In BARRY 302, we see Barry following through on the plan he came up with at the end of 301: He will get Mr. Cousineau a part, and in that way earn forgiveness for what he's done.
It's obviously a crazy plan. That math does not check out. But that's what he's decided to do, so off he goes. And he's really focused--which is such a strong choice for the episode. When a character has a desire they refuse to give up on, it's exciting to watch. Also, it's accessible--there are times in my own writing where I think, I need to make this more clever, or I don't want to reveal everything all at once. And you know, it makes the work harder to get into. When it comes to a character's desire, clarity is an asset.
And to be clear, the way we learn what they desire is not primarily by what they say. People say a lot of things, and sometimes nothing at all. What's essential is what they do.
So what does Barry do in 302: He immediately goes to see his girlfriend, who is running a show, and he demands she give him a part. Their scene together is absolutely incredible for just how hard he goes at her. I'm not sure we've ever seen Barry like this; first he's unrelenting, and then he's just fucking terrifying.
Which is how writers Alec Berg & Bill Hader tell us just how essential this is to Barry. He's not even trying to hide how scary a person he can be. This is that important.
And still he fails--which is great. In a quest episode, you never win right away. In fact, the episode is built for you to succeed only at the end.
So, he fails with Sally. And then what does he do? Like an arrow, he goes to the famous casting director Allison Jones (pictured) and asks her to get Mr. C a part. And again he fails, for the same reason really but it's slightly more specific. Mr. C wasn't just terrible around town, he was terrible to her. It's a very slight difference but it makes the problem with Mr. C, the obstacle to Barry's goal, more personal. He was terrible to her.
Quests always have two basic parts: the action of the protagonist, and the complications his actions cause, which becomes an additional burden or wrinkle on the quest. Barry's moment with Sally is going to have complications long term, but not in the short term. But here with Jones we get a very unexpected complication: She wants to put Barry up for a part. It's not the kind of problem that complications often are, but it does change his quest slightly. The path he's going to take to get Mr. C hired is by auditioning himself and trying to convince those casting the project to hire Mr. C.
The great thing about this wrinkle is that once it happens--once Barry has the audition--it's no longer clear what is going to happen. How does this relate to Mr. C? We don't know, and Barry doesn't say. It's only once he's in the room with the casting people that all that comes out.
And note, he still has to fight to get what he wants. The casting people say no repeatedly. He only wins at the very end by grasping at straws--namely, the speech Mr. Cousineau just made.
And EVEN THAT is not the end. Him going to that audition creates its own complication--Mr. C was left unguarded. And so of course he ran like hell. And now we get some fun complications for him as well. Great choices create complications. He has to get off the street--but then the yard he travels in has dogs. SO. MANY. DOGS. He escapes but now looks like a crazy person. And so when he finds someone and asks for help, they are skeptical. But they do help--mission accomplished!
But no, not so much: because the car coming for him is Barry's. Which is great for Barry; he's got the part and Mr. C. Mission accomplished! Except then he gets smashed by a car and Mr. C gets away.
It's still not over, right? Mr. C gets home and of course Barry is already there. It's interesting to think about how the writers chose to play that out. They could have followed Barry; I mean, he is the middle of yet another complication. He's got to deal with the driver of the other car, getting away, trying to figure out where Mr. C went. But it's a much bigger wallop to stay with Mr. C and then reveal he's not out after all. His story line has the highest emotional stakes; he is trying to escape this crazy person's imprisonment.
It's a good thing to pay attention to: The higher stakes story is always the one you want to turn to when you have choices, because that's where the audience's interest and affections will naturally lie. I'm sure Berg and Hader could have made Barry's situation compelling, but Mr. C is running for his fucking life.
Desire-->Choice-->Complication-->New Choice, and so on. Do that, and you can tell a good story. Add some wrinkles in terms of what the complications or new choices are, and you can tell a great one.
I like this episode so much, tomorrow I'm going to talk about quests again, but just in the context of Barry's conversation with Sally. Every scene is just like every episode, right? The character has a goal, they try to reach that goal and face obstacles along the way (namely the goals of their conversation partners).
In the meantime, if you're interested, take a pilot of yours or an episode of TV, and try to outline the quest. What's the desire? And what are the choices the character makes and complications they face toward that goal?
