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‘Barry’ season 4 ending, explained

Let's break down everything that happened in the final, and punchy 34 minutes of 'Barry.'

Image via HBO

Warning: the following article contains spoilers for Barry season 4. 

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The culmination of what was perhaps television’s most literal embodiment of the “dark comedy” genre, HBO’s Barry, has finally come to an end. Even though this was a series finale, the show didn’t pull any punches in resolving itself in a succinct manner, unlike its peers like Succession and Ted Lasso; which have had noticeably lengthier episodes as they wrap up their story arcs.

Like the majority of its four-season run, Barry’s finale clocked in at a brisk 34 minutes in length, which was plenty long enough for all of the dominoes set up by Bill Hader over the course of the season to be knocked down. Without further ado, let’s kick things off with the most pressing question:

Does Barry die in the series finale? 

Image via HBO

The short answer is a resounding and definitive “yes.” After arriving on the scene of the climactic showdown between NoHo Hank (Anthony Carrigan) and Fuches (Stephen Root), Barry (Bill Hader) gets Sally (Sarah Goldberg) and John (Zachary Golinger) to safety. When the dust settles, Sally urges Barry to turn himself in for Cousineau’s sake, who is about to be pinned with all of the hitman’s crimes. 

Of course, Barry being the reformed born again Christian he is, convinces himself that this isn’t what God would want him to do, and goes to sleep. He then wakes up to discover that Sally and John have packed up and left, so he goes searching for them at Cousineau’s house, where he is greeted by Tom (Fred Melamed), who insists that Sally and John had not passed through the house. 

Tom also begins urging Barry to turn himself in, and after a long moment of contemplation, he obliges, telling Tom to call the police. However, it was too little too late – Cousineau shoots Barry in the chest. Barry examines the wound and utters the episode’s namesake – “Wow” – before Cousineau delivers the definitive, and final blow to the head. 

Let’s back up a little bit, though, because we need to address the fate of some of our other favorites.

What happened to Hank and Fuches in the Barry finale? 

Image via HBO

The night before Barry’s death, Hank was holding John and Sally hostage to draw the titular character out of hiding, in an effort to resolve his ongoing gang war with Fuches. Barry was to be the bargaining chip that finally gets his enemy off Hank’s back. With their respective armies at each other’s backs, the pair have an emotionally charged exchange. 

Fuches explains how his time in prison reset his perception of who he is. He once thought he was a soldier, but after being beaten in prison day in and day out for eight years, he came to realize that wasn’t the case – he’s a poser, and a man with no heart. It is with this revelation that Fuches changes the terms of the deal – he wants Hank to admit that he killed Cristobal. 

While Hank gets teary-eyed and just about obliges Fuches’ request, at the last minute he calls the deal off and all hell breaks loose. Just about everyone on both sides of the conflict perishes in a hail of gunfire, and Hank passes away clutching at the hand of a golden statue of Cristobal. Fuches, meanwhile, returns John to Barry, who is just arriving on the scene. 

Barry and Fuches don’t exchange a single word, but judging by the expressions on their faces, they are both willing to let bygones be bygones and go their separate ways, especially now that Barry has a family of his own to look after, proving that Fuches may have had something of a heart after all. 

Okay – so we’ve dealt with all the grim plot points, but what went down in the aftermath?

Barry epilogue explained

Image via HBO

Sally (now going by her real name, and not an alias) is now back in the business of acting and entertainment, directing young actors in stage productions, and judging by the response of the audience, is doing a great job of it. However, the consequences of having Barry in her life for so many years have not worn off, and remains emotionally closed off, evidenced by her turning down a teacher who asks her out on a coffee date after a play. 

That same night, Barry and Sally’s son John (now in his teens and played by It star Jaeden Martell) decides to spend the night at his friend’s house, who treats him to a viewing of the in-universe film adaptation of Barry’s events, to which John hesitantly agrees. The film, titled The Mask Collector, completely bastardizes everything that transpired in the series. 

Barry ends up being painted as the victim in the movie, subjected to Cousineau’s ties to the criminal underworld, who coerced John’s father into helping cover up all of “his” misdeeds, before the onscreen Barry is inevitably killed by Cousineau after he rescues his wife and child. This truth-bending depiction of his father’s life brings a smile to John’s face, and the credits roll on the thought that Barry’s son will lead the rest of his life thinking his father was a good man.