After reading people's reactions here the day after the release, I went in with pretty low expectations. Thought it would be a pretty mediocre season. To everyone saying there is no real storyline, you're right, and I believe that is the aim of this season, and part of what makes it so good. It's ten episodes of diving deeper in the story as their journey in the new restaurant continues, and the remaining characters' stories.
I sometimes wonder how much of this show is scripted and how much is just improvised with some guidance. A lot of episodes have a natural conversational tone between characters
I noticed and wondered about that too. Like the scene with Keller, for example. They probably just told him to talk to Carmy like he's a new chef on his first day and let them go without any dialogue written for them.
Same with the funeral scene. They probably gave them some drinks and said to tell some war stories.
HEEE HEEEE HEEEEE
Ice chips was brilliant from the start.
CAN I SCREAM!?
Currently watching this episode and crying. Phenomenal acting
I liked that this season took the foot off the gas a bit…still high intensity but at a simmer. I could’ve done without all the Faks, lol but a little comedy ain’t bad. The portrayal of Carmy’s ptsd is spot on, and the building of that this season was powerful. I liked that this season was like a tree that branched out a bit and will have to comeback together for all the big conclusions… sometimes it’s not all destination, but about the journey…
A bit of comedy would have been great; the problem is that the Faks aren't funny. They are moronic. It's a real shame because back before they multiplied and became the three stooges, Fak was a favorite character of mine. Now he's absurd.
You haven’t worked in a kitchen if you haven’t dealt with a Fak or two. Lovable but easily the first person to piss you off in any situation.
I thought it was funny 🤷♂️
It feels like a matter of degree, doesn't it? A measure of Fak is almost essential to the group dynamic ... at the same time it feels like we just got
TooMuchFak
I disagree. I think the Fak time was fine. I think we had other wasted time that didn’t advance what little plot there was, such as the entire first episode, the constant flashbacks, the long B-roll Chicago shots, etc.
The Faks were such a nuisance. I cringed the whole time.
I just finished the last episode. The way it ended with chef Andrea partying with everyone at Sydney's apartment I think it was a fabulous ending. The cinematography was different all the tight shots of people's faces showed all their emotion. I feel like they filmed this for us to be in their mind, like us get in their head. To feel what they're thinking and feeling. I didn't know what to expect I didn't want to read any thing before it came out I just wanted to be surprised and I definitely was.
The show is called The Bear. So I’m glad we’re getting a season of just seeing the ins and outs of how The Bear operates. We don’t need constant major plot points. Give us great interactions between these characters that we love and show us the ins and outs of the day to day.
Yes. The best thing about The Bear is the cast of characters. All of my favorite episodes are the ones that focus on the characters and the backstory that made them who they are and led them to this moment. That's where The Bear shines brightest, IMO.
We didn’t get a lot of great interactions though. Carmy is the main character and his relationship with Syd was strained, I don’t think he talked to Richie past episode 3, he talked to Natalie maybe once or twice about the baby and never again once the baby was born, and didn’t talk to Claire. Those were his major people to interact with from season 2, and they were all worse both in quality and quantity. I would say Marcus and Cicero were the only ones he seemed to be the same or better with. Hard to feel like we have great interactions when the main character and many of the others seem to be in bubbles and not working together. And I know I focused on Carmy, but I don’t think any of the other side interactions stepped up enough to replace what was lost with him.
But we barely saw that. There was about 3 minutes of front of house scenes the entire season. It was absurd
Didn't see shit about their day to days...it was just a bunch of flashbacks the whole season or just sitting in a room talking for 10 minutes. Horrible season, like 2 episodes are watchable
There was two episodes of flashbacks, one is the premiere and the other is the Tina episode. Both absolute fire.
I thought the first episode was great. Loved the nonlinear storytelling
That's definitely one opinion
We don’t need constant major plot points but we do need some major plot points.
Wait, what? One of my main complaints was that this season was barely about the actual restaurant/what they were doing on a day-to-day basis.
