

15 hours ago, hendersonrocks said:

SALLY SUCKS. (And I don't know that I want to know what it says about me that the annoying but largely harmless acting class character gets under my skin more than the murderous but conflicted Barry.)

I think it's just that Sally sucks in a way you can actually relate to. Everybody knows a Sally. An emotional vampire who puts her/himself first and uses people with no regard is something very relatable. I know a "Sally" so seeing her on screen every week gets a personal reaction from me. I don't know a Barry so it's easier to forgive his sins because I don't relate to them.

(It does suck though on shows like this (and Breaking Bad) that its the women who are flawed in a relatable way leading to audience frustration and anger while the men are flawed in more dramatic ways that are easier to like and sympathize with. But that's a general TV problem, not just this show.)

Edited May 7, 2018 by vibeology

[cpcathy]

Best Actor in a Comedy is always super competitive. I don't watch Atlanta but Donald Glover is basically killing it in life right now, so I expect him to be nominated. Hader deserves that award, even though he's doing so much more than comedy. He's just brilliant and not in the "actor-y" way.  I agree, his range is spectacular. I wanted to go back and watch Sandy Passage just to get a different vibe after this heavy episode. The moment when Hader turns to camera and gives this little hopeful smile makes me laugh out loud every time.  If you haven't seen Sandy Passage, do watch it. He's great in all the other episodes, but that one just sticks out for me.

[teddysmom]

Great interview at vulture.com with the actress who plays Sally. She studied for ten years in London before moving back to the US.

Something that makes me love Hader and his team even more: Sally's scene with her agent when he said he wanted to fuck her, Hader had his women writers write that scene, using their experience, as he nor none of the men on the staff would know how it felt or make it truthful and also had a woman director for that one. 

What a guy! 

[teddysmom]

35 minutes ago, cpcathy said:

If you haven't seen Sandy Passage, do watch it. He's great in all the other episodes, but that one just sticks out for me.

The spoof of "Vice", "Dronez", is also hilarious.  

[atlantaloves]

Hey guys, has this show been renewed? Please say yes yes yes. 

[cpcathy]

It has been renewed.

[LADreamr]

14 hours ago, vb68 said:

I'm such a huge fan, but this episode is the best work I've ever seen Bill Hader do. He was just astonishing.  I totally agree with "Wow.". If there's any justice, he'll win an Emmy for this phenomenal work. 

I'm shook too. Gonna be thinking about this for awhile. 

My feelings, too.  I've loved him forever, and his performance in The Skeleton Twins definitely showed he has dramatic skills, but this was fantastic.  So glad for a season two, but so sad season one is almost over.

[atlantaloves]

Both he and Whig were so good in Skeleton Twins, I think you can find it on Starz? It's really a sad movie, but has a terrific ending. I love him, what a talent.  

[scrb]

Show went from dark comedy to dark.

Bill didn't just go automatically to kill mode.  He was agonizing in that moment but knew he couldn't not do it.

Then as he waited to go on, he became more and more distraught flashing over how the wife and son would be destroyed.

Hader and Berg in the Inside the Episode related how they discovered Barry would have to kill Chris in the writers room.  Barry couldn't kill Taylor, the worse version of himself.  Instead he ended up killing Chris, who had the life he wanted, who was the best version of himself.

Barry couldn't neatly compartmentalize his real life from his actor aspirations.  All season, worlds were on the verge of colliding.  Of course for the story/show to continue, that separation will end up still being intact.

[thuganomics85]

Well, shit!  Obviously, I knew that a comedy centered around a hitman was likely going to go to some dark places, but Barry killing Chris was rough!  I saw it coming, but the build-up to it; ranging from the moment Barry realizes what he (thinks) has to do, to Chris trying to backtrack, but it being too little, too late; was just spectacular.  And then the aftermath that followed.  Bill Hader owned it.  Have to think this has got him at least a nomination come Emmy time.

Loved that after Fuches thought Barry died, his biggest regret was that Barry didn't get a chance to "apologize to him."  Fuches is the worst.  Yes, worse than the Chechen or Bolivian gangsters.

NoHo continues to be a delight.  He better be sticking around next season.

I can not wait to see how the finale plays out.

[shapeshifter]

11 hours ago, vibeology said:

I think it's just that Sally sucks in a way you can actually relate to. Everybody knows a Sally. An emotional vampire who puts her/himself first and uses people with no regard is something very relatable. I know a "Sally" so seeing her on screen every week gets a personal reaction from me. I don't know a Barry so it's easier to forgive his sins because I don't relate to them.

(It does suck though on shows like this (and Breaking Bad) that its the women who are flawed in a relatable way leading to audience frustration and anger while the men are flawed in more dramatic ways that are easier to like and sympathize with. But that's a general TV problem, not just this show.)

