After a middling review from an established newspaper on the restaurant—The Bear—the chefs reunite with a new challenge: Jimmy (Oliver Platt) and Computer (Brian Koppelman) set a timer on their heads, stating that even with the biggest change, their restaurant will cease to exist with its continuous losses. For a show that’s centred on the pressures of the kitchen in a cutthroat environment, The Bear Season 4 sits down to reflect on its past mistakes and lets its episodes breathe in the weight of its quiet moments. Suddenly, the audiences are forced to confront the repercussions stemming from the characters’ behaviours in each episode. It feels as though each of the leads had taken a sabbatical in between episodes to attend sessions with mental health professionals. Several scenes—from the under-the-table conversation at Tiffany and Frank’s wedding, Donna’s (Jamie Lee Curtis) heartfelt confession to Carmen, Sydney’s love for her father, and Ebra’s quest for his sandwich franchise—the writing is impeccable.
But the fourth season seems to be mediocre. There are not many major revelations or magnanimous twists. Instead, showrunners Christopher Storer and Joanna Calo let the sauce simmer until it brews all the right flavours from every character. While Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) is working on verbalising his feelings, Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) is learning to let go and live without fear of losing his close ones, Tina (Liza Colon-Zayas) is honing her delivery timings, and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) struggles to choose between an offer that will change her career and staying with the Bears. Even a character as eccentric as Neil Fak (Matty Matheson) is trying to fit into the modern shoes that the culinary world demands. Every character is doing some inner work to make themselves better. Although The Bear is built, its inhabitants are still in the process of making it a home.
Despite these slivers of brilliant writing for its leads, the showrunners seem to lose certain key ingredients in their overall picture. The inconsistent screenplay is glaring in several episodes, although a few moments feel perfect to the palette. This is by no means a comeback for Carmen for flexing his culinary muscles to give it back to his uncle but only continues to establish the gritty, unpredictable world of the restaurant business. And with Sydney and Richie taking the forefront to save The Bear, the show registers an important line: “It is okay to fall out of things you love”. Beyond providing a compelling world to dive into, shows like The Bear spark the right conversations around mental health and leave a lasting imprint on our consciousness.