Barry: We are assassins, do we want to kill or do we want to act?

“Forgiveness must be attained,” the murderer repeated to himself, like a mantra, as he pointed his gun at someone’s head. A situation where there is an opponent in a loop from the beginning of Barrythe HBO series that premiered on Sunday, April 24th the first installment of the third seasonwhich was originally scheduled for 2020 and postponed, of course, due to the COVID pandemic.

This is a black comedy because, paraphrasing Juanes, Barry Berkman black has a soul, even as he tries to redeem himself. The story is about a former marine, who found his “vocation” on his first mission to Afghanistan, the problem is that his “vocation” was killed, and when he returned to the United States he dedicated himself by commission.

Everything changes when he travels to Los Angeles for a “job” and discovers that by chance he wanted to stop killing people to devote himself to acting.

an egocentric teacher

The tortured hit man in the theater workshop of Gene Cousineau, an egocentric actor who more or less famously fell into difficult times, finds what he believes is his entry into a new life far from violence.

The hit comedy was created by Alec Berg (writer of Seinfeld) and Bill Hader, who in addition to narrating it, he writes it, produces it and directs several chapters -increasingly-, like the first of this season where he had the luxury of recording a sequence shot (take without cuts) of two minutes.

Hader is a familiar face thanks to his participation for eight years in -if not- Saturday night Live, the largest talent pool in Hollywood. Where he stands out for his surprising imitations and, among other things, for posing as Stefon, the luxurious gay columnist of New York night.

Sa Barry he doesn’t abuse his striking histrionics, he focuses on details without exaggerating gestures or grimaces, and avoids the regrettable temptation that often falls on many comedians.

As for the character of “Mr. Cousineau “, was played by a great Henry Winkler (yes, the one who played the legendary Fonzie in the hit series Happy Days between ’74 and ’84) and it was both central for Barry, who accepted him as a kind of father, and in the plot, which also showed him seeking redemption.

Time to seek forgiveness

That’s what this new season is about: forgiveness. And we see in the beginning a more oppressed Barry -yes, more- and more lost -yes, more-. His actress fiancée, Sally (Sarah Goldberg), he was still busy with what mattered most to him: acting and himself; and his mentor to the hitman “trade”, Fuches (Stephen Root), continues to take care of himself no matter how low he sinks to do so.

Among the many successes of the series is Anthony Carrigan who plays NoHo Hank, a Chechen mafia boss full of nuances, as sensitive as the unscrupulous that, to make matters worse, he was in love with Barry.

As a naughty leader, he walks the edge of the abyss, and is always in between hanging his own bosses or comrades for being useless and being the top heroin dealer in Los Angeles. Her looks are the most ridiculousboth verbally and physically.

The swing between violence, drama and humor puts Barry in the perfect balance of tragicomedy, and at least sometimes we see the murderer with kindness, though there is always brutality waking up to put things in their place.

There are scenes typical in Tarantino films, full of blood and jokes, that lead the viewer to hesitate between covering their eyes or laughing with laughter.

Like previous seasons, this third will have eight half -hour episodes, with a premiere every Sunday. Although the fourth has not been officially confirmed, it would have been written by Hader and Berg, and given the impact of the series, everyone suggests that Barry remain on the screen between blood and dramaturgy.

wd