If I had a nickel for every time the second episode of the fourth and final season of an Emmy-winning HBO series referenced The Eagles' classic "Desperado," I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.
The shows in question are Barryand Succession, and their "Desperado" references aired within weeks of each other. Succession's came first, with the release of "Rehearsal," the second episode of Season 4. The episode sees Connor Roy (Alan Ruck) wallowing in misery before his wedding. He persuades his siblings Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Shiv (Sarah Snook), and Roman (Kieran Culkin) to go to karaoke with him, where he asks the fateful question, "Think they have 'Desperado' by the Eagles?"
"I would imagine they do," Roman says, before adding, "longest night of my life."
SEE ALSO:Have 'Succession' and 'The Last of Us' started the next big TV trend?Luckily for Roman, Connor does not perform the Eagles' hit about a lonely "desperado" figure who is afraid to settle and find love. Instead, he opts to sing Leonard Cohen's "Famous Blue Raincoat," which ends up being much worse for Roman. ("Guantanamo-level shit," he calls it.)
"Desperado" only gets a quick mention in Succession, but it's a perfect character moment for Connor. Of course he would try to sing a deeply sad, soft rock song at a karaoke bar — one of the absolute worst choices you could make at karaoke. The gag fully encapsulates his self-indulgent melancholy, while his siblings' reactions to the proposed song capture their own discomfort and exasperation with the entire scenario.
HBO's "Desperado" shenanigans continue two weeks after the original airdate of "Rehearsal," with Barry's "bestest place on the earth." (Also episode 2 of Season 4.) Turns out that Succession's "Desperado" name drop was just a teaser for the "Desperado"-related ridiculousness Barry unleashes.
Desperad-oh no.Credit: Merrick Morton/HBOSaid ridiculousness revolves around acting teacher Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler). After helping turn Barry Berkman (Bill Hader) in for the murder of Janice Moss (Paula Newsome) at the end of Season 3, Gene promises Janice's father Jim (Robert Wisdom) that he won't speak to the press. Neither wants to turn her death into a media circus.
However, Gene can't resist the call of publicity for his heroism, so he devises a way to tell his story anyway. He brings Vanity Fairwriter Lon O'Neil (Patrick Fischler) to his old theater, where he performs an absolutely cringe-worthy one man show about his time with Barry. The song that plays when Lon first enters the theater? "Desperado."
But not just any version of "Desperado" — Gene chooses the Langley School Music Project's cover of the song. A simple piano accompanies a lone child's voice, creating a haunting, earnest effect. That effect immediately reaches peak hilarity when juxtaposed with Gene's show. It's already such a self-serving, egotistical act, but the addition of this cover of "Desperado" nudges Gene's performance right into the sweet spot where it's so overly serious and dramatic that it loops back around to comedic brilliance. Hader, who directed the entirety of Season 4, chose the song while planning out the season in July 2022.
Two nods to the song in two of HBO's highest-profile shows within two weeks of each other is one mighty strange coincidence. Even stranger? "Desperado" also links back to HBO's biggest show of the year so far: The Last of Us.
The much-raved about third episode of The Last of Us is titled "Long, Long Time," after the Linda Ronstadt song of the same name that plays a key role in the love story between Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett). Ronstadt recorded a cover of "Desperado," but the connections don't stop there! The original members of the Eagles first met while playing backup for Ronstadt.
I know there's likely no ploy from HBO to engineer a "Desperado" renaissance, but consider: The Last of Us airs first, making us think about Linda Ronstadt. (And perhaps...her backing band?) Then, Succession mentions "Desperado." Not long after, we finally get a version of the song in Barry! Has all of HBO's 2023 programming been leading up to this moment? Will "Desperado" pop up in True Detective: Night Countryor House of the Dragon Season 2? Or am I just sitting alone in front of my "Desperado"-HBO yarn wall, grasping at straws? You and I both know it's the last one, but as far as niche TV trends go, this has to be one of my favorites.
Succession is now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes airing at 9 p.m. ET Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.
Barry is now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes airing at 10 p.m. ET Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.
Season 1 of The Last of Us is now streaming on HBO Max.
TopicsHBOStreamingThe Last of Us
(责任编辑：百科)
Metallica to seek and destroy your eardrums with new album this fall
Standardized digital car key would work with iPhone or Android phones
Thanos reads Trump's tweets on 'The Late Show' with Stephen Colbert
Trapping carbon underground will keep it there for thousands of yearsUber's $100M settlement over drivers as contractors may not be enoughIs Samsung's Galaxy Note7 really the best phone?
On this week's 。 MashTalk。, Lance, Pete and I talk about the new hot smartphone in town: Samsung's Ga
...[详细]Very obedient dog waits patiently outside cafe that doesn't allow pups
Any cafe that doesn't allow dogs is basically the last place on earth we'd like to spend time. But,
...[详细]Pornhub is introducing closed captioning for their porn
Pornhub, the ever popular purveyor of adult videos, has announced it's adding closed captioning to s
...[详细]People are texting Stephen Miller, the guy responsible for separating families at the border
Enraged and concerned citizens are now texting one of the men that's largely responsible for tearing
...[详细]'The Flying Bum' aircraft crashes during second test flight
Airlander 10, the world's largest aircraft, on Wednesday crashed at its Cardington Airfield base in
...[详细]'Gears of War 5' is only one of THREE 'Gears' reveals at E3 2018
There's no new Gears of War game coming in 2018, but boy howdy is 2019 going to be a busy one for al
...[详细]Michael B. Jordan roasts Roseanne Barr at the MTV Awards
Michael B. Jordan just delivered an efficient burn to disgraced star Roseanne Barr.Accepting the awa
...[详细]E3 2018: All the biggest reveals from Microsoft's Xbox showcase
This year's Xbox E3 press conference completely surpassed last year's, revealing a whole bunch of ex
...[详细]Dressage horse dancing to 'Smooth' by Santana wins gold for chillest horse
Okay forget everyone else -- this horse named Lorenzo is our favorite Olympic athlete now. 。Lorenzo,
...[详细]This adorable little girl's graduation dance will warm your heart
If all grads were half as cute as 5-year-old Aubrey Toby, graduation ceremonies would be 1,000 perce
...[详细]Katy Perry talks 'Rise,' her next batch of songs, and how to survive Twitter
Grimes is here to actually make you feel good about owning a Mac
