Desperate to solve his Bolivian problem, Noho Hank turns to Barry with a plan. Fuches returns to Los Angeles with a vengeance. Sally celebrates the premiere of her show. Gene scrambles to skip town - only to be bombarded with reasons to stay.
Killing is never the answer to any problem. And yet, it is always presented as such. It was the only skill Barry was ever able to cultivate. He saw that as the only way to deal with his issues. He killed without questioning why. He did so not knowing any details about the lives he was taking. Since moving to Los Angeles, it has only gotten more personal. He no longer solely listens to Fuches. He still kills in order to survive. It's the only viable outcome to the various conflicts he sees in the world. His country needed him to employ these skills. Fuches did as well. And now, Hank returns to Barry to wipe out the threats from the Bolivians. Detonating a bomb is a new way for him to kill. He is so accustomed to shooting people. That's the specific skill he brings to the table. The Chechens have settled on a different option. They already have the bomb. It's in a nicely packed box in the parking lot. Barry simply needs to retrieve it, plant it underneath the house and detonate it. The most troublesome part is connecting the device to an app on his phone. In fact, his signal searching for Wi-Fi disrupts this scheme from going according to plan. It's hilarious to think there is a customer service department to help him achieve this goal. It's a part of the show's overall tendency to make murder and death a commonplace thing. Barry has all the resources to prevail in this way. The various threats against him have easy access to weapons as well. Fuches seeks his revenge by telling the loved ones of those Barry killed where he is. He has that information. Barry never bothered with it before. It was never important. He didn't need to know why someone needed to be killed. It was simply a job. He did so believing he could trust those making the decisions. He now sees how difficult it is to be the boss. People can change their minds at any moment. And yet, all he knows how to do is kill. He can't manage those delicate personalities. He's volatile in every aspect of his life. Everything imploding forces him into self-reflection. He can't kill his way out of it all. He has done so in so many instances. The threats have kept coming though. Instead, he simply leaves everyone traumatized. They fear he will kill them if they don't comply with his wishes. Meanwhile, he fails to show up for those he allegedly cares about deeply. He can't give himself to others no matter how hard he tries. He has no personal clarity. He remains lost. He has the tools to survive. He simply can't connect with what it means to be the bigger man in a world full of so much evil and danger.
Gene survives this ordeal. Barry may be able to buy his silence. Gene runs around town wanting to escape. This place won't let him leave. It's convenient in some instances. The bags he's packed fall apart. He needs more in order to carry all he needs to take with him. And then, Barry's work reviving Gene's career has actually worked. People are abuzz about his story of caring for a veteran. He brought Barry back to life after he left a war zone. Of course, Gene knows the true darkness in this story. It can never be celebrated. It's just a constant reminder of what he's lost. Barry took so much from Gene. The acting teacher is running as he fears he could lose even more. Barry does eventually catch up to him. It's not even a crazy feat either. He simply needs to be present in that dining room for that fateful confrontation. Plus, Barry needed to endure all the pain and hardships he faced elsewhere. He may not receive clarity with Gene. However, he can still depend on Hank for work and Sally for personal fulfillment. Even those aspects of his lives have to be analyzed and critiqued. Cristobal was very lucky to leave the house before the bomb exploded. Barry sees him on the street and returns him to Hank. The lovers are reunited. The threats to their prosperity probably aren't gone. Hank went through the motions of escalating this conflict. It's what his men needed. He simply needed to protect Cristobal. And now, he can care for him once more. That's sweet and endearing. But again, it comes in spite of Barry's incompetence and inability to see the depths of the world around him. He can't connect having a bad day to Sally's history of abuse. He believes he's entitled to treat her poorly from time to time. It's what he needs in order to function. He was upset she couldn't give him exactly what he needed. He had no clue how that hit her viscerally. She was living in denial too. It took an objective outsider to voice concerns about how dangerous Barry is. When Katie speaks up, Sally listens. It leads to her breaking up with Barry. This is the best night of her life. She is premiering the show she created and stars in. She is going places in her career. She doesn't need Barry to provide that support. Instead, she receives confirmation from an adoring crowd and the critics that her work is special and meaningful. She gets that validation. It's overwhelming. It's awkward for a moment too. All of this is happening so quickly. It comes at the same time as the dissolution of her personal life. It needs to be done. She can see that clearly. Barry's absence took away from this celebratory night. What's important to her has to be on equal standing with what he needs. Otherwise, the relationship isn't working. It hasn't been. The audience has long known that. And now, Sally sees it too. That forces Barry to step away from killing. It may only be for a moment. It keeps Gene alive while satisfying the overall need for growth. Money won't solve every problem either. It's still a way for Gene to keep his family firmly planted without disrupting their lives too.
