The Bear is an FX original series that stars Jeremy Allen White and is created by Christopher Storer. Currently on its third season, The Bear has quickly become one of the most talked about series of the modern era with an immediate following that make it a must watch with each season’s release.
The Bear centers on Carmen Berzatto- a talented chef from the high end culinary world- sent back to his brothers’ sandwich shop, The Beef, in Chicago after his death. This third season sees Carmy’s newly revitalized restaurant, The Bear, attempt to hold itself together. From the kitchen, to the wait staff, to the management side- everyone faces their own struggles with each other to make things work.
Make your reservations, place your napkins on your laps and get ready for the finest of dining experiences, because today we are talking about The Bear part 3. Spoilers will for sure be ahead so proceed with your own caution if you are not fully caught up yet. Hands!
Michelin Star Worthy?- Overall Thoughts
Much like everyone else, I have several mixed feelings about this season. On one hand, I feel that everything that is resolved is not really what we were hoping to see resolved. Natalie has her baby, Fak talks to Claire, and Carmy finally gets to confront Joel McHale. Great, but those were not exactly what I was hoping to see get figured out. “Thanks, but no thanks” is sort of the theme I came to this season.
That is the bad news, but on the other hand there is still quite a bit worth celebrating here. Performances were still stellar, the writing was good (when it was good), and there were no shortages of moments that add to the power of this series. Look, this season is not a bad season.
At its worst- this season is scattered and unfulfilling, but at its best it is still The Bear. This is where the mixed feelings come in.
Needs Salt- Missing Ingredients
Like I said- my biggest issue with this season is the lack of a satisfying conclusion. This season ends, yeah, and more is to come, but, like, I am still hungry. There were a few things I hoped to see resolved/ finished this season. I wanted Natalie to finally have her baby, for Sydney to get more stake in The Bear, literally anything between Camry and Claire, Richie to be given respect, and a few other things here and there.
The part of me that loved R.E.M.’s Strange Currencies wanted the resolution, or any kind of anything. Yeah, no that did not happen. Molly Gordon was in this season and we saw some flashbacks, some conversation with Niel Geoff Fak, and a little hint what she is up to. I think calling this a waste is a bit harsh, but it sort of was. This holds the same weight as me telling you that you are watching The Bear season 3. I look at that and just say “Okay. Now what?” on repeat.
For a show that typically presents you with a situation that either gives you a conclusion, or gives you a worthy reason to wait for said conclusion, not seeing anything between Carmy and Claire was kind of frustrating. Simply acknowledging it was not enough to satisfy. Imagine if in Oppenheimer they dropped the bomb, and then Robert was not super interested in talking about it because he needed to work on himself.
Needs Paprika- Missing Ingredients (Continued)
Carmen Berzatto and Robert Oppenheimer have two unique situations, of course, but how do you ignore Claire like that? Even moving away from Claire, there was still a lot of missing satisfaction. While I have no issue with Christopher Storer slowing the pace down for the season, I do have an issue, for now, at least, that there was a lot of waiting around within this season. I sat and waited for anything with Claire, I prepared for an episode to ruin my stomach from anxiety, and I held on for answers to anything.
I want to say the only thing I got genuine closure on was Natalie’s pregnancy. Finally she had her baby and I am pleased to see she mended her relationship with her mother. Aside from that I am not sure what else truly satisfied me.
Yesterday’s Specials- Living in the Past
If season 1 was about establishment and season 2 was about growth, season 3 felt like a mixture of living in the past and trying to figure itself out. If I recall correctly, there were not too many flashbacks or moments from the past aside from an episode or two, and a few sporadic scenes here and there.
The Bear does not need that. This series is so good at pushing and driving itself to be better at every opportunity. From season three I gathered that there was not much else from the past to talk about. Yes, the episode about Tina joining the team was great and her chemistry with Jon Berenthal was absolutely phenomenal. Honestly if it were not for how great Tina and Mikey were together, I would say that episode could have been scrapped.
In season one, Carmen needed to get The Beef in order and figure out how Mikey left everything. Season two was about the assembly of The Bear. Kitchen safety tests, improving each chef’s abilities, and a schedule all kept that season in order and moving forward. Season three had several opportunities to narrow in on something to keep it in line. Instead I felt like Storer wanted to answer different questions. This leads me to yet another one of my issues with the season.
Inconsistent Platter- Uncertainty
I promise this is my last section on the negatives for the season. Another one of my greatest issues with this season is the lack of a concise narrative and need for context. I mentioned this a bit in the last section, but The Bear does not need much context, it needs to keep moving forward. I could not find that drive this time.
What I admire the most about The Bear is how it needs to keep moving. When The Bear moves forward that feels more like Storer pushing himself forward. You can tell this is a personal story to Storer. In what way? I am not sure, but it is not only something he clearly cares about, but something that drives him to push himself.
