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LTTP: Barry (Season 1 and 2 Only) What a show. Incredible tonal whiplash.

hwarang

hwarang

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,465
It took a few episodes for everything to click with the first season but afterwards it's an insanely good show.

Excited to see what S3 and S4 has in store. Fuches is probably one of the most hatesink characters ever. Everyone loves Hank.

S2 Ep 5 (ronny/lily) was insane followed by with an equally impressive last two episodes.
 
Fat4all

Fat4all

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Oct 25, 2017
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barry is one of the most underrated HBO shows of all time
 
Aiii

Aiii

何これ
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Oct 24, 2017
8,404
Bill Hader is a genius and doesn't get nearly enough recognition for this show.
 
Fat4all

Fat4all

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Oct 25, 2017
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Barry-spavento.gif
 
ara

ara

Member
Oct 26, 2017
13,078
Absolutely incredible show, I wasn't super into season 4 (though I definitely need to rewatch it soon), but the first three seasons are probably some of my all-time favorite TV. It took a few tries to get it to click, but holy shit when it did. I've seen the first three seasons like 3 or 4 times already. I adore the writing and the performances are wildly good.
 
aLaxLuthor

aLaxLuthor

Member
Oct 29, 2017
155
Aiii said:
Bill Hader is a genius and doesn't get nearly enough recognition for this show.
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I've been watching a lot of his interviews and SNL stuff lately and I agree. Amazing comedic chops and that he created Barry cements his genius. (Anyone else think it was born from the puppet therapy sketch?)
 
Fat4all

Fat4all

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Oct 25, 2017
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henry winkler's performance only gets better and better as the show goes on

such a great character
 
firehawk12

firehawk12

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Oct 25, 2017
24,649
What's the selling point? Critics kind of sell it on the action scenes, but that makes it sound like Banshee or Strike Back.
 
Fat4all

Fat4all

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Oct 25, 2017
95,873
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firehawk12 said:
What's the selling point? Critics kind of sell it on the action scenes, but that makes it sound like Banshee or Strike Back.
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it's 100% a dark comedy, darker and funnier than Succession

its all building suspense that pays off in either a fantastically brutal fashion, or with the subversion of a killer joke

under the surface it has a lot to do with the grimy nature of Hollywood/Acting, soldiers living with PTSD, and abusive relationships
 
Trouble

Trouble

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,229
Seattle-ish
One of my favorite shows ever. I will say, the S4 arc was unexpected, went some weird directions, but it had a fitting and satisfying end.
 
Ravelle

Ravelle

Member
Oct 31, 2017
18,143
I fell off because of the long wait for season 3, I really need a rewatch and watch S3 and 4.
 

Pikelet

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,429
It's still kind of a masterpiece overall, but holy shit at season 4. You have to give them points for taking a massive swing and changing up the formula, but quite honestly it got a little too dark for my taste. It was always quite gripping and compelling keeping up week to week while it aired, but at the same time something about the tone made it quite a difficult watch at times.

It's a dark comedy overall, but by the end there wasn't really that much comedy at all (Other than a handful of great moments) and so all you are left with really is just the darkness. To my taste I preferred something like Better Call Saul, which I feel managed the dark comedy juggling act with a bit more finesse rather than the tonal sledgehammer-to-the-face that is the latter seasons of Barry.

Overall though it's something I'd thoroughly recommend trying. Season 1 in particular is just hilarious, and it's a hell of a ride watching things devolve from there. And fucking hell, some of the action scenes just had no business being that good.
 
entut1

entut1

Member
Mar 31, 2023
677
Pikelet said:
It's still kind of a masterpiece overall, but holy shit at season 4. You have to give them points for taking a massive swing and changing up the formula, but quite honestly it got a little too dark for my taste. It was always quite gripping and compelling keeping up week to week while it aired, but at the same time something about the tone made it quite a difficult watch at times.

It's a dark comedy overall, but by the end there wasn't really that much comedy at all (Other than a handful of great moments) and so all you are left with really is just the darkness. To my taste I preferred something like Better Call Saul, which I feel managed the dark comedy juggling act with a bit more finesse rather than the tonal sledgehammer-to-the-face that is the latter seasons of Barry.

