yikes

It already feels like 2023 is going to be a tough year for TV. Not in the sense that there's a lot of bad TV, but because a lot of my favorites are ending. Having already lost "Atlanta" and "Better Call Saul" last year, I'm gearing up for the finale of "Succession," which is sure to be a real doozy; however, I'm also slowly getting ready for the finale of "Barry," which has just premiered it's fourth and final season, and I'm definitely not ready. If the premiere is showing anything about this season, it's that there's no stopping this from being an explosive finale.

A lot has changed since the finale of the third season. Seeing Barry in prison definitely feels weird, but considering everything that he has done throughout the show to this point, there's a nice sense of justice to it, despite the sense that it's not going to be there for long. He's certainly a great character, but not even the best of us can escape our demons. However, Barry doesn't necessarily show signs of slowing down his criminal ways, although it seems like he's slowly trying to mend his own wounds by allowing himself to be punished in the most gruesome of ways. At the same time, Gene is living the good life at the moment, but may also be walking a tightrope over a very interesting moral question that he'll have to ask himself in the coming weeks. The episode doesn't lack it's setups and there's a lot of different arcs to keep track of now that none of them are essentially linked to Barry, with the exception of Fuches. It'll be interesting to see where they all go, especially NoHo Hank's storyline which seems to set up a return to the criminal world in a very unique way. The only storyline that's raising a few questions is Sally's. Not a lot of time was dedicated to her in this episode and the direction of that storyline seems to be very much focused on her grieving. She's a great character, so here's hoping that it'll lead to great things for her to do eventually.

"yikes" is a great start to this new season of "Barry," which feels like it's starting off again with a slate that's been wiped clean. A lot of arcs to follow, but the characters still feel as rich as they did when the show started and I'm so excited to see where this all leads.

Trauma breeds trauma, and when we find ourselves without comforts in a harsh, indifferent world, there is nothing we crave more than human connection; For someone to show us we can be okay, and the cycle can be broken. When life is a negative feedback loop of crap, we need someone to help us remember the piss.

Barry's drive for self punishment is rooted in the same flawed core beliefs which morally excuses his paid mercenary work; life is meaningless, and stress leads to growth. When the friendly officer tries comforting Barry during his psychotic episode (punching the wall and personally punishing himself), he is wholly rejected and threatened. He is personally enraged into lashing out physically; manipulated by Barry into beating him bloody. Barry achieves a twisted interpersonal harmony, and is again rewarded for his self-punishment - this time by Fuches - with an outstretched, sympathetic hand.

Bill Hader said that season 4 was going to lean more into the dramatic aspects of Barry this season, and I am here for it.

The comedy is still there. I can't help but chuckle when whenever Hank is on screen.

But the performances from the whole cast this episode was nothing short of remarkable. Bill Hader doesn't skip a beat from his stellar performance in season 3's finale, showing Barry going on an ever steeper decline. Sarah Goldberg gives an equally amazing performance with Sally dealing with the aftermath of Barry's arrest.

This is shaping up to me one of my favorite, if not my absolute favorite shows of all time!

I enjoyed the season opening and am excited for where the show is headed, it feels a bit like a slow burn but into episode 2 the story really starts speeding up.

I just can't ignore that it feels much more serious and almost bleak in tone compared with previous seasons, hopefully we will get some more tonally balanced episodes later down the line, but I can see the show taking this tone for the remainder too - which might not be a bad thing as it feels more artistic, and surreal, but looses its comedic timing for me in this opening.

The performances, writing, cinematography, music and especially some of the incredible transitions really stand out to me as high points, however the bleak tone and dramatically toned down visual comedy- heck, it feels like they've cranked down all the comedy leave me wondering just how much I'll enjoy the rest of the season.

A great start to the last season of Barry that gives every important character of the show their own screen time and it's not just 20 minutes of Barry being in the prison, and showing us the same prison arc cliché in every movie and show where some prisoners gang up on him to kick his ass or something. None of that. Just Barry being alone to himself reminiscing the past within the walls of this prison thinking about how he got there.

What I like about this episode and I think this show excelled in this aspect in the past too, is that you don't really need flashbacks for every character like Barry to know why they are who they are. From the moment you are introduced to Sally's mom, you immediately understand why Sally is Sally. It's a great way of naturally progressing your story without halting it with some flashbacks and exposition to give characterization and backstory, you give your character characterization by moving her story forward and just having her interact with her mom and dad she hasn't seen for a long time.

This episode also does a really great job of introducing us to the new environment, and the new and different tone of the show. The comedy is still there and it is funny, but it is more serious than ever. The show has had always a serious tone alongside the dark comedy aspect of it, but it is way more serious now since all of the relationships are ruined and everyone hates each other. And ironically, everything had to go haywire for a certain character to be reunited with someone and to love them again which I'm trying so hard not to spoil but I think it's obvious enough. I just find this contrast really interesting.

They do a lot of this type of integrating flashbacks to the present scenes in this episode which I didn't find annoying at all since it was executed so well and it wasn't done to death to make it lame.

And I gotta say the direction of this episode was amazing. The way they decided to shoot and do a lot of scenes is just great and it shows that Bill Hader still got it. The cinematography of some particular scenes is just as great as previous seasons' and once again reminds you that this isn't just another regular drama show you're watching.

NoHo Hank is once again great and I'm glad that they hinted at how he's going to connect to Barry's plotline in this episode because so far, his and his boyfriend's plotline doesn't seem that interesting but I'm sure it's gonna result in some crazy shenanigans.

We're still not sure what Gene's motive here is yet, but something tells me he's not gonna be 100% hating Barry here.

Overall, I thought this episode was a great openner to the season and giving all the characters sufficient time in such a short runtime and introducing and developing new plot lines without being them rushed. The direction is fantastic and I'm sure it's gonna get better with Bill having directed of them himself. I'm looking forward to the crazy episodes we're gonna get in the second half of the season like every previous season.