Barry's third season seems thought for people who still didn't get (or forgot during the hiatus) that sure, there's comedy here, but it's really about digging in the depth of human souls, in the damage that comes from violence and in the impossibility of running from the consequences of your actions. And it's fearless in how it goes deep into the abyss. Visually more ambitious than ever, with a perfect cast of actors, incredibly written, it crazily dances on the delicate balance between farce, drama, thriller, comedy. It embraces the fascination for the guilty laugh, for making you feel disturbed by your laughs, and it doesn't do that through ridicule and cringe. No, it injects laughs into tragedy, anguish, pain, and always makes it work. It's a masterpiece and I can't wait to see what they are doing with season 4.

Season 3 is tedious.. gave up after 2nd episode

10/10 gosh, this season is absolutely stellar. not every episode is perfect, but as a season overall, this is perfect. incredible cinematography, sounds design, pacing, comedy, emotion, and the fucking acting. Sally and Barry are firing on all cylinders, Sally cracking from stress and making everyone perceive her as a terrible person, while Barry cracks and people still view him as a good person until the end. the confrontation between Albert and Barry was unbelievable. some of the best five minutes of television I've ever seen. Barry breaking down when the gun is pointed at him, his scream of guilt and fear. it's at this moment he realises he's irredeemable. as much as he wishes he could change, as much as he tries to convince himself, asking Gene if he loves him twice, he's gone. he knows where he's going after he dies. and in this moment it all hits him. there is no more starting now for him.

Season 3 Score: 8.8/10 I didn't love this as much as season 2, but Barry continues with its incredible consistency. This felt like a big shift in terms of story and tone, in that the comedy has taken more of a backseat and is replaced with a heavier emphasis on the the drama. Gone is the optimism from the first two seasons and instead this is the most depressed, pessimistic, flawed, and dark the show has been and especially for Barry's character. He pretty unlikable in this season, having regressed into the worst version of himself. It's a bold direction to take the character and to take your protagonist, and it works quite well. Bill Hader is as amazing as ever, and here his range is truly shown as the optimism and hopeful Barry has disappeared into this rageful and broken person. He failed to free himself of his worst character flaws in the season 2 finale, and in season 3 we see the consequences of that for him as he essentially sits around in the mud. Yet, he still longs to be loved and accepted, wanting a better life, but his history has shown him he just can't escape it. He hasn't completely given up, but he is slipping further and further as he desperately tries to cling on to the life and future he dreams of having. All of the surrounding characters are still very compelling, and Sally especially just continues to get better and better for me. She is so complex, I want to root for her but she's become so self-obsessed this season that she makes it hard to at times. Sarah Goldberg is also as good as ever, and her development as a character has been so interesting. Her rageful moments rival even Barry's, and Goldberg's performance in those moments is truly some of the best acting I have ever seen. Gene is a much different person now as well, and you can start to see how Barry's presence in each other peoples' lives has changed them for the worse. Once again, everything comes together phenomenally in the finale and this is perhaps the best one yet. Overall, the tone was less enjoyable for me this time around compared to season 2. What that season did was just incredible in terms of balance, and here it felt off just a little. And while this season probably had more near-perfect episodes than any other season before, I don't think it was as consistently impressive as season 2. The switch from an optimistic Barry to a completely broken and darkened one also provided a bit of whiplash, even if it works on a character and story level. 2022 TV Shows Ranked --> https://trakt.tv/users/justinnumerick/lists/2022-tv-shows-ranked?sort=rank,asc

Bill Hader is a genius