I fell for the show partially because I love cooking shows and, well, food porn. This season was really lacking in that element. Much more so than the first two.
Glad you enjoyed it, but for me it just felt hollow and empty.
All the characters finish in basically in the exact same spot . They didn't grow, stumble, or face new challenges.
Technically the filmmaking of the show remains high quality, other than some very weird tonally goofy scenes (John Cena?....).
Ultimately it just felt like a waste to me of not just my time but all these super talented creative people who work on the show.
It felt flat to me as well. Tina’s ep was good, but that’s not enough to save this season for me. I needed more interactions, fewer close ups.
Tina’s episode was a great piece of television and also wildly unnecessary. Her backstory in the context of the restaurant and her place there is not relevant. She loved Mikey, was threatened by Syd, and then bought in and went on her journey. How she got there 6 years prior I didn’t need whatsoever. If that entire episode was Tina working with the other station chefs struggling with Carmys demands it would have felt a lot more connected to the story.
Her story is relevant in that it provides a richness to the Bear and illustrates what Chef Terry says in her farewell address-when it's all over, "you won't remember the food, you remember the people. " That the relationships that make the restaurant function are rich and multilayered and long lasting. I really respect that the show does this. Each character is a world unto themselves, with fascinating life histories. Sweeps and Marcus both had possible futures as professional athletes. I hope they do an episode on just Ibra. The compassionate curiosity and nonlinear storytelling are remarkable and IMHO award worthy. If this show just showed a laser like focus on Carmy and his ptsd driven perfectionism, it would just be another tiresome cooking show. Something beautiful is happening instead.
What Tina was doing years before she met some of the people there, especially Syd and Carmy who were the only ones to actually hear that speech, doesn’t matter. Only their experiences together do and they weren’t there for any of that. The only thing this did was provide a backstory to the audience and delay actually moving the story forward.
I agree! I see it more as a stand alone episode and it was well done, and they threw it in there somehow, but at least there was a dialog and interaction instead of endless close ups and montages.
Yeah that was a nice ep. But doesn't hold a candle to the S1 flashback ep or the Thanksgiving ep in E2.
Unpopular opinion probably but watching Tina have hyperbolic experiences with prospective employers treating her like trash rang as really inauthentic. Her scene with Mikey was absolutely amazing though.
Yeah I feel like we could have had just the Mikey scene as part of another episode, we didn’t need 30 minutes of job hunting when we know she ends up at the Beef. Notably though that episode was directed by Ayo Edibiri (Syd) and I think she did a great job
I thought this was undoubtedly the worst season and not even close to 1 or 2.
Storywise, it's easily the smallest, but that probably makes sense because s1 and s2 you're going from a little joint to a 5 star restaurant. Realistically, their main problems would be mental and financial in s3, which I think they did well. John Cena felt like the only forced thing.
Cinematically, I think it's the best season. It was the most relaxing season for me and enjoyable, and it went by incredibly fast. I wish there were more episodes, but it was my favorite season. The bottle episode ice chips felt way too long and a waste of time.
Same I actively did not like this season.
I also loved the season! I think that after last seasons events, Carmy reverting to old coping patterns to avoid the hurt he’s feeling makes sense. To me, I felt like I was watching a character fall into the same patterns that his brother did. Self-isolating, addiction (overworking), not sleeping.
He apologizes to Sydney, says he’s not going to leave her alone and then he doesn’t. He’s not trying to override everything she does, but if he stops working then he has to think about what has happened in his life and he can’t do that. I think that’s so interesting for his character arc.
Natalie has her baby and he doesn’t show up for her, doesn’t answer calls about the baby. The Faks and Sydney go to see Sugar, bring her food and Carmy is absent. All culminating to the scene at Ever, where he’s face to face with his two biggest influences. One that lives in his head and he emulates (McHale) and one that clearly has a healthier and calmer take (Coleman). And then she says she’s going to live her life because being a chef stopped her life.
I found a lot of the criticisms confusing. I just feel like we’re following the trauma of the show and I think that was executed very well, if slower.
