This season was somehow the least satisfying and most interesting season so far. I haven't watched the show since season 2 and honestly missed a lot of the plot details, I think a rewatch of all three seasons might help it click better for me. That said, I'm looking forward to season 4 with no idea of what they are doing.
This article helped to articulate, for me, why the season was a B+ and not an A- — to use the old AVClub grade system. Another aspect of the messiness is, in my opinion, Albert’s involvement. So much of the season built to the importance of his involvement and, in the end, his big scene is negated almost immediately. I’m sure there’s some intentionality in that decision, but it didn’t quite work for me. (Also, Chris’ widow, almost killing Barry but not finishing the job.)
I love NoHo Hank, and Carrigan’s performance, especially, but the show’s use of organized crime mostly as a punchline has always fallen flat. I like the character, but it has always been tedious to spend time in his world. The show has been much sharper in its Hollywood satire. Sally and Natalie and Sally’s younger co-star are the secret MVPs of the season. That story kept me watching every week.
I think I would be cheering Barry season 3 if it kept the focus on Gene/Barry for the whole season, rather than abandoning that dynamic for half the season and then circling back to it at the end. Still a very good run of eight episode. But, purely from a story standpoint, there were some weak points.
I definitely liked the season more than you did, but I get where you're coming from. However, I read the Julie/Kyle revenge plot differently - Fuches's assembly of his revenge army is less about the impact of Barry's actions on these survivors, and more about the way that they all react differently to this opportunity for revenge. For Julie & Kyle, it's about two people who are wholly outside the world of violent crime (aside from being traumatized by it) trying to enter into that world for revenge - Kyle getting shot is not the consequence of Barry's violence, but the universe punishing Julie & Kyle for attempting violent revenge when they clearly do not belong in that world. Each of the other members of the revenge army fail in different ways and most pay the consequences for their inability to exact justice in a fair way. The only one who actually succeeds is Jim Moss, who forsakes violence by both saving Gene's soul and facilitating Barry's arrest - however, the devastating final shot of the season reminds us that even this successful revenge will not change the loss that he suffered or bring him peace.
In all, I think the "messiness" you identify is true in terms of "messy" meaning "not clean or streamlined" (rather than "sloppy or unplanned") - but I think the season is actually very well designed and structured in its own shaggy and unkempt way that mimics the emotional turmoil that all the characters are experiencing.
Bill Hader is clearly getting more and more ambitious every season with this show, and he also is taking the world of Barry more seriously every season. I rewatched season 1 & 2 before 3 after not having seen either since season 2 ended, and I found season 1 to be much weaker than I remembered. It's very light television, with a story that's too simplistic for my liking. The subplot of Barry having toxic masculinity felt very out of nowhere for his character and hasn't really been brought up since.
I was surprised that I remembered season 2's plotlines much better, probably because it's just stronger, specifically Sally and Barry working on Sally's scene was a great arc. And the season's ending is very strong. But personally, I think season 3 was undoubtedly the best so far. I feel like you can see in every scene how much care Hader is putting into the show. His dedication to moral grayness is largely very well done. I love filmmaking that trusts the viewer while also asking a lot of the viewer, which can lead to dividing your audience, though I kind of love that it does.
I need to see it a second time to have more to say about it, but personally, this was the season that made me finally really love the show. Not to say that it's flawless; I agree that sometimes the character arcs can move a little too fast with only a half hour per episode. Regardless, very interested to see season 4 and Bill Hader's future as a writer/director.
For me, S3 has been some of the most rewarding television this year, the show I have been most looking forward to every Monday (because Australia).
It had been so long since S2 that I had actually forgotten so much of what had previously occurred. Just prior to S3 starting, I managed to rewatch S1&2, and remembered why I loved this show so much. I definitely think it helped prime me for S3, because as mentioned, it does reach back and connect to the earlier seasons quite a lot.
The first episode, ‘Forgiving Jeff’, was the show so much bolder and assured of itself than it had been towards the end of S2, and just so funny too. The cold open, Gene’s gun and the note from Rip Torn and then ending up in Barry’s trunk. Hilarious. Ep2 with Barry exploding at Sally: painful to watch, but also just so surprising the show would go there, almost casually, at this point in time.
I think one of the most exciting things to watch this season has been Bill Header’s direction. Like Zach says, some of the set pieces are incredible (‘710N’, unreal) and all his episodes are so strongly defined, beautifully blocked and shot.
I’ve seen people quibble about the plot a bit. I’m not sure if it’s because I had directly rewatched S1&2 prior, or if I am more onboard with the character and thematic work it is trying to do over the plot. I thought the pay off of the Annabeth Gish plot line was so dark, but resonated so much with what they’ve been saying about vengeance and cycles of violence, that I laughed loudly at it, felt guilty and then didn’t mind that the plot moved forward.
Each week of this seasonI would be excited to see what was next, and I was so glad I could watch it week to week and not binge it. This is the first show in a long time that I’ve rewatched episodes more than once after my first viewing and it’s been nice to consider the episode over a week. Bill Hader’s interviews on The Ringer podcast have also been excellent and a nice companion piece.
Cannot wait for S4, with the prospect of an all Bill Hader-directed season, and to see what unresolved issues they want to touch on.
A weak season of Barry is still a pretty good season of television that's miles ahead of most of the tentpole stuff I watch (i.e. Mandalorian, Marvel TV).