Overall though it's something I'd thoroughly recommend trying. Season 1 in particular is just hilarious, and it's a hell of a ride watching things devolve from there. And fucking hell, some of the action scenes just had no business being that good.
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the fact that in the end, it's a show about a serial killer always kind of meant you were gonna be left with all the darkness at one point. The end of season 3 already kind of cements this and then season 4 is really just... barely any comedic. On that front, in spite of all the things he did, I kinda wish Barry got to live. It kinda hurts to see him finally pivot to doing the right thing just as he... dies a moment later. I guess it works as a payback for all the lives he cut short.
 
DJ_Lae

DJ_Lae

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,959
Edmonton
Absolutely fantastic show.

I should really rewatch it now that it's been a while since I saw the finale - I imagine the earlier seasons will hit a bit different now, although the show was always all over the place in terms of tone (in the best way).

Half on edge watching it most of the time.
 
snausages

snausages

Member
Feb 12, 2018
10,558
I like the bit in one episode where a cop is taking questions about a gangland war but they keep asking him questions about Kurosawa and Yojimbo so he talks about that instead

I did not like season 4, I just don't think it worked. First 2 seasons are some of the best TV ever though, and season 3 an effective followup to that
 

Koddas

Member
Apr 1, 2018
118
I thought the first three seasons were amazing, legitimately some of the best TV going around but honestly thought season 4 sucked.
 
Katbobo

Katbobo

Member
May 3, 2022
5,634
Bill Hader is a legitimate genius. Writing, acting, directing, comedy, he's absurdly talented.

Barry was an absolute wild trip. Probably one of my favorite shows ever.
 
Yonafunu

Yonafunu

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,410
I really appreciate the show but the tone never really clicked with me across the whole 4 seasons.
 
Garp TXB

Garp TXB

Member
Apr 1, 2020
6,424
I loved the show, but man did it make me depressed sometimes. I get it, and it's supposed to do that I guess, but it's kind of not the reason I got into the first season.
 
thewienke

thewienke

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,254
Koddas said:
I thought the first three seasons were amazing, legitimately some of the best TV going around but honestly thought season 4 sucked.
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I sort of agree?

Season 1-3 feels like a full story where the viewer could probably stop watching if they wanted. Whereas Season 4 really did feel like an epilogue describing everyone's ultimate fates. Season 4 felt better in retrospect after I started framing it that way.
 
Mg.

Mg.

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Oct 25, 2017
2,029
Never before have I seen a show so delicately and beautifully juggle with both drama and comedy. The comedic timing is impeccable.
 
Joe

Joe

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Oct 25, 2017
8,771
It's so good. You're in for a ride. This thread makes me want to start it all over.
 
flatearthpandas

flatearthpandas

Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,276
I watched the whole show a month ago. I can't quite grok the praise it gets, but it's unique and funny and definitely worth a watch. I will never understand how S2E5 gets the praise it does in context of the show as a whole because, as ridiculous as the show often is, that episode takes place in basically a completely different universe. The other super goofy episode (the kidnapping, I think it was) fits in much nicer and deserves that praise way more imo. Ending is fine.

firehawk12 said:
What's the selling point? Critics kind of sell it on the action scenes, but that makes it sound like Banshee or Strike Back.
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It's kind of a mix between drama, dark comedy, and action, with the action being by far the weakest element. Kind of like a live action Archer but more drama and not as funny.
 
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FreedomFrisbee

FreedomFrisbee

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,113
Season 1 and 2 really are top of its class. Season 3 felt like it was a straight up genre shift tho, and lost me. Definitely still had great production values, but it was largely an absurdist, if dark, comedy. Pivoting into something more serious was always going to produce holes.
 
mnemonicj

mnemonicj

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,711
Honduras
From the very first episode we are all made aware that this show is about a person that makes a living by contractually killing people, there is no change in "tone" or it does not get "darker" later on.

I absolutely love the action episodes, also NoHo Hank is great.
 
PatAndTheCat

PatAndTheCat

Member
Apr 1, 2024
511
Never watched the final season and I don't have much motivation to- Is it worth checking out? I mean it is only 1 season and then I'll be done with Barry.
 
Animus Vox

Animus Vox

Member
Oct 30, 2017
2,628
NYC
I started watching this show because of this thread and I made it to Ronny/Lilly and had to check if this was the episode that people were fawning over here because it was absolutely incredible! Start to finish, a masterpiece. At that point of the series I was getting kind of tired of the drama class so this was a nice break.

One thing I kept thinking was that shit is absolutely going to hurt when Barry takes off his shirt after Fuches put all that super glue on his wound.
 
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