It's interesting seeing all the criticism now, because when I watched every individual episode and read each comment thread afterwards very few were complaining and most were enjoying it. But now that the entire season is out, a lot of people are saying it was a bore.
It's like the sum of the season made a lot of people forget that they were enjoying the ride up until the end.
For context, I don't remember the main stories of Season 1 and 2 but clearly it made me love the show enough that I watched season 3 as soon as possible.
I think what you said makes perfect sense as to why people didn't enjoy it at the end. Every episode on its own felt great and it was nice seeing the backstory of a bunch of characters and where everyone is at mentally. But it also feels like a lot of episodes put key points into our head that don't seem like they even attempted to scratch the itch they gave us.
Marcus says he feels the restaurant needs to work/be great and asks Carmy to take them there. He's also working on something new for the entire season. Although we get a 4 minute "magic needs to just happen" intro in one episode, we end the season without any clue as to how far he is or what he's having trouble with. He also has said nothing about how badly the restaurant seems to be doing this season despite starting the season saying that he needs it to work.
Sydney is told about the docusign email in the first episode but she never talks to anyone about it or why she's hesitant. Pete talks to her and details it but the most she says is when she tells her dad that it was offered to her. Everyone else just tells her to sign it. I can see a few implied reasons why she's hesitant as the viewer but IIRC, Syd in the first two seasons was a character who got frustrated and overwhelmed to the point that she would stand up for herself. Usually with a positive outcome such as gaining Carmy's respect and trust. Season 3 Syd just mentally lets things overwhelm her and stays quiet. Imagine if there was an episode where she calls back to E1 of the season and says something like "Hey Carmy, remember how you told me you would never leave me alone in the kitchen again? It now seems like you run the kitchen to the point that I'm not needed and it's frustrating." I was watching episode 10 hoping that Carmy would finally realize his mistakes and talk to her or Andrea would give her some wisdom and finally she would make a decision. Nothing.
I don't want to make this too much longer, but also just wanted to point out that Carmy has clearly been thinking about Claire all season and doesn't know what to do. That's fair and honestly I'm fine with that not being resolved this season. But they never even interact or even something like Carmy starting to send a message and deleting it. It's all dialogue.
TL;DR - I say all that to say it seems like Season 3 was really good backstory but also just a setup for season 4. That can be fine but I'm sure some people are upset that they waited a year for this. Again, not that it's a bad season but waiting a year for a season that feels like it's just there to build up the next season is a bit upsetting. And you don't notice it's only a hype up for season 4 until you finish the S3 and realize no major plot points brought up were even close to resolved.
Really well said, sums up most of the issues quite well
Those are all very fair points, and I agree that it makes sense to judge something like this as a whole, too.
But I also see a lot of comments that feel a little revisionist by it sound like it was a slog to watch the entire time, when the issue was more that they didn't really stick a landing (or even attempt to).
Perfectly said. I think since they already knew they’d been renewed for a 4th season, they were willing to do a slow-burn on season 3. I was definitely disappointed that we waited this long for nothing to be resolved, and I think they’ve put pressure on themselves for season 4 to be phenomenal. I’ll still watch it as soon as it comes out
I think for most people complaining, it's easier to enjoy it episode by episode because you can assume most, if not all, of the plots/key points being brought up in each episode will come to fruition or be somewhat acknowledged by the season finale.
Obviously with this finale, a lot of the big plot points were left unresolved. And while I'm certain they'll be addressed next season, it does kinda leave an empty feeling afterwards.
It felt more like a half season finale like AMC did with shows like the walking dead than an actual finale. They didn’t resolve anything at all. That’s a strange direction choice if you’re waiting an entire year for the next season. Feels like this season is gonna end up killing a lot of the mainstream momentum this show has built up. Your average watcher had to be kind of bored by this season, because nothing really happened.
