Review: The Bear – Season 3
Does not contain spoilers, only emotional outbursts.
Setting the scene
This is not a Series for the faint hearted, set in a busy restaurant in Chicago, the first two Seasons were so stressful we used to frequently pause it to discuss how tense it must be to work in a kitchen like that.
With Season 3 it asks even more of the viewer, as we go on an emotional journey with the creators.
By the time I’d washed-up on the shores of Episode 10, battered and bruised, I felt like I’d been in a particularly volatile relationship with The Bear Season 3.
Maybe we needed counselling, maybe we should split up?
Here’s how it played out…
Episode 1
[10 minutes in…]
Er, um, I’m really sorry, but this isn’t working for me any more.
What are we even doing here?
There used to be passion! Where’s your fight gone?
And whilst we’re in a dialogue can you turn that monotonous soundtrack off?
My head is going to explode, and I have a growing resentment for haute cuisine.
How can we afford for you to spend that long staring at an orange slice?
I’m not sure our relationship can take it.
You’re rolling the credits already? WTF!
How can that be? Did the weirdly hypnotic soundtrack put me under for the last 30 minutes?
It feels like we are still firmly in the ‘recap phase’, this can’t be the end!?
You can’t just walk away!
[AND BREATHE]
Ok. I get it.
You’re doing this deliberately, aren’t you?
You know how to rile me, and it’s worked, I AM RAGING!
Episode 2
You’re lucky I came back, I didn’t intend to, but given our history I felt I owed it to you.
You have 27 minutes to win me over, or I’m leaving.
[Crosses arms, deepens frown, purses lips.]
[Inadvertently starts tapping toe to surprisingly upbeat music.]
That’s a cheap move, even for you.
Literally playing a song begging me not to run away?
It’s like you saw this coming.
At last, back in the kitchen… shouting… crashing… swearing… and NEW RULES!
That’s better!
We love new rules!
Welcome back, let’s try and make this work.
Episode 3
[12 minutes in…]
[Am still staring at the telly with my funeral face on, long after the funeral scene has ended.]
I’m not sure this is going to work, in fact I’m not even sure now whether I want it to work.
I’m exhausted.
Episode 4
It was only one episode, and I came straight back!
It didn’t mean anything, and I was thinking about you the whole time.
I’m surprised you even noticed, you’re usually too busy staring at a drizzle of jus.
At least the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are actually cheerful… and know a thing or two about teamwork, you could learn from them!
All this shouting and yet no communication is driving me insane!
Episode 5
If something doesn’t happen soon, I may just… Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
What? I was just resting my eyes!
Did I miss anything?
No? Phew!
Episode 6
Aaah a back story… I love a back story!
I don’t suppose there’s any way we could make room in our lives for ‘Reception Boy’ on a more permanent basis? What a breath of fresh air he is!
A heady mix of authority and cluelessness. Intoxicating.
Maybe we should start seeing other people?
Episode 7
Look. Can we just move forward?
All this reminiscing is sweet, but no one’s getting any younger here?
Can we not just shout it out like the good ol’ days?
This calmness is very jarring.
Oh come on! You wouldn’t dare?
You bloody would!
There has never been talk of The Wholesalers!
And why aren’t we calling it by its name, like CostCo or Bookers, why are we calling it The Wholesalers? No one does that.
What could possibly happen if the heavily pregnant person goes to The Wholesalers by themselves and starts lifting heavy boxes?
People who gave up watching after Episode 1 could have seen that coming, such an obvious move!
[Sigh.]
I’m just disappointed, that’s all.
You’re better than that.
Episode 8
We’re in serious trouble now, I can’t believe you played the Cliché Card.
You’re gonna have to pull out the big guns here to have any chance of turning this ship around!
I need your BEST character to come back… in a two-hander… and we’re gonna need an extra 10 minutes to thrash this out!
YESSSSS!!!!!
Episode 9
Confusion. Misdirection. Nostalgia. Magic.
I’ve no idea what the hell is going on, but I’m grateful it’s different.
‘The same’ wasn’t working for me.
