I’ve never believed Barney about the crowbar; there’s no way he could have had Gordon’s as it was taken by G-Man at the end of HL1. I also believe the one he gives Gordon in Episode 1 is his own from Blue Shift… so the only explanation? G-Man made sure Barney gave him the crowbar.
Behind The Scenes:
The scene with Kleiner wasn’t in the script, added it on a whim while working on this part.
The earth smell got people making funny faces. And speaking of faces, I gotta admire Barney’s ability to shrug off cosmic horror, he looks G-man in the face and the next second he’s joking to while giving Gordon the crowbar.
And speaking of smells, I smell a set-up of vortigaunt mischief in the future.
Something I should have mentioned in the lore segment actually! Thanks for reminding me. XD Barney’s happy demeanour in the scene directly afterwards with Gordon is G-Man’s influence; he makes sure to keep his pawns acting relatively ‘normal’ when needed.
I do apologize, I couldn’t help it with some expressions in this part. But yes, you are correct about the Vortigaunt!