Call it superficial, but I watched The Bear entirely because people told me it had a great episode-long one take. What can I say, I like my long takes, but was the rest of the show good too?
The Bear is a show about a fine dining chef named Carmen (usually shortened to Carmy) returning to Chicago to run his family's sandwich shop after his brother who had ran it previously died. It's a great concept and Carmy trying to run what is essentially a diner like a high class restaurant is that perfect blend of drama and black comedy. But what I think really made The Bear work is the fact that it didn't go the easy way out of having Carmy be this whirlwind who storms in and destroys the sandwich shop, rather the show puts in the work to develop every character and articulate why they just weren't compatible. Carmy has his issues, for sure, but there's also Sydney's impatience, Marcus focusing on mastering his deserts over actually serving people, and Richie's devotion to the status quo. The Bear is a bit of a slow burn, building up to a phenomenal penultimate episode where all of the characters collide, though that does mean the first three-fourths of the show doesn't nearly reach those heights (and neither does the finale, but I'll get that).
The Bear is at its best when it is stressing you the hell out. When tensions are high in the kitchen and everyone is screaming at each other and the camera is shaking like mad is when I am most engrossed, mostly because of how on-point every single aspect of the production is during these scenes. The cast is already fantastic, especially Jeremy Allen White as Carmy, but their best moments are during these sequences of chaos. Similarly, the cinematography and editing is particular great in these scenes, further heightening that feeling of urgency. Unfortunately, it kind of leads to the issue where when things aren't tense in The Bear, things get a bit less interesting for me. Another thing I didn't love about The Bear was how unsubtle it got at times. Some of the needle drops felt way too on the nose (that one where Sydney and Tina bond, for example), and the growling bear sounds in the first episode made me laugh at how absurd it got. I also wasn't a huge fan of the finale, but once again, I'll get there.
Highlights:
Review: Ah, the infamous long take episode. I was always going to like Review for the novelty alone, but even outside of the technical stuff, Review was the absolute culmination of everything The Bear was trying to be, twenty minutes straight of pure kitchen mayhem made even better by the unbroken shot. It's the most stressful episode I've seen since the Severance finale, and had me laughing in nervousness by the end. Plot-wise, it's the climax of the series, all of the tensions that have been building up for the last six episodes finally come to a head as Richie gets stabbed, Sydney and Marcus leave, and Carmy completely snaps. Despite being the shortest episode by far, Review was also the most jam-packed with plot.
Braciole: Okay, time to talk about the finale. Braciole was an underwhelming ending to the season because it felt unrealistically neat and tidy. It was as if nothing that happened in Review actually stuck. Richie's stab wound? Barely mentioned. Marcus and Sydney quitting? They're back by the finale's end. The lunch rush having any sort of negative consequences on The Bear? Nope, and while it does end up closing, it's because Carmy closes it on his own terms. Braciole took the easy way out in pretty much every way. The only reason why it's still in the highlights section is because the first ten-or-so minutes were absolutely phenomenal, with the one-two punch of the dream sequence and Carmy's monologue being easily the most emotionally impactful moment of the show.
Overall, The Bear was a solid series, with a great premise, a fleshed-out cast of characters, a strong sense of chaos, fantastic performances and cinematography, and an all-time episode of TV in Review. However, none of the other episodes could really reach the heights of Review, and weak points like a lack of subtlety and very lackluster finale did bring down the show a bit.
3/5 Stars
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