5 burning questions before Barry's final season

There's plenty to unpack as the singular HBO series heads into round four

By Tim Lowery, Alison Foreman | March 30, 2023 | 4:42pm

TV Features Barry

5 burning questions before Barry's final season

Bill Hader in Barry’s season 4 premiere Photo: Merrick Morton/HBO

Now that Barry is set to return on April 16 for its fourth (and final!) season, let’s rewind way back to the simpler times of summer 2022 and dig into all of the questions we had after the sensational third-season ender “starting now.” That episode (helmed and co-written by Bill Hader) had a bit of everything we love about this HBO show’s season finales: a thrilling twist of an ending that made complete sense yet threw us in the moment, some darkly comedic violence, and excellent direction, all painting a more complex portrait of a main character we thought we finally nailed down. It also raised a ton of questions. Here are the ones we’re considering most as the series’ sendoff looms.

This article was originally published in June 2022 after the third-season finale of Barry. It was updated on March 30, 2023.

Barry Season 4 | Official Trailer | HBO

1. How can Barry possibly get out of this?

We’re now in end-of- territory, in which the jig is finally up for Barry and the secret half of his life is on full display. So, now that a SWAT team has carted him off (past his betrayer Gene, who looked at him calmly in a loyalty-is-our-demise Shakespearean moment), what can the show do with Barry locked up? (Also, sub-question: How did Barry, with his training and skills, not notice said SWAT team?) What will he do with Fuches in prison? And will he escape, perhaps to Mexico, where his roommates are trying out their act? We’re fully aware we answered this question by asking four more. But we’re on pins and needles to see how Barry season four captures this new setting.

2. Will Albert get away with letting Barry go?

In a scene that bears a striking resemblance to season-three opener “,” FBI Agent Albert Nguyen chooses to spare his old friend Barry. It’s an understandable move for the former Marine, who credits Barry with saving his life—and, by extension, giving him his eight-year-old daughter Elsie. Albert returns the favor with a surprising display of mercy, holding the groveling hitman at gunpoint before demanding he change and ultimately letting him escape. Of course, thanks to Cousineau’s dagger-to-the-heart betrayal in the finale’s last twist, Barry ended up in police custody anyway. Whether that comes back to haunt Albert stands to finally answer the question: Can you forgive Barry?

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3. Why were Sally and Cousineau on that beach?

The brilliant, -like move to have our main character stuck in a hell/purgatory/whatever dreamspace—in this case, a beach with an endless gray ocean—returns. And in the season-three finale, Barry seemed mighty surprised to see, among all the people he has killed huddled along the shore, Sally and Cousineau in the back. (Also, notice the sounds of a tiger growling as a nice little foreshadowing.) So, what’s the deal? Will Barry somehow off these two, the closest people in his life? That seems easy and unlikely and too clean (read: not very Barry). Or does it symbolize that they’ll be Barry’s demise in the end? Or is it metaphorical, that he kills everything—everyone—he loves? Or does it represent them simply being out of his life? We’re…not sure but we’re leaning towards the latter. In any event, we hope the Dreamy Death Beach has a place in season four.

4. Can Hank and Cristobal finally find happiness?

NoHo Hank’s harrowing, -esque escape from the Bolivians in the season-three ender is one of the more edge-of-your-seat scenes in Barry history. We have a million questions about the horrors that took place in the Sifuentes’ family dungeon and what transpired between Cristobal and his homophobic pustule of a wife. (For example: “How many dudes did that tiger eat?” and “What is Elena’s fucking deal?”) Thankfully, Cristobal’s knight-in-shining-polo-shirt arrived just in time to save his beloved, allowing the two a tearful embrace and safety for now. If the star-crossed lovers make it back to California alive—and that’s a big if—they will be up against unfathomable obstacles, finally facing the same challenge of “getting out” that’s plagued Barry since episode one.

5. What’s next for Natalie?

Sally Reed is back in Joplin, presumably wracked with the guilt of having murdered a man and plotted to stalk her former best friend with a ruthless hitman. To this, we say, good riddance! Now, let’s focus on Natalie. With her own TV show in the works and (we assume) a ton of press from the elevator incident, is Hollywood ready for Natalie Greer’s Big Break?