“you’re charming”

• Creator: Alec Berg and Bill Hader
• Starring: Bill Hader, Sarah Goldberg, Stephen Root, Henry Winkler, Anthony Carrigan

Grade: A-

Here’s why Bill Hader is a great director, and why he’s such a perfect fit for the tone of Barry: he’s great at the showier bits of action like in the motorcycle chase in last season’s 710N or in last week’s spinning table sequence, but he’s also great at mining comedy out of the material. Sometime’s in comedy, it can be just as effective to not show a joke as it can be to do so. Consider the sequence early on in you’re charming when Gene and Tom (Fred Melamed) are discussing how drastic it would be if Gene were to talk to the press. Rather than show the moment when Gene breaks the news, Hader cuts away to show the hilariously dramatic aftermath.

“bestest place on earth”

• Creator: Alec Berg and Bill Hader
• Starring: Bill Hader, Sarah Goldberg, Stephen Root, Henry Winkler, Anthony Carrigan

Grade: B+

In the aftermath of Barry’s arrest, everybody has to pick a side: are you with the cold-blooded killer, or are you against him? Bestest place on earth is all about drawing the battle lines and seeing who belongs where. Of course, as is often the case, those lines get awfully blurry, even within the episode.

“yikes”

• Creator: Alec Berg and Bill Hader
• Starring: Bill Hader, Sarah Goldberg, Stephen Root, Henry Winkler, Anthony Carrigan

Grade: B+

The third season finale of Barry last year was truly a game-changer, and that’s not a light statement for a show that churns through plot from week to week. Indeed, it raised a fascinating question: where does the show go from here, now that Barry (Bill Hader) has been caught? He’s wormed his way out of more slippery situations before, but once his best friend and mentor betrayed him, he finally realized there was no use in running anymore. Now he finds himself in prison but still clinging to hope that his friends will find it in them to forgive him.