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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
Some solutions are harder to encounter. In this week’s episode of Alec Berg and Bill Hader’s HBO crime comedy-drama series, Barry, Season 3, the answers do not come right away. The third episode is titled, “ben mendelsohn”. It is written by executive story editor Emma Barrie and directed by Berg.
In this review, I will be discussing Barry Season 3 Episode 3. There will be no spoilers here, as the title of this article suggests. Nonetheless, please read ahead at your own discretion to avoid any possible revelations.
Plot Synopsis
According to WarnerMedia’s pressroom, here is the logline for Barry Season 3 Episode 3— “ben mendelsohn”.
I could’ve been a marine, but I guess I had too many options.
WarnerMedia Pressroom
Discussion
NOTE: It should be known that I got to see the first six out of eight episodes of Barry Season 3. This is my second time watching these episodes.
At almost 25-and-a-half minutes, this week’s episode of Barry Season 3 may not mean much. However, it does set in motion the events that are to come in the next few episodes. As we learned at the end of last week’s episode, Barry Berkman (Bill Hader) and Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler) land roles in a television series, Laws of Humanity. The trick, now, is Cousineau having to tolerate sharing scenes with his former acting student, and it is even harder when — if you pay close attention — the scripted dialogue mirrors a bit close to their current circumstance.
The Chechens and the Bolivians’ feud gets a little more heated, but time will tell what each side is up to. If I remember correctly, you might need to wait for next week’s episode or Episode 305 to see the end of that; but trust me, this will be hilarious, terrifying, or both. Keep an eye out for NoHo Hank (Anthony Carrigan) and one of his men…
The episode title, “ben mendelsohn”, is a rather hilarious way of conveying this week’s theme: being oneself (or not). Allow me to elaborate more on that point.
Self-Realization and How (Not) to Become Oneself…
In Barry and Cousineau’s subplot of the episode, as well as Sally Reed (Sarah Golberg) and Katie’s (Elsie Fisher), they must deal with putting on a performance of themselves in front of other people. This is not in necessarily in the acting sense but just how they present their selves in a professional manner. Cousineau is brought onto Laws of Humanity as a means of mending things with Barry, but this still does not erase the fact that his former student killed the love of his life. Meanwhile, Sally has difficulty answering questions asked by interviewers in a press junket event for Joplin; and Katie must act as if Barry freaking out at Sally in the writers’ room the other day was just a normal occurrence.
To make this theme more logical, I must call upon the late French philosopher Anne Dufourmantelle’s critical and analytical text, In Praise of Risk. Here, she discusses the concept of immanence, which is defined as the state of existing or operating within a system. For Barry, we can see Hollywood and more so the film industry as a machine full of acting talent, screenwriters, producers, and many other vital components. Dufourmantelle writes:
To admit that we can do something other than be victims of circumstance … depends on us and our manner of negotiating an open, moving, accident-strewn, and, in a certain respect, unrepresentable world… To take the risk of immanence is to refuse any hither world, as Nietzsche insisted, to bet only on this world, which infinitely exceeds our perception.
Anne Dufourmantelle via ‘In Praise of Risk’ (2019)
Applying Immanence to Barry
Being forced to obtain his life-long aspiration — that is, landing a role in a film or television project — Cousineau must choose between giving up his grief and becoming an actor or remaining who he has been for the past several episodes, mourning what he has lost. Barry chooses to be honest with him; he tells his acting instructor, “[Y]ou can be the version of yourself that you wanna be”. He attributes the improvement in his well-being and humanity to Cousineau, whose acting classes made him (Barry) want to become a better person.
For Sally, her assistant Natalie Greer (guest star D’Arcy Carden) and her agent Lindsay Mandel (guest star Jessy Hodges) teach her about authenticity: “You don’t wanna be you in the wrong way”. However, this becomes a challenge when she is asked questions to which she does not know how to respond. Sometimes as press members — such as myself — there are just some things that must not be said to directors, writers, actors, producers, etc. such as people’s thoughts on the Marvel Cinematic Universe or their opinions on a slap involving two individuals. Wouldn’t it just be better to keep that to yourself? Again, you can be yourself but you do not need to be too much of yourself.
Katie wants to come clean about Barry’s confrontation with Sally, but at the same time, the adults tell her to be professional and look at the facts. I think this is the strange thing about workplace environments. If no rules were broken, then nothing bad really happened. I am curious as to what Katie’s larger role in the season is. Eventually, something has to happen.
The Crew of Barry
Barry is created by Alec Berg and Bill Hader.
