For a while there it seemed like the romance between NoHo Hank and Cristobal Cifuentes (Michael Irby) would be the one “Barry” relationship to emerge intact. After all, Cristobal denounced his superiors for Hank, and Hank rescued Cristobal from his sadistic ex-wife. We hoped that whatever happened to Barry, the two of them could ride into the sunset together.
Of course, it wasn’t to be. While they both start Season Four intent on going legit, with a business selling sand, when Hank’s old Chechen contacts hunt him down, he is forced to return to his old ways. He gets out of his new venture in a typically haphazard way, by luring his new associates into a warehouse to celebrate, before having them unceremoniously drowned in a silo full of sand. Unfortunately, he neglects to tell Cristobal about this development, and when his partner lingers to take a selfie with the henchmen, he winds up caught in the trap that swallows everyone in the room.
For a heart-stopping moment, we think Cristobal died along with all the other gangsters, until we see him barely clinging on to the surface, calling for Hank before he too gets submerged. For anyone who suffers from claustrophobia, this is an instantly triggering scene, as he quickly loses his grip, sinks into the sand, and everything fades to black. Thankfully, he is pulled out just in time, but this moment feels no less terrifying for that.