That drive was missing here and it is frustrating. What did Storer want to do with this story? What was he pushing himself to do here? It seems like resolution and clarity were some of the themes here, but by the end of everything it felt closer to uncertainty. Whether it is uncertainty towards what questions to answer or where to take the story or certain characters- there is a lot that feels unsure of itself.
The Non-negotiables, the Fak’s finding each of the possible critics, talking to Claire, snafus in The Bear’s structure, or even a forced shutdown of the restaurant would have been preferable end points. The end of the season was a gathering of established chefs to celebrate the closing of Carmy’s mentor’s restaurant. Look, it was a good episode, emphasis on good, but it answered nothing.
Compliments to the Chef- Good Stuff
I need a break from complaining about The Bear. It pains me to have this much negativity and frustration with The Bear of all things, because it is The Bear. While many of the decisions are not ones I particularly agree with, I do still appreciate that at the end of the day this show is still The Bear. These are still the same characters we love, there is still so much growth everywhere, and the passion is still present. The direction may not be clear, but the love is absolutely still here.
Forks is one of the best episodes from the series and the best from season 2, because now we have a refined Richie. I like Richie in full service mode. I find myself more like him now than anyone else in the show. Richie wants to serve the customer to the highest quality he can for the restaurant. Richie definitely cared about working at The Beef, but The Bear turned Richie into something slick and cool. Ebon Moss-Bachrach continues to be my favorite actor in the show after this season.
Finally Natalie had her baby! I hope to see Abby Elliot get some kind of award for her performance in that episode alone. On top of having her baby, Nat was finally able to repair things with her mom, and that is some nice conclusion to that story. With everything going on this season I am happy to see Abby Elliot get her own episode and tie up her own stories.
Five Star Yelp Review- Good Continued
Speaking of solo episodes- one of the best of the season is Tina’s origin story. At first I was not so on board with yet another story of how someone came to be in The Beef, but the final twenty-ish minutes really nailed it. Do not get me wrong, contextually I think it derails the momentum of the show, but as an episode in itself, it works. Liza Colon-Zayas and Jon Bernthal may have seemed like a strange pair, but after one conversation together, it all makes sense.
Under Ayo Edebiri’s direction, Napkins is one of my favorites of the season. To me it is the kind of episode needed to show more of how great Mikey was, how important Tina is to The Bear’s family, and what The Beef was about. Yes, it was loud, abrasive, and came off as a nightmare, but under it all everyone was family. They call Richie “Cousin” despite no blood relation. It is close moments like Tina and Mikey’s conversation that I wish this season had more of, but I digress.
Going back a bit to a point I made earlier- at the end of all of this I do still appreciate that this is still The Bear. Whatever gripes and issues I have with this season are what they are, and I do not love them, but I do not have any doubts they will be handled next year. My vernacular is not changing any time soon.
Everyone is still “Chef” to me, I say “Doors” when opening my day job, and I always think “Get the [expletive] off my expo now” everytime someone is irritating me.
Accouterments: Extra Thoughts
So far each season I left with a new great rock track to replay over and over. Season 1 gave me Let Down by Radiohead. Season 2 gave me Strange Currencies by R.E.M. and now I leave with Laid by James. Bonus points for everyone singing it. Bonus points are also awarded for bringing in John Cena as a member of the Fak family and Josh Hartnett as Richie’s ex-wife’s new husband.
I mean, come on, what even is this show for getting Josh Hartnett, John Cena, Joel McHale, John Mulaney, Jamie Lee Curtis, Will Poulter, Olivia Coleman, and Oliver Platt as recurring characters? Only The Bear, man. Look, I know I spent a lot of time complaining about the negative things from the show, but there really was a lot of great stuff in this season. The first episode was great and I loved seeing an all Carmy episode. The Fak family is so great and I love Matty Matheson.
I may not have been the biggest fan of the timing, but I did enjoy the conversation between Carmy and Chef Joel McHale. It was sort of exactly what I thought it would be in the best ways possible. Inverse to that I loved his following conversation with Olivia Coleman about what her life would be like after her restaurants closing. It was a cool way to show the different versions of Chef that trained Carmy to be who he is.
The Bear by Christohper Storer
This seems as good of a place as any to wrap it up. I love The Bear. It is my favorite show of the modern era not named Succession. The Bear really is as good as tv gets which is why it hurts to say that season 3 was disappointing. To be as clear as I can- it is not a bad season. It is not the level that it could have been and that is where the disappointment came in.
Through all of this there is still plenty of good, but in the end it is tough not to feel a sense of wanting more. The glimpses of great tucked in throughout kept me holding on to see more of that same stuff, but waiting was what I just kept doing. Yes, I liked a bunch of this season, but there was also so much I wanted to happen.There was so much more that could have happened in this season.
Season 3 of The Bear was fine and okay, but left a bit to be desired. This one stings, it really does. The Bear season 3 is a 7/10. For more reviews on your favorite movies and tv shows check back here at Respect My Region!
