Season 3 of the hit Hulu show, The Bear, has finally dropped, and the feedback has been very divided. Opening X (formerly Twitter) over the past day has been like entering a live minefield, full of warring opinions. As someone who enjoyed watching the season, but has plenty of my own critiques as a long-time fan, I want to soothe the masses with some pros and cons of one of streaming's most premiere shows.
The Setup Of Season 3
Season 3 dials up just how much these character’s pasts affect their present, more so than ever before. While past seasons dedicated whole episodes to a character’s development and backstory, this season let most of the characters exist in the current day, while being haunted by the memories of their past. Haunting was brought up a lot this season, a main theme of the story are. So much so, it was a joke among these tight-knit families.
The first episode, “Tomorrow,” finds lead Carmy (played by Jeremy Allen White) stuck in scenes we’ve seen before — being berated by his mentor, played by Joel McHale, saying goodbye to his sister Sugar (Abby Elliott), and working at the infamous restaurant Ever with Will Poulter and Olivia Coleman’s characters. Right off the bat, the episode leans hard into its more surrealistic elements with quick cuts and close-up shots. No other episode completely focuses on the past besides episode 6, “Napkins,” which centered on reliable sous chef Tina (played by Liza Colón-Zayas).
While the flashbacks can get tiring, the pieces we do see of The Beef’s day-to-day operations kept me invested. Ayo Edibiri was absolutely the star of the season for me, and her character’s, Sydney, constant almost-conflict with the rest of the kitchen took some very impressive acting chops. Sydney and Carmy grow more and more alike with each season and seeing how their stilted conversations seem to drive a bigger wedge between them is painful because of how much they need each other. Her particular haunting comes from an offer that Ever chef, Adam Shapiro (the name of both this character and his actor) made her — to leave The Beef and come be the chef de cuisine, (an executive chef role) at his newest venture. Sydney knows her worth and the jarring truth that this kitchen is possibly just holding her back, but she has come to love each of The Beef’s employees so much she can’t do anything about it.
What Didn’t Work
The main conflict of the season comes from waiting for the reviews to come in for The Beef. Their financier, Uncle Jimmy (played by Oliver Platt), constantly pops in to remind everyone that the restaurant isn’t particularly financially viable. While he is willing to step off and have heart-to-hearts with his nephew, Carmy, his friend and financial advisor, “The Computer” (played by Brian Koppelman) is much more realistic. He says that unless their reviews, particularly a big one from the Tribune, come out positive, they’ll have to shut down.
However, the actual results of the reviews and experience of eating in the restaurant are cut up in quick flashes in between other characters’ — often Carmy’s — flashbacks. It makes for a very hard-to-watch show at points, showing us scenes we’ve often seen multiple times before instead of actual plot. It also means the characters barely end up progressing by the end. While this is what the show is aiming for, it can become tiring stretched out over three seasons.
I couldn’t help but wish for some more character development, too, considering The Bear has always been incredibly character-driven. The characters' constant banter and relationships keep the show afloat though. The Bear has always toed the line between a comedy and a drama, and this season really makes you feel the strain of that. The comedy is still strong, and I’ll never tire of seeing these characters interact. A particularly exciting cameo from John Cena in episode 5, “Children,” made me laugh so much I could almost pretend I was watching the first season again. Introduced as Sammy Fak, he does little more than sweep the floors and smoke cigarettes — and he doesn’t have to!
The most egregious use of flashbacks would be in episode 10, at the Ever closing party. All of Carmy’s old friends tell stories of their days in the kitchen together, taking up about half of the episode, but they’re consistently interrupted by Carmy’s flashbacks of working under the cruel David Fields (played by Joel McHale). While it's strange enough to have these characters we’ve mostly never met before take up so much of the runtime, it becomes borderline unwatchable with the flashes of Fields every other line.
However, the last episode is saved, as per usual, by Sydney. In an afterparty hosted by Sydney, following the dinner at Ever, she has a panic attack on her back porch, torn between The Beef and Shapiro’s offer. The flashbacks she’s overwhelmed by make sense for the intoxicating, chaotic vibes of this party, and she’s reduced to a debilitating state we’re used to seeing Carmy in.
The actual final scene of the show cuts over to our lead, as he’s walking back to his own place. He checks his phone to see a handful of missed calls and a Google notification — the Tribune article just dropped. In a to-be-expected sequence, the review is shown in flashes, as mixed as the reviews for this season of the show. We’re left in a frantic state just like Carmy, which is, of course, where this cliffhanger leaves us.
While I think this season was a bit of a letdown after the past two seasons really just knocked it out of the park, that doesn’t necessarily make this bad. The Bear is an excellent show, and I can tell that with this season, the show runners wanted to experiment with the way they were telling the story. At the very least, these episodes will provide ample theory-fodder for what’s to come. I’m curious to see how season 4, the reported final season, sticks, or misses, the landing.