Berg, Hader, Aida Rodgers, and Liz Sarnoff serve as the executive producers of the series. Julie Camino and Duffy Boudreau serve as the producers. Emily Heller and Jason Kim serve as the supervising producers. Artūrs Rūsis and Amy Solomon serve as the co-producers.
Sherry Thomas and Sharon Bialy serve as the casting directors of the show. Stacia Kimler is the casting associate. Mindy Rengrudkij and Ashley Albans are the casting assistants, while Rich King and Lou Verdi serve as the extras casting.
Darran Tiernan serves as the director of photography. Franky Guttman serves as the editor, while Kchris de Gelsey is the assistant editor. Emma Barrie serves as the executive story editor.
Wade Allen serves as the stunt coordinator.
David Wingo composes the music of the series. Liza Richardson serves as the music supervisor. Michael Brake is the music editor.
Eric Schoonover is the production designer. Chrisi Karvonides-Dushenko serves as the costume designer, while Jackie Martinez serves as the assistant costume designer. Andrew Leitch serves as the art director, while Curtis Moore and Rachel Scott are the assistant art directors. Rachael Ferrara is the set decorator.
Leo Corey Castellano serves as the head of the make-up department. Denise Dellavalle is the assistant head, while Ruth Haney serves as the make-up artist.
Katherine Kousakis serves as the head of the hairstyling department. Amanda Bourne is the assistant head, while Morgan Ferrando serves as the hairstylist.
The Cast of Barry
Bill Hader portrays the titular character, Barry Berkman/ Barry Block.
Stephen Root is credited as Monroe Fuches, while Sarah Goldberg portrays Sally Reed. Anthony Carrigan plays NoHo Hank, while Sarah Burns is credited as Detective Mae Dunn. Henry Winkler portrays Gene Cousineau.
D’Arcy Carden guest stars as Natalie Greer, while Michael Irby plays Cristobal Sifuentes. Mark-Paul Gosselaar makes an appearance as an actor on a television program titled, Laws of Humanity.
Jessy Hodges plays Lindsay Mandel, Sally’s agent, while Miguel Sandoval plays Fernando. JB Blanc, Nick Gracer, and Turhan Troy Caylak appear as Batir, Yandal, and Akhmal, members of the Chechen mafia, respectively. Elsie Fisher plays Katie, while Marika Dominczyk also stars. Michael Lanahan plays Brian, the showrunner of Laws of Humanity.
Michael Andrew Baker returns to play the Laws of Humanity producer, Joel, from last week. Avital Ash plays a woman named Madeline from E! News, while Daniel Montogmery and Yumarie Morales also play members of the press for Joplin interviews. Carmine DiBenedetto plays a man named Taylor. Monnie Aleahmad, Ashley Porter, and Eliza Shin also star.
Performances and Character Developments
Winkler performs well in the scenes that he has. I admire that Cousineau is able to make the proper choice and be his authentic self. Hopefully, he can fully come to terms with everything that has happened to himself, which involves Fuches and Barry; and I do hope that he learns the truth about these circumstances. His role in this season gets better as he must encounter other individuals that he has wronged; or have we already passed those points?
I like Goldberg’s performance as Sally Reed. She has to learn that being in the industry does come with its stresses, that it is not just about putting on the appearance of persuasive talent. As an actress, she still has to learn about every detail of her television show, including the location setting, dynamics with other characters, and more; she even has to go far as to deal with ridiculous questions.
Like Cousineau and Sally, Katie finds a way to be herself in a world where she may not be allowed much of its benefits. As an actress, she learns that it may not be her place to speak on certain things, or perhaps it is just not the right time. For now, she does say her piece and leaves it at that. Fisher is an excellent actor to portray this character, having come from Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade, where she also plays a character who is trying to deal with authenticity in a social world.
Final Thoughts on This Week’s Barry
“ben mendelsohn” is the curious answer to a frequently-asked question. Perhaps the answer you are seeking is not the obvious or most evident one, and when you’re trying to find your place in the world, it will take time. I still have not discussed Monroe Fuches’s (Stephen Root) larger role in the season, but I’m sure we will get to that next week or the week after.
These next few episodes of the season are stronger than this week’s, and I believe there is much more to say moving forward. Stay tuned. Death is coming!
Barry Season 3 is now airing on HBO!
Have you seen Alec Berg and Bill Hader’s series? If so, then what are your thoughts on it so far? Let us know! For more dark comedy and drama-related news and reviews visit and follow The Cinema Spot on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
This article was edited by John Tangalin.