TV review: 'The Bear' returns for one last intense, dramatic day
by Fred Topel · UPILOS ANGELES, June 25 (UPI) -- The Bear, returning Thursday on Hulu and FX at 9 p.m. EDT, concludes the restaurant drama with signature intensity. However, the journey through five seasons has led to rewarding maturity amongst its ensemble of characters.
The eight episodes, seven of which were provided in advance, all take place on one day from morning to dinner service. Though not as strict about real-time as 24 or The Pitt, it gives the season a compression that works effectively as a microcosm of every day.
There is a bit more of a ticking clock for The Bear, though. The restaurant has not become profitable yet and Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) revealed his plans to quit in Season 4.
So closing for the day is not an option, and it's a day of problem solving. Even if they pull it off, tomorrow is not necessarily guaranteed, though they'd have a lot of happy customers telling the story of The Bear.
The writing highlights the nuances of the interpersonal dynamics, where even people trying to be calm and nice creates pressure. After all, the show's catch phrase "Yes, chef" was intended as a term of respect and became a sign of anxiety.
So characters walk on eggshells around each other, but the viewer can still feel the stress and agenda. Bad weather means more problems to solve, but also higher demand which would save The Bear in better circumstances.
Episodes always take time to showcase beautiful food, from individually placed brussel sprouts to meats both raw and roasted. Prep tips aren't really suggestions and requests for space and repairs are urgent.
Flashbacks to earlier seasons, a montage of yelling essentially, shows how far they've come. At a certain point, there's no eradicating stress in a high pressure environment and how to handle it is always an experiment in progress.
Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) makes the most conscious effort to calm himself. It can be amusing that it doesn't work, but he's come the furthest from his Season 1 character.
The season premiere does tie-in with the ending of the standalone episode "Gary" released in May. One character not addressed in the first seven is Claire (Molly Gordon) but perhaps her story is resolved, or has a moment in the finale.
The pressure creates both positive and negative confrontations, but overall the atmosphere is full of support. One character has an idea and the others know how to help. We should all have such support in any endeavor, or just life let alone in a restaurant.
The episodes balance the ensemble evenly. The main cast have their own subplots - Chef de Cuisine Sydney (Ayo Edeberi), sous-chef Tina (Lisa Colon-Zayas), Marcus (Lionel Boyce) and Luca (Will Poulter) working together and Natalie (Abby Elliott) and Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt).
Even Jessica (Sarah Ramos), whom Richie hired to expedite turnaround time, is there fulltime. Maintenance and wait staff come and go but even they get a few juicy scenes of their own.
Episode run times vacillate to contribute to stress too. The first three are under 30 minutes and are already stressful. When they approach 40 and pass 50, it's sustained tension.
The final episode will be available to both viewers and critics on Thursday. It's hard to imagine it won't effectively conclude the saga, but wherever it ends, the journey has been captivating.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.