The Bear season 4 premiered on Hulu from FX and we’re back in the thick of it with our favorite restaurant kitchen. But that also means we’re wading through a sea of criticisms that are both valid and a little less agreeable.
One that has popped up during season 4 of the series is that the dialogue is “bad.” The argument is that some audience members cannot follow what is being said when characters are going back and forth. The scene in question is one between Claire (Molly Gordon) and Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) where the two are talking over each other in a fight scene.
While sure, a conversation that makes no sense to you can see that as “bad” dialogue. But what the bear does is use its dialogue to drive home the fact that its characters barely listen to each other. For the most part, the show has characters like Carmen, who refuse to be honest with themselves and others. So why would he be listening when having a conversation? That’s part of the character’s growth throughout the show.
Sometimes, the back and forth between Carmen and Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) is chaotic because the two just get hot headed over something the other says and they just shout over each other. Syd (Ayo Edebiri) often gets mad because she is listening when Carmy isn’t and she can tell. That’s kind of the point of the dialogue for most of the show.
It feels like an actual fight
The scene in question that people have an issue with in season 4 is one where Claire and Carmy are talking at each other. The scene doesn’t make any sense. To me, that’s fine because the point is that these two character do not know how to communicate. I saw it as a way of showing that they’re drawn to each other time and time again but don’t know how to deal with each other.
On the flip side, Syd can almost communicate with Carmy without words. She sees he’s uncomfortable at the wedding and both her and Richie go to try and free him from his mother Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis). I do understand the need to understand what every scene means, I get it. But shows like The Bear are not designed that way. It’s all about the characters and what they are going through in that moment.
If you listen, you can easily tell what each person is saying from their own point of view. But watching some of these scenes from a conversational standpoint doesn’t make any sense because they’re not trying to have an actual conversation. They’re just trying to get their own point across without listening to anyone else’s.
So if you don’t like the dialogue of The Bear, that’s fine. I just think that the show does a really great job of showing what happens when people don’t listen to each other. Especially when Carmy is involved in the conversation.
(featured image: FX)
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