Barry Season 4!
Apr. 17th, 2023 07:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
between_time_and_42Last night I was just going to bed when I heard the theme to Barry playing in another room. "Ha," I thought, "my landlady's watching Barry..."
Wait a minute...
Wasn't Barry season 4 supposed to premiere on the 16th?!
And guess what- it not only premiered, but two episodes were aired, back to back! I can't believe I had almost forgotten. So, I just caught up this morning, and...
Hm. I'm not a fan of where things are going so far. Granted, I had the same feeling when Season 3 started, and it took a while for me to get into it, but I'm just really lost in regards to everyone's motivations.
-When the first episode begins, Cousineau says that he doesn't want to talk to the press about what happened with Barry, because it might hurt the case against him. By the end of the episode, he's calling the Vanity Fair journalist to speak with him, and then in episode 2, he presents his story in the form of a dramatic monologue, painting himself as a tough guy who was in control of the situation with Barry the entire time (rather than him being a terrified victim who only managed to get Barry with the help of Jim Moss). Did I miss a scene, or did I forget a scene already? I'm not entirely sure what happened to cause that change. I know Barry called Cousineau from prison, but I didn't think anything from their conversation would have spurred Cousineau to twist the knife in further the way he did.
-I already can't stand what's happening with Hank & Cristobal, which is sadly the way I felt when Season 3 ended, only this time it's for different reasons. At the end of Season 3, I thought what happened to Cristobal was awful and exploitative and ultimately problematic, but I thought that as long as the show actually reckons with the traumatic psychological impact of him receiving conversion therapy and Hank killing a bunch of people to save him, then the writers could maybe salvage that relationship. Unfortunately, the first episode opens with Hank & Cristobal in the house in Santa Fe that they'd always wanted, seemingly happy, with no sign of trauma from Cristobal. Hank at least is shown having bad dreams and empathizing with Barry (having now killed people, he feels he understands Barry's reasons for killing better), but like... Cristobal's wife performed conversion therapy on him before he witnessed Hank killing her right before his eyes, how is he just going to brush that off? And now they're going back into the crime world because apparently, cornering the sand market so that they can get a house built is Cristobal's top priority... Maybe it will happen in later episodes, but I'm disappointed that Hank didn't give Cristobal a "what the hell?" kind of speech after he had lied (by omission) about his wife and family. I feel like Cristobal being eager to go back into the crime world shows that he and Hank aren't compatible, and I hope that Hank eventually realizes this and breaks up with him. But then again, Hank agreed with Cristobal to go to LA because... Barry is in prison and he wants to help him break out. The only motivation they're giving him so far is that "I understand how Barry feels now," which doesn't really hold up in my opinion. I can see Hank wanting to talk to Barry after what happened at the end of Season 3, to figure out how to deal with the trauma that killing has caused. But I don't know why he still seems to be so protective towards Barry and still thinks of him as a friend, especially since Cristobal is right in saying that Barry never cared about him. (Fortunately, the end of the episode, where Fuches reveals to Hank that Barry has talked with the FBI, does show him wanting to take Barry down in retaliation, but I can't help but feel that Fuches did that on purpose and now Hank is going to make a rash decision and get a bunch of people hurt in the prison break. Let's just wait and find out...)
-The scenes with Sally's parents... Good god. I see where she gets it from. Her mother is horrible. I'm really disappointed that she went back to LA, though- I understand why she wouldn't want to be around her family, but does she really think she's going to be able to salvage her career after what Lindsey said- "You have two major strikes against you, and you have integrity." I also REALLY don't understand why, when she went to visit Barry, she said "I feel safe with you." It might be the kind of thing that Hank is going through- after killing someone for the first time, Sally is seeking someone who understands what she's feeling. But she also strongly identifies as a victim and is upset that she didn't see the signs as to Barry's true nature, and that no one who knew about him warned her, so... That line made no sense to me. I did like the moment where she and Cousineau talk, and Cousineau says "You really didn't see any signs?" and Sally has a look of "wait... DID I?" on her face, before she angrily rushes out a "No!" On the one hand, Sally IS a victim and it's a low blow for Cousineau to essentially say that he shouldn't have needed to give a warning about Barry because she should have recognized his true nature from the start. On the other hand... Sally was shown to be EXTREMELY self-obsessed in that relationship and to never really pay attention to anything that Barry was doing, treating him more as a symbol of success than an equal partner, so he does have a slight point that she could have been more attentive. Still doesn't mean she was dumb not to recognize him as a murderer, though.