It was beautifully and uniquely shot, and the acting is top notch for the most part, but what made this show a hit was watching the characters change and progress with the story, and this season we saw the characters not really change at all but we did see where they came from. That’s interesting but not something that is gonna give this show a lot of continuing buzz. I enjoyed it but it was kind of hollow. Slickly produced and shot but not a ton of substance relating to any continuing storyline.
Very well-put.
I’ll add, too, that part of what I loved about this show was the music. I’d find some great new music from the show. But this season, that kinda went away. Feel like half the episodes used that same Eddie Vedder cover of “Save It for Later” and that’s it. They even re-used the REM song from last season (which is a great song, FWIW).
A small gripe, but it was very noticeable for me.
I think in general people give a lot of leeway till the conclusion, then they go full napalm if the conclusion is unsatisfying.
I think there's a lot to be said in comparison to The Wire with this season. I know a ton of people that can't get into The Wire because everything is a slow burn and methodical, and at the end it is really a basic cops/robbers show. What make The Wire great is the deep dive into the characters, the city, the politics, the society, and so much more.
Can we compare this to The Bear? Absolutely. Not much is happening, but the entire show is living and breathing. You are digging into the characters, family dynamics, the city of Chicago, the restaurant industry, the strive for perfection, addiction and its impacts, grieving, and so much more.
This is a phenomenal season for letting the show breathe.
Comparing season 3 to The Wire is borderline insulting.
Come on man… The Wire sucks
It’s widely considered one of the greatest tv shows of all time. If you don’t like it that’s ok but that’s on you not the show. That’s like someone saying the Beatles suck
Seasons 1 and 2 also dug in to all of those topics while also having a plot.
Can't the plot just be the growing pains of a restaurant striving to be the best, the struggle of a character falling back on the methods of his predecessor, the career decision to build something from the ground up or leave for what appears to be greener pastures, the toll that a poor work/life balance takes on our relationships...
Resolution is only a single element of a plot. You had your climax at the end of last season. This entire season is the falling action. Resolution comes once all the elements are in place.
If the writing had been good, the slow plot would have been okay. However, there was no charm to the characters this season. I can think of maybe three good lines in total. In season 1 and 2, even when the characters argued, it was engaging. They said clever things, had good insights, and could get to the meat of the matter. Not in season three! Now it's just "fuck you" "fuck you back" repeat x7,
I feel like this season was an amateur's entry to Sundance - lots of shots and conversations that are supposed to be pretty and meaningful and DEEP, but aren't. It's like a poor copy of itself.
The actors still excel. I gotta give it that.
Again all of those issues were covered in previous seasons. All they did was stretch it over 10 episodes and not have anything else progress. Yes it’s a plot, but I wouldn’t consider it a particularly engaging one compared to what they’ve before. A season with zero resolution just isn’t as satisfying. They should be capable of wrapping up some plots in the season while still leaving resolution for the overall story. Instead they dragged out storylines from season 2, added new ones like the review, and then didn’t close any besides Natalie having a baby that no one else interacted with.
It is completely possible to have both an in season story arc with resolution and a full show arc that has resolution we’re still waiting on. They’ve done it before and so have hundreds of other TV shows. Season 3 didn’t pull that off.
Sure it can but it also can do that without so many food montages that it becomes gratuitous and wayyyy too much fak screen time.
They have beaten the ‘it’s a love letter to food/the industry’ conceit into the ground imo. It’s artistic and unique at first and then it just feels like it’s taking up time in the show they could be using for some kind of story.
This is probably the worst take in this entire thread.
This level of cope for a cooking show omg
Terrible comparison. The Wire had a story to tell every season. Please don't compare this mess of a season to any episode or season of The Wire.
I liked it enough, its clear that they are cooking for an explosive finale. Im hyped
Me too
For me it was a 9/10. I saw all the bad reviews about it "dragging" and skipped the middle - I watched Ep 1 and the finale and it was so tight, streamlined, and poignant. Can't wait for S4.
