Barry: forgiving jeff (3x01)

Oh man, okay! I watched the first two seasons of this show a while back but this is my first experience watching an episode all caught up, so I can't rush on to see what's next. Let's talk about it!

Cons:

Barry is one of those shows where it's pretty much definitionally flawless television, so any complaints I have are in the realm of personal preference.

So there's one thing about this show, and it's that I can't stand Sally. There's the way the show wants me to think Sally sucks, and there's the way that I think Sally sucks, and the two are related but I'm not always convinced they're 100% aligned? Like when she's walking around being all busy on set and squabbling about fight choreography and dress colors, my overwhelming feeling is that of ennui, just oppressive, irritable ennui. Get over yourself, girl. I don't care. You are the worst. So while I know I'm supposed to think all these characters are the worst in some way or another, Sally is the person where when I see her on screen I wish I was watching anyone else.

We saw glances of Fuches hiding away in Chechnya. Nothing much happening there, felt like a footnote to the episode. We'll see how that develops.

Pros:

Christobal and Hank are very funny, the comedic highlight for me for sure. I loved them lying in bed together talking about how Barry killed all their buddies. I just love how Hank is trying to talk about getting a place together and Christobal is like "we're criminals and your friend murdered my whole organization". It's the exact type of absurdist comedy that this show does best, with Hank and Barry having a hushed conversation outside, Barry ducking comically out of frame when Christobal comes near. I love that stuff.

The highlight of this show is always going to be Barry himself, Bill Hader is an intensely talented performer and the stuff he does with this character is honestly delightful to witness. The opening scene, the look on Barry's face when his client backs down on the hit, the way he shoots two men in the head without blinking... oof. Just so much. You can see his guilt and his grief but also the way he's stuck in a cycle he really has no way out of at this point.

One thing I really appreciated about this premiere to the season was that they didn't drag out the confrontation with Cousineau. A lesser show may have tried to milk this for a lot longer, but no. He knows it's Barry, he wants to do something about it, and he does. The cut from Barry standing up out of his chair, to Cousineau in the desert, and then afterwards, the manic smile on his face when he tells Cousineau to get back in the trunk? Wow. Acting. Jeez.

I don't know that there's a lot more to say. This is a great show, it's well-made and precise and sharp, and I'll be excited to see how the rest of the season plays out!

9/10