In A Show Full Of Deplorable Characters, Barry Season 4 Finds A New Contender For The Worst
The following contains spoilers for "Barry."
Sally Reed (Sarah Goldberg) had a rough go of it in "Barry" season 3. She had a brief moment on the top of the world in the fourth episode, "all the sauces," when her semi-autobiographical streaming series "Joplin" (named after her Missouri hometown) premiered to rave reviews. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to save the series from cancelation by streaming service BanShe's almighty algorithm.
Over the season's second half, a distraught Sally blew up at her assistant Natalie (D'Arcy Carden), was dropped by her agent Lindsay (Jessy Hodges), and then murdered a home invader (Anthony Molinari) in self-defense. So, she decided to leave Los Angeles entirely and go back home.
When we catch up with Sally in the season 4 premiere, "yikes," she's asleep on the flight to Joplin. So, she missed the news of Barry's arrest. When she wakes up, she checks her phone and finds over a hundred texts from Lindsay and other concerned friends.
When she calls Lindsay back and learns the news, Sally initially thinks the arrest is because of him taking the wrap for her self-defense killing. Only as the (very confused) conversation continues does Sally learn it's actually because Barry killed Detective Janice Moss (Paula Newsome) back in season 1.
It only gets worse for Sally, because then her mom (Romy Rosemont) arrives at the airport. As the episode spends more time with Mrs. Reed, you start to understand where Sally's selfishness came from.
A terrible mother
It's unknown how long it's been since Sally and her mom have seen each other, but Mrs. Reed has no time for hugs and kisses. Instead, she brusquely greets her daughter with a warning to hurry because she double-parked.
They stop at a drive-thru on the way home while Sally reads the news about Barry. As the truth sets in, so does a panic attack, and Sally starts hyperventilating. I can understand not knowing what to say in this situation, but Mrs. Reed doesn't show a hint of concern for Sally's wellbeing, only annoyance. The shot lingers, contrasting the panicking Sally in the background while her mom's annoyance takes up the foreground. Mrs. Reed does brighten up when her fast food order arrives, though.
Sally's dad (Michael Dempsey) is more affectionate and suggests they watch "Joplin." Mrs. Reed, wine glass in hand, rolls her eyes at the show and doesn't grasp how it mixes Sally's life with fiction. When she learns that Sally used the name of her abusive ex-husband Sam (Joe Massingill) for her character's abusive ex, she's aghast — on Sam's behalf.
Mrs. Reed even decides to call his family to let them know. When Sally reminds her mom of how Sam throttled her, Mrs. Reed does some victim-blaming 101: "You sure can pick them." Mrs. Reed's crimes are admittedly minor on a show with multiple murderers, but her sheer callousness towards her daughter — with nothing else to balance it out — makes her hateable.
In episode 2, "bestest place on the earth," it turns out Sally didn't stay in Joplin for long and flew back to L.A. So, I doubt we'll be seeing more of her mother. Goodbye and good riddance.
"Barry" airs on HBO and streams on HBO Max every Sunday at 10 p.m. ET.