Commentary: ‘The Bear’ Forgot What It Was About

The Bear received a lot of acclaim when it first premiered. In the beginning, the story did a lot of juggling between personal characterization and the growth of a restaurant. There was a fair balance between these two ideas. In fact, they often worked in tandem with one another. But as the seasons went on, the character side of the show started to gain more weight. It leaned heavily on the actors’ incredible performances, but less emphasis was given to moving the plot along in a meaningful way. The show is definitely a drama, but dramas need more than just character journeys. They need a backdrop. The restaurant is supposed to be that, but the show seems to have forgotten it in recent seasons.

Season four of The Bear takes place after a mixed review of the restaurant was published. Funding is running out, forcing Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) to bend on some of his non-negotiable rules. Everyone begins to cut corners in order to keep the restaurant alive. This creates a very stressful work environment as the strain begins to bleed into their personal lives. Carmy tries to reconcile with his love interest, Claire (Molly Gordon), while also giving his mother, Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis), the opportunity to reconcile with him.

There were definitely moments that got back to cooking and the restaurant this season, but they were few and far between. The restaurant is more or less in the same position it was in at the end of last season, putting the entire plot in a bit of a holding pattern. Personal drama became the driving force of the season. An entire episode was devoted to a wedding without featuring the restaurant at all. In order for the show to recapture some of its early magic, it needs to remember that food and the restaurant business are the main event. The restaurant itself could be viewed as a character, and it didn’t have nearly enough growth this season.

The Bear is now streaming on Hulu.