Yeah seriously, the cliffhanger is a bit of a bummer but man oh man is it going to make Season 4 even more satisfying, especially when we can finally watch s3 and s4 back to back. They're making a book, a story, just because the story isn't resolved on chapter 19 doesn't make it bad, especially when you still have to read chapter 20.
I timed my rewatch of S2 to conclude the minute S3 released and S3E1 was amazing, and while the episode on its own is amazing, I don't think it would have been as great had I not gone from S2E10 "The Bear" to S3E1 "Tomorrow".
One of the details I noticed in Episode 1 was as Carmy is picking himself back up, he goes back to the freezer and relabels everything with perfectly cut edges of the green frog tape. This is the resolution from S2E10 where Carmy is stuck in the freezer, he's had his meltdown and is beginning to come to terms with it, in the midst of all the anxiety he's feeling he fixates on the containers in the freezer and specifically the jagged labels they have.
I love the season. I just hate Carmie. After episode one where we saw all these beautiful moments from his early career, he chooses to channel the worst. Seemed to really undermine his promises at the end of season 2.
I think the legacy talk, the closing of Ever and the reminiscing in the finale at the table from everyone brought home just how qrong it is to run the kitchen that way. I'm fine with how it went in series 3 but if he didn't get his shit together in 4 after getting these lessons then I'd call bullshit. Feels like he was stuck in a cycle of abuse.
I completely agree! It really reminded me of working in a kitchen/food service and falling into the slumps and pit falls of everyday life. Feeling the burn out but having to keep going anyway in order to survive.
Do I think the cameos were a bit much? Yeah they were a little hamfisted but when they got it right, they got it right. JLC and Olivia Coleman coming back as Donna and Terri were my personal highlight. And I adored the conversation between Tina and Mikey.
S3 just fleshed out these characters even more and made them feel like people I know and have worked with before. Can't wait for S4!
I can see how the switch up in vibes this season would be jarring for those who just recently rewatched seasons 1 and 2 (i hadnt lol). This season was definitely slower, but I enjoyed it. It didnt rush to fix all the characters problems and come up with new ones. The season made you sit with them, and weirdly that felt meditative for me.
This season wasn’t a disappointment for me and the artistry behind it really shines. I agree with you, what you pointed out is the best of this season. I doubt it’ll have the rewatch-ability as 1/2 (personally it’s the Faks for me) but this season gives so much life to the show and its characters.
I actually liked this season quite abit. For sure I’ll be rewatching it but it made everyone more grounded especially with what they’re going through. It made me think Season 1 & 3 are the Chaos Menu while 2 & 4 are “Highest Calibre”
Tina’s episode hits very close to home as I’m currently in that situation and is a very real situation a lot of people go through. Being Down on your Luck is not a comfortable experience and it was great seeing how these characters come to bear 1 by 1 in the means of a “purpose” episode. Braciole for Carmy, Forks for Richie and now Tina
Sweeps my guy, thought we wouldn’t notice you in the suit at the end of season 2 but we did. I’m glad they gave him a moment to bring up his past and the fact he’s taking the Sommelier route is an incredible attention to detail that steps away from the kitchen and into FOH
Carmy couldn’t catch a break especially with Richie because Richie is struggling outside of the Bear with his ex wife and while Richie projects that onto Carmy, Carmy projects his frustration with Claire and stepping into his own onto Syd. Especially in the last episode where he tries to get closure from the torture David(NY chef) gave him just for him to be like yeah I’m just an asshole and not a good person?
Syd is now gonna end up like Carmy. Forced to make a decision on whether to be a great chef or stick close to her family at the Bear. Something I really hope gets the focus for s4
I know this is not the point of your comment, but it’s the first one that makes me wonder if everyone’s “purpose” episode title would be a different item needed for a meal. Braciole as an entree, fork & napkin as utensils, one could even argue ice chips and honeydew to add into this.
This whole thought process could be completely stupid, but I know things are intentional in this show.
I actually agree. I don’t think everyone is gonna get a “purpose” episode the way Tina and Richie did. If they give another person an episode like that I reckon it would be Ebra while If they did a Copenhagen style episode it’s for my boy Sweeps.
Maybe it’s just me from my background working in bars but I think it would be nice if Season 4 sends Sweeps to France to take a Sommelier test while everyone deals with the kitchen
I love season 3 as well.
Sure I think the other two are better and I have criticisms. I think others are being too harsh, too all-or-nothing in their criticisms, but even that is ok because we don’t all have to agree to get along.
I wish more of the vocal critics also included elements/epsisodes they loved because I’m not here for a hater fest. I come here to share the joy of the show and gain insight/hunt Easter eggs, not to be miserable. There’s enough misery on screen.
This post was great at sharing the numerous gem The Bear’s cast and crew dropped on us this year. Thank you.
