Although Bear has developed a loyal and obsessive fan base thanks in part to its inventive depiction of high-intensity SCREAMING in restaurants, its ability to tone down to a calm tone is what makes it exceptional television. One of the standout episodes of the second season was the fourth, “Honeydew,” directed by comedian Ramy Youssef. It centered on baker-turned-pastry chef Marcus (Lionel Boyce), who is given the opportunity to do an apprenticeship in Copenhagen. Filled with leisurely strolls, gentle plant care, cozy houseboats, shiny work stations, and an inspiring kneading by a stoic pastry chef named Luca (Will Poulter), this episode showed that the characters (and the audience) could handle it. Allows you to breathe from time to time.
But the second season will be remembered mostly for the truly zany “Fishes,” with its mind-bending cameos and brutal emotional abuse doled out by multiple members of the Berzatto family. The standouts: Carmy’s (Jeremy Allen White) alcoholic mother, Donna, played with tragic desperation by Jamie Lee Curtis, and the stumbling physical altercation between doomed brother Mikey (Jon Bernthal) and his uncle, Lee, played by a grumpy Bob Odenkirk. The Christmas Eve feast of the seven fishes ends with a completely drunk Donna driving her car up to the front door of the house. The entire dinner sequence is mesmerizing, but also the most disturbing ten minutes of television ever, the emotional equivalent of an Al-Anon meeting in the middle of the Omaha Beach scene from Saving Private Ryan.
At the end of the second season, we find our strange and explosive basset-eyed dog, Carmy, locked in the refrigerator during the opening of The Bear (the restaurant) for friends and family. This set the stage for him to give in to his worst personality flaws: control issues, melodrama, and uncontrolled rage.
The body count from her tirade about being trapped in a refrigerator was enormous, including her staff, especially Sydney (Ayo Edibiri), whose nervousness about her first big moment as head chef and co-owner becomes even more difficult once Carmy is locked in the refrigerator. But even though she was shorthanded and ended the night vomiting from stress in the alley, she managed to pull through and prove that she was capable. Does she really need her little butt? I had to think about it.
The worst victims of the Carmy Pass were, of course, primannnn Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) (“You’re a fucking loser, Richie!”) and Claire (Molly Gordon), his long-suffering girlfriend who came to the meat depot to offer support but instead found herself on the receiving end of blinding cruelty. of Carmy and her commitment problems. The season ended with Carmy wrapped in the coldness of that refrigerator. The Bear was finally open, but at what price?
And that’s where season 3 begins, in a very quiet opening episode the next day titled “Tomorrow.” It’s a stealthy autopsy filled with flashbacks that serve as a recap and prechapter of how The Bear (the restaurant) came to life. We are first shown the beginning of the next morning: an empty early-morning L train, the gray stillness of Lake Michigan, the sun rising hidden behind the grand architecture of Chicago, and then the scar on Carmy’s hand, a reminder of the necessary pain required to execute an impossible and unhealthy dream.
Lilting piano music plays (the same music that played ominously at the height of Richie and Carmy’s shouting match from the locker room) and Carmy assesses the damage in the messy dining room the next morning. He begins rearranging the tables and vases, the perfect playground for his torment-fueled OCD. But of course the harsh light of tomorrow’s regrets combined with his Iron claw His madness demands that he kick a bucket of wine.
From then on, it’s a slow burn of the significant moments of Carmy’s life, most of which took place in the high-intensity kitchens of prestigious Michelin-starred restaurants. The exhausting chaos of becoming a high-level chef is peaceful compared to what he grew up with and the trauma left in his bones. But that dysfunction has served a purpose: he barely flinches as he learns his craft from the most decorated and demanding chefs in the world. Even the hazing he receives during his apprenticeship at the French Laundry from an evil chef (Joel McHale) doesn’t faze him.
As the episode returns to the current cleanup, Carmy apologizes to Syd and Richie inpidually. They barely accept it: trust is not restored. Will The Bear survive? There is only one option:
BEAR SEASON 3 EPISODE 1: LEFTOVERS
QUESTIONS I STILL HAVE: Who is Uncle Lee? We see a flashback sequence of the “Fisherman” dinner and the camera lingers on him long enough to make it seem like this won’t be the last time we’ll see him. What kind of guy is he? Is he the type to have sex with Donna Berzatto or the type to steal money from his own family? Maybe both.
NEEDLE DROP FOR MIDDLE-AGED DAD: The piano music bubbling under the surface throughout the episode was not, as I initially thought, by Phillip Glass, but by Nine Inch Nails. The song is called “Hope We Can Again” and is based on his middle-aged, post-industrial father’s album, “Ghosts V: Together.”
CARMY ARM PORN: Venous.
BEAR – SEASON 3: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
I can’t get enough ofBearSeason 3? For more information, analysis, GIFs, and close-ups of Carmy’s arms, check out some highlights from Jugo Mobile’s coverage:
- Bear Season 3 Review: Carmy Secures Her Role as President of the Tortured Chef Department
- Bear Season 3 Episode 1 Recap: “Tomorrow”
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AJ Daulerio is a writer and editor living in Los Angeles. He is also the founder of The small bow, a recovery bulletin.
