Barry Season 3, Episode 4 Recap & Review: Into the Unknown
Title: “all the sauces”
Air date: May 15, 2022
The short of it: In the best episode of the season so far, literal and emotional explosions launch Barry into a murky unknown.
Barry is not a show of empty threats. Narrative and character stakes are only as good as the consequences backing them up. There are few choices more guaranteed to cool my interest in a story than consistent fake-outs on high stakes. Of course, you can overcorrect and turn death or disaster into something too commonplace. Both are variations on writers and showrunners crying wolf. Part of what makes Barry so damn effective is that there is always a reckoning. Every choice pairs with a clearly identifiable ramification. Yes, the show is built around Barry sidestepping the “big one,” everyone finding out who he really is. Nonetheless, each of his choices delaying that inevitability leads to often deadly repercussions. “all the sauces” is a masterclass on tracing those causes and effects through Barry and everyone around him.
We begin with a cold open that calls all the way back to the series’ first scene. It’s a modulated one though. That series opener showed the aftermath of Barry killing a random man in a hotel room. Here, we see that man’s phone call with his wife (Annabeth Gish), which finishes moments before Barry blows his brains out [can’t pass up a chance for alliteration]. A brutal cut reveals a present-day Gish visited by Fuches, back in his P.I. Kenneth Goulet character. Fuches’ presence unveils his revenge plan: whip up the grieving survivors of Barry’s hits to do the dirty work for him. Barry’s history of carrying out hits for Fuches has long been the show’s sword of Damocles, and Fuches’ unhinged quest for vengeance is now sawing away at the dangling blade. Fuches is a master manipulator, so weaponizing grief is truly child’s play.
Of course, Barry remains blissfully unaware of Fuches’ machinations. Coming off his disastrous attempt to calm Gene down with a TV role, Barry locks in to help Hank and the Chechnians plant their dark web bomb underneath the Bolivian’s admittedly quite charming rental house. It is a lovely touch that the armed squadron of gang soldiers hole up in a suburban Airbnb instead of some grimy warehouse. It feeds into the series of genre and trope-defying production and set design choices that the whole Barry team remains exquisite at. But, I digress. After picking up the bomb from Hank and learning he will set it off using a free app called “Detonator,” Barry makes his way over to the target. The setting and circumstances are reminiscent of season 2’s series-best episode “ronny/lily,” slipping in another informative callback.
While Barry descends back into his darkest impulses, Sally is in final prep for Joplin’s red-carpet premiere. After an underwritten appearance last episode, Sarah Goldberg once again erupts off the screen with her impeccable performance choices. Sally is simultaneously exuberant and terrified to step into the proper limelight of this premiere. The show is such a raw and personal piece of art for her, and Goldberg captures the emotional duality of the circumstances with aplomb. Of the many showcases this week for her talent, the scene where she gives a speech to the gathered guests is a standout. She starts in on the remarks she’s stressed over all episode before giving into the flurry of joy as she responds to the news that Joplin is earning rave first reviews. Goldberg conveys every micro and macro emotion of a woman going through a joyful if utterly surreal experience.
However, Barry is not there to see any of it, in what amounts to a devastating dramatic realization that the writing team also manages to turn into the most hilarious sequence of the season. Barry plants the bomb under the house and dashes back to his car to set it off with the app. He has a small window when Cristobal is at pilate, but the world has other plans. The app doesn’t work. So, like any schmuck, Barry spends hours on the phone with customer service. Focused on troubleshooting Bluetooth and wi-fi, Barry misses Cristobal’s return. Therefore, when the bomb finally explodes, Cristobal sustains injuries. Barry takes him to Hank, witnessing a truly tender moment when Hank envelops his shaken love and thanks Barry for taking care of him.
While a short beat, the Hank-Cristobal reunion functions as a key dramatic moment for two reasons. First, it suggests that Barry will hopefully avoid any “bury your gays” plotting by instead giving real airtime to Hank and Cristobal working through their complicated situation. On top of being a heartwarming and hilarious duo, they are the show’s only healthy romantic relationship. This moment hints at a future where that continues. Secondly, it operates as a “come to Jesus” moment for Barry who realizes that he should be acting like Hank, but has instead chosen psychotic violence over being there for Sally on the biggest night of her life. It is, to invoke Aristotle, Barry’s moment of recognition taking him from “ignorance to knowledge.” Effective tragedy requires a figure to realize they are wrong before the final fall, which is exactly what follows.
The closing scenes of the episode amount to the show’s delivery of lurking consequences. First up, Barry visits Gene to take him the money from the Bolivian job. Gene has spent the entire episode preparing to flee L.A. for fear of Barry’s retribution. Gene turns down repeated career revitalizing offers because of his focus on keeping his family safe. It is a stark recognition of how much Gene has changed, gone from a singularly egotistical man into one who genuinely wants to do the right thing. That reality stands in stark opposition to Barry’s continued failure to meaningfully change. The consequence of Barry’s actions here is that he has fully lost Gene, a vital father figure and teacher. Gone is Barry’s fantasy that he can fix it, replaced by devastating clarity.
That would be enough to wreak havoc on any protagonist. Even so, “all the sauces” saves the haymaker for the final minutes. Barry finally makes it to the Joplin premiere as everyone is leaving. Minutes before, Katie finally confronted Sally and told her that everyone around her can see Barry is dangerous and abusive. Sally disagrees at first, but Goldberg brilliantly sells the rush of recognition as Sally realizes that Katie is right. So, Barry arrives at a stage set for a point of no return. He begins with a string of apologies and acknowledgments of his failings, stemming from that moment of clarity. But, as everyone but he can see, it is far too late. Sally thanks Barry and then delivers the finisher: their relationship is over. She can no longer be in the relationship. The dagger falls, delivering one of the ultimate consequences of Barry’s psychosis.
And so, as we turn the corner into the back-half of the season, Barry is utterly unmoored. His failings and decisions rise from the gloom to engulf him. Gene is gone. Sally is gone. Hank is focused on Cristobal, and Fuches is out to have him killed. Episode 5 marks a leap into a relative unknown for Barry, one that promises only a total, consuming, and shattering darkness.
Devin McGrath-Conwell holds a B.A. in Film / English from Middlebury College and is currently pursuing an MFA in Screenwriting from Emerson College. His obsessions include all things horror, David Lynch, the darkest of satires, and Billy Joel. Devin’s writing has also appeared in publications such as Filmhounds Magazine, Film Cred, Horror Homeroom, and Cinema Scholars.