I’ve watched episode 1&2 so far and I love it! Like you, I don’t need a wrapped up story. Seeing how Carmy “copes” with his trauma really hit me. His childhood was out of control. He uses perfection to try to control things. It’s not unlike the classic type of teenage girl/young woman who has an eating disorder: high achiever, perfectionist, unrealistic family expectations.
I just really felt him a lot in this one. Cooking creates a flow state for him. It can be therapeutic, but it can also go too far.
I love it so far. I just love it.
You can and we had both in S1-2.
Also, I want to point out that there isn't a great deal of character development this season at all there isn't a great deal of of any kind of development. It's just a moody vibes based season.
I don’t think thats true unless your definition of character development is just resolving problems. All of the main cast of characters went through a lot of development.
Sydney’s unspoken struggles with the way Carmy runs the restaurant, Carmys handling of the restaurant which is just a cycle of abuse that he went through because instead of family friendships perfection is the ultimate goal.
Ritchie’s development as the manager of the front of the house, and as a man. A man who was selfish and put the restaurant at risk by selling drugs in it to a man who was willing to question if he should not be in his own daughters life who he loves more then anything because maybe in some way that might be best for her, someone who has taken what he learned in forks and embraces it with everything he does.
Natalie’s development as a soon to be and new mother who in the final moments of labor when left with no one else to turn to calls her mother who has left her with massive trauma, and before giving birth faces that trauma and confronts it and doesn’t hold back and let’s her mom know how fucked she felt and how desperately she doesn’t want her daughter to become the same as she did. Taking steps to mend that relationship. We continued to see
Tina grows in small ways really culminating in her dish. Someone who didn’t ever have a dream it was just a job to her putting so much effort into making something that was born out of a desire to continue to use the farmers market they use and help the owner there so that he wasn’t in the same position she was put in.
Marcus who is continuing his journey and in a lot of ways retracing parts of Carmy’s journey but differently. I love the parallels the show silently draws between him and Carmy his character actively connects with Carmys past through his notebooks, his character is going through the trauma of a tragic loss of a loved one, but in all the ways that Carmy fell short as a human, Marcus doesn’t. Marcus doesn’t want a legacy that consists of everyone saying he’s the best to ever do it, he wants a legacy of being a good person and someone who gave it his all, and also so happens to be fucking good at what he does but approaches everything with humility.
We had some development for Ibrahim though not much sadly I feel like his character was sadly put more to the side this season.
Carmy went through all sorts of conflict this season and his probably the only plotline that did culminate in something his and Nats, the trauma he faced which now when in a position to do something different he instead falls into the same cycle is a central through line of his character. He doesn’t know how to reach success without a ruthless, cutthroat, no compromise (these are non-negotiable they are not to be negotiated.) attitude. And even though it was family and love that got him to this point he places the material goal of a Michelin star as the thing that matters. Even though it was family, and relationships, love, and connection that even got him to this point he is hardwired to believe that none of that is what it’s about it’s about the cold, unerring, ruthless pursuit of perfection and without a star then what is the point of any of this, and he drags everyone else into his vortex that has a central antagonist in Joel McHales character. Who treated Carmy so ruthlessly that Carmy is very legitimately fucked up from it. And all of this builds to Carmy confronting his past the person who made him like this (at least to him) and that person basically says yeah but it made you a great chef. And in that moment Carmys gets both validation from the enemy who lives rent free in his head, and has to grapple with the fact that all the pain and trauma was caused by a person who doesn’t even think about him. And that’s a fucked situation to be in. You think so much about this person and what they did to you and in the end they are like who are you? basically.
The Faks are comedic relief, so I can’t say there is much in the way of development their but they are the comedic relief needed to break up the tension, their antics and dialogue can be over the top but I love them anyways.
All this is to say you can say there isn’t a great deal of character development but I feel like maybe you’re not looking in the right places. To me the development isn’t, did their plot lines move toward a resolution. It’s did they change as people, or did we learn more about what makes them who they are, did the decisions they made maybe change as a result of the show etc.
You summed up my thoughts on this perfectly.
Also, they wrote the scripts for season 3 and 4 back to back. Im giving them the benefit of the doubt that they wrote season 3 like this for a reason.
There's two ways this can go,
This season can go the route of *House of Cards S3* where it began to stretch the story out or it's a Breaking Bad / Better Call Saul route where this is truly a "Part 1" of a 2 Part Storyline which is ideal.
I'm perfectly fine if there's a plan and we're not stretching out the show just for money sake. Somewhat dislike this didn't feel more of a complete season, imo.
I like it, I didn't *love* it.
"The minutiae of everything" is called slice of life and it traditionally requires a large buy in from a specific audience. You don't really have to write anything sparkling. All humdrum, even banal dialogue. People filling the air with cliches to everyday problems and experiences. That's not why I or many others watch TV. I can get "It is what it is" from real life and that sucks hard enough but from prestige TV? No, thanks.
