The Bear (Season 3)
Available on Disney+
Few shows have pervaded public consciousness as quickly as Christopher Storer’s The Bear, with its exquisite performances and razor-sharp dialogue making it easy for audiences to emotionally invest in the trials and tribulations of the chaotic Berzatto family. Subsequently, expectations are high for this third season, which was reportedly filmed back-to-back with its pending fourth installment.
It’s surprising to find that Storer has made the ballsy decision of concocting a third course that is perhaps best likened to Radiohead’s Kid A, an album which saw the English rockers follow a career-defining and radio-friendly album with 50 minutes of experimental and, in some cases, lyricless tracks. While that proved to be a creative decision that gave the band greater creative license in the long term, it left plenty of listeners scratching their heads and alienated some of their earlier fans.
Whether The Bear treads a similar path remains to be seen, but there is an undeniably different feel to this season, which begins with the challenging ‘Tomorrow’, an abstract collage of Carmen’s formative years as a chef. As well as showcasing Storer’s increasing willingness to tinker with the structural convention of his show, this opener makes it abundantly clear that Carmen and, by extension, Jeremy Allen White remains its most vital component.
The issue with that is that it’s debatable whether Carmen’s relentless and self-destructive quest for culinary perfection is The Bear’s most interesting narrative through line. It’s certainly easier to root for less self-absorbed characters like Marcus (Lionel Boyce), Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), whose respective arcs are frustratingly sidelined for the most part. That and the fact that the two standout episodes of this season (‘Napkins’ and ‘Ice Chips’) are Carmen-free-zones might suggest an awkward future lies ahead.
Nonetheless, when The Bear is good it remains one of the best series around. The aforementioned episodes (particularly the latter, which features an outstanding guest appearance from Jamie Lee Curtis) genuinely made me weep, and see Storer continue his penchant for admirably probing the human condition. Subsequently, viewers will find it easy enough to persevere through the more meandering elements of this season, although virtually all will be expecting a greater dramatic pay-off next time around.
