From the start, The Bear has been the talk of social media. Fans loved the series and while season 3 was maybe not on the right track. It was great but it felt like the show was stalling. Season 4 changes that.
Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) and the Bear got a bad review and he’s taking it personally. The restaurant only has roughly 2 months to figure it all out and be successful or it has to close. So the entire season is on a ticking clock, quite literally. But that tick tock of the clock allows the characters of The Bear to actually be honest with themselves.
At the end of season 3, Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) was offered the chance to leave the restaurant and go and work with Adam Shapiro instead. The majority of season 4 is spent with Syd trying to figure out what the best move is for her while also not telling anyone at the Bear what she is thinking about, making her part of the Bear’s problem: No one there is honest with each other.
But unlike seasons before, season 4 of The Bear allows its characters to slowly realize that constantly lying to one another is not the best way to make the restaurant successful. For once, the show allows its characters to have some form of self-recognition and know when they are all in need of a reality check. This new self awareness makes for a better season overall because you’re not just frustrated with each character this time around.
It’s okay to let characters grow
One of the issues with season 3 of The Bear was that it felt like every character was stuck in limbo. They weren’t moving forward and weren’t trying to. But season 4 lets Carmy recognize his own mistakes, Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) be more honest with himself, and let Syd understand her own value. All of those things are good.
It isn’t like The Bear always was this way. Carmy in season 1 is vastly different than season 3 Carmy but he wasn’t allowed to grow within that season. What is great about Christopher Storer’s work in season 4 is that it allows its characters to recognize their own faults. And season 4 allows the series to start a new path forward.
The ending of the season is technically a bit open-ended. We don’t know what it means for the people we’ve come to love at the Bear. I think that my guy Fak (Matty Matheson) is always going to be around but season 4 allowed Marcus (Lionel Boyce) to become his own kind of success, brought resolution to other storylines, and just let the show breathe.
I don’t know what the future holds for The Bear but the ending of season 4 showed audiences that they are willing to allow the series to grow and change and be whatever its characters need and that’s a good thing. And it is nice to have a great season of The Bear again.
(featured image: FX)
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