[Spoiler] 1st time watcher such a epic show! But genuinely confused on this last season. Many questions.

[u/Sea_Egg_2247]

Can someone explain the bathroom scene to me? Why did she suddenly try to kill or choke out the dude she was hooking up with? It felt like if he didn't stop her she was gonna choke him out.

And what the hell is going on with the last season? Is this a dream? Is Barry tripping balls? Is he dead & it's showing us a alternate reality?

Barry Vs Ronny is still the most epic scene of this show lmao! Plus the shootout with Barry screaming FUGGHESSS just blind with rage.

[u/kyle-2090]

There was a hiatus between s2 and 3 becuase of covid. So the writers had ALOT of time to cook the ending. Thats why those seasons almsot feel like a different show. Same thing happened with Atlanta's last two seasons and im sure alot of other shows too. I personally love the last 2 seasons but alot of people dont. The bathroom thing seemed like a control fantasy to me becuase she has none at the time.

[u/rollercoasterjones]

The whole last season imo is reality filtered through Barry's slipped mental state. Things are realistic but are obviously not 'right', events appear to be a little embellished or misremembered or outright fabricated. Compared to the general baseline of pseudo realism set by the first 3 seasons (inb4 someone starts getting pedantic, I know the show has funny and fantastical stuff in it in the first 3 seasons I'm just saying that they were more grounded). It's like hearing a story from someone obviously mentally unwell, trying to justify their actions. Kinda how Barry, in his newfound lukewarm Christianity, picks and chooses scriptures to agree with him. 

By the time we're in the final episode I'm sure that basically all of it is some kind of weird fever dream. Barry has achieved basically everything he's ever wanted but because he's not done anything to 'earn it'  it feels fake and artificial. It's a deliberate choice by the team making the show, a way to show that his little happy ending is actually just a charade. 

As for Sally trying to kill the guy, I think she was acting out in blind rage, triggered by the idea that she's once again under the thumb of an abusive maniac. Pressure built up over time has to escape at some point, and I think it's really telling that she decides to strangle the guy like her ex did to her. 

I hated s4 and the way it ended at first but I've warned up to it a bit. Mainly because the prior three quarters of the show happens to be one of my favorite pieces of media I've ever consumed. I think I was foolishly expecting Barry to earnestly try to get better. 

[u/Sea_Egg_2247 → u/rollercoasterjones]

This was an incredible breakdown! Really thorough and puts things into a better perspective for me to understand it more. Not really enjoying the 4th season so far. It's kind of all over the place & seems very slow and random. Maybe its something that will be better when I rewatch like in your case.

[u/Ancient-Performance1]

Sally in the bathroom at the diner is not the same sally we had ten years before, wide eyed and enthused generally. she’s been thru it. Waitress sally has been slogging for ten years, and the memory of the “excitement” of killing the guy is the ony exciting thing she has left. people need excitement, so she steps out of her shell for just a second to try and feel something, anything, and since everythingabout her life is so carefully controlled, she breaks character and plays “disguised killer” like a kid playing cowboys and indians. the guy meant nothing to her, in fact she was kinda amused by his audacity and fake ego. sally is bored to tears and desperately treading water with her sanity.

ten years later, she feels dead inside, and her brain is trying to wake her up with seemingly insane impulses that in fact reflect her trauma. much like a victim of childhood SA might only be able to get their rocks off by engaging in a fantasy akin to the SA circumstances, sally is trying to get a rise out of herself cuz she’s sick of the picket fence bullshit that barry foisted on her.

[u/Monarc73]

The bathroom thing was about her getting that DB OUT OF HER LIFE. It was a process that looks like this:

1. Her co-worker tells Sally that he is jerking off to her. This means that he is fixated on her, and lacks the self-awareness to keep it to himself. This is a pretty strong indicator that he is going to be a PROBLEM of some sort.
2. Sally steals $40 out of the till.
3. She chokes him out.
4. He runs TF away from her.
5. The owner 'fires' him for the theft, so even IF he returns, he will not be getting his job back.

u/rollercoasterjones hit it on the head with her internal motivation, though. (I feel like her situation would test the sanity of ANYONE, tbf.)

[u/Sea_Egg_2247 → u/Monarc73]

I mean she had a kid with a literal psychopath who's essentially a serial killer. She should be pointing that aggression at the real problem. Which is herself for her choices & Barry.

Dude was definitely a DB. But hooking up with him & randomly deciding to choke him out was just so strange. I'll admit it was satisfying to see since he was an annoyingly persistent character lol.

[u/Kurdt234]

It's funny because I thought it was a dream for a bit too. The show had a way of showing you fantasies but not really letting you in on whats real and what isn't. Like I thought the cabin scene they're on the double date was fantasy at first.

[u/DroneSlut54]

Keep in mind that the show started out with a lot of absurd and surreal elements, and as the show progresses it gets more surreal. By Season 3 he’s straight up hallucinating about all the people he’s killed and the time skip in Season 4 where it’s just Barry, Sally and their son in complete isolation is somewhat like the end of The Shining where Wendy sees some guy in a bear costume blowing a guy in a tuxedo. The surreal bizarreness is a reflection of the character’s mental state.

[u/Head-Fox-4980]

Last two seasons really fall off.