Each season ofThe Bearbrought something new to the story, but these four installments aren’t all created equal. Overall,The Bearhas been a great successfor FX. The story is raw and powerful, but with an added layer of comedy that sets an excellent balance. What’s more, the series offers a surprisingly accurate glimpse into the culinary world, both technically and in terms of personal relationships within the kitchen.The Bearis loud, high-stress, high-emotion, and high-entertainment. While each season has delivered in this regard, the story and character development haven’t always been as effective.
The Bearhas remained consistent from season to season in terms of its immense heart and artistic qualities. However, some installments of the FX series have failed to maintain the appropriate balance.At its peak,The Bearhad managed a perfect combination of comedy, drama, artistry, and character development. However, at its lowest point, the series failed to push the story forward as a whole, focusing too much on creative filming and editing, and not enough on the elements that initially drew us toThe Bear. The seasons that fall in between got this both right and wrong to varying degrees.
4The Bear Season 3
Pacing Became A Significant Issue For The Bear Season 3
The Bearseason 3had some compelling moments. This wasthe first full installment of episodes after The Bear’s official reopening, following up on the chaos that was family-and-friends night in season 2. Carmy had unintentionally ended things with Claire while locked in the walk-in freezer, and his relationship with Richie came under significant tension. This meant that the pressure on The Bear to succeed was even higher, given all that Carmy had sacrificed to make the place a reality.
Ultimately, it felt as though this season was more focused on earning awards than advancing the story.
Some highlights ofThe Bearseason 3 include Sugar’s birth episode, as well as the flashback episode that saw Tina meet Mikey at The Beef for the first time. However, these emotionally impactful and character-driven moments felt far and few between in this installment. The overwhelming complaint here is thatseason 3 was just way too slow. The creators really drove up the artistic creativity here, with full episodes featuring cryptic imagery and accompanied by a unique soundtrack. Ultimately, it felt as though this season was more focused on earning awards than advancing the story.
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Audience Score
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Anothersignificant issue withThe Bearseason 3is the lack of balance between tension and comedy. We typically rely on the relationships between the restaurant staff to mitigate the more tense aspects of a character’s development. Carmy has always been a rather intense character, but his anxiety and low self-esteem were balanced out in previous seasons by the contrasting personalities of characters like Richie or Sugar. This time around, all the characters seemed pretty in the dumps. The result wasa batch of episodes that were somewhat tedious to watch.
3The Bear Season 4
The Bear Improved Its Pacing Issue, But Season 4 Was Still Somewhat Lacking
After what was primarily regarded as a slow season 3,The Bearseason 4 revitalized the FX series a bit. Character development was put back at the center, and we saw several excellent episodes this time around. A particular highlight was Tiff’s wedding, which brought the overarching theme of season 4—that family is more than biology—full circle. It was touching to see all the different Bears come together, and it felt as if thisThe Bearseason 4 episode was a direct payoff of the “Fishes” episode from season 2 (when Donna Berzatto drove her car through the house).
The general tone ofThe Bearseason 4was an improvement over the previous installment as well. Carmy finally began to pull himself out of the funk he had been in all through season 3. We saw him experience some hope and joy, and this allowed for an exceptional balance with Sydney’s stress and anxiety as she battled with herself over the decision to stay at The Bear or work with Chef Adam Shapiro.Unlike season 3, season 4 actually resolved these major drivers of tension, too, with Sydney ultimately making a decision and Carmy finally delivering some apologies.
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ThoughThe Bearseason 4 was an improvement over its predecessor, it still didn’t quite stack up to the FX series' first two installments.It felt as if these episodes were forced to compensate for the slow pacing of season 3, while periodic episodes attempted to slow things down with minimal development. Season 4 was, therefore, a bit uneven. We saw glimpses of what madeThe Bear’s first two installments great, but the episodes were somewhat haunted by the issues of season 3. Then, while the finale drove up the excitement, Carmy’s decision didn’t quite pay off his arduous development.
2The Bear Season 2
The Bear’s Sophomore Season Was An Excellent Continuation Of The Story
The Bearseason 2was a near-perfect continuation of the series' premiere installment. The tone of these episodes took a significant jump from those of season 1, and this was a massive risk considering those episodes' success. However, it ultimately paid off.Season 2 saw The Beef transform into The Bear, and it was clear through every step that this evolution would be hard won. This was Carmy at his best, determined to make this restaurant great after Mikey had worked so hard to give him the opportunity. As an audience, we could sense Carmy’s juxtaposed feelings of hope and desperation.
The “Fishes” episode was a masterpiece, introducing the larger Bear family in all its chaos.
It’s difficult to limitThe Bearseason 2 down to only a few highlights. Each episode effectively carried the story forward, and the rise and fall of the overarching season was sublime, thanks entirely to the expertly crafted development of individual characters. The “Fishes” episode was a masterpiece, introducing the larger Bear family in all its chaos. This was immediately followed up by “Forks,” which saw Richie stage at Ever. His development here was beautiful, andwith Richie finally on board with a purpose, the trajectory ofThe Bearshifted.
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The Bearseason 2 doesn’t rank higher than the show’s first batch of episodes only because there are some subtle signs of what would plague later installments. There are slower, softer episodes, such asMarcus' time training in Copenhagenin “Honeydew,” that were necessary to balance out the chaotic screaming of other episodes. However, the artistic quality here is not for everyone. It was well balanced in this season, butsuch moments were an early look at whatThe Bearwould eventually be criticized for.
1The Bear Season 1
The Bear At Its Best
The Bear’s first season is a clear winner. The FX series debuted with a batch of perfectly executed episodes, each of whicheffortlessly managed that balance of intensity, tension, comedy, and heart. Of course, it pays to be the first, since, prior toThe Bearseason 1, we really hadn’t seen anything like it. Carmy’s character is at the very beginning of his development—entirely broken but so skilled and subtly hopeful. Sydney’s professionalism and promise perfectly balance out his character, all the while Richie and the rest of the staff at The Original Beef are pure chaos.
The comedy ofThe Bearseason 1 is completely effortless, which can’t be said for the installments that followed. A chef like Carmy attempting to bring professionalism to The Original Beef is so utterly ludicrous thatthe dynamics here are naturally laughable. However, this by no means got in the way of the profoundly emotional development of Carmy, Richie, and Sugar’s grief. All of this together contributed to the exceptional rise and fall ofThe Bearseason 1. Had this installment stood on its own (aside from the cliffhanger), the emotional resolution would have been deeply satisfying.
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As for the artistic elements that would eventually be a top criticism forThe Bear, season 1 handled them far differently than later installments.There’s a sort of surrealism used throughout these episodes, beginning with Carmy’s confrontation with a bear outside the restaurant and his frequent nightmares. Rather than the dully artistic moments of seasons 3 and 4, these scenes only served to ramp up the tension and excitement. Overall,The Beartruly is an excellent series, but it will be a challenge for future seasons ever to be as perfect as the first.
