Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Barry Season 4 episode "It Takes A Psycho." Read at your own risk!
For a bulk of Barry, NoHo Hank has existed as the offbeat Chechen gangster who seemed far too nice for the line of work he was in. Hank has been through a lot over these past three seasons, but Barry Season 4 seemed like it was going to be a real turnaround for him. He and Cristobal had officially gone legit, and while the start of the episode seemed cause for celebration, it all ended in a rather shocking way. On the heels of this big episode, Anthony Carrigan broke down Hank's shocking decision, which ultimately led to Cristobal's death.
Anthony Carrigan took some time to chat with Buzzfeed News about Hank's decision to realign with the Chechen mob and secretly sabotage his and Cristobal's original plan. The end result was that Hank is now a major crime boss in the Los Angeles scene, but it came at a tremendous cost.
Anthony Carrigan On Hank Betraying The Original Plan To Go Legit
After a celebration of the launch of their new business, Hank led their business partners out to the silo to check out the sand. The Barry characters celebrated on top of the sand, but when Hank left, tragedy struck. The silo inexplicably turned on and sucked all the business partners and Cristobal down into the sand. Hank arrived just in time to save Cristobal, but the rest were dead.
Cristobal soon discovered that this horrific accident wasn't actually an accident at all. Hank had realigned with the Chechen mob behind his back and had their previous associates killed so they could run the business themselves. It was a cold-blooded move for Hank, but one that Anthony Carrigan felt was within the character all along:
Hank has been a gentle person who just happens to be a crime lord. I think it's really going to throw people off when they see Hank really step into that crime lord role and do something atrocious and brutal. Even I was surprised by that. I was surprised that he was able to commit such an atrocity behind Cristobal's back. But at the same time, I felt like it was justified.
Carrigan went on to say that Hank definitely went overboard with this act of violence on Barry, which is why Cristobal is so horrified. In an effort to prove himself as a crime boss, Hank made himself unrecognizable to the person he loved.
Anthony Carrigan On Hank Allowing Cristobal's Death
Barry later revealed that Hank's deal with his fellow Chechens not only secured their foothold on the Los Angeles crime scene but allowed them protection to operate out in the open as a couple. Cristobal was still shaken by Hank's actions, however, and hurt that he so casually dumped Cristobal's wish to go legit without consulting him. Cristobal told Hank it was over and attempted to leave the compound.
Cristobal was killed by the Chechen guards after he attempted to leave, and it seemed clear Hank was aware that would happen. Anthony Carrigan was asked why Hank didn't attempt to alert Cristobal to the fact he'd be killed if he left him, and Carrigan had some great insight on the scene:
I think Cristobal would have never gone along with it. Hank knew Cristobal would have a problem with it happening. Hank wanted to take matters into his own hands. Also, Hank wanted to prove himself as someone who was not soft, who was willing to make hard decisions, and who was able to actually be the crime boss that he was always posturing himself as. The unfortunate by-product of that is that's not who Cristobal fell in love with.
Hank's willingness to let Cristobal go was emotional, especially given it meant his immediate death following their breakup. For the moment, however, it's unclear whether this move will be a decision that will lead Hank to realize he made the wrong choice or harden his softer personality that Barry fans loved.
Hank's big moment was just one of many in the latest episode of Barry. The biggest, of course, was Sally seemingly agreeing to go on the lam with Barry following his escape from prison and the flash-forward that showed them out in the country with a son.
This flash-forward, assuming it's not some fantasy Barry is playing out in his mind, could give us a look at a lot of characters years later. This includes Hank, and I think we're all wanting to see just how much he might've changed years after willingly letting his lover die after betraying his trust. I'm also weirdly invested in Fuches' prison story and if he and Barry are still in touch years later.
I know that I personally wish Bill Hader didn't choose to end the series after this season, but hopefully, this is all leading to a finale just as great as this season has been thus far. On the other hand, can't the actor just put his plans for a horror movie on pause and make 100 more seasons for this show?
Barry airs on HBO on Sundays at 10:00 p.m. ET. Those with an HBO Max subscription can catch up on Season 4 and, of course, stream new episodes at the same time over on there.
