Since its debut, The Bear quickly became a fan favorite, capturing widespread attention and achieving immediate popularity. Following two critically acclaimed, award-winning seasons, anticipation for Season 3 reached an unprecedented level. However, despite the immense buzz and sky-high expectations, Season 3 ultimately fell short, leaving many viewers feeling underfed and disappointed.
The direction taken in the latest season was unpredictable and sadly, not in a good way. This disparity between fan anticipation and the final result is a notable reminder of the complex nature of maintaining consistent quality on a show of this caliber. While Season 3 has moments where it pushes the boundaries of storytelling with its intricate character arcs and high-stakes moments, it also raises questions about the show’s longevity and whether it can maintain its momentum. Perhaps its biggest blunder is leaving viewers with an uncomfortable question, does the industry know when — and how — to let a great story end?
The First Two Seasons of ‘The Bear’ Served Up Lofty Expectations and High Standards
Image Credit: FX on Hulu
The first two seasons of The FX Series was exactly what the doctor ordered as it started off with an intensity and earnestness that had fans hooked from start to finish. The audience were introduced to Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto (played by Jeremy Allen White), a young, renowned chef who returns to his hometown of Chicago — after the death of his older brother Michael ‘Mikey’ Berzatto (played by Jon Bernthal) — to take over his family’s failing sandwich shop, The Original Beef of Chicagoland, that said late brother, leaves to him. Carmy tries to change the culture of the shop by hiring sous chef Sydney Adamu (played by Ayo Edebiri) and enlisting the help of his sister Natalie ‘Sugar’ Berzatto (Abby Elliott) and family friend turned ‘cousin’ Richard ‘Richie” Jerimovich (played by Ebon Moss-Barchrach).
There are many things that made the first two seasons great. To begin with, the direction and editing served as the show’s secret weapon. This is the magic sauce that took to the show from good to great. From the use of sharp angles, to zoomed in scenes, rapid-fire dialogues, frantic music, and feverish pacing, these elements provided the viewers a glimpse of what a high intensity kitchen environment looks like.
What’s more, the show hit it out of the park in Season 1 with its casting choice. Deciding to pick between the fame spectrum of somewhat household names to fresh faces, the viewers were able to sink into the ambience of the show and suspend all disbelief, instead of being distracted by famous faces. It also gave the actors room to flex their acting chops and put on some of the best performances of that year. However, once the stage and tone of the show had been set, the decision to then bring in heavy hitters in Season 2 for the family dinner in episode 6 “Fishes” just made sense. The performances in both seasons was undeniably a work of art.
Beyond these, one of the many things Seasons 1 and 2 got right was the realistic touch that was put into every corner of the stories portrayed from both main and supporting characters. From the traumatizingly-vivid portrayal of a high-intensity kitchen environment, to the sad but beautiful portrayal of family dynamics, whether through blood relations or relationships formed by bond. Every story felt intentional. None of the characters in the show felt like background characters. They all breathed, moved, and accurately depicted the daily struggles of trying to make ends meet whilst mourning the loss of a loved one.
‘The Bear’ Season 3 Began to Believe Its Own Hype
There is a lot that can be said about Season 3 of The Bear but if forced to whittle it down to one word, it would be “disappointing.” If one had hoped for an expansion of what had already been built through Season 1 and 2, you would find oneself immensely disappointed as right out the gate, in Episode 1, what was shown was a glorified montage. The fast paced and richly packed plot-advancing dialogues were substituted with repetitive images and stories, in which the characters seemed to be stuck in a cursed loop, regurgitating events that had already been witnessed by the audience.
Unlike the first two seasons, there seemed to be no goal or over-arching ambition for the characters. Instead, we got sub-plots that didn’t make sense and character arcs that felt lacklustre. Still there were one or two good episodes that did the heavy lifting. Ayo Edebiri’s exceptional directorial debut “Napkins” carried the heaviest as it stayed true as it offered fans a deeper dive into the characters’ lives by showing a realistic depiction of what it’s like to enter the job-search market after being laid off from a long-time position, as was depicted in Tina Marrero (played by Liza Colón-Zayas) struggle.
Season 3 Could Have Given Us a Trifecta But There’s Hope for Season 4
Image Credit: FX on Hulu
It’s safe to say that this season left much to be desired but with the announcement of the green-lit fourth season, one cannot help but hope that the showrunners take what worked in Seasons 1 and 2, as well as taking what didn’t work in Season 3, to make the right adjustments. Stirring the ship back on track won’t be an easy feat but it’s nothing these chefs can’t handle. And in the sad but likely event they come to the realisation that they’ve done all that can be done with these beloved characters, one hopes that they have the strength to let this wildly successful show run it’s full course and end with a delicious desert.
Can you stand the heat? The Bear is now streaming on Hulu.
