Summary
A brilliant and profound finale.
We recap the HBO series Barry Season 4 Episode 8, “Wow,” which contains spoilers and explains the Ending.
It all comes down to this final episode of Barry. The series finale, titled “Wow,” is a maverick, guns-a-blazing piece of filmmaking that cuts the bullshit and reaches its profound point. Bill Hader and Alec Berg’s masterful final season gives each character their due, making bold choices that avoid clichés.
Barry Season 4 Episode 8 Recap
At the end of the last episode, we find Sally and John taken hostage by Hank when traveling back to Los Angeles to see Barry. Furthermore, Gene was outed as the ego-driven narcissist that he is by falling for an undercover sting operation, revealing he took money from Barry and knew more than he let on.
This revelation has made him the main suspect in Janice Moss’s murder.
What does NoHo Hank do with Sally and John?
NoHo Hank uses Sallya and John as bait to bring Barry to Hank’s headquarters. Hank calls Barry, who then goes to buy guns to save them. In turn, Hank then calls Fuches and tells him Barry is coming to him. Hank offers Fuches this as a peace offering to settle the feud between them. As Fuches tells Hank off, he thinks it’s a trap, Hank reveals he has Barry’s family held at gunpoint.
At this point, Fuches gathers his gang into two SUVs to head to Hank’s. Meanwhile, Hank shares a moment with Sally. Hank tells her how he also fell for Barry’s charms of offering protection when they were both in bad places in their lives.
Sally then asks what’s going to happen to them, and Hank replies, “That’s not up to me to decide.”
Who kills Hank?
Fuches kills Hank by shooting him in the chest with his revolver. Right before this, Hank, Sally, and his squad wait in the lobby of his headquarters when Fuches and his gang meet them at the statue dedicated to Cristobal. Fuches demands that Hank bring Barry’s son John out from behind, and he complies.
While waiting for someone to bring John out, Fuches begins to manipulate Hank for reasons that aren’t clear at first. Fuches tells a story about how he embraced that he’s a man with no heart, which angers Hank, who feels he’s nothing like Fuches. He considers Barry’s mentor weak and bitter.
Fuches then makes a new deal—Hank has to admit he killed Cristobal, that he’s scared, and that he hates himself, and then Fuches will walk away. Hank begins to cry, lamenting that Cristobal is the love of his life, and John is brought out.
Hank, while crying, angrily tells Fuches that he’s a liar and the deal is off. As Hank pulls John back, Fuches shoots Hank, and everyone shoots each other.
Who saves Barry’s son, John?
Fuches saves Barry’s son, John, by making himself a human shield. Fuches then stands up with Barry’s son, covering John’s face so he doesn’t have to see the dead bodies, and walks him out of the building. Barry is now parking his car and gets out, ready to save his family, when John calls his name and comes running into his arms.
Barry locks eyes with Fuches, who smiles at him and turns to run into the night, and we never see him again. It could be argued that Fuches may have planned on saving John from the beginning, or Fuches’s protective instincts kicked in when John needed saving, proving he had a heart after all.
The last time we see Hank, he is leaning against the statue of the love of his life, Cristobal. Hank looks up and grasps the bronze hand. The lasting image is Hank taking his last breath, looking up at the sky as if Cristobal is leading him to the afterlife.
Who kills Barry Berkman?
Barry Berkman is shot and killed by Gene Cousineau. After Sally and John are saved, she tells Barry he needs to turn himself in to redeem himself because the authorities will charge Gene with murdering Janice. (Of course, we know Barry killed Janice in the season finale of its freshman season.) Barry is in denial, saying that it’s not in God’s plan. The next day, Sally and John are gone.
Barry thinks Sally and John must be at Gene’s house because that’s who she contacted when they arrived in Los Angeles. Berkman arrives at Gene’s, confronted by Cousineau’s agent, Tom.
Barry demands to see Sally, who isn’t there. At the same time, Gene is reading articles of people assuming he’s a murderer. When he hears Barry’s voice, he reaches for the gun given to him by Rip Torn.
Tom convinces Barry to help Gene by confessing. After Barry believes his family isn’t there, he asks Tom to call the police so he can turn himself in, and that’s when Barry is suddenly shot in the chest. Barry falls into a chair, looks up, and sees Gene holding a gun. “Oh, wow,” Barry says, then Gene shoots a second bullet into his forehead. Gene then sits down on the couch and waits for the police.
Barry Season 4 Ending Explained
How does Barry end?
Barry ends with John watching “The Mask Collector,” about his father’s life. The film shows “Movie Barry” being sent to jail for the murder of Janice, set up by “Movie Gene.” Barry breaks out of prison and saves his family but is killed by Gene.
The end credits reveal that Gene is serving a life sentence for Janice’s death, and Barry was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. John looks like he’s holding back tears of happiness, choosing to believe the lie of his father’s life.
What did you think of Barry Season 4 Episode 8 and the Ending? Comment below.
