Netflix’s Grace and Frankie may revolve around best friends Grace and Frankie but their family members are just as important to the series as they are. Before Robert and Grace went their separate ways, they had two daughters, Brianna and Mallory. And whether she likes it or not, Brianna is, essentially, Grace’s protege. She took over the family business when her mother Grace retired and the two share many similarities in how they approach relationships, communication, and yes, drinking.
Brianna may seem hard to love but she’s still worthy of being loved, which is where Barry comes in. The two met at work and as different as they are, they both make each other better. It’s obvious Barry is the sweeter, more patient of the two and Brianna can come off very selfish and controlling. While their future seemed secured by the end of the sixth season, we’re going to take a look back at some of Brianna’s rudest moments with Barry before the final season hits Netflix in 2021.
She Put Cameras Around The House To Watch Him With Spit
In the third episode of the fourth season, Barry and Brianna appear to be taking the next step and living together. While Barry is in between jobs, Brianna asks him to take care of Spit’s (her dog) very specific needs throughout the day.
Brianna asks a lot of Barry, making sure he transitions Spit’s dog bed throughout the day to gain optimal sunlight and giving him exactly 30 pellets of food for lunch. In a nutshell, she’s testing him. She set up doggy cameras so she could watch Barry’s interactions with Spit and as one could have guessed, Barry found the cameras and was not pleased.
She Hid Their Relationship From Her Mom And Co-Workers
As the boss, it’s understandable that Brianna wanted to keep her romantic relationship with one of her subordinates under wraps. However, Barry was proud of his relationship with Brianna and didn’t want to hide his feelings for her in public. This threw Brianna through a loop because she’s never really ready to face a relationship head-on.
She eventually told the office in a funny way to please Barry but she kept it from her mother, knowing she would judge their relationship. And in “The Art Show,” that’s exactly what Grace did when she found out.
Making Light Of Barry Quitting
In season three, Brianna finds out that Barry is very serious about creating a future with Brianna. He believes in marriage and kids and wants it with her. However, marriage, kids, and any future-talk puts Brianna in her own version of an anxiety attack and she denies him of his wants. Barry had no choice but to leave the relationship and ultimately quit his job.
In his exit meeting, Brianna has a hard time conveying her feelings so she makes light of the situation and jokes around about the poor exit meeting. This, of course, only made Barry more upset. All he wanted was for her to take him and their relationship seriously for once.
And Making His Job With Lauren Uncomfortable
Brianna eventually gets Barry back in her life and he moves back to California. However, instead of working at Say Grace, he gets a job at Say Grace’s competitor Natural Faces. The problem with Natural Faces is that Brianna’s nemesis Lauren runs the company.
This would mean that her boyfriend would be working for her nemesis, which drives Brianna crazy. She made Barry uncomfortable by talking poorly about his new boss—especially since Lauren pays him more and treats him with respect—and even told him not to take the job, which was a real selfish move on Brianna’s part.
She Never Told Him That Say Grace Was In Trouble
It took a rough meeting with Lauren, Brianna, Barry, and Mallory for Barry to learn that Say Grace was in trouble. Lauren offered to buy Say Grace from Brianna after learning that many of Say Grace’s employees were looking for jobs elsewhere in fear of the company going bankrupt.
This was the first Barry had heard of Brianna’s job going up in flames, which upset him deeply. He could have helped in numerous ways and could have been a calming soundboard for her in her time of need. But once again, he was left in the dark.
She Was Against Him Having Children And Tainted The Experience For Him
To be fair, Brianna’s decision to not have children and to not get married is respectable and a decision that is her own. As much as Barry tried to ignore her feelings around this area, she has never kept him in the dark about her distaste for both. Barry has even blamed himself for hoping she would change her mind in season six.
But before that happened, Barry was approached by his college friend Erin and her partner Liz to be the sperm donor for their child. This could be Barry’s only chance to procreate and he wanted to jump at the opportunity. Instead of respecting his view to want children (like he did for her), she judged him with every step he took to help out his friends.
She Lied About Being Okay With His Guardianship Over His Child
With Barry preparing to give his sperm to his friends so they could start their family, the topic of guardianship was brought up. Liz and Erin wanted Barry to be a guardian of their child in case one of them passed away. He would be as involved with their child as he wanted to be and would be known as Uncle Barry.
Not like Brianna had a say in this decision, but she encouraged Barry to become a potential guardian for their child because the odds of two women passing away early in life are pretty slim. But once she found out both women are daredevils who love to take risks, she retracted her support for his guardianship.
She Took The Job In San Francisco Without Talking To Him About It First
In the sixth season, Trust Us Organics acquires Say Grace, putting Brianna in a new position business-wise. And while Brianna was talking about her new job title, she was offered a supervisor position in San Francisco. Without taking the time to think about it or talk it over with her boyfriend Barry, she accepted it on the spot and told him afterward.
Her decision to up and move their relationship without talking about it first made Barry realize that Brianna will always be looking out for herself first and their relationship second.
Her Fear Of The Future Hinders Their Relationship
While Trust Us Organics is acquiring Say Grace, Brianna and Barry meet with Trust Us’s human resource department. Since they are employees who are also in a relationship, the company wanted to keep tabs on its couples to make sure everything is consensual and kosher. The meeting, however, did not go well as it proved that they were more separate than together.
They weren’t married or engaged, he lived with her but wasn’t on the lease, they don’t share a bank account because Brianna doesn’t like to share money, and they don’t even share leftovers. This realization made Brianna realize how stagnant their relationship really is.
She Can Be Embarrassed By Him
Barry is a total sweetheart. He’s described as a nerd by his friend Liz and gets excited over numbers, love, and food. Brianna, on the other hand, is the complete opposite.
And although she loves Barry and their relationship, she has a hard time accepting all of Barry’s quirks. This can lead her to be embarrassed by things that make him passionate. Like his dedication to short ribs in season six.
