TV Review: ‘The Bear’ Season 3 Ends With Several Long-Awaited Breakthroughs

After several episodes of a slow-moving plot, the high-stress kitchen drama delivers some, well, high-stress

Following an Ayo Edebiri-directed standout episode, the momentum of the highly-anticipated Season 3 of The Bear starts to slow down, once again, during episode seven, “Legacy.” After piling on plot points early on in the series, the show begins to lose track of it all near the end, seeming to string along the few storylines it remembered it started.

The takeout sandwich window, that we last saw Ebrahiem (Edwin Lee Gibson) struggling to keep up with in episode three, finally gets a vast upgrade with the help of some of Mikey’s (Jon Bernthal) old staff members — but that’s the last we see or hear of such a development for the season. Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Sugar (Abby Elliott) exchange some more reflections on generational trauma, Marcus (Lionel Boyce) and Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) share a brief reflection on, shockingly, what legacy they want to leave behind. The only truly important moment happens when Adam (Adam Shapiro) offers Sydney (Edebiri) a spot at his new restaurant, causing her to slowly spiral. 

In possibly the most stressful sequence of the season, which surprisingly happens outside of the kitchen, Sugar finally goes into labor and resorts to calling Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis) to help her through it in episode eight, “Ice Chips.” We are finally reminded that the creators of The Bear are masters of anxiety induction, as rapid heartbeats, jarring monitor beeps, and Donna’s unhelpful and annoying “hee hees” place you right in the delivery room. Through the process, Sugar is able to unearth her deep-rooted fears about becoming a mother to her own, and forming a bridge to heal their relationship in the process.

As I begin to talk about episode nine, I want to give a quick shoutout to this season’s excellent soundtrack, which is perfectly tailored to each mood and scene. With an eclectic range of indie artists, both new and old — including Mk.gee, Weezer, Cocteau Twins, The Sundays, Talking Heads and so on — the music nerd in me was deeply satisfied. 

“Apologies,” plotwise, was probably the most jam-packed episode yet. A desperately-needed conversation between Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) and Carmy plays out, in which Unc drops the bomb that if the Tribune review is negative, he’s done funding The Bear. This important conflict should have been introduced way earlier in the season to give the latter half real stakes.

After a mesh of disconnected flashbacks throughout the first few episodes, Carmy finally has a sort-of breakthrough fueled by Syd stating that he’s “hard to keep up with.” For a moment, he goes back into the freezer and is tempted to call Claire (Molly Gordon) … but gets out with seconds to spare, one of the biggest signs of his character development this season. 

The finale, “Forever,” was a triumph. Set at the “funeral” for Carmy’s ex-employer, Ever, he sees the old chef who tormented him, David (Joel McHale), and lashes out about how he gave him panic attacks and took the enjoyment out of his cooking. It’s a true breakthrough finally connecting all of his haphazard Ever kitchen flashbacks shown throughout the season. He and Syd reflect on the cracks in their kitchen’s dynamic through the other chefs talking breezily about their passion for cooking, and he indulges in a heart-to-heart with the retiring Chef Terry (Olivia Colman) in which he states, “It feels like I’ve been starting forever” (kind of like this season). 

The finale’s ending kindly leaves a bit to chew on: Syd’s panic attack about switching jobs and Carmy’s seemingly negative reaction to a seemingly negative review. We only see a flash of conflicting texts on the screen — “excellent,” “culinary gem,” “sloppy,” “inconsistent.”

There were some plotlines this season that I really wish played out more. Marcus’ development as he processes his mother’s death was nearly abandoned save some brief references to her favorite flower, violets, and parallels to Carmy’s reactions to Mikey’s passing. We got a glimpse of John Cena’s overly-hyped character for one episode — then radio silence — which leaves me to question if there was any intention of introducing Sam at all. The party montage suggests that we might be seeing even more of Carmy’s former co-workers next season, and a conversation between Claire and the Faks (Matty Matheson) might segway to her and Carmy’s redemption. 

There was more movement in the show’s previous two seasons, but season three of The Bear turned out to be the show’s experiment in non-linear storytelling, abstract shots, and cinematography. It didn’t always pan out the way it could have, but all I know is I’m still invested and in it for the long run.