On Barry’s Use of “The Wizard” — Never Talking, Fuches Spreads His Magic

Prior to its release, I wondered if Barry S4E6 was entitled “The Wizard” in reference or allusion to The Wizard of Oz, and you could argue that it is. Certainly one could build a chain of resonances with what happens to Sally in the episode and how it culminates in her thematically “not being in Kansas anymore,” and I endorse that fully.

However, it seems clear that the title of the episode most directly comes from the song that scores the scene where Fuches The Raven is released from prison: Black Sabbath’s “The Wizard” from their 1970 self-titled debut album.

It’s the first we see of Fuches after the show’s eight-year time jump. His hair is slicked back. He’s covered with tattoos and wearing nail polish. Overall, this man who was once Monroe Fuches appears transformed into The Raven, exuding a kind of raw sex appeal we’d probably prefer to not be turned on by (but we are a bit anyway).

And “The Wizard” provides the perfect soundtrack to this scene. Whether one recognizes the song or not, it’s grungy and seductive at the same time—a perfect example of how Sabbath began by bringing a distinctive sound into the world, because there’s still nothing quite like it. It’s not rock so much as a filthy brand of blues, and if we’re tempted to call it metal, we should note how that classification is a bit retrospective and hangs on what Black Sabbath would become.

Nevertheless, the tune makes clear immediately who Fuches has become and adds plausibility to his quick and wordless seduction of the barista who serves him coffee (in a moment that is, to be clear, also hilarious).

The lyrics to “The Wizard” are not heard in Barry S4E6—the use of the song cuts off before it gets there—but that doesn’t stop them from being fitting:

Misty morning, clouds in the sky
Without warning, the wizard walks by
Casting his shadow, weaving his spell
Funny clothes, tinkling bell

Never talking
Just keeps walking
Spreading his magic

Evil power disappears
Demons worry when the wizard is near
He turns tears into joy
Everyone’s happy when the wizard walks by

Never talking
Just keeps walking
Spreading his magic

Sun is shining, clouds have gone by
All the people give a happy sigh
He has passed by, giving his sign

Left all the people feeling so fine
Never talking
Just keeps walking
Spreading his magic.

Fuches has found his magic in a breezy confidence, which he’ll later tell NoHo Hank came from accepting himself for who he is. Throughout the final run of episodes in Barry’s final season, we see a Fuches who has learned to operate without fear and is fundamentally a man who is committed to living in the truth.

That’s not to say he’s a good man! The Raven’s truth includes a willingness to brutally murder others, and he does this without apology. And in his showdown with Hank, we have to note how his position flows from an unwillingness to go along with the way Hank is lying to himself.

This all tracks with the Fuches we’ve come to know over the entire course of Barry, but the man has undergone a conversion. “The Wizard” serves to signify this conversion, and to make us understand.

Without talking, we feel his magic.