The greatest fight-sequence premiering on screens the first weekend of May didn’t have twenty superheroes in it and earn a billion dollars, nor did it pit a band of warriors against an army of the dead for an epic battle eight years in the making. It was two guys and a little girl clumsily, awkwardly swatting and tearing at each other, bloodied and out of breath, over the course of one well-lit thirty-minute episode. It started in one guy’s house, continued in another guy’s car, and culminated at the grocery store. It’s funny; it’s violent. It’s heartfelt; it’s cruel. It’s Barry (cue title card and theme music).
The HBO series Barry, now in its second season, is so redundant in plot it’s become a running gag in the show itself. Barry Berkman (Bill Hader) is a professional hitman. But, Barry doesn’t want to be a hitman anymore. After each person he kills, he vows never to kill again. Then someone draws him back in, and again he’s killing. So, he renews his vow. “Starting now!” he pledges.
Season 2 starts out more promising for Barry, if not in circumstances, then at least in willpower. He manages to avoid murdering anyone, despite being dragged into unending contracts to do exactly that. It’s almost a relief when the police finally catch up with him and the tiresome push-pull can come to an end. But, no — not quite.
