‘The Bear’ — A First Season Of Failure
by Frank Martin
With two seasons under its belt, The Bear has already solidified itself as a powerhouse show. It’s a compelling character drama as well as a deep look into the trials and tribulations of the restaurant business and its culture. But each of The Bear’s two seasons are wildly different. The first follows a young and promising chef, Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), as he returns home and tries to turn around his brother’s faltering sandwich shop. The second season shifts as he closes the sandwich shop and instead reopens the space as a brand new upscale restaurant. It’s a compelling and noteworthy journey for all of the characters. But such a shift does not come without storytelling consequences.
(Spoilers Follow)
Both seasons of The Bear are about struggle, but each one is about a different struggle as the characters try to succeed with two different ventures. The first season was about trying to make something that was failing succeed. Carmy’s brother ran the sandwich shop very haphazardly. And although Carmy was gifted in the culinary arts, he tried to change the culture and system of the business. It was very difficult to watch at times, but there were also some wins as the people he worked with slowly came around to his way of doing things.
Unfortunately, all of this progress seems to be lost as they closed the shop at the end of the season. While the second season was certainly enjoyable with the characters growing and building a business from scratch, it’s hard not to feel sad by their initial failure. The entire first season was spent trying to turn the shop around. There were even moments when it seemed as if everything was clicking. To have the shop close down feels as if it was almost for nothing. Of course, this isn’t true as the characters sought to create something even better. But still, it’s a strange storytelling tactic to have the entire venture of the initial story, something the audience was rooting for, fail so that it could be reborn.
The Bear is now streaming on Hulu.