-Fuches and Barry spent so much time ping-ponging back and forth in these episodes- first Fuches wants to sell Barry out, then he wants to team up with him, then Barry betrays him- that I'm finding it hard to keep track of what's actually going on with them. I'm not going to comment yet on their dynamic because I feel like the next episode will reveal more of Barry's plan. But I will say, Fuches continues to be hysterical, despite being such an awful character. His obvious attempts to get Barry to talk to him while he was wearing a wire, and then his utterly pathetic motivational speech to try and amass a gang of prisoners (which Barry complimented, typical), were two humorous highlights from these episodes.
-Right at the top of the first episode, we get a little reveal- Barry is 44?! And still acting like an immature child... That's just sad to me. He's SO desperate to be loved, reaching out to Cousineau, then Sally, then resorting to Fuches, even though he knows he absolutely doesn't deserve it. Some of the most disturbing parts of these episodes were 1. when he was telling Cousineau over the phone that he loved him, and 2. when he kept repeating "Did you say you feel safe with me, Sally? You're always safe with me. I want you to be safe with me!" And then his self-harm scene in the restroom... My reaction to that was the episode's title. "Yikes." (I do have to say, I like that they kept his tendency to self-harm when frustrated/at his lowest consistent throughout all four seasons. And that they kept his hallucinations consistent, too. I think eventually I'll make a post about how mental illness is portrayed on this show, and how Barry is heavily coded as neurodivergent and what impact that has on the narrative. Though fair warning, I'm not exactly going to shower the show with love when it comes to that aspect...) I also love that we're finally getting flashbacks to Barry's childhood. I think this is the right season to incorporate them, now that the show is ending.
Not sure where this story is going to go so far, but I really hope the season gets better from here.
Wait a minute...
Wasn't Barry season 4 supposed to premiere on the 16th?!
And guess what- it not only premiered, but two episodes were aired, back to back! I can't believe I had almost forgotten. So, I just caught up this morning, and...
Hm. I'm not a fan of where things are going so far. Granted, I had the same feeling when Season 3 started, and it took a while for me to get into it, but I'm just really lost in regards to everyone's motivations.
-When the first episode begins, Cousineau says that he doesn't want to talk to the press about what happened with Barry, because it might hurt the case against him. By the end of the episode, he's calling the Vanity Fair journalist to speak with him, and then in episode 2, he presents his story in the form of a dramatic monologue, painting himself as a tough guy who was in control of the situation with Barry the entire time (rather than him being a terrified victim who only managed to get Barry with the help of Jim Moss). Did I miss a scene, or did I forget a scene already? I'm not entirely sure what happened to cause that change. I know Barry called Cousineau from prison, but I didn't think anything from their conversation would have spurred Cousineau to twist the knife in further the way he did.
