If you’ve never heard of Barry, it’s a dark comedy on HBO starring Bill Hader (viewer discretion advised). The show debuted in 2018, with its fourth and final season ending in 2023. The main character, Barry Berkman, is a former-Marine-turned-hitman. He uses his military sniper skills to murder people for money. That sounds pretty dark, right? Where’s the comedy? The comedy kicks in when Barry decides to take up acting classes as a hobby. Quirky and eccentric characters give the show a satirical edge.
Seasons 1, 2, and 3 contain little to no religious elements, at least none that I can recall. Imagine my surprise when Season 4 depicts Barry as a convert to Christianity. In Episode 5, Barry is in his secluded home, hiding out with his wife and son. They are watching a live-streamed worship service on their laptop. At the end of the sermon, the pastor says, “Peace be with you.” Barry’s family promptly responds, “And also with you.” They then hug and share the peace with one another.
In other scenes, Barry teaches his son to honor God’s creation and not resort to violence. He teaches the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. He makes reference to St. Augustine. This is a Barry that we’ve never seen before. He is raising his son in the faith, and it appears that his murderous ways are behind him.
Surely this Christian behavior is just an act, a cover, while they hide from cops and drug lords. That’s what I thought the show would reveal as things unfolded. But wrong I was! In Episode 6, Barry plans to kill again in order to prevent a movie from being made about his life as a hitman. His wife privately admonishes him: “I don’t think this is God’s message for you. This goes against everything we believe. Killing is a sin, a big one.” Barry refuses correction by saying, “This isn’t a discussion, alright.” He prays with the family before leaving.
What we’re learning is that the religious conversion wasn’t fake; they really did adopt the teachings of the Bible. But Barry is tempted to kill again and he seeks biblical justification for it. Barry starts listening to Christian podcasts to find a loophole. Can he justify murder as a Christian? Barry becomes frustrated when the first two podcasts rightly teach that murder is a sin. The third podcast, however, twists scripture to justify violence and murder. It was the only excuse Barry needed to carry out his plan.
In Episode 7, Barry’s plan goes awry. He finds himself overpowered and trapped. He’s scared and praying for God to protect him. While trying to escape, his cellphone rings. The ringtone is a clip of “In the House,” a praise song by David Crowder Band. This is more evidence of Barry’s conversion and that he was assimilating to evangelical pop-culture. (By the way, when has an HBO show ever played a CCM song? This is certainly a unique occurrence. Netflix’s Beef, debuted in 2023, also contains modern praise songs from Bethel Music and others.)
In the series finale, Barry’s wife tells him that he needs to turn himself in for his crimes. Barry is hesitant and says, “I don’t think that’s what God wants for me. He spared me. I’ve been redeemed.” Once again, we see a new convert struggling to live his faith consistently. He doesn’t want to confess to his murders. But the wife, again, is a messenger of truth. She responds: “The only way to be redeemed is by taking responsibility for what you did. The only way to do that is by turning yourself in.”
What does Barry decide to do? Does he do the right thing, or does he double-down on his sin? I won’t spoil the details for you. Suffice it to say that things won’t end well for Barry, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes it into heaven.
Barry, Beef, Bethel Music, ccm, David Crowder Band, HBO, Netflix