This season was somehow the least satisfying and most interesting season so far. I haven't watched the show since season 2 and honestly missed a lot of the plot details, I think a rewatch of all three seasons might help it click better for me. That said, I'm looking forward to season 4 with no idea of what they are doing.
This article helped to articulate, for me, why the season was a B+ and not an A- — to use the old AVClub grade system. Another aspect of the messiness is, in my opinion, Albert’s involvement. So much of the season built to the importance of his involvement and, in the end, his big scene is negated almost immediately. I’m sure there’s some intentionality in that decision, but it didn’t quite work for me. (Also, Chris’ widow, almost killing Barry but not finishing the job.)
I love NoHo Hank, and Carrigan’s performance, especially, but the show’s use of organized crime mostly as a punchline has always fallen flat. I like the character, but it has always been tedious to spend time in his world. The show has been much sharper in its Hollywood satire. Sally and Natalie and Sally’s younger co-star are the secret MVPs of the season. That story kept me watching every week.
I think I would be cheering Barry season 3 if it kept the focus on Gene/Barry for the whole season, rather than abandoning that dynamic for half the season and then circling back to it at the end. Still a very good run of eight episode. But, purely from a story standpoint, there were some weak points.
I definitely liked the season more than you did, but I get where you're coming from. However, I read the Julie/Kyle revenge plot differently - Fuches's assembly of his revenge army is less about the impact of Barry's actions on these survivors, and more about the way that they all react differently to this opportunity for revenge. For Julie & Kyle, it's about two people who are wholly outside the world of violent crime (aside from being traumatized by it) trying to enter into that world for revenge - Kyle getting shot is not the consequence of Barry's violence, but the universe punishing Julie & Kyle for attempting violent revenge when they clearly do not belong in that world. Each of the other members of the revenge army fail in different ways and most pay the consequences for their inability to exact justice in a fair way. The only one who actually succeeds is Jim Moss, who forsakes violence by both saving Gene's soul and facilitating Barry's arrest - however, the devastating final shot of the season reminds us that even this successful revenge will not change the loss that he suffered or bring him peace.
In all, I think the "messiness" you identify is true in terms of "messy" meaning "not clean or streamlined" (rather than "sloppy or unplanned") - but I think the season is actually very well designed and structured in its own shaggy and unkempt way that mimics the emotional turmoil that all the characters are experiencing.
Bill Hader is clearly getting more and more ambitious every season with this show, and he also is taking the world of Barry more seriously every season. I rewatched season 1 & 2 before 3 after not having seen either since season 2 ended, and I found season 1 to be much weaker than I remembered. It's very light television, with a story that's too simplistic for my liking. The subplot of Barry having toxic masculinity felt very out of nowhere for his character and hasn't really been brought up since.
I was surprised that I remembered season 2's plotlines much better, probably because it's just stronger, specifically Sally and Barry working on Sally's scene was a great arc. And the season's ending is very strong. But personally, I think season 3 was undoubtedly the best so far. I feel like you can see in every scene how much care Hader is putting into the show. His dedication to moral grayness is largely very well done. I love filmmaking that trusts the viewer while also asking a lot of the viewer, which can lead to dividing your audience, though I kind of love that it does.
I need to see it a second time to have more to say about it, but personally, this was the season that made me finally really love the show. Not to say that it's flawless; I agree that sometimes the character arcs can move a little too fast with only a half hour per episode. Regardless, very interested to see season 4 and Bill Hader's future as a writer/director.
For me, S3 has been some of the most rewarding television this year, the show I have been most looking forward to every Monday (because Australia).
It had been so long since S2 that I had actually forgotten so much of what had previously occurred. Just prior to S3 starting, I managed to rewatch S1&2, and remembered why I loved this show so much. I definitely think it helped prime me for S3, because as mentioned, it does reach back and connect to the earlier seasons quite a lot.
The first episode, ‘Forgiving Jeff’, was the show so much bolder and assured of itself than it had been towards the end of S2, and just so funny too. The cold open, Gene’s gun and the note from Rip Torn and then ending up in Barry’s trunk. Hilarious. Ep2 with Barry exploding at Sally: painful to watch, but also just so surprising the show would go there, almost casually, at this point in time.
I think one of the most exciting things to watch this season has been Bill Header’s direction. Like Zach says, some of the set pieces are incredible (‘710N’, unreal) and all his episodes are so strongly defined, beautifully blocked and shot.
I’ve seen people quibble about the plot a bit. I’m not sure if it’s because I had directly rewatched S1&2 prior, or if I am more onboard with the character and thematic work it is trying to do over the plot. I thought the pay off of the Annabeth Gish plot line was so dark, but resonated so much with what they’ve been saying about vengeance and cycles of violence, that I laughed loudly at it, felt guilty and then didn’t mind that the plot moved forward.
Each week of this seasonI would be excited to see what was next, and I was so glad I could watch it week to week and not binge it. This is the first show in a long time that I’ve rewatched episodes more than once after my first viewing and it’s been nice to consider the episode over a week. Bill Hader’s interviews on The Ringer podcast have also been excellent and a nice companion piece.
Cannot wait for S4, with the prospect of an all Bill Hader-directed season, and to see what unresolved issues they want to touch on.
A weak season of Barry is still a pretty good season of television that's miles ahead of most of the tentpole stuff I watch (i.e. Mandalorian, Marvel TV).