 

Sally doesn't bother me the way many seem to be; neither did Skyler on Breaking Bad. I'm not sure what that says about how the emotional vampires in my life compare to these characters, heh.

Editing to correct "emotional vultures" to "emotional vampires," although vulture might be more fitting. A vulture looks for the weak, vulnerable, dead and dying.

Edited May 8, 2018 by shapeshifter

[tennisgurl]

Seriously, Bill Hader is just amazing. He played so many different beats so perfectly in the car with Chris. From trying to get him to calm down, to getting frustrated, still calming him down, and then that moment when he (and Chris, and the audience) realized that Barry was going to kill him. Watching Chris frantically trying to backtrack was just painful, as Barry tries to prepare himself for what he is about to do. He told you to get out of the car, Chris. 

On the other hand, the gangsters continue to be hilarious, and I love how everyone in the criminal world, including the cops, are super into self help books. They're just the most pleasant people in LA, except for all the killing and crime and whatnot. 

Of course Fuches thinks Barry's dead, and his only regret is that Barry never got to apologize to him. Fuches is the worst. 

Edited May 9, 2018 by tennisgurl

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Inside the episode:

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Fun fact I learned from this interview: D'Arcy Carden (who plays Natalie on Barry and Janet on The Good Place) used to be the nanny for Bill Hader's kid!

[Ottis]

On 5/7/2018 at 7:04 AM, teddysmom said:

Barry is definitely striding into Breaking Bad territory. Dark, funny and brilliant.

Because of that, this was my favorite episode (after last week being my favorite episode before). This was the point where the show took a big step forward to being "appointment viewing" vs. taking a flyer. I really doubted Barry was going to shoot Chris until he actually did it. And then when he did, it felt like The Sopranos (a feeling I had forgotten). What a rush of mixed feelings ... Barry taking out Chris to protect Chris' family, and Barry, just a day after Chris saved Barry. Ugh.

And then the dark humor of going to the acting class, and Barry being so broken up that it causes him to finally appear to be a budding actor - AND vaults Sally to a new level. Sally's ignorance (and really, lack of interest) in what's going on with Barry was comical. 

I hope the show can keep it up. Sometimes I think it would be better as an hour, but then I think it might also end up being padded at times - something BB and The Sopranos both did.

Edited May 8, 2018 by Ottis

[Blakeston]

Am I the only one who didn't think Sally's Shakespearean acting was very good - even after Barry showed up?

Obviously it was a good idea to drop the phony accent. And her acting certainly improved after Barry did his line. But that doesn't mean it was particularly good.

[candall]

3 hours ago, Ottis said:

I really doubted Barry was going to shoot Chris until he actually did it.

Same.  When the stray vehicle rolled up while Chris and Barry were sitting there, I thought:

Okay, this is how they're going to kill Chris without making Barry the guy who shoots the friend who just saved his life.

Welp!

[heatherchandler]

Ok so I was curious about NoHo and I looked up the actor.  He looks good with hair!!

 

[Milburn Stone]

On 5/8/2018 at 11:45 AM, Blakeston said:

Am I the only one who didn't think Sally's Shakespearean acting was very good - even after Barry showed up?

No.

On 5/7/2018 at 10:24 AM, Silenus said:

Sometimes doing something bad will prevent something worse from happening.  As said previously, Chris not keeping quiet would have likely resulted in his family getting murdered. 

I don't think Barry went through this moral calculation to help himself decide what to do. He used the calculation in order to manipulate Chris into keeping quiet. The reason he killed Chris was not "hmm, by killing Chris I save the lives of an innocent woman and child" (as in a moral calculation from The Good Place) but rather, "hmm, if I don't kill Chris I'm a dead man." Had saving the life of the wife and child been his motivation, it might have eased his guilt later on. But it wasn't, and he knew it.

Edited May 10, 2018 by Milburn Stone

[cpcathy]

THAT'S NOHO??

He was so funny in the last episode--we need a bobka, maybe two.

[Portia]

Just learned that he has alopecia. That explains the lack of eyebrows. I think he's a standout talent.

[Portia]

I died laughing over NoHo's little story about seeing a guy in the bakery and thinking for a split second that it was Barry. Haank was all wistful like he'd lost a close friend.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Between this role and Zsasz on Gotham, I think he’s being typecast as hilarious criminals. Not that I’m complaining!

[MarMar]

I think I need To rewatch the whole season before the finale.  I was half paying attention during some of the earlier episodes and probably missed a lot   This show just got better and better as the weeks went by. I am so glad I stuck with it. It is now my favorite show I look forward to, and it is over on Sunday!!  I hope it doesn’t take forever to come back for season 2, and  I hope lots of people hear the buzz about how good this show is and tune in. 

