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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
In this week’s episode of Alec Berg and Bill Hader’s HBO crime comedy-drama series, Barry, Season 3, things will get worse for our beloved characters before they can get better… and we have yet to see better. The fifth episode is titled, “crazytimeshitshow”. It is written by series’ supervising producer Emily Heller and directed by Berg.
In this review, I will be discussing Barry Season 3 Episode 5. There will be no spoilers here, as the title of this article suggests. Nonetheless, please read ahead at your own discretion to avoid any possible revelations.
Plot Synopsis
According to WarnerMedia’s pressroom, here is the logline for Barry Season 3 Episode 5— “crazytimeshitshow”.
This is just an example of bottling it up….
WarnerMedia Pressroom
Discussion
NOTE: It should be known that I got to see the first six out of eight episodes of Barry Season 3. This is my second time watching these episodes.
At nearly 29 minutes, “crazytimeshitshow” is, indeed, a shit show. Following what we have seen in last week’s episode, so much is happening that it is difficult to keep track. Schoonover’s production designs and Leitch’s art directions have given us some pretty neat set-pieces; including the dinner party that Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler) was invited to by Joe Mantegna (himself) in “all the sauces” or what we have seen lately as the plant shop as the Chechen’s base of operations. This week’s episode paces well, and as it progresses, the narrative only gets stronger in pathos.
Back to my discussion on ratings and scores, that does not really matter in the world of film and television. I mean, what are critics but people with opinions? What power do they hold; and if any, how much? With the 98% Rotten Tomatoes score that Joplin received, people — including Sally Reed (Sarah Goldberg) and Natalie Greer (D’Arcy Carden) — think that is supposed to mean something. However, as one character states, “Nobody knows anything except the algorithm”. With that said, technology isn’t that reliable, right? We did see a fault bomb last week, with the activation fixed via detonator app customer service.
One scene of the episode that I am fond of involves the Chechens at the plant shop. Everything about it is laugh-out-loud hilarious, and at the same time, it is horrible what happens in this scene. It is well-written and defines what a “crazy time shit show” actually is; but it also leads to one of the more emotionally powerful scenes of the season, if not the show, and I was left in fear of something terrible happening to one of our beloved characters.
The Crew of Barry
Barry is created by Alec Berg and Bill Hader.
Berg, Hader, Aida Rodgers, and Liz Sarnoff serve as the executive producers of the series. Julie Camino and Duffy Boudreau serve as the producers. Emily Heller and Jason Kim serve as the supervising producers. Artūrs Rūsis and Amy Solomon serve as the co-producers.
Sherry Thomas and Sharon Bialy serve as the casting directors of the show. Stacia Kimler is the casting associate. Mindy Rengrudkij and Ashley Albans are the casting assistants, while Rich King and Lou Verdi serve as the extras casting.
Darran Tiernan serves as the director of photography. Ali Greer serves as the editor, while Anton Vidale is the assistant editor. Emma Barrie serves as the executive story editor.
Wade Allen serves as the stunt coordinator.
David Wingo composes the music of the series. Liza Richardson serves as the music supervisor. Michael Brake is the music editor.
Eric Schoonover is the production designer. Chrisi Karvonides-Dushenko serves as the costume designer, while Jackie Martinez serves as the assistant costume designer. Meagan Smith serves as the costumer, while Keren Rosenthal serves as the costume production assistant. Andrew Leitch serves as the art director, while Curtis Moore and Rachel Scott are the assistant art directors. Rachael Ferrara is the set decorator.
Leo Corey Castellano serves as the head of the make-up department. Denise Dellavalle is the assistant head, while Ruth Haney serves as the make-up artist.
Katherine Kousakis serves as the head of the hairstyling department. Amanda Bourne is the assistant head, while Sarah Ault serves as the hairstylist.
The Cast of Barry
Bill Hader portrays the titular character, Barry Berkman/ Barry Block.
Stephen Root is credited as Monroe Fuches, while Sarah Goldberg portrays Sally Reed. Anthony Carrigan plays NoHo Hank, while Sarah Burns plays Detective Mae Dunn. Henry Winkler portrays Gene Cousineau.
