[Series Finale] Barry Season 4 Episode 8 Recap: “WOW” Is Barry Dead?

HBO‘s dark comedy Barry Season 4 takes place years after the events of Season 3 when Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler) betrayed Barry portrayed by Emmy award-winning actor Bill Hader and put him in prison. He has spent a good portion of that time in hiding in Israel, purportedly repenting for his transgressions, and has now returned to Los Angeles in an effort to block filming of a movie about Barry’s wrongdoing. At first glance, Gene Cousineau’s efforts to preserve Janice’s (Paula Newsome) legacy appear to be the first really selfless act of his life. The call from a fake Hollywood agent telling him that Daniel Day-Lewis wants to come out of retirement to play him in a movie is too much for the narcissistic Gene Cousineau to pass up. Soon enough, the police and Janice’s father Jim (played by Robert Wisdom) uncover Gene  Cousineau’s past acceptance of $250,000 in hush money from Barry. With his narcissistic tendencies, it seems that Cousineau’s downfall may be imminent. In the final episode of the darkly comedic series, Barry finds himself under siege from all angles, adding to the already complex and layered storyline. Will he make it through this final challenge, and is it worth it?  Here is the conclusion of Barry Season 4 Episode 8, in case you were curious (tvacute.com).

Barry Season 4 Episode 8 Recap

Sunday’s finale opens with Monroe Fuches luxuriating in the bath when he gets a call from Hank telling him he can deliver Barry, showing him a captive Sally and John on FaceTime as proof. An enraged Barry, meanwhile, buys an arsenal of guns, leaving the store fully strapped up with no one batting an eye. Plus, the D.A. announces he’s reopening Janice’s murder case, with Jim Moss accusing Cousineau of manipulating Barry into killing her. Sally admits to John that they’re fugitives because Barry escaped from prison after “he killed a lot of people.” She’s a killer, too, she adds, and she breaks down in sobs telling her son he’s a good person, apologizing profusely for being a bad mom.

Monroe Fuches arrives at Hank’s corporate complex, and both men are backed up by a crew of armed gunmen. Monroe demands to see John — and again needles Hank about killing Cristobal. He even offers to walk away and leave Hank alone forever if he’ll just admit he killed Cristobal. Hank bursts into tears at this, confessing: “He was the love of my life. It wasn’t supposed to happen. I just wanted to be safe.” But when his men bring out John, Hank collects himself and informs Monroe Fuches that the deal is off. Monroe Fuches then pulls out a gun and shoots Hank (!), and both sets of gunmen open fire on each other (!!), with dead bodies lying everywhere. Monroe Fuches falls on top of John to protect him, and he leads him outside just as Barry is arriving and promises to God that he’ll sacrifice himself to make sure John is safe. Fuches hands John over to Barry and gives him a nod before disappearing into the darkness. Sally managed to avoid the gunfire, but Hank is in bad shape, grasping the hand of Cristobal’s bronze statue as he dies.

In this gripping episode, Barry and Sally find themselves seeking refuge in a motel room with John. As tensions rise, Sally drops a bombshell revelation about Cousineau’s potential involvement in Janice’s murder. n this episode of Barry, the protagonist grapples with his faith as he questions whether his actions align with God’s will. The character’s journey towards redemption is explored, with Sally serving as a voice of reason in reminding him that he still has work to do.

Barry Season 4 Episode 8 Recap: Is Barry Dead?

Barry believes he’s been redeemed, even though Sally reminds him he hasn’t done anything to earn that redemption. He says they’ll regroup once they get back home… but when he wakes up, Sally and John are gone. He rushes to Cousineau’s house, where Cousineau is locked in his bedroom with a gun and contemplating suicide after seeing all the news reports accusing him of killing Janice. Gene Cousineau’s agent Tom tells Barry that Sally and John aren’t here, but Cousineau is in a dark place: “You’re the only one who can save him… This is an opportunity to do the right thing.” Barry considers this and tells Tom to call the cops so he can turn himself in — but just then, Gene Cousineau bursts out of his bedroom, shooting Barry in the chest. Barry can only say “Oh wow” before Cousineau shoots him right between the eyes.

We jump forward to an older Sally basking in applause after directing a high school production of Our Town, with a teenaged John in the audience. A male teacher at the school invites Sally out for coffee, but she gives him a firm “no.” Instead, she drives home alone and happy, with flowers beside her on the passenger seat, while John hangs out with a friend, who shows him a movie called The Mask Collector. It’s the movie about Barry’s life, with a former soldier getting off the bus in L.A. and stepping right into an acting class. The movie version of Cousineau (who has a British accent, for some reason) encourages Barry to find his acting voice — but Cousineau also has a nefarious mob connection, and Barry finds him standing over Janice’s dead body. Cousineau orders him to help him cover it up (“You’re a soldier! Now do your duty!”), and Barry ends up in prison, later breaking out and rescuing Sally and John from armed thugs before Gene shoots him dead right on the theater stage. The movie’s end card tells us that Gene Cousineau is now serving a life sentence for killing Janice and Barry, and Barry was buried at Arlington with full military honors.

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