[JD5166]

Loving this dark show! I have always really liked Bill Hader (my sister was a Hader hater ha) and also can’t get enough of it! If you haven’t seen Adventureland he and Kristen Wiig have small parts but are excellent. 

The acting classes don’t get any funnier, the exercises are so hilarious, I have been there (not my thing). Just stopping in to post my admiration to this far out of left field, brilliant show, I hope nobody ruins it for us! 

On 5/10/2018 at 10:10 PM, Portia said:

I died laughing over NoHo's little story about seeing a guy in the bakery and thinking for a split second that it was Barry. Haank was all wistful like he'd lost a close friend.

A baklava, or two baklava! ?

[Portia]

The show is a perfect marriage of great writing and great performances.

Edited May 13, 2018 by Portia

[Sader87]

3 hours ago, JD5166 said:

A baklava, or two baklava! ?

Babka actually.....love Hank. Polish nuns, who ran a preschool for us as kids, used to make us babkas.

Edited May 13, 2018 by Sader87

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, Sader87 said:

Babka actually.....

Yes. 

And, as with any good comedy, there is a set up and repetition; initially NoHo is apparently going to get the babkas as a solace for the loss of Vacha, the torturer:

Quote

NoHo:  Here is all of Vacha's things. Maybe we donate tools to local veterinarian.

Goran: Throw them out.

Noho: Oh. We having guests?

Goran: I'm putting this out for when fucking cops come to ask me questions.

Noho: You want I should go get a Babka, huh? - [PHONE RINGS] - Maybe two babkas?

Goran: Don't get cinnamon kind. Makes me sneeze. 

I also wonder if the mention of cinnamon babkas is an homage to the babkas of Seinfeld's "The Dinner Party," in which cinnamon babkas are said to be "lesser babkas" to the superior chocolate babkas—which I stumbled upon while trying to determine if there is a difference between "babka" and "baklava," which I haven't yet determined, but is probably regional.  
Anyway, later, Noho also uses the purchasing of the babkas in a kind of memorial to the supposed dead Barry:

Quote

Noho: I went to the store this morning to buy a Babka, two Babka, and I saw a man there, and just for a second, I thought Barry? But it was not him.
It was not Barry

—which is made more droll because of the repetition.

 

And now I'm wondering if having the villains speak in broken English to each other for the purpose of making them buffoons is a tad politically incorrect. Ah well. Love the show.

[Portia]

Thanks for the Hank quote, @shapeshifter. Someone may have already said this, but I think it's also endlessly funny to create violent criminal characters and them put completely mundane dialogue in their mouths. When one of our coworkers died completely unexpectedly last fall, my colleagues and I had exactly the same type of conversations that Hank and Fuches were having about their lost "co-worker." 

Edited May 14, 2018 by Portia

[JD5166]

16 hours ago, Sader87 said:

Babka actually.....love Hank. Polish nuns, who ran a preschool for us as kids, used to make us babkas.

I realized this today, last night the wine was thinking baklava. LOL 

[FemmyV]

Holy shit.

[cpcathy]

Holy shit, seconded.

[mrc12671]

I'm gonna third it.  Just completely blown away.

[MarMar]

Wow!  I didn’t think they would go there, but again, they did.  It felt so weird when they switched to the country with all of the daylight.  They killed the most relatable character!  The actress was excellent in the role. Oh poor Gene. I guess that is one way to clear the cast for a new big bad and a new detective for season two. I hope Hank makes it into the next season. 

[MaryWebGirl]

Well damn.

[formerlyfreedom]

And that happened...

Shiiiit. Poor Barry. I know, I know, I shouldn't feel this way...but...DAMN. This show makes me rethink everything...

[Nordly Beaumont]

5 minutes ago, MarMar said:

 It felt so weird when they switched to the country with all of the daylight.

I kept thinking it was one of Barry's daydreams (and I did watch the behind the scenes that tells us that was intentional). I kept thinking Barry would be back in reality before it went too far. And then it went too far. I've always liked that actress and I'm super sad she's gone! But as long as NoHo Hank is around to order up a submarine sandwich (he's polite!) I'll be okay. 

Now I can cancel HBO until Barry comes back!

[Irlandesa]

Apparently there's some? doubt about whether or not Barry killed her...as in they're not saying and we didn't see it.  But I can't imagine how they could justify keeping her alive knowing what she knows.  At the same time, I love the actress and the character so part of me hopes they find a way.

This was also one of the funniest episodes of the season.  That twin killer using the saw to build stocks?  Hilarious.  As was Goran's death scene.  Or how the press conference spent so much time talking about that one movie. 

