I am going to be hard on The Bear, because when the show is flying, it really is wonderful television. If the first season cooked up a solid base for the drama, returning troubled chef Carmen Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) to The Beef, the hectic Chicago sandwich shop owned by his recently deceased brother Mikey (Jon Bernthal), the second season refined it beautifully. Few shows earn the privilege of having episodes that become widely known by their titles, but season two’s Forks and Fishes did just that. They were special, inventive and shaped the sometimes operatic emotional register of the series into clever, compelling drama. Little wonder it has become such a pop culture phenomenon, churning out superstars quicker than plates on the pass.
As a result, it returns for a third season under another level of expectation. But pressure is one of The Bear’s main themes. It squeezes its characters, presses down on them, and we witness the results, as some thrive in crisis mode and some collapse completely. Season two ended with Carmen finally closing down (most of) The Beef and preparing to open his own far fancier restaurant, The Bear. But the return of his professional ambitions come at a price: he stampedes towards greatness at the cost of his two most solid relationships, sabotaging his closeness with girlfriend Claire (Molly Gordon) and the newly reformed “Cousin” Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach).
