So, NoHo Hank somehow became one of my favorite characters on television, and I need to talk about it – because it happened out of nowhere.
I’ll say that Barry was one of those shows that took me a long time to catch up. Between all the shows we constantly binge-watch on Netflix to the latest 2023 TV releases, there’s only so much I can watch during the day. I had seen Barry many times before, but Season 4 took me so long to catch up.
Eventually, I did catch up with Barry Season 4 – and I realized something towards the end: NoHo Hank, played by Anthony Carrigan, had somehow become one of my favorite characters on television. The more I thought about it, the more it rang true, and he was the person I was least expecting to pop up on that list for me.
So I want to talk about why Hank is the best in the world and why he’s become one of my favorite TV characters – from start to finish.
He Showed A Steady Transformation From Lackie To Higher Up
Barry is a show that has had several character arcs throughout its four-season run. Of course, it's a standard thing for any show to have. Some of my favorites in other television shows are Jamie Lannister in Game of Thrones and Daryl Dixon turning into a badass in The Walking Dead. But for some reason, Hank has a character arc that speaks to me more than many others.
The main reason is that when we first met Hank, he was just a lackey. He was there to help Goran do his dirty work and made a few passing jokes with his funny accent that made him stick out. But throughout the first season, we see that he has some genuine ideas, and he is willing to take the lead when others can’t, even if the concept of comedy often overshadows it.
But over time, we start to see that shift. If anything, Season 3 is really where we see him become a significant boss. While he did take over in Season 2 due to what happened during the finale of Barry Season 1, he had his fair share of ups and downs in trying to keep his people in line – and making bad deals with others.
By the time Barry Season 4 came around, however, he was living large. He had a lovely home, he had a team that was helpful and didn’t undermine him constantly, and he wasn’t afraid to make scary decisions that could cost lives, which we’ll get into a little bit later.
I only started to realize this later on in the series after I rewatched it, but his build-up to the criminal leader he became was one that I did enjoy. I feel that in so many of the shows I’ve watched, the transition of power is seamless, and I guess what I’m trying to say is a big thank you to Barry for being realistic with Hank’s rise.
He Somehow Always Had A Sense Of Humor
Something that everyone always loves is an antagonist that brings the humor. Heck, I don’t see anyone as the hero of this show because each character has flaws, but if you want to be specific, Hank would be classified as an antagonist.
Even if he isn't the lead character on the show, he always had something funny to say and sometimes the most outlandish things that you would never imagine someone to say, which is really what makes him memorable. I think one of my favorite scenes of his is when he’s on the roof with a hitman, and they are trying to kill Barry, and it just ends miserably.
The comedic timing of this alone makes me laugh so hard every time because you would never expect someone leading an entire criminal organization to be so unorthodox and unorganized.
He Always Had Crazy Ideas In Mind, Which Made Him Super Quotable
Say what you want about antagonists – they sure do have some of the craziest ideas and say the funniest things, which makes them so quotable. I mean, one of my other favorite TV characters is Negan from The Walking Dead, so I love a character who can say quote-worthy things and has intense ideas for the future.
Hank is undoubtedly one of those. While I feel that his ideas were never as intense as others I’ve seen in other shows, he was always willing to speak his mind about what he wanted — even if the idea was absolutely, utterly dumb. I have to admire that kind of confidence because it is something I lack.
And, of course, as time goes on, his ideas get better and better, and we start to understand where Hank is coming from. Everything leads to the whole sand debacle.
He Genuinely Had Good Intentions And Positive Ambitions – He Just Didn’t Know How To Get There Without Doing Dirty Work
What makes Hank stand out amongst many other TV villains is that he did have good intentions and positive ambitions later on in the series, but he never knew how to get there without doing the dirty work that he did.
While I wouldn’t classify Hank as an antihero, much of what he does lines up with that concept, especially when he betrays his men to the Chechen mafia because he knows that if he doesn't, they would have been killed. They had talked about starting over repeatedly, but to get there, he decided to take a darker route – and Cristobal didn’t like that.
Years later, Hank turned his entire business into a company called NoHoBal, which is based all around sand importation, to try and keep things cleaner in honor of Cristobal. He did have good intentions – but how he decided to achieve those ultimately led to his doom.
You Can Tell That He Truly Did Love Cristobal
I think out of every relationship I’ve seen on TV, Hank and Cristobal was one I was not expecting in the slightest. I always had a feeling that Hank was a part of the LGBTQ+ community (as someone who is also a part of it), but I still remember the shock flickering across my face when I found out Hank was, indeed, gay.
Either way, his relationship with Cristobal was heartbreaking. I’ll be honest and say that I am a massive fan of enemies-to-lovers movies or even the best romantic comedies. Still, this relationship was done in an organic yet chaotic way that I sobbed when Cristobal was killed in Season 4. I cried for hours because I could see how much Hank wanted to have that life with him.
After everything they went through, Cristobal could never forgive him for what he did to their crew, and that is what led Cristobal to his death. But even years after that, Hank dedicated his company to Cristobal, and in his last moments, he held the statue of Cristobal as if reaching out to him in the afterlife.
That is so sad. So sad. It was so tragic and perfect in every way, and I never would have expected this kind of romance to come from the guy who wasn’t even supposed to be the main character of Barry, according to Uproxx.
I guess the whole point of this article is to thank Barry for giving me an antagonist that I didn’t automatically dislike. While everyone in the cast of Barry had their issues the whole way around, Hank was one of those antagonists with layers, feelings, and things that made him less of an evil person and more of someone trying to find the means to an end.
That makes good television; a complex character you know is not morally good but also not entirely bad. Someone right in the middle, who cares about others but isn’t afraid to do bad things. Someone like Hank – and all his ridiculous quotes and funny outfits. And I don’t think I will like a character as much for some time – at least until I see Jinx again in Arcane Season 2.