[hendersonrocks]

I have no earthly idea where the show will go from here and, honestly, I’m not sure I’ve ever felt that before. 

All the praise to Bill Hader for somehow making this work, and a special shout-out to Noho Hank for being the most adorable gangster I’ve ever seen. (A sentence I never thought I’d type - this show is full of firsts for me.)

[MrWhyt]

NoHo for MVP!

[shapeshifter]

Unless I hear or read definitively otherwise, I am  open to the possibility that everything from the sunny hammock scene to the end was a dream/nightmare or maybe part of Barry's "acting process."

Because otherwise…
Darn Facebook.

And yes (of course) if Sally hadn't convinced Barry to stay, Janice would still be alive (because everything Sally tells Barry is tainted), but, also, maybe he wouldn't have survived without her acting-as-therapy talk. 
IDK. Is that a real thing?

So Fuches lives on to screw with Barry another day. Fuches knows when to walk away.

Heh, Sally should have a last name like Fuches too. Or maybe "Reed" is because in Barry's daydreams heretofore she's always been like Donna Reed.

The water sounds during the closing credits were riveting and very reminiscent of the Breaking Bad swimming pool that showed up in the credits for a whole season until we learned that the drug death of Jessie's girlfriend because Walter White chose not to save her resulted in her air-traffic-control father crashing a plane, IIRC, with toys dropping from the plane into the pool.
Anyway, I presume here we were hearing her bloated body floating in the water by the dock.

Unless it was all a dream.

[thuganomics85]

Damn!  I figured Janice was going to find out the truth, but I figured it was going to be more of a final season Breaking Bad Walter/Hank situation.  But baring a ridiculous twist, Barry just killed her.  I'm really speechless.  I have no idea where they will go from here.  Did he hide the body and everyone is just going to think she just disappeared? Or will be stage it like an accident?  How will this effect Sally?  Or especially Gene?  Hell, this will no doubt bring the rest of the police force in, if one of their own just disappears or gets murdered.  I'm certainly glad HBO has already renewed this!

That was one hell of a headshot Goran got!  I'll miss Glenn Fleshler going forward, but I so love that NoHo is not only still around, but ended up working a deal with the equally polite and nice Bolivian mobster!  I hope they bring him back: I want to see NoHo in charge!

Have to think that Fuches will somehow worm his way back onto the show.  Barry punching him twice was so satisfying at least.

Overall, really enjoyed this season and I hope it gets some award love.  Bill Hader was fantastic in particular, and I also got to show love to Stephen Root for embracing the sliminess and sinisterness of his character, and Anthony Carrigan for just being so damn hilarious with almost every line and reaction shot.  Can't wait for more of it next year!

[scrb]

Not sure what really snapped Barry out of it.  NoHo's call warning him?  Some sense of debt he felt towards Fuches, to not let him be killed?

Premise of the show is that he can't keep his past life and the future life he wants separate.

Yeah you'd think the cops are going to want to know the 3 people Janice was last seen with so Barry will always be looking over his shoulder.

Meanwhile, NoHo and Fuches will probably try to draw him back to the life.

I thought for a second he was going to murder the 3 of them at that table but Janice played it cool, pretended not to notice Gene was talking about a hired killer.  

 

So now the body count of good people he's killed is up to 2.  If he keeps killing good people or people who have the misfortune to find out his secret, it will be difficult to see him as a sympathetic character.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, scrb said:

thought for a second he was going to murder the 3 of them

Strategically, to stay alive and out of prison, he should have, and in terms of skills, we know he was quite capable.
But then no Sally dreams and no acting therapist.

 

2 hours ago, scrb said:

So now the body count of good people he's killed is up to 2.  If he keeps killing good people or people who have the misfortune to find out his secret, it will be difficult to see him as a sympathetic character

And if "he keeps killing good people or people who have the misfortune to find out his secret," Barry himself will find it more difficult to keep saying, "I'm a good guy."
Should we start calling this the Walter White Syndrome, or does it already have a name?

Note that Sally expects him to tell her his dark secret since she shared hers. But then he'd have to kill her. 
That will be a heck of a dilemma.

 

And just in case I haven't yet posted it for this episode: Bravo for the tight storytelling and acting.

[shapeshifter]

New York Times on season (finale): https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/13/arts/television/barry-finale-hbo-bill-hader.html

And same author's review from March 23 (seems he already saw the finale): https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/23/arts/television/barry-review-hbo-bill-hader.html

 

And an interview with Henry Winkler about the show: https://www.gq.com/story/henry-winkler-is-just-happy-to-be-here

Edited May 14, 2018 by shapeshifter