Short lived… we’re back in ‘the same’.
Have you any idea how much time and effort it takes for someone like me to actually follow a story that is crawling along at half-a-mile-an-hour?
I’ll tell you! It takes four times as bloody long, because I keep drifting off thoughtwise and then feel like I have to rewind in case I’ve missed something significant, which I never have, as nothing is actually happening!
How long have we been at this?
It’s Episode 9 FFS and I still have more questions than you’ve given me answers!
I’m emotionally spent.
[sob]
Why am I crying???
Episode 10
Wow, don’t you scrub up well?
Aah finally! This is the bit where we get to enjoy ourselves!
I appreciate this, I really do, like everyone here, I deserve this time, I’ve really pulled a shift on this one.
Thank you, yes, I will have a notional pudding and an extra large glass of wine.
I know this Season has been rough on all of us.
The thing is, and I’m being totally serious here… it’s not all about you.
You are literally nothing without me… sometimes my entertainment needs have to come first.
Love you.
See you next Season.
K8x
Join in the comments below:
Have you seen The Bear Season 3?
Would you pay $175 + tip for 9 courses at a fancy restaurant?
Would you just prefer an all-you-can-eat buffet for $35?
Thank you for being here, please ❤️ (below) if you enjoyed this piece, it really helps others find it.
Have you seen The Bear Season 3? I haven't seen this show at all since I don't have Hulu. LOL I've heard good things about it, though. And I do recognize Chef, since I used to watch "Shameless." So, what's the Bear? Is it the name of the restaurant? An actual person? Or is it just a metaphor that working in a restaurant can be a real bear? LOL
Would you pay $175 + tip for 9 courses at a fancy restaurant? For 9 courses at a fancy-ass restaurant? Yes, I would, depending on the menu.
Would you just prefer an all-you-can-eat buffet for $35? I wouldn't mind this, either. In fact, I'd probably prefer it because sometimes fancy=itty-bitty portions that do absolutely nothing for you if you're hungry enough to eat, well, a bear. BWAHA!
Your reactions remind me of mine when I watched "The Walking Dead". LOL The first time one of the major characters was killed off in THE most horrific, tragic, non-zombie way possible (if you've watched the show then you may know who I'm talking about here), I thought for sure I was done. That particular episode just rung me out so emotionally hard that I was numb for a couple of days afterward. Shit like that kinda sticks with a person, yknow? But THEN, another main character was basically done for, and I was screaming at the TV, "WHAT. THE. EVERLOVIN'. FUCK!!! NOT HIS SON!! HOW?!! HOW THE FUCK DID THIS HAPPEN? I WAS WATCHING THIS EPISODE WITH MY EYES OPEN. I BARELY BLINKED! HE WAS NOWHERE NEAR ANY FUCKING ZOMBIES SO HOW THE FUCK DID HE GET BIT?!!! THAT'S IT! I'M DONE! I'M SO FUCKING DONE!" Again, if you've watched the show, then you may know who I'm talking about.
But after that, I really was done. LOL Even though my favorite character was still alive and now has his own spinoff show (#TeamDaryl), I stopped watching after that other character was killed off. Additionally, I could no longer watch a show that made me feel depressed and in despair--all the damn time--that these people could never. seem. to catch a break! One tiny pocket of happiness every third episode turned into Mad Max-level villainy in the next and then we're back to square one of survive-survive-survive-fight-fight-fight. I couldn't take it anymore. It was exhausting. Those actors needed Academy Awards (and maybe some counseling) for dealing with that day in and day out for YEARS. I cannot imagine living in a world like that and hope to God something like that never happens in real life. Although, y'know COVID...
I’m waiting to watch season 3 until I’m at a good equilibrium to deal with the stress. A rainy Irish summer is not the right time. Last seasons Christmas episode nearly had me hyperventilating with stress. Jamie Lee Curtis deserves all the awards, she was so good I didn’t even realize until the end that it was her acting the Mother’s part!! I liked The Gentleman but there was a lot of overacting! I watch Baby Reindeer and just wondered how such a boring man engendered stalking.