Round Two: Barry

Barry: Season 1, Episode 2 “Chapter Two: Use It” (B+)

One of the most important things that this show has to do in order to be successful is to establish a comfortable tone that toes the line between comedy and drama. Barry immediately imitating Sally’s physical response to the news of Ryan’s murder was a perfect start. As Cousineau emphasized that he was dismissing the class early but that everyone was still paying full price, Barry didn’t know how to react, but was getting further and further away from his hitman life and more engrossed by the notion of becoming an actor. It’s good to see that Fuches is so loyal to Barry, not angry at him for failing to complete the job but instead protective of him and then truly terrified after he got beaten up and nearly had a tooth painfully extracted to motivate Barry to do this latest hit. There’s definitely an underlining immaturity to all of the characters here, best displayed by the Chechnyan mobsters being told that they were too loud for the daughter’s sleepover. I like that Barry had to ask his phone what “off book” was, yet had no trouble donning a collar to play Philip Seymour Hoffman’s part in a “Doubt” scene. What proved most effective in this second installment was watching Barry break down when Ryan’s father started talking and he saw the other side of what he’s been doing all these years. I enjoyed that the episode ended on a semi-comic note where Sally told Barry that they couldn’t have a romance but then wanted to invite him inside to discuss why it couldn’t work, something he didn’t want to do, much to her confusion.