If the ending of last week’s explosive episode of Barry was at all confusing, get ready! Episode 5, “tricky legacies,” is even more confusing. But if you’re four seasons into Barry and aren’t willing for a little mind-boggling twist woven into every new episode, are you really a true fan? Let’s get into that wild time jump, Barry’s (Bill Hader) odd little son, and Sally’s (Sarah Goldberg) first acting gig longer than one quick season of TV.
Those cutaway scenes Barry has imagined all season, of young boys playing around with father figures, weren’t really flashbacks—they were alluding to this time jump, which thrusts us all eight years into the future. Now, Barry appears to have stripped away all of the side characters, whittling the cast down to just three folks: Barry, Sally (who is now, presumably, his wife), and their son John (Zachary Golinger). But Barry and Sally aren’t going by their original names any more—they’re now “Clark” and “Emily,” two isolated parents that live in the desert in the middle of nowhere.
While Barry makes some questionable decisions in parenting as a stay-at-home dad, like using weird YouTube clips as homeschooling, Sally serves as their breadwinner. She applies lipstick, cakes on makeup, and sports a wig to serve at a local Cracker Barrel-like restaurant, disguising herself as to not reveal that she’s harboring Barry as a fugitive.
All the makeup, costumes, and character creation seem to have fulfilled Sally for the past eight years, but now she’s starting to feel drained of all energy. Years ago,Sally had always dreamed of being an actress. This, then, should be the fantasy fulfilled; every day, she goes into work playing a character. She’s still, however, unsatisfied. Perhaps, then, it was never Sally’s dream to act—it was only her dream to achieve fame, which is the exact opposite of the infamy she has now.
This is a brilliant wrench thrown into Sally’s story, executed with such marvelous discontent from Goldberg. While the other characters seem to have fallen to the wayside in this time jump—we don’t get updates on Hank (Anthony Carrigan) post-breakup or Cousineau (Henry Winkler) following the accidental shooting of his son—Sally’s new storyline could be enough to carry Barry, as we see it through its final four episodes.
Sarah Goldberg.
Merrick Morton/HBO
Barry is also still around, of course, and we do get a little hint of the other cast near the end of this episode. While “Emily” pops Xanax tabs and flirts with a hick chef at work, Barry stays at home to raise little John into the exact opposite of who Barry was: a religious goody two shoes. John is restricted from video games. He’s forced to watch prayer circles online. He has no friends. Barry preaches “pragmatism, optimism, and compromise,” key qualities that he says folks like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln exemplified in their leadership. In return, John rarely speaks. He simply listens to his father’s vague ramblings.
Barry seems to be attempting to raise the exact opposite of a psycho killer that he turned out to be—but in the process of being so overprotective and teaching bizarre lessons, he’s actually creating an even weirder beast. If you remove a kid from the outside world—Barry doesn’t even allow his son to play baseball with the other boys in the desert—and teach them that all you need is God, it’s going to be hard for them to properly acclimate to society one day.
Zachary Golinger and Bill Hader.
Merrick Morton/HBO
After John sneaks a baseball glove into the house, Barry discovers his betrayal and makes the kid watch hours of YouTube videos showing kids dying while playing baseball. “12 Year Old Pitcher Killed by Line Drive to the Neck!” is the title of one ominous video. Barry even trains his son to be wary of his mother—she cries so much that she can’t be trusted, he explains. As Barry restricts John from developing any relationships apart from the one he shares with his father, the boy grows restless and confused. It’s exactly the backstory you’d expect to see for a young Barry.
Anyone who touches Barry feels the gross effect of his violence and inhumanity. In the previous episode, Hank betrayed the love of his life, as a result of Barry’s actions in prison. Cousineau shot his own son, fearing it may be Barry. Now, Sally attempts to have an affair but ends up nearly choking her lover to death, while their young son—who should be a ray of innocence —lies to his family about playing with other boys and goes to bed screaming in fear.
Zachary Golinger and Bill Hader.
Merrick Morton/HBO
In the final moments of the episode, Barry brings its two leading stars back into their past Sally receives a Google Alert for “Barry Berkman,” leading her to a Hollywood Reporter article about a new movie being made about Barry’s life as a hitman. The real kicker, though, is that after years in hiding, Cousineau has agreed to contribute to the film. Sally and Barry’s quiet life in the desert has to suddenly come to a close.
There’s only one thing left to do. Barry closes the episode with a promise that’ll return him to his old ways.
“I’m going to have to kill Cousineau.”
