TV Review: "The Bear" (Season 4)
The Hulu series' fourth outing is a much-needed return to form, with a story that is slyly funny and often emotionally devastating.
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Warning: Spoilers for the series follow.
I’ll be the first to admit that I was not a fan of the third season of The Bear. There was just far too much angsting around and people staring off gloomily into the camera, and there were many times when I was wondering when, or if, the plot was going to kick back into motion again. If I’m being completely honest, I was so turned off by the whole thing that I was seriously considering not even tuning in for the fourth season. However, I’m nothing if not a completionist, and so I decided that I would give the show another chance.
Well, I have to say that this season of The Bear not only avoids the navel-gazing pitfalls of its immediate professor but also lifts the show as a whole to new heights. For me, this was the best season of the show so far, pushing some plot lines forward while not stinting on the sort of psychological and emotional depth that has always been the show’s strongest suit.
Carmy and company have grown a lot in the past three seasons, and they’ve done a lot to make the Bear a success. However, it’s becoming increasingly clear that it’s just not going to work, which leads Cicero and Computer to essentially start a countdown clock until the restaurant is going to have to close its doors. This provides a neat little narrative device to heighten the tension and, indeed, all of the characters–from Carmy to Sugar to Syd and Richie–have to contend with ticking clocks of one sort or another. As a result, this season has a more pronounced sense of narrative momentum and energy than was the case in the third season, and it is much better for it.
This season, even more than the others, gives Ayo Edebiri the chance to shine. Syd certainly has to shoulder a lot this season, for not only is she still trying to decide whether she should stay with the Bear or pursue another opportunity, but she also has to grapple with the fact that her father has a heart attack, which serves as a potent reminder that one should never take one’s parents’ presence in one’s life for granted. Suffice it to say that Edebiri is nothing short of extraordinary, and I loved all of the time we got to spend with her, particularly the episode in which she gets to bond with both her cousin (played by an always magnificent Danielle Deadwyler) and her daughter (Arion King). It’s always a pleasure when we get to see Black women bonding on-screen, and “Worms” is one of my favorite episodes of the season.
Indeed, there’s an emotional richness to this season that melds well with the narrative propulsion, and there are many moments that are both deeply funny and potently poignant. Take, for example, the extended sequence in the seventh episode, “Bears,” which focuses on Richie’s ex-wife’s wedding, in particular their daughter’s reluctance to do a dance with her stepfather (played by an ever handsome and charming Josh Harnett). Eventually almost everyone joins her under the table where she’s been hiding, and the result is a remarkably honest look at the things that grown-ups are afraid of, before they end up taking a picture together. It’s a beautiful and funny and touching moment, and it reminded me powerfully of why I fell in love with this show in the first place.
Two other scenes highlight the potent emotional impact of this season, and they both occur in the final two episodes. In the first, Carmy has a much-delayed confrontation with his mother, Donna (played as always with wrenching pathos by Jamie Lee Curtis), in which she finally apologizes for all of the damage she’s done to him and his siblings and in which she admits just how much Mikey’s death damaged her. It probably comes as no surprise that both Curtis and White act the hell out of this scene, but when I say that this whole encounter held me absolutely riveted and left me emotionally devastated, I’m not exaggerating. Both actors excel at excavating the deep hurt and anguish and anger and trauma that these two people have endured over the years and, while there is still a lot of work for them both to do to repair their relationship to both one another and to others, this is a good beginning. Carmy extends the hand of forgiveness and, in true Carmy fashion, seals it by cooking her lunch.
The second gut-punch comes in the finale, as Carmy reveals that he plans to leave the restaurant business altogether, leaving Richie and Sid to own and run the Bear together. The entire episode plays out in the alley behind the restaurant, and this constricted space–as well as the intimate, sometimes stifling, camerawork–keeps us immersed in these characters’ fraught emotional space. By the time that the episode has come to a close everyone has admitted some of their darker and more sinister feelings, and the result is a finale that is cathartic and cleansing for both audience and characters alike. While we all might be sad that Carmy is going to leave the world that has defined him for so long, we also know that this is what’s best for him and the Bear alike. Sugar, at least, seems to realize this at once, since her response when he tells her of his decision is simply to hug him. Of all of his family and friends, she’s the one that seems to understand him the most, warts and all.
At its best, The Bear taps into a deep well of emotional authenticity, and therein lies its enduring power and its strength as a piece of television storytelling. All of the characters, both primary and secondary, have their own arcs. Our dear Marcus, for example, gets named a top new chef by no less a magazine than Food & Wine, while Tina has to try to get her prep time down, and Ebraheim makes his own leaps forward, thanks to some guidance from Rob Reiner’s Albert Schnur. This season continues to grapple with weighty issues like grief and trauma and addiction, but there are lighter moments, too. In short, it’s a delicious dish of a show and, if the fifth season does prove to be its last–and if it holds true to this direction–it could well establish itself as one of the best series of the 2020s.
We can but hope!