The Bear comes out of hibernation with a vengeance. The TV series has moved beyond its comedy roots and is much more focused on drama with the family, the kitchen, and romance. Jeremy Allen White, with his piercing blue eyes, once again shows why his portrayal of Carmen, as well as Ayo Edebiri’s as Sydney and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richie, have been rewarded with so many accolades from their peers as well viewers and loyal fans.
The first two seasons, created and predominately written and directed by Christopher Storer, kept us coming back for more, especially with high stakes tension and emotion from the talented core characters along with veteran stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Oliver Platt.
Episodes 7 and 8 reached a fever pitch in the first season with compelling writing and performances. The battles in the kitchen between Carm (Jeremy Allen White) and cousin Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) had extreme ups and downs and a lot of yelling, but not without purpose.
The second season brought more complicated family relationships and menus to Carm’s evolving restaurant dream. Jamie Lee Curtis blows the lid off in Christmas Episode 6, “Feast of the Seven Fishes” as Carm is trying to incorporate high end dishes steeped in family tradition. Jamie Lee Curtis as the family’s difficult, troubled Mom is something to behold. It’s a white-knuckle directed by Storer and co-written with Joanna Calo.
The second season also brought romance to “The Chef” with a long-time close friend who was like part of the family. Claire (Molly Gordon) takes an interest in the seething emotional time-bomb, Carm. Showing she cares, they develop a sizzling relationship while the restaurant is going through growing pains to become a reality. All is progressing well until the night of the big restaurant opening when “The Bear” locks himself out of commission in the freezer, cutting off from everything and everybody. It’s a frustrating episode to watch as it sets the table for more in the third season.
Season 3 picks up where Carm left off. The first episode is a collage of high-end food prep to whet your appetite. He’s gone from an Italian Beef stand to a gourmet restaurant, demanding of his staff. Now Carm as The Bear has to learn to control his inner demons and ego after cutting himself off mentally as well as physically from those who care. There’s more attention given to individual characters in serious backstories showing how these characters gritty characters got together. An argument in the kitchen stops when Marcus (Lionel Boyce) comes to work after his mother dies, but there’s even more chaos in the kitchen after the funeral.
In Episode 6, the story shows how Carm’s empathetic brother, Michael Berzatto (Jon Bernthal) took the time to find out about sad customer at the Beef stand, Tina Marrero (Liza Colón-Zayas), and how she became part of the family.
Ayo Edibiri, the very talented actress who plays the smart, creative chef who plays second banana to Carm, Sydney, directed the seering Episode 8. It’s a gut-wrenching study of the strained mother/daughter relationship of Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis) practically in bed with Natalie ‘Sugar’ Berzatto (Abby Elliott) as Natalie is going into labor. Closeups of the completely fearless Jamie Lee Curtis as she displays unbridled, yet restrained, extremes of loyalty and emotion
This 3rd season is incredibly serious with just a few attempts at comic interlude, almost exclusively from Theodore and Neil Fak (Ricky Staffieri, and Matty Matheson). Their scenes with with Molly Gordon (Claire) are cute, but could have been funnier. This is a very intense 3rd season and we’re hoping for more texture and a variety of emotions, including humor, will be included next year. Even so, just like on Carmy’s list, there’s another important non-negotiable. The whole series is a must to watch.
HULU. Season 3 – 10 Episodes. TV-MA
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