Editor's Note: The article below has spoilers for the Barry series finaleSince its first season premiered back in 2018, Barry made it very clear that it wouldn't treat its characters fairly, always leaving the door open for unexpected dark twists. During last night's series finale, it was once again Gene Cousineau's (Henry Winkler) turn to directly deal with the consequences of Barry's (Bill Hader) actions, as the former acting teacher was framed for the murder of his girlfriend, Janice Moss (Paula Newsome). During a recent interview with Variety, Winkler gave his thoughts regarding what his character did after the chaotic events of the series' final episode:
It’s amazing, isn’t it? He’s dead, he has no more life, what kind of life would Barry have had? Gene has no life, he’s in a prison and not able to defend himself. He will be beaten into a pulp. Somebody is going to put a collar around his neck and lead him around. Except, if he ever comes back to his sense, I see him starting a theater club in prison. And I would have to say that cigarettes, fresh coffee, candy can all be bartered.
Who’s going to visit them? Maybe Sally will get comfortable in her life and take pity on him, because I think she did love him. I think she did get something from him, because the first time she starts her acting class, she becomes him. So he must have entered her essence in some way.
There were already polarizing ideas in the air regarding Gene's connection to Moss' death, and things only got worse when the character returned to Los Angeles for the first time in eight years. Janice's father, Jim Moss (Robert Wisdom), wanted to be completely sure that Cousineau was telling the truth, so he came up with a detailed plan to get information out of the suspect. Using a undercover agent to make Cousineau believe that there was a chance for Daniel Day-Lewis to play him in a biographical feature, Moss caught the actor stating that he would place his ego ahead of the truth.
It was all an unfortunate misunderstanding, as Gene was still visibly heartbroken by the death of his partner, even if he never truly learned how to be selfless. And with Barry running around pretending to have a family with Sally (Sarah Goldberg), it was hard for anyone to prove who actually took Janice's life. When Cousineau realized there was no way out for him, he stood firm with his decision of bringing justice to Moss with his own hands, as he used a gun hidden in his house to shoot Barry twice when he came to his house while looking for Sally.
An Unhappy Life for Gene Cousineau
By ending Barry's life, Cousineau could finally rest after more than a decade of dealing with the repercussions of the titular character's actions. Even if ti means he had to spend the rest of his life in prison, Gene knew that nobody else would be a victim of Barry's network of lies. Winkler thinking Sally could visit him in prison before he returned to teaching once he was free only proves how much the actor loved his character. Unfortunately, the people of Barry were never meant to have a happy ending, as the shadow of a violent killer ruined most of their lives.
You can check out Collider's interview with Bill Hader below: