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| Photo: HBO |
"They don't want honest. They want entertainment."
Such is the current dilemma (among others) Barry finds himself in "Past Equals Present x Future Over Yesterday" as everyone around him encourages him to tap into what Gene calls his "inherent darkness." Well, everyone except Fuches, who utters the aforementioned quote when Barry reveals he wants to write about the time he saved a fellow soldier's life while in Korengal. Apparently, that story goes left pretty fast, its emotional trauma something Barry and Fuches have worked hard to keep at bay. It's a genuine, touching (well if you leave out the fact Fuches is wearing a wire) moment between the two that comes out of nowhere. Dysfunctional as their relationship is, Fuches is the one person Barry can tell his whole ugly truth to without fear of judgment.
Sally instinctively understands the value of entertainment over truth. When Skyping her friend Kate to help her recall details about the night she left her abusive ex-husband Sam, she's less interested in confirming the actual assault than her reaction to it, one where she defiantly told him "choke on this, I'm fucking leaving you," and walked out. Katy doesn't remember that part, but can still remember the welts on Sally's neck from Sam choking her. However, Sally's convinced that's what happened and incorporates it into her script. Part of this is because of her not-so-small ego, but part of it has to do with emotional survival. Quietly leaving a terrible marriage is her truth, but eviscerating her husband then walking out the door is not only darkly entertaining but an important personal truth, one she told herself in order to rebuild her self-esteem and break free of a role--abused, weak wife--that had defined her life.
Barry's attempt to present his story as a tale of uplifting heroism instead of horror fails miserably of course; he's so literal about everything he takes Fuches' Braveheart reference as a license to plagiarize Mel Gibson. Gene sees right through this and calls Sally up on stage to have them act out her scene, with Barry portraying Sam. Unsurprisingly, Barry shrinks at this request, pushed by Sally until he breaks and storms off. "I don't want to hurt anybody," Barry snaps as she tries to comfort him before she freezes and quietly says "Hi Sam." Judging by the chilling look that washes over Barry's face as he lays eyes on the man who choked his girlfriend, someone is definitely going to get hurt.
Other Thoughts:
- Barry's failure to kill Esther has put Noho Hank in a bind. See, since someone's out to kill her, she'll have to stay with Cristobal, which means Hank and his men have to share a storage unit. Not cool. After some decidedly unfriendly fire--Hank and one of his henchmen interrupt Barry's bout of writer's block by pumping some bullets into his apartment--Barry convinces Hank he can train his men to be better assassins. It's a tall order considering these guys make the A-Team look like Navy Seals. All except for Mayrbek. Mayrbek is Annie Oakley.
- In an attempt to make amends, Gene asks his son Leo to work for free as a groundskeeper at the cabin where Janice was murdered. Child...
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