As strange as it may sound given how successful Season 2 of The Bear became, I believed at that the time that the series should've ended with Episode 7 of Season 1, "Review." Drowning in 20 minutes of non-stop chaos and high tension, the season's penultimate episode stands as one of the most tightly-formed piece of television ever created. Clearly there's a reason I'm not a big-wig television executive, as continuing on with the series has been proven to be the right move by every metric possible.
In the series' third season, we continue along with Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) and the gang navigating the highs and lows of running a fancy restaurant that was formerly an Italian sandwich shop. Carmy has been released from the kitchen walk-in and has to deal with the aftermath of spouting off his frustrations to the team and his now-ex-girlfriend; Marcus (Lionel Boyce) mourns the death of his mother; Syd (Ayo Edebiri) seeks a place of belonging within the team and the food industry as a whole; Natalie (Abby Elliott) is still very pregnant.
Across 10 episodes, a lot of retrospection is given to the main characters, whether it's literal flashbacks (of which there are many) or visiting someone from a character's past. The first episode of the season, a montage entitled "Tomorrow," is the most stirring of these look backs. Focusing on Carmy and the previous kitchens and experiences he endured, "Tomorrow" moves like meditative poetry without a punch, or even a mild tap on the shoulder, delivered. It's a gentle opening movement to a larger composition in a series notorious for stressful viewing.
By season's end, though, we don't quite see the entire piece. Instead, we're taken through a few shouty "Fuck you!" episodes that admittedly have become grating rather than complex and interesting, with sporadic glimpses into Carmy upping the ante in his pursuit of a Michelin star weaved in between the personal tales. There's an interim quality to Season 3, as if ducks are slowly being arranged into a row in preparation for Season 4, exemplified in the season finale with the closure of a Chicago fixture, signalling the beginning of a new era in the city's culinary scene. Perhaps the episode also signals a shift in the series as we know it? Time will tell.
The previous two seasons of The Bear contained a singular episode that had the internet ablaze — the aforementioned "Review" of Season 1 and "Fishes" in Season 2. For Season 3 that honour is bestowed to "Ice Chips." Moving away from the kitchen, the episode focuses on Natalie going into labour, with Jamie Lee Curtis returning as the Berzatto matriarch. Two incredible performances buoyed by a moving script written by Joanna Calo, "Ice Chips" finds the balance between humour, tension and heart that The Bear formulated its early success.
Creator and showrunner Christopher Storer has an uphill battle to fight with each additional season. Season 1 introduced something new and exciting to television, only to be finessed and refined in Season 2. This current season doesn't necessarily continue the series' ascent, but it bides its time at the summit with flourishes of creativity, looking for a way to create a new summit to climb.