barry got away with all of it buried with full honours martyred forever because that is what america has always done it has honoured its murderers it has raised them and dropped them onto foreign soil it has fed them with weaponry it has blinded them to the guts on the floor it has loved them and painted their image on its walls and its screens in brilliant dolbyvision. every square inch of this world is a shrine to violence

not sally writing a whole show where shes an amazing mother supporting her kid out of an abusive relationship and then becoming abusive towards her real life kid. not telling her agent that she has 'more to bring to the table than breakfast' only to end up as a waitress in a breakfast bar. not barry spinning a narrative to his son about being a war hero and even naming himself after superman when his son doesnt even know his real name or that they're on the run for murder. 'he thinks my name is emily' 'but he knows who YOU really are.' not hank telling barry that he didnt want to take everything for himself and wanted to split it 50/50 with cristobal only to kill cristobal and taking it all for himself but still acting like it's both of their empire. naming his business a combination of their names and erecting a golden shrine to his dead lover. everyone is acting. everyone trying desperately to live their own lie.

idk how I feel about the Barry ending, but having that finale air on Memorial Day Weekend? excellent choice. really drive home the way that the USA’s military worship complex twists the narrative around atrocities committed by current and former members.

the way that barry literally has main character syndrome to the max this man is so sick in the head. oh lets do this on the swing, because in the movie of my life thats playing in my head, the one that im currently directing and starring in in my mind, this shot will look soo good. this will be such a cinematic moment just me and my son while i lie to him about being a hero. im SICK!!! this is what tiktok "romanticize your own life" does to a mf

something about sally trying to become gene by using the abusive method he used on her but failing when the acting class called her out

something about barry trying to do what fuches did to him by manipulating hank but failing when hank didn’t fall for it

something about how both of them have been absolutely ravaged by the abusive people in their lives and how neither of them can take responsibility when they start perpetuating these cycles and despite the fact that neither of them are even good at imitating the people that made them who they are, they’re both hurtling at top speed toward becoming “the ugliest versions of themselves”

i wish i had some actual coherent thoughts about this but i all i can do is scream

"It was me. I'm so sorry."

Barry S4E01 / Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan

hey girl I’m sorry to tell you this but um. we buried your boyfriend in arlington cemetery. with full honors yeah. And like. the movie we made about him paints him as a heroic veteran who– yeah who got manipulated. redeeming him in the public eye. his son’s gonna remember him as the hero hollywood painted him as. sorry :/

BARRY 4x08 — wow

Chapter One: Make Your Mark | Wow —BARRY (2018-2023) 1.01 / 4.08

BARRY

4x05 - tricky legacies

bury your gays

oh god i just realised barry did get redemption. hes been begging god to wash away his sins as if they never happened to be seen as a good man and he fucking got it. the whole world thinks that he was a hero. buried in arlington cemetery with full honours. god is propaganda. god is hollywood.

Barry (2018-2023) yikes (S04E01)

to me the most important part of sally's "ending" was her ability to say no to a man and not be terrified of the consequences. i think she is still clearly fighting some demons and probably always will be but that alone is a win

The way Sally sort of got a happy ending on the surface but is clearly very much Not Well

The way John exists as an emotional support for his mother and might never truly unpack any of his trauma because he's living in denial of what his father did and possibly what his mother did as well

The way Gene got his revenge on Barry but because of that spent the rest of his life in prison and with his reputation forever destroyed and nobody to worship him

The way Fuches accepted his own heartlessness and because he's a cockroach will probably die at age 102, but will live out every single one of those years completely devoid of love

The way Hank only ever wanted to be safe but his story ended with him dead and holding the hand of the love of his life whose death Hank helped bring about

The way Barry was finally going to turn himself in and maybe take his first steps toward redemption but then he fucking died

Bonus: the way Jim Moss's greatest desire was justice for his daughter and he ended up getting it completely wrong, and he'll never know the real truth