After watching seasons 1 & 2 the first time i immediately rewatched bc it was so entertaining. there’s nothing to rewatch on season 3, it was more like one of those “after the show” show where they discussed what just happened.
sure hope season 4 comes together bc the entire season could have been condensed into a few episodes or even just an add on to season 2.
sincerely,
disappointed
Get off your high horse, richie.
This reminded me of the Europe season of Atlanta. A collection of random episodes that captured the vibe of the show rather than move the main plot along. Loved both that season and this season of the bear!
There were a lot of really beautiful shots, very artistic, very fancy.
Loved seeing all the famous chefs.
The plot / restaurant? No, it was not like season 1.
I originally liked the show because I'm from Chicago and I loved Shameless. Yes, it has gotten away from that.
Season 2 was literally a Love Story to Chicago.
There were barely any shots of the skyline this season :-(
But that's okay. I love the show, too, not just the shots of Chicago.
I agree so much! I think people are largely missing the point. It was meant to be the nature of this season. If you look at how S2 ended, this season was clearly portraying the fallout from all of those things and what it means for each of them, and hence, the season is just supposed to be much more introspective and contemplative and cerebral, and I loved it so much. They're all such fascinating and compelling characters and taking a deep dive into their psyche was something I loved.
Similarly, with the way this season ended, it's pretty clear that shit is absolutely going down the next season and everything that happened in S3 was setting all of that up. For that reason, S3 feels like it's gonna be one of those seasons that people will eventually learn to appreciate more when the show ends bc you'd be looking back at it and realizing how important a lot of things established in this season turned out to be, as is always the case when a show has a more character-growth oriented season like this.
I watch this show for the characters, not the advancement of the plot. I loved this season too.
I’m with you. I loved this season.
I’m relieved to see this sub. I was really feeling this season, and I was reading about was disdain .
It’s my favorite season so far. The change of pace and focus more on the characters was exactly what I thought the show needed. I’m really racking my brain as to why people didn’t like it so much because I was having a blast each episode finding out more and more about everyone’s psychology. To me it feels like you really don’t like the characters if you didn’t enjoy this season.
One thing I will give you guys is the Faks. I could’ve done with a little less Faks.
I loooooved this season so much!
Very surprised by all the hate. I’m like… do y’all truly understand the show?
I understand the show. I also understand story structure haha. I didn’t ‘hate’ the season at all it was beautifully, awe-inspiringly shot and very well acted for the most part, but it was certainly lacking in story and it felt a little repetitive with the constant food montages and way too much Faks
Wasn’t it already renewed for a season 4 almost immediately after being renewed for season 3? It makes sense for them to do a lot more background before getting into a plot-heavy next season
Hmm it just feels like it’s not so out of reach for this show, following an incredible first and second season, that they could have developed a deeper storyline and provided the history and beginning stories for characters. Although there were lots “loud” scenes (basically everyone just screaming), I felt it lacked the emotional intensity of season 2 and some backstories were disproportionately told (some full eps, some a scene and others not even referenced)! I thought ‘Napkins’ was a great ep and they told the story of Tina really well, however, can’t help but feel short changed now waiting for another season to actually revisit main story lines.
The only story plots they somewhat developed during the season they never even concluded: The review, the job offer, Claire, and the loan.
This season could have been so much better without entire episodes dedicated to pregnancy labor and the cooks backstory, both of those episodes were a waste of time. 3 seasons now of family drama, we get it, stop beating that dead horse. Also, too much of the two idiots that aren't funny at all (and now Cena comes in too...awful).
Leaving that many plots unfinished is a cheap tactic to get people to come back for season 4. It's going to work, but I'm probably going to end up skipping through a lot more of the episodes like I should have this season.
I don't really get how people missed the point of the season but I also don't get why people worship at Sydney's feet like she is the end all be all infallible second coming of Christ.
She’s really awkward to watch. She never has an interaction with anyone that isn’t awkward in some way. She acts like everyone she meets is crazy or doing something wrong but she seems so uncomfortable with herself lol
Ice chips was such a good episode. Loved the long takes and all the wholesome interactions.