-I already can't stand what's happening with Hank & Cristobal, which is sadly the way I felt when Season 3 ended, only this time it's for different reasons. At the end of Season 3, I thought what happened to Cristobal was awful and exploitative and ultimately problematic, but I thought that as long as the show actually reckons with the traumatic psychological impact of him receiving conversion therapy and Hank killing a bunch of people to save him, then the writers could maybe salvage that relationship. Unfortunately, the first episode opens with Hank & Cristobal in the house in Santa Fe that they'd always wanted, seemingly happy, with no sign of trauma from Cristobal. Hank at least is shown having bad dreams and empathizing with Barry (having now killed people, he feels he understands Barry's reasons for killing better), but like... Cristobal's wife performed conversion therapy on him before he witnessed Hank killing her right before his eyes, how is he just going to brush that off? And now they're going back into the crime world because apparently, cornering the sand market so that they can get a house built is Cristobal's top priority... Maybe it will happen in later episodes, but I'm disappointed that Hank didn't give Cristobal a "what the hell?" kind of speech after he had lied (by omission) about his wife and family. I feel like Cristobal being eager to go back into the crime world shows that he and Hank aren't compatible, and I hope that Hank eventually realizes this and breaks up with him. But then again, Hank agreed with Cristobal to go to LA because... Barry is in prison and he wants to help him break out. The only motivation they're giving him so far is that "I understand how Barry feels now," which doesn't really hold up in my opinion. I can see Hank wanting to talk to Barry after what happened at the end of Season 3, to figure out how to deal with the trauma that killing has caused. But I don't know why he still seems to be so protective towards Barry and still thinks of him as a friend, especially since Cristobal is right in saying that Barry never cared about him. (Fortunately, the end of the episode, where Fuches reveals to Hank that Barry has talked with the FBI, does show him wanting to take Barry down in retaliation, but I can't help but feel that Fuches did that on purpose and now Hank is going to make a rash decision and get a bunch of people hurt in the prison break. Let's just wait and find out...)
-The scenes with Sally's parents... Good god. I see where she gets it from. Her mother is horrible. I'm really disappointed that she went back to LA, though- I understand why she wouldn't want to be around her family, but does she really think she's going to be able to salvage her career after what Lindsey said- "You have two major strikes against you, and you have integrity." I also REALLY don't understand why, when she went to visit Barry, she said "I feel safe with you." It might be the kind of thing that Hank is going through- after killing someone for the first time, Sally is seeking someone who understands what she's feeling. But she also strongly identifies as a victim and is upset that she didn't see the signs as to Barry's true nature, and that no one who knew about him warned her, so... That line made no sense to me. I did like the moment where she and Cousineau talk, and Cousineau says "You really didn't see any signs?" and Sally has a look of "wait... DID I?" on her face, before she angrily rushes out a "No!" On the one hand, Sally IS a victim and it's a low blow for Cousineau to essentially say that he shouldn't have needed to give a warning about Barry because she should have recognized his true nature from the start. On the other hand... Sally was shown to be EXTREMELY self-obsessed in that relationship and to never really pay attention to anything that Barry was doing, treating him more as a symbol of success than an equal partner, so he does have a slight point that she could have been more attentive. Still doesn't mean she was dumb not to recognize him as a murderer, though.
-Fuches and Barry spent so much time ping-ponging back and forth in these episodes- first Fuches wants to sell Barry out, then he wants to team up with him, then Barry betrays him- that I'm finding it hard to keep track of what's actually going on with them. I'm not going to comment yet on their dynamic because I feel like the next episode will reveal more of Barry's plan. But I will say, Fuches continues to be hysterical, despite being such an awful character. His obvious attempts to get Barry to talk to him while he was wearing a wire, and then his utterly pathetic motivational speech to try and amass a gang of prisoners (which Barry complimented, typical), were two humorous highlights from these episodes.
-Right at the top of the first episode, we get a little reveal- Barry is 44?! And still acting like an immature child... That's just sad to me. He's SO desperate to be loved, reaching out to Cousineau, then Sally, then resorting to Fuches, even though he knows he absolutely doesn't deserve it. Some of the most disturbing parts of these episodes were 1. when he was telling Cousineau over the phone that he loved him, and 2. when he kept repeating "Did you say you feel safe with me, Sally? You're always safe with me. I want you to be safe with me!" And then his self-harm scene in the restroom... My reaction to that was the episode's title. "Yikes." (I do have to say, I like that they kept his tendency to self-harm when frustrated/at his lowest consistent throughout all four seasons. And that they kept his hallucinations consistent, too. I think eventually I'll make a post about how mental illness is portrayed on this show, and how Barry is heavily coded as neurodivergent and what impact that has on the narrative. Though fair warning, I'm not exactly going to shower the show with love when it comes to that aspect...) I also love that we're finally getting flashbacks to Barry's childhood. I think this is the right season to incorporate them, now that the show is ending.
Not sure where this story is going to go so far, but I really hope the season gets better from here.
