‘Barry’ Finale Leaves 2 Major Characters Dead

The series finale of Barry arrived this weekend, and it was an intense ending to as the least. Most notably, the show ended with two major characters dead. [Please Note: Barry Season 4 spoilers below.]

In the finale episode of the hit HBO dark-comedy series, we got some closure for many of the show’s characters but, for nearly everyone, it wasn’t without some bloodshed. The first major death of the finale was NoHo Hank (Anthony Carrigan), who was shot during a shootout with Fuches (Stephen Root) and his gang. After being hit with a bullet, Hank fell back into a statue of his late love Cristobal (Michael Irby), and then reached up to hold the figure’s hand as he died.

The second major death was one that many presumed to be inevitable: Barry himself, as played by series co-creator Bill Hader. Barry had tracked down his family and been reunited with them, ironically, thanks to Fuches. However, after Barry, Sally (Sarah Goldberg), and their son John fell asleep in a motel, Barry awoke to find them gone again. He believed Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler) to be responsible for hiding them, and went to Gene’s house.

Their reunion was short-lived, however, as Gene had recently been falsely accused of being an accomplice to Barry — due to accepting a large amount of money from Barry — and therefore he clearly harbored some ill will. Rather than greeting him with words or a handshake, Gene extended a revolver and shot Barry in the head. The disgraced acting teacher then sat down on the couch with a blank, empty stare, as Barry bleed out on a chair. It’s later stated that Gene went to prison for coercing Barry into murdering Detective Janice Moss (Paula Newsome), back in Season 1, which fans will remember was not what happened.

While the ending was tragic for many of the characters, we do learn that Sally (Sarah Goldberg) goes on to live a quant life as a high school drama teacher. The episode ended with her and a now-teenage John (Jaeden Martell) leaving a play that she directed. However, as Sally heads home, John goes over to a friend’s house to watch a movie that was made about his father’s many exploits, all of which are profoundly embellished and misrepresented through the lens of a big-budget cinematic biopic. The series finale of Barry is now streaming on Max.