Barry Review: ronny/lily (Season 2 Episode 5)
On Barry Season 2 Episode 5, “ronny/lily,” a nice neighborhood becomes a nightmare for Barry, on the series’ best episode yet.
Bill Hader’s direction is phenomenal, action scenes taking their time and not resorting to frenetic camera movement to create an illusion of chaos. The chaos is already there in the action, with Barry fighting a martial arts expert and a young girl.
There’s an excitement to the episode, where its complete break from the usual, on top of the surreal outcomes to most of its events, reinvigorates what Barry, as a show, can do with itself.
The act of the simple becoming the impossible gives this episode an undeniable advantage. Nothing going right leads to some comedy genius, and when heightened on Barry, a hit stretching over the day to settle scores with a detective is such a wild episode plot.
The combat in the house is incredible physical comedy, such a sloppy and exhausted fight where it’s clear neither are cut out for this battle. There’s so much punishment placed on people on this episode, no one (outside of Lily) walking away unscathed.
Barry and Fuches returning to the same grocery store, once for the stitches and again for bandages to repair themselves, is a wonderful reminder that despite doing this for so long, neither are really made for this line of work. They’re both pretty bad at this.
photo: Isabella Vosmikova/HBO
Ronny is like The Terminator, this unstoppable force despite his windpipe and the beating he takes. Even getting shot through the face doesn’t quite bring him down fully. His appearance at the grocery store is one of the episode’s best gags, the whistling, wheezing noise the perfect giveaway.
Ronny’s daughter, Lily, is the highlight of the episode, such a strange and bizarre addition to an already off-the-wall experience. Her feral attacks and cat-like agility is both insane and gives her scenes this nightmarish quality, unsure of what she’ll do, or be capable of, next.
Fuches watching Lily climb up the tree and perch on the roof is one of the funniest images the show has done to date. His incredulous march back to the car, as though he’s seen something he shouldn’t have, is perfect.
photo: Isabella Vosmikova/HBO
Loach being disposed of with a roundhouse kick, after so many missed ones directed at Barry, is one of the wildest ends his character could have asked for. For this to resolve that whole story is so refreshing, this plotline with large ramifications ending with a simple kick to the head.
Barry Season 2 Episode 5, “ronny/lily,” is undeniably unique with its story hook and the way it unfolds. However, it’s through using this to deliver powerful character work infused into this story where it finds the most riveting pieces.
Barry does not usually dive into mayhem as often as it could, but on this episode, the mayhem delivers its best episode of the season, if not the series. It’s not often an episode like this comes around.
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Barry airs Sundays at 10/9c on HBO.
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Kevin Lever
Kevin Lever has been following television closely for most of his life, but in starting to cover it, he has grown a further appreciation. He strives to give the blockbusters their due, and give the lesser known shows a spotlight to find more fans.