Season 4 ditches one of The Bear’s characteristics, but that helped it easily become one of the best shows of the year
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The first and second seasons of The Bear took the world by storm with their fast pace and electric characters. Winning multiple Emmys and introducing new Hollywood stars like Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, the first two seasons had a major cultural impact upon release. The third season, however, took fans by surprise by dialing down the intensity, which was, in retrospect, the least praised of the three. Fans hoped that Season 4 would bring the show back to its chaotic roots. While there are elements of chaos in the show’s newest seasons, it perfectly balances it with compelling character drama that makes it one of the best shows of the year. Again.
What is arguably more shocking about season four of The Bear is its lack of cooking sequences. The cooking scenes, especially in episode one of Season 3, are some of the best sequences in the whole show, but luckily, Season 4 still delivers on everything fans want out of the show.
The Bear Season 4 Ditches the Cooking in Favor of Incredible Dialogue
Seeing the lovable cooks create the food for their restaurant made an amazing visual experience while developing the characters in a unique fashion. Seeing the process of how food is made parallels an artist painting their magnum opus, making for many riveting sequences. The lack of cooking in the show’s recent season is extremely disappointing, but thankfully, the show makes up for it with its incredible writing. Each of the core characters goes through their journeys, which makes for the most fulfilling season since Season 2.
Like every season before it, Season 4 has a spin-off episode focusing on one character, with this season focusing on Sydney, played by Ayo Edibiri. In the episode, Sydney finds herself babysitting her cousin’s daughter for a brief period. The episode uses the daughter’s situation regarding a sleepover to represent how Sydney is unsure of where she wants to go career-wise. The two characters have phenomenal chemistry with one another, which helps contribute to the emotional journey that Sydney finds herself on. It may be a departure from the main plot, but the storytelling and filmmaking are compelling enough to make the plot departure justified.
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One of the big reasons for the lack of cooking sequences is Carmy’s arc. Seasons 3 and 4 saw Jeremy Allen White’s dishevelled hero look back on his life and time with The Bear, and wonder if it is what he wants to do for the rest of his life. On his spiritual journey, he figures out that changing the menu every day was not the logical path for the business, as well as for the workers. This change meant that the filmmakers had less to experiment with how cooking is portrayed. Although seeing how different types of foods are created brings the most euphoric scenes in the show, the compelling moments of dialogue made it worth the trade
Season 4 Is About the Characters, Not The Food
While Season 4 still had cooking sequences, a large focus of the show was on the characters and where they stand after the trauma of trying to reopen their restaurant and a recent terrible critic review. With a heavy focus on catharsis as well as how to move forward, the show expresses so much love and compassion for the characters while giving them flaws that make them infinitely more interesting people. From Richie coming to terms with his ex-wife remarrying or Donna apologizing for the trauma she brought on her kids, the season expertly conveyed a story of growth that made for one of the most satisfying television experiences of the year.
A character who had a much larger presence in Season 4 was Claire, played by Molly Gordon. Acting as the childhood friend turned girlfriend, Claire was given a lot stronger role in the newest season. In one of the most emotional sequences in the series involving a screaming match between her and Carmy, so much about her character was laid down in the dialogue, expressing more of her conscious that allowed her to be more than just the girlfriend character. As well as Molly Gordon’s committed performance, Claire became one of the most likable characters in the show due to how strong the writing in Season 4 is.
The Bear Season 4 may not be as strong as its first two seasons, but its heavy focus on the writing and character progression made for a fulfilling experience that you won’t find with any other recent television show. It may lack some aspects of the prior seasons that made it so beloved, but what it trades off is more than compelling enough to warrant a fourth season.
The Bear Season 4 is now streaming all episodes on Hulu.
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