Spoiler Warning: Barry Season 3Barry’s third season has shown no sign of letting up, improving with every episode as tension continues to mount, leading to the June 12th season finale. Barry (Bill Hader) has become numb to the world around him. Before, Barry questioned his actions as a hit man, but now he seems utterly indifferent to it, falling into an isolating rut where even his desires to be an actor are now in question.
At the same time, Sally Reed (Sarah Goldberg) is witnessing the highs and lows of her own acting career, having her show achieve critical acclaim to then be canceled due to the algorithm. Sally’s breakup with Barry has certainly worsened his rut. For a man who doesn’t experience human emotions the same way as others, Barry’s lack of a genuine friend or love in his life only stands to reinforce his growing disconnection with reality. With Barry being distracted by his own disillusionment, Fuches (Stephen Root) has been working behind the scenes to build an army of revenge-seekers from the friends and family of people Barry has murdered.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
Fuches was last seen recruiting Taylor’s (Dale Pavinski) sister, Traci, to kill Barry. While Traci (Jolene Van Vugt) and her motorcycle gang aren’t the only ones that Fuches has approached, they are the most well-equipped adversaries that Fuches has met up with to this point. “710N” finally saw the first direct confrontation between Barry and the families of the people he’s wronged while featuring characters such as NoHo Hank (Anthony Carrigan), Fuches, and Sally, dealing with their own personal roadblocks, as they all dealt with obstacles in their life that had them questioning the trajectory of their lives and what path to take next.
Director Bill Hader shows off his artistic inclinations, meshing one of the series’ best action scenes with the funniest and darkest moments of the third season.
Fuches’ Near-Death Experience
HBO
The episode opens with Fuches showing Traci and her gang where Taylor had wanted his hot tub built in the desert. Fuches lies and says Taylor gave Barry $1,700 for the hot tub. This is the sole motivator for Traci and her gang taking revenge, not Taylor being killed, but the fact Barry didn’t pay Taylor back for the hot tub. In a callback to Fuches’ previously calling Taylor’s idea to build a hot tub in the desert a terrible idea, one of the gang members states, “what kind of d**k…says no to a hot tub right there?” Before Fuches can head out, the same gang member shoots him in the chest, and Traci and the motorcycle gang leave with the information Fuches gave them.
The image of Fuches lying unconscious serves as the end of the cold open, but in typical Fuches’ fashion, he survives thanks to the help of a mysterious Rancher (Sal Lopez). As Fuches is nursed back to health, the Rancher’s shadow can be seen in the background looming over the scene, making the audience question whether Fuches is actually alive or if this is some sort of purgatory or even afterlife for him.
When Fuches finally wakes, he is greeted by the Rancher and his beautiful daughter, Anita, to who Fuches immediately takes a liking. Fuches goes out to tour the ranch with Anita and discovers it’s reminiscent of the one he stayed at in Chechnya, giving him a second chance at that peaceful life he loved. Janice Moss’ (Paula Newsome) father, Jim Moss (Robert Wisdom), calls Fuches while he’s on the ranch, but Fuches refuses to help him find her killer, deciding to put aside his desire for revenge against Barry.
Sitting in the Rancher’s truck, the Rancher confides in Fuches that his daughter has taken a liking to him and that he has his blessing to date her, stating, “you must abide by the signs’ God gives you.” After the Rancher steps out, Fuches sees the front page of a paper showing Barry and Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler). Fuches takes this as a sign that he’s meant to continue on his warpath against Barry, stealing the truck and calling Jim Moss to tell him it was Barry who killed Janice.
This decision was partly influenced by Fuches’ resentment of Gene, who he sees as a competing father figure to Barry. Still, this marks the point of no return for Fuches, as he ultimately doubles down on his recruitment of amateur assassins, with his desire for revenge greater than his desire for personal contentment.
The Beignet Guru
HBO
The beignet salesman, Mitch (Tom Allen), is a central element of “710N,” dispensing his wisdom to his endless line of customers, including Sally, NoHo Hank, and Barry. When Sally comes into the beignet store, she vents to Mitch about her show being canceled by the algorithm. Mitch says that he used to be a baker at a churro shop, but instead of staying in that comfortable position, he decided to “level up” and become the proprietor of a beignet store. He didn’t listen to the people who said to reign in his ambitions and is now very successful thanks to his belief in his own abilities.
Sally takes this advice in and even suggests to her agent, Lindsay (Jessy Hodges), that they start their own streaming service and not go back to BanShe. Lindsay and Sally go to BanShe where Morgan Dawn-Cherry (Vanessa Bayer) asks Sally to join the writers’ room on their show, The New Medusas. Using guttural sounds to negotiate and describe what the show is looking for, Lindsay secures the deal. Despite the offer from BanShe, Sally is still apprehensive about settling for a non-acting role to keep her foot in the door, mirroring Mitch’s dilemma at the churro shop.
