Henry Winkler Says That Barry Series Finale Shocker Left Him Speechless

Henry Winkler, best known for his role as Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzerelli on Happy Days and familiar to a generation of comedy fans as the lovably incompetent lawyer Barry Zuckerkorn on Arrested Development, had maybe the biggest moment in Sunday's series finale of Barry, HBO's pitch-black comedy about a hitman seeking redemption. And according to the actor and producer, when he found out what how his character's story ended, he was so shocked that he was speechless, and needed a moment to collect himself. From this point on, be aware that there will be spoilers for the series finale of Barry, which aired last night on HBO.

In the episode, Winkler's Gene Cousineau, who had been Barry's acting coach when he first started trying to embrace a normal life, took justice into his own hands. This comes a season after the season three finale, in which Gene got Barry arrested.

"So, [Bill] told me [the ending in the middle of the season], and while I'm a pretty verbal fellow, I was speechless," Winkler told The Hollywood Reporter. "I went, 'I what!?' So, I stammered and stuttered a little bit, and then I just walked away and got some avocado toast."

Gene was there in the background throughout the fourth season, always seeking justice, but coming up short. To an extent, it felt like he was never a real threat, and more a cautionary tale or even comic relief, having shot his own son while trying to shoot Barry with a gun that had its own odd backstory involving the late actor Rip Torn.

Gene's life was falling apart by the end of the show, leaving him nothing to lose. He was facing a battery of criminal charges stemming from things that Barry had done, and while his son did survive the shooting, all the circumstantial evidence alienated him from his father, convincing him that Gene was a criminal who shot him on purpose. 

"It was because Gene was being blamed for what he knew Barry did," Winkler said. "Gene seemed to be in one of those rooms where the walls were all closing in toward the center, and so he was being crushed by this evidence. Remember, Barry was the son that Gene wanted, not the kid who was actually Gene's son."

Here's the official synopsis for Barry: 

Disillusioned at the thought of taking down another "mark," depressed, low-level hit man Barry Berkman seeks a way out. When the Midwesterner reluctantly travels to Los Angeles to execute a hit on an actor who is bedding a mobster's wife, little does Barry know that the City of Angels may be his sanctuary. He follows his target into acting class and ends up instantly drawn to the community of eager hopefuls, especially dedicated student Sally, who becomes the object of his affection. While Barry wants to start a new life as an actor, his handler, Fuches, has other ideas, and the hit man's criminal past won't let him walk away so easily.

You can catch the whole series on Max.