Since it first started, The Bear has been about a love of food and the art of presenting it in a formidable manner. It’s been quite a journey to get there, with many disagreements, obstacles, and setbacks along the way. But every grand adventure has to end sometime, and, for its final act, The Bear goes out in style, stretching out its entire eight-episode season over the course of one intense day as the staff of its signature restaurant pour everything they have into making their big night count.
The weather isn’t looking good in Chicago but there’s nothing this team can do other than to prepare as if they’re still going to be able to fulfill all their reservations and serve an epic and unforgettable meal to everyone that walks through the door. It doesn’t help that all the pressure is on Syd (Ayo Edebiri) since Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) has made the decision that he’s leaving, something he’s chosen not to share yet with the entire team as they head into a night that could mean everything with the power to make or break the restaurant for good.
The Bear first premiered almost exactly five years ago, delivering somewhere between eight to ten episodes annually at the end of June each year since then, an impressive feat given how staggered TV seasons have been throughout the pandemic and industry strikes. While its awards classification as a comedy has drawn some backlash given its very serious tone, there’s no denying its quality, especially in this sharp, breathless final run. Make no mistake about it – The Bear is not a comedy, even if it’s capable of being quite funny when it wants to be. But it very much deserves to be on the Emmy ballot when the time comes – in the drama categories.
White, who has won two Emmys as this show’s star, gets a significant reduction in screen time this season and no longer feels like its lead, which isn’t a bad thing. It allows the rest of the ensemble to shine, with even Edebiri, who since season two has been billed as a lead, embedded into the cast even though she’s the one running the show. While previous seasons benefited from backstory episodes heavily focused on just one or two characters, this season shifts things considerably to remain mainly in just one location and have the whole cast appear together, all dressed in the same blue shirts, with the occasional spotlight on a specific duo based on their workstations.
The show’s past Emmy winners – White, Edebiri, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Liza Colón-Zayas – do get solid moments, but there are others very much deserving of praise who, in a just world, would also earn recognition for this final season. Giving both Will Poulter and Sarah Ramos more to do as their characters assume regular positions at The Bear is a true boon to the show, particularly in how both blend so seamlessly and quietly into the preexisting fabric. Oliver Platt, Brian Koppelman, and Elsie Fisher are tremendously entertaining trio as Uncle Jimmy, Computer, and Cheese, respectively, who spend most of the season running around trying to find one last Hail Mary solution to save the restaurant. Lionel Boyce is also resonant and emotional as pastry chef Marcus, but it’s Abby Elliott who steals the show as Sugar, who is juggling new motherhood and family dynamics as she simultaneously gives so much of herself to this work.
It can’t quite be called an enjoyable experience, nor an overall funny one, to watch this season, but the tension that builds as the clock ticks and success seems even further away and more unachievable, is absolutely compelling. The pacing and rhythm of this show, stressful as it may be, is magnificent, and this season is the ultimate pressure cooker. While the series finale wasn’t provided in advance for review, it’s hard to imagine topping the show’s triumphant and moving penultimate installment, which blends mouth-watering culinary craftmanship, human drama, and just the right amount of nostalgia to come close to perfection. Shows about food will come and go but there will never be anything quite like The Bear, which goes out on a mesmerizingly heightened and entirely captivating note.
Season grade: 8/10
