Season 3 of Barry is only two episodes in, but it is already moving quickly and getting much darker than the previous two seasons. Barry Berkman is no longer walking the line between good and bad, and has begun to move completely into villain territory. He has been desperate and broken since shooting up the monastery at the end of Season 2, and seems to be even more dangerous now that he has little to lose. The most recent episode, "limonada," included Barry yelling at Sally in public and threatening the lives of Gene's son and grandson. NoHo Hank, who was previously shown to be living his best life, has just as rapidly lost his new happiness.
Hank and Cristobal, who were previously working together and shown to be very close, were revealed to be dating in the Season 3 premiere. They were also living together and working together. Complications arose in the most recent episode when Cristobal's father-in-law came to visit. As Hank and Cristobal were separated from each other throughout the episode, they were stuck communicating by text. These texts led to a subtle but solid Gilmore Girls reference.
At the beginning of the episode, Cristobal called Hank, and the two of them made a plan for Hank to leave work and come over. Cristobal's father-in-law and his crew then came into town, putting a wrench in their plans. As Hank and Cristobal text with each other throughout the episode, viewers can see that their contact names for one another are Luke and Lorelai. Cristobal has Hank in his phone as Lorelai, and Hank has Cristobal in his phone as Luke.
It makes a lot of sense for Hank's character that he would be a Gilmore Girls fan. One of the scenes of the couple showed Hank and Cristobal watching television together on one of their laptops, so it seems likely that Gilmore Girls is one of the shows that they have watched together. It's also a way for the two of them to be discreet about their relationship, particularly if Cristobal's father-in-law were to look over his shoulder at his phone.
The end of "limonada" showed Cristobal breaking up with Hank in order to protect him from his father-in-law. Cristobal is worried that his father-in-law will kill Hank if he finds out that they are even working together, let alone dating. Luke and Lorelai had their ups and downs throughout Gilmore Girls, though, including multiple breakups. If the comparison to this relationship is any indication, Hank and Cristobal's story is nowhere near over. Whether it be in this season or one of the future seasons of Barry, they might end up getting back together again soon enough.
The first two episodes of Barry Season 3 are available on HBO Max, with new episodes debuting Sundays on HBO.