WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for The Bear’s season 4 finale!Marking an improvement from its predecessor,The Bear’s season 4 premiere quickly avoids one of the biggest early complaints about season 3 of the hit culinary series. That said,The Bearseason 4’s Rotten Tomatoes scoremarks a record series-low at 80%, coming in below season 3’s 89%, season 2’s 99%, and season 1’s 100% ratings. The less enthusiastic response toThe Bearseason 4 can partially be explained by its slower pace, emotional character emphasis over narrative growth, and inconsistent tone and focus, but there are still variouspositive takeaways indicative of a step up from the third outing.
For instance,The Bearseason 4 balances Claire’s role betterthan season 3, giving her more time opposite beloved characters other than Carmy with relatively fewer moments focused on their romance.One of the biggest complaints about season 3, however, dealt with the jarring change in paceafterThe Bearseason 2’s intense ending. The season 3 premiere was a slower return to the notably high-octane series, decelerating the main narrative’s development in favor of flashbacks musing on various stages of Carmy’s culinary career. That approach was met with significant criticism, andThe Bearseason 4 wisely didn’t follow suit.
The Bear Season 4’s Premiere Kicks Off With High Momentum (Unlike Season 3)
The Bear’s Premiere Has An Intense Kitchen Sequence
The Bearseason 3’s tempo was slowed down substantially compared to its predecessors, with the tone also shifting from a place of chaos to a search for peace. The shift ultimately made sense for the story asThe Bear’s kitchen staffdeveloped from a ragtag group of chefs at a health-code-violating sandwich shop to a more locked-in team at a fine-dining Michelin-star-seeking restaurant. However, it wasn’t effective in maintaining the momentum after Carmy’s anxiety-inducing freezer experience in the previous episode.
The premiere sets the season’s tone and expectations, and, unfortunately,season 3’s debut episode quickly established a sense of aimlessness and inconsistencythat would pervade many subsequent entries. The chaos and intensity of the kitchen we’ve come to know were missing entirely, going from 100 mph to zero without a chance for audiences to adjust to the slower speed.The Bearseason 4’s premiere, however, begins its journey on a different route, keeping up the season 3 finale’s energy and anxiety from receiving the restaurant review as the kitchen scrambles to implement business-saving changes.
The season 4 premiere kicks off with high-octane power as Richie hiresJessica and former Ever staff membersto increase efficiency. Tina is repeatedly frustrated with being unable to lower her pasta-making time, they overbook the restaurant to keep tables full, Gary hones in on his wine knowledge, Marcus gets an extra hand to help on pastries, and Sydney and Carmy strengthen the flow of service. There’s no easing intoThe Bearseason 4’s journey to turn the restaurant from a money-losing venture to a money-earning establishment, andit makes the show’s return much more engrossing right off the bat.
The Premiere Is One Of The Bear Season 4’s Most Intense Episodes
The Bear Season 4 Only Has A Few Chaotic Outings
Like “Napkins,” “Fishes,” “Braciole,” and “The Bear,”The Bear’s season 4 premiere episode, “Groundhogs,” is one of the series’ most intense outings. This time around, however,the stress of the episode is much more positive. Many ofThe Bear’s most stressful episodesconclude with a sense of hopelessness, fear of what comes next, and anger among the characters, but that isn’t the case at the end of the season 4 premiere. Tensions are high becauseThe Bear’s main charactersfight tooth and nail to avoid any chaos rather than foster it, and it culminates in better harmony for the restaurant.
The Bearseason 5 has yet to be officially renewed by FX.
Outside ofThe Bearseason 4’s chaotic wedding episode, the other most intense outings of the season are the premiere and the finale. Oddly enough, the premiere is the only one of those where the majority of the chaos occurs in the kitchen, as the restaurant is closed on the day of Tiff’s wedding andThe Bearseason 4’s finale takes place after service is over.