NoHo Hank is still distressed by Cristobal’s (Michael Irby) abduction by Elena (Krizia Bajos) in the previous episode, deciding to drown his sorrows in a box of beignets. Hank tells Mitch how everything has been falling apart for him, from his operation being burned down to the police pursuing him and Cristobal being taken away. Mitch tells Hank that although Cristobal is a catch, the fact he didn’t reveal he was married or straight is a major red flag. There’s a hilarious cut here where the camera goes from Mitch to Hank devouring his beignets on the verge of tears, asking Mitch if he should go to Bolivia and declare to Cristobal that the only way they can be together is if there are no more secrets. Although he just met Hank, Mitch suggests they go into business together, but Hank is taken aback by that abrupt idea and takes it as his cue to take his beignets and leave.
It seems Hank may be making a trip to Bolivia soon, as the only way he can find out if his relationship with Cristobal is meant to last is to confront him and Elena in Bolivia, pulling back the rug on the pallet of secrets that Cristobal has been harboring. Perhaps in a way that is very fitting for Hank’s character, Elena may not choose to kill him and decide to let Cristobal live out his life with Hank in LA, but based on her intimidating introduction in the previous episodes, Hank may need a man like Barry by his side if he hopes to make it out of Bolivia alive.
Barry comes in at the end of the episode and talks to Mitch about seeing his military buddies after twelve years at Sharon’s charity dinner. Mitch tells Barry he shouldn’t be so quick to embrace their reunion because people can change drastically and won’t be the same as they remember. What’s ironic about this advice is it should have been Chris (Chris Marquette) who heeded it in season one. If Chris weren’t so quick to embrace his reunion with Barry, he wouldn’t have gotten tied up in his hit with Taylor on the Bolivians in season one, resulting in Barry killing Chris to keep him quiet. Barry is the one who has changed for the worse, going from a quiet soldier with no personality to a hitman who ruins the lives of those around him to save himself.
Barry’s Past Chases Him Down
Stopped at a light after leaving the beignet shop, Barry is confronted by Traci and her motorcycle goons. Taking their sweet time to confirm whether it’s Barry or not, Barry takes the opportunity to speed away before they can shoot him, beginning one of the best car chases seen on television of late. The camera focuses’ on Barry’s rearview mirror as he speeds away when one of the pursuing bikers is abruptly hit by a car, flying out of view. Another one of the bikers is parked ahead of Barry and begins firing on him. Barry accelerates and rams into the biker, lodging them in the window of his car. Further demonstrating Barry’s indifference to death, the scene cuts to Barry riding on the dead man’s motorcycle, humming, “you’re my buddy, you’re my friend.” Despite what just happened to him, Barry still holds the beignets in hand and intends to make Sharon’s charity dinner.
Two of the motorists intercept Barry and chase him onto the highway. As the three race down the highway through traffic, Hader emphasizes the sounds of the chase, focusing on the whooshing from the passing of cars, car horns, and the sounds of passing car radios. One of the bikers is stationed in a car along the highway with a massive MG in hand. As Barry goes to pass him, the biker misses every shot. As the MG wielding biker goes to hand the MG to one of the passing motorcyclists, they drop the gun and slam into a car. Traci is the last one pursuing Barry, but after his bike breaks down, he runs into a car dealership while Traci rides atop the roof and begins shooting from above. A car salesman cheating on his wife runs inside and grabs a shotgun, shooting Traci down from below. Barry is unphased and simply walks off to Sharon’s, continuing to hum his tune. Barry arrives at Sharon’s and gives her the beignets. However, upon sitting at the table, he discovers that Fuches has already been there and that Sharon has poisoned the beignets to avenge Chris. Barry foams at the mouth and passes out, ending the episode.
What makes “710N” such a good episode is that each of its lead characters has important choices about the directions their lives will take. Sally wants to know what to do after her show is canceled, Fuches wants to see whether he should give up on revenge, and Hank is in disarray about what to do after everything he loves falls apart. Barry wants to know if embracing his former military pals from the past will give new purpose and meaning to his life. Apart from Fuches, Mitch, the beignet guru, is central to each question the characters ask themselves. Sally may not be heeding Mitch’s advice at the moment, but that doesn’t mean she’ll not turn against BanShe and go her own way in the future.
Barry’s advice isn’t intended for him. It’s for the military pals he’s going to reunite with and has reunited with, hinting at Sharon’s betrayal of him in the show’s final moments. The chase is the episode’s greatest moment, and if not for “rony/lily,” it may have been the best action sequence of the series. Only Hader could craft a chase sequence that is tense, artistic, and comedic at the same time. The apology call to Sally being dictated out loud in a clothing store was a great comedic touch as well, especially for a character in Barry whose fading sense of humanity is becoming his greatest flaw.
The final episodes of Barry season three are sure to be turbulent, as Fuches won’t let up, Barry is at the mercy of Sharon, and Hank is about to head into the hornets’ nest. If these episodes are anything like “710N,” the show’s third season will give audiences what might be its most brutal and shocking finale.
