Warning: This will delve into spoilers from Barry’s series finaleAfter theBarry series finale, Henry Winkler reflected on the show’s crazy twist that acting teacher Gene Cousineau would be the one to take out theHBOshow’s titular character Barry Berkman in the show’s finale episode.
TheBarryfinale came with many twists and turns, with Cousineau killing Berkman at the top. Winkler admitted that he was shocked when Bill Hader told him Cousineau’s fate in theHBOshow’s final episode and explained Cousineau’s motive to commit the crime.
RELATED:Barry’s Stephen Root Makes Hilarious Admission About Fast And Furious Scene
Winkler revealed how he took the news while talking withThe Hollywood Reporter. “So, [Bill] told me [the ending in the middle of the season], and while I’m a pretty verbal fellow, I was speechless. I went, ‘I what!?’ So, I stammered and stuttered a little bit, and then I just walked away and got some avocado toast.” Winkler added what drove him to murder Berkman despite all the frenzy going on and the tragedy of it all. “It was because Gene was being blamed for what he knew Barry did,” Winkler said. “Gene seemed to be in one of those rooms where the walls were all closing in toward the center, and so he was being crushed by this evidence. Remember, Barry was the son that Gene wanted, not the kid who was actually Gene’s son.”
It was shocking that Cousineau would be the one to kill Barry, especially knowing that Barry had at one point been at odds with his mentor Monroe Fuches and NoHo Hank, among the many others in the criminal underworld he was at a quarrel with. However, Cousineau’s willingness to kill him is not as out of left field as one would think. Cousineau threatened to kill Barry if he did not turn himself in during the firstepisode ofBarryseason 3after discovering Barry killed his girlfriend Janice. He probably would have committed the deed anyway had it not been for the gun he was threatening Barry with coming apart.
Winkler said ahead of time that theBarryending would be mind-blowing, and to be fair, that’s what it was.Barry’s finale subverted expectations by hyping a final showdown between Barry and his past demons, only for all of that to take care of itself before his arrival. The show’s message was not so much about being as violent as possible as it was about being honest with yourself and who you truly are, and that’s what went into each character’s fate.
While Fuches was a crime lord, he at least no longer acted like he was a noble influence. NoHo Hank, on the other hand, tried to pretend he was a savvy businessman when he was a ruthless gangster who chose his life of crimeover his lover Cristobal Sifuentes. Sally wanted to live a normal life doing what she does best instead of being on the run with Barry. Barry was about to turn himself over to the police after realizing his actions were sending Cousineau to prison. However, before he could, Gene killed him because, besides Barry’s actions unintentionally getting him into legal trouble, he could no longer sweep Barry’s actions against him under the rug. While it makes for one bleak ending, it fits with what the show was going for - the consequences of hiding under a mask.
