Stephen Root’s Surprising ‘Barry’ Evolution Led to Its ‘Funniest Scene’

Barry is working toward a pitch-black—and potentially fatal—series finale. But in its penultimate episode, the show still finds room for the comedy that’s helped temper the darkness since Season 1. In fact, Episode 7 of the final season is particularly funny, in large part due to the murderous goofballs that exist in the world surrounding Barry (Bill Hader) himself.

Chief among those curiously comedic serial killers is Monroe Fuches, played by long-time character actor Stephen Root. After the show’s eight-year time jump at the end of Episode 4, we were left wondering about Fuches’ fate, which was finally revealed in last week’s sixth episode. The former hitman survived his hellish eight-year prison stint, which Barry managed to break out of, leaving his fellow hitman and longtime mentor in the dust. And by the time he exits jail, we learn that Fuches is no longer Fuches. Now, he’s the Raven.

While we last saw him as his fellow prisoners’ punching bag, Fuches returns to the show fully reborn, sociopathically calm, and heavily tattooed. The Raven has a loyal crew of lackeys who listen to and would never abandon him, unlike his protégé. The Raven’s even got a new, perpetually silent girlfriend, whose daughter is her mouthpiece.

Read more at The Daily Beast.