Barry Season 4 Episode 5 Recap: Eight year time jump

Recap: Barry and Sally are raising a young son together named John as the show flashes forward 8 years in a time jump. Barry turns to religion (and Abe Lincoln) while Sally turns to drinking.

Working as a waitress with a brunette wig and going by Emily, Sally appears apathetic about being a mother. Bored with a ‘stable’ life. Reminiscent of Kim Wexler on Better Call Saul.

Meanwhile, Barry tries to maintain a hero father figure for John to believe in as ‘Clark’, even if it means keeping him isolated from his peers overall. Remote freedom under the boot of a lie.

This Barry Season 4 Episode 5 recap contains spoilers for “tricky legacies”.

‘Hope we can be together in harmony’

Sarah Goldberg as Sally Reed. Barry Season 4 Episode 2 Recap “bestest place on the earth”. Photograph by Merrick Morton/HBO

Sally telling Barry ‘she feels safe with him’ on Season 4 Episode 2 changed both of their lives forever. The show opens into the future in a remote desert area, where Barry’s son John punched the neighbor.

A dispute over John not knowing anything about Call of Duty being the cause. Barry asks his son to apologize and tells the neighbor’s dad that they ‘don’t play video games in their house but it’s okay if you do’.

John tells the neighbor’s son he hopes “we can be together in harmony’ as instructed by Barry. This causes the neighbor’s son & dad to look strangely at John, and he soon admits to Barry he wished he punched him again for that. Barry tells John he used to be angry like him when he was younger but he found a better path.

Later in the episode, John finds he likes playing baseball with the neighbor’s son and begins to trust him. John even naively gives away a secret, asking the youngster if ‘his mom also wears a wig over her real hair too?’

When Barry discovers a catcher’s mitt in John’s room, he proceeds to scare him straight. Showing him video after video of tragedies that occurred in baseball games involving youngsters like John.

A frightened John asks for his mother to hold him, and she can barely muster a pat on the shoulder forget a hug. Looking annoyed and genuinely scared when Barry (or Clark) doesn’t wake up to take care of John for her.

Sally Reed searches for danger, bitter at losing career

Sally (as Emily) is told another employee has more than a crush on her and is constantly calling her ‘cool’. She appears to go along with it, sitting down with him for a meal at the diner. He tells Sally how his father was a bank robber and his partner got a teller ‘jacked’.

Sally inquires if he ever took someone out himself and how it ‘made him feel’ before calling him a ‘bad boy’.

He asks Sally to give him her foot under the table and you can guess why. Sally tells him she has to go to the bathroom and gently touches his shoulder, so he follows her.

It appears at first that Sally is cheating on Barry, as the two begin to make out, but it’s all a ploy. Sally starts choking him and he begs to be let go. He promises not to say anything when Sally’s wig falls off, saying he regrets what he did with her foot. Sally replies “No you’re not.”

Sally takes money out of the register and tells her boss the other employee did it to get him fired. Back home someone knocks on Barry’s door in the middle of the night. Barry reaches for a pistol and tells Sally to go with John to the bath tub.

Barry stands outside all night into the morning waiting for someone to present himself, pistol unholstered and ready.

It’s worth mentioning that at one point in this episode, John wakes up from Barry and Sally arguing over her drinking. Barry tells Sally, she’s making a bad example for their son.

Gene Cousineau returns to consult on biopic

Henry Winkler as Gene Cousineau. Barry Season 4 Episode 2 Recap “bestest place on the earth”. Photograph by Merrick Morton/HBO

Gene Cousineau shows up at a studio’s waiting room, full beard, asking to see the studio head. He’s met with skepticism, as Gene is believed to be dead. It’s the first time this episode we find out how many years have presumably passed, eight years. Gene wants to consult on Barry’s soon to be released biopic.

Sally gets a web alert on Barry Berkman coming up in the news and screams “Barrrry!” Prompting John to ask his father who Barry was? Sally shows Barry the biopic news with Cousineau consulting on it.

Season 4 Episode 5 ends with Barry telling Sally, that he “has to kill Cousineau”.

Where to watch Barry Season 4 Episode 5?

Sarah Goldberg as Sally Reed and Bill Hader as Barry Berkman on Barry Season 3 Episode 8. Photograph by Merrick Morton/ HBO

You can stream Barry Season 4 Episode 5 on HBO Max tomorrow morning, May 8, 2023.

More reviews and recaps of HBO’s Barry

Sarah Goldberg as Sally Reed. Barry Season 4 Episode 3 Review “you’re charming”. Photograph by Merrick Morton/HBO

Be sure to read:

–Sarah Goldberg’s Perfect 10 Scene on Barry Season 4 Episode 3

– Barry Season 4 Episode 2 Recap: “bestest place on the earth”

– Barry Season 4 Episode 1 Non-Spoiler Review: Sublime Acting

– Et tu, Gene Cousineau? The final act of Barry Berkman

– Sarah Goldberg’s raw breakdown on Barry is acting’s future

– Monroe Fuches’ epic fake out on Barry HBO Season 3 Episode 6

Visit our Barry category section for more reviews, recaps, and news relating to the critical acclaimed hit series. We’ll have ongoing coverage of the fourth and final season building up to the series finale.