Elizabeth Perkins guest stars as Diane Villa, while D’Arcy Carden plays Natalie Greer. Michael Irby plays Cristobal Sifuentes. Jessy Hodges plays Lindsay Mandel, Sally’s agent.
Laura San Giacomo plays Annie Eisner, an old acquaintance of Cousineau’s. Darrell Britt Gibson and Rightor Doyle play Jermaine Jefrint and Nick Nicholby, Barry and Sally’s respective peers from their acting class.
James Hiroyuki Liao returns. Michael Ironside makes an appearance, while Joe Mantegna appears as himself.
Annabeth Gish plays Julie, while Andrew Leeds plays Leo Cousineau. JB Blanc, Nick Gracer, and Turhan Troy Caylak appear as Batir, Yandal, and Akhmal, members of the Chechen mafia, respectively. Gary Kraus makes an appearance as Police Chief Krauss, while Alexander MacNicoll plays Kyle.
Krizia Bajos appears as Elena, Cristobal’s wife, while Michael Lanahan plays Brian, the showrunner of Laws of Humanity. Carlos Lacamara makes an appearance. Joanna Sotomura plays Casey. Michael Andrew Baker returns to play the Laws of Humanity producer, Joel.
Michael J. Sielaff makes an appearance as Detective Hale, while Atticus Batacan plays Detective Tereno. Gabriel “G-Rod” Rodriguez plays a stunt performer. Melanie Haynes makes an appearance, while Eli Michael Kaplan is credited as Gordon Cousineau.
Jolene Van Vugt, David Castillo, Chris Morrison, Clay Cullen, and Anthony Molinari make appearances in the episode.
Performances and Character Developments
Winkler continues to shine as Gene Cousineau. After coming to terms with Barry’s apologies, the character himself now has a second chance at life. We see him making up for past mistakes, starting with him having mended his relationship with his son, Leo (Andrew Leeds), in previous seasons. In this episode, specifically, Cousineau has to deal with his negative impact on the industry and how far he will go to prove that he has changed as an individual.
I enjoyed the brief mother-and-son bonding time between MacNioll and Gish’s Kyle and Julie, respectively. No doubt do they have the best of intentions, but their goal — to exact their revenge on Barry — is only the tip of the iceberg of what Monroe Fuches/ Kenneth Goulet (Stephen Root) has in store for the title character. As of now, I only know up to next week’s episode, and I will say that it does get crazier for the little army that he’s been building up.
Speaking of crazy, we have Hader’s Barry Berkman/ Barry Block, who, throughout the course of the series, must deal with his sanity. It’s outlandish how far he will go to get the job done, as we have seen last week with the house bomb. This week, he proposes something that is a little too much… Well, I did say “a little”. His scene with Sally is simultaneously funny and creepy, and this is just a reminder that she knows somewhat some of what he is capable of, given his Marine training.
Last, but not least, I would like to highlight Carrigan’s performance as NoHo Hank. He does so well throughout the episode in terms of range. What the actor demonstrates here is one of his rare serious performances, the previous I can recall being when Hank shows Barry that he means business. This is what made me appreciate Carrigan, ever since his introduction in Fox’s Gotham.
Final Thoughts on This Week’s Barry
“crazytimeshitshow” is bonkers, and that is just one word I can use to describe how I felt about the episode after my first time watching it. Now that I have seen it a second time, I have to ask myself: Is this one of the better episodes of Barry Season 3? Does it hold up more than the rest? In my opinion, my favorite episodes have been “limonada”, “all the sauces”, and now, “crazytimeshitshow” — in no specific order. Next week’s episode is going to be quite a spectacle, so be sure to stay tuned for our review on that.
Overall, this fifth episode of Barry Season 3 only gets better as the narrative progresses, and it sure does pay off!
Barry Season 3 is now airing on HBO!
Have you seen Alec Berg and Bill Hader’s series? If so, then what are your thoughts on it so far? Let us know! For more dark comedy and drama-related news and reviews visit and follow The Cinema Spot on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
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