The best episodes of 'Barry', ranked

There are no bad episodes of “Barry,” just different shades of good. This is definitely the least good episode, though. The dynamic between Barry and Sally is a little weird and doesn’t quite click. They mine a lot of strong fodder from them, but here it rings a smidge false. Gene and Detective Moss’ date is good, though.

The punch at the end of “What?!” is a nice twist that sets up an episode that won’t show up on this list for quite some time. Loach, having pinned Barry for being a hitman, uses that to blackmail him into murdering Loach’s wife’s lover. Before that, though, the episode isn’t on the same level. Plus, any time spent with Sally’s abusive ex Sam just sucks.

Sally and Barry are both shaping their stories. The acting class is supposed to turn a real event into a stage piece. Barry chooses a story from his time in the Marines where he seems like a hero, but his war record is much darker and spottier. Sally, meanwhile, decides to rewrite the story of her leaving Sam into something that reflects better on her. It’s brutal seeing both of them crumble under the weight of their own stories, but in a good way if that makes any sense.

“Barry” can do comedy – we realize nothing we’ve said so far makes this show seem funny at all – but it can also do a gripping action scene. The stash house raid by Barry and his former Marine compatriot is an example of that. On the other hand, the rest of the episode is sort of unremarkable, which is why it’s at this point on the list.

Barry is a bad person, but the show can massage that by playing him off of his handler Fuches, played with sleazy aplomb by Stephen Root. The two split here after Barry finds out that Fuches has sold him out, but Fuches is desperate to get revenge. Meanwhile, NoHo Hank’s ploy to take down Esther and her Burmese gang immediately falls apart, which is both bleak and humorous.

The first episode of “Barry” had to establish the premise. This, the second episode, is able to build off of that. It’s our first real look into the acting class, and it’s a pretty solid satire of a certain brand of ambition. The class decides to turn their memorial for their fallen classmate Ryan (who was murdered by Barry in a hit) into a showcase for their acting. Hey, there’s going to be an audience, after all.

Loach does legitimately good police work. He’s able to track down Fuches and put him under the gun. Fuches, sleazy as ever, is perfectly fine selling out Barry. However, Barry won’t comply so quickly. There’s a lot of table setting in “The Power of No” for the rest of the reason so nothing terribly significant happens beyond the Fuches thing, but it’s still a good episode.

Part of the humor of “Barry” is that Barry is a bad actor. At least, he’s bad at first. Like, really bad. But he loves it. He’s given a small part in a Shakespeare scene for the acting class, just one line. He delivers the line with perfect intensity, though, which the audience eats up. Of course, what nobody knows is that Barry is able to deliver his line with such raw emotion because he just killed his friend and fellow Marine Chris because Chris had threatened to go to the police to clear his conscience.

This is one of the funnier episodes, at least in terms of Hollywood stuff. Sally has worked super hard to get an audition. Barry, meanwhile, is asked to audition for Jay Roach (as himself) who is directing a new gross-out comedy. After all, Barry is 6’2’’. Isn’t that enough to get a chance to read? Barry then completely underplays his read because his head is elsewhere, but that just intrigues Roach more. Hey, did we mention Barry is 6’2’’?

This episode immediately follows “The Audition” and ends the second season. Barry has tried to leave killing behind him. Then, he finds out where Fuches is. He’s holding up in the Buddhist monastery the Chechens have just taken from the Burmese. A huge firefight between the Burmese, Bolivian, and Chechen gangs is expected. Barry, though, is hungry for blood. A brutal shootout follows. Barry kills everybody in his way. It’s the first time we’ve seen him so violent, so unhinged. Then, the season ends with Gene remembering what Fuches told him when he comes out of his daze: Barry killed Detective Moss.

We should point out how great Anthony Carrigan is as NoHo Hank, the affable Chechen gangster. There is no episode where we can really highlight him, but he’s always a welcome presence. This episode mixes humor and violence well. Barry decides to take a phone call from Sally, so he misses the chance to snipe his target. Instead, he has to kill the target with his bare hands, which is far trickier.

A lot of things are getting pieced together in the season two opener. Gene is dealing with his grief. Loach is also grieving the loss of Moss, but he’s on the case. NoHo Hank wears a wig into a Lululemon. A lot is going on, but it doesn’t feel too chaotic. It’s a strong opening to the season to be sure.

Gene Cousineau’s book has probably only ever helped two people. One is Barry, who inexplicably values Gene as a mentor and acting teacher. The other is Taylor, an unhinged Marine. Taylor was brought into Barry’s job of assassinating some Bolivians on an airstrip by Chris, but Taylor isn’t of the right temperament. He also reads Gene’s book and decides he needs to seize the moment. This leads to him bum-rushing the Bolivians instead of playing it cool. It ends with him dead.

Pilots aren’t often one of the best episodes of a show. “Barry” is an exception. The show is so strong right out of the gate. Hader is great, and this episode would have worked as a short film. It doesn’t struggle with exposition. You get an exact sense of what “Barry” will be. It’s funny, it’s dramatic, it’s violent, it’s emotional. The show makes its mark indeed.

The first season finale ends on a brutal note. Barry and Sally are dating and Barry swears to himself his violent life is behind him “starting now.” Gene and Detective Moss are dating as well. Unfortunately, up at Gene’s cabin, Moss has become aware Barry is the killer she is looking for, and Barry knows this as well. He tries to talk Moss into letting him go. When she doesn’t, he kills her. Then, in a darkly hilarious moment, Barry heads back to bed after doing the deed, lies next to Sally, and says two simple words to himself “starting now.”

There is no other episode of “Barry” like “ronny/lily.” It’s one-of-a-kind in the best way. The episode is almost universally considered the best episode of the show. The titular Ronny and Lily are two people Barry comes across when he goes to kill Loach’s wife’s lover. That would be Ronny, but Ronny happens to be a martial arts expert. So is his daughter Lily, a practically feral tween. This episode smacks you in the face, and we mean that in the best way. It’s brilliant. It’s the best “Barry” episode.