Barry Season 4: Time jump explained

Barry Season 4 Episode 5 delivers a huge, permanent time jump for the closing stretch – here’s everything you need to know.

In our review, we wrote: “Barry Season 4 Episode 5 is eerily still, like a firework with a silent fuse; it may seem like a depressing epilogue, but the stage has just been set for a nail-biting conclusion.”

When the fourth season began, we wondered how Bill Hader and co. would write themselves out of the literal box they put Barry in, finally imprisoned after wreaking havoc across LA and leaving a trail of trauma in his wake. Of course, it didn’t take long for things to go Pete Tong again.

At the end of Episode 4, Sally found Barry hiding in the darkest corner of her LA apartment after escaping from prison. Just as he was about to grovel, she stopped him. “Let’s go,” she said, and he looked delighted. We then got a bizarre, jarring glimpse forward to their future with a son – some may have thought it was a fantasy, but it’s real.

How long is the time jump in Barry Season 4?

In Season 4 Episode 5, Barry jumps ahead eight years into the future.

Barry and Sally are in hiding. They once had the chance of witness protection, but that dream was ruined when NoHo Hank sent somebody to kill him in prison, leading to Barry’s escape. Now, they’re living in a lonely house somewhere in the south of the US, erected alone in that recurring dusty field from earlier in the season.

They have a son, John, who’s struggling to make friends. They think it’s weird he doesn’t have any pop culture knowledge – specifically Call of Duty – but Barry doesn’t allow him to do anything that could threaten their safety, even playing baseball with other kids.

Neither of them use their real name, even to their own child; Barry is Clark (he wears glasses and a plaid shirt to cover the maniac underneath), and Sally is Emily. During the day, she works as a waitress at a local diner, while Barry looks after John and teaches him about Abraham Lincoln.

Back in LA, the Mega Girls franchise has taken full flight with Kristen as its lead star. Natalie’s sitcom, Just Desserts, is about to reach its season finale. The Amazon has died, as indicated by an ad for a ‘Remembering the Amazon’ documentary.

But something big is cooking at Warner Bros: a Barry Berkman biopic, and Gene Cousineau has resurfaced after eight years to consult on it. He made a break for it after Barry escaped prison, believing he’d come looking for him, and everyone thought he’d died. At the end of the episode, Sally shows Barry an article from The Hollywood Reporter about Gene’s return, and he vows to kill him.

Barry Season 4 Episodes 1-5 are streaming on HBO now. Check out the rest of our coverage below:

Barry Season 4 cast | Episodes 1 & 2 review | Episode 3 review | Episode 4 review | What time is Barry out on HBO? | Will there be a Barry Season 5? | How many episodes are there in Barry Season 4?