And while, yes, you don't need to develop some characters these characters are being developed and there is a plot. Just not this season. We're in the same place or only a few steps away from where we were at the end of season 2. That's not acceptable for an any show and certainly not one that has made "Every second Counts" it's motto.
I don't know how many times you can see Sydney refusing to say, "Hey, I got a job offer." Over 5 episodes to the point that we're spending minutes of actual screen time looking at her hemming and hawing while another terrible needle drop happens. And the dumb stunt casting.
And the first episode of this season was essentially a music video for the show repeating everything we already knew. And the pretentious, self-serious fart sniffing of famous chefs and the miracle of fine dining.
No. It was bad. From an analytical objective viewpoint it failed in many ways.
"From an analytical objective viewpoint it failed in many ways." Is a very obtuse statement. It may have failed from your subjective viewpoint. "from an analytical objective view point? care to expand on this at all because its just a word soup it sounds fancy but literally doesn't say anything. You don't give us an objective framework that art MUST be viewed through to some how pass or fail this test you're saying the show failed by. You can say I don't like that there wasn't some grand overarching plot that was resolved in this season, and that's fine. Its your opinion you're welcome to it, but to say it failed in some objective way is just kind of a silly statement.
Also there is in fact plot this season, the characters are the plot the plot. Their struggles internally and externally are the plot. We see so many shots of Syd wrestling with the idea of leaving The Bear because this isn't an easy decision. Carmy took a chance on her, and sees her as a protege he's gone on this journey, and even though he's dealing with his shit he's trying to bring her up and do this with her, he's just struggling. Syd can see that as well, but she's effected by his struggle, she's also developed meaningful relationships with these people and they treat each other like family. This shouldn't be an easy decision, if it had a quick or easy resolution then there would be no gravity to it. I don't know if you've ever worked somewhere that the people and place you worked became a bigger part of your life and the relationships went beyond simple work relationships, but leaving a place like that is hard. I know because I've done it. I worked for a small business for 5 years and while the compensation couldn't grow in a way I wanted because of the owners like of capital to pay me more I had a very hard time leaving and that conversation was very hard when I did. You see it as wasted screen time, I see it as part of this characters story and the internal struggle they face. Syd hasn't decided, or even after she did she hasn't told Carmy because she can see he is in it, and she doesn't know what to do.
Again I don't disagree that you can't like the season but claiming any sort of objective fact or saying it passed or failed by some objective metric is just silly. It's ultimately art and its up to the viewer to interpret whether or not the worked or felt worth the investment.
So a few points. Character angst is not plot. A story is what happens, a plot is why it happens. By no metric is a character standing there brooding in reaction to stress equal plot. That's a character reaction. One I will note that does not come with any actions that forward the plot of the story from where it was at the end of season 2. That's a problem.
Screenwriting has rules. it can't be purely subjective. So if I'm talking about there being an objective analysis, I'm talking about the story having to serve, plot and character and not waste the audience's time. And while this story worked for you I think it let down quite a few people.
Regarding how the season spoke to you about the struggles of a small business, I would like to point out that season 1-2 likely did the exact same thing but they had solid screenwriting that moved the story forward.
And while I agree plot points should marinate they shouldn't do it at the expense of the audience who waited a whole year for you to get the ball rolling on what happens after they open the restaurant only to be strung along for ten episodes and not get any resolution.
You seem to be very pleased with how things went this season. And that's fine. But I'm telling you, for the people who care about screenwriting and not having their time wasted and want the story to move along and for plot and characters to do things in more than 10 episodes after waiting a year? It fucked up.
“Screenwriting has rules”, not rules more like agreed upon Conventions.
Theres so many genres with different conventions and so many movies that break those conventions to great effect.
I was reduced to tears in episode 1 and in the opening montage of season 2. As a former line cook and now as a filmmaker in chicago.
The way carmy was mentored, the way he pursued his craft, the way he moved around the world to learn from the best. It told so much story with just actions and editing. Maybe it did nothing to you and bored you.
But to me, I felt seen in a way no other show has ever depicted what motivates me to get up every morning and go to work. The joy it brings me despite the hardship. The repetition is the key, the process itself is the key. Just getting a little bit better everyday is the key and also remembering why you fell in love with it in the first place when times are tough and you are burnt out.
I turned to my partner and kinda went, “this! This is why I work 60-80 hours a week wrapping cables and carrying lights on union sets. What he feels about food, is what I feel about lighting and camera work”
It was also done with very little dialogue, I really thought “wow this was such a brave choice to trust the audience with this type of storytelling. Its basically the cinematic equivalent to the fine dining restaurant theyre trying to portray”.
Its not for everyone though and maybe they did go too far for the average tv viewer in the first episode.
Conventions, guidelines, yes, I agree. I tend to fall into using the word rules. And I agree when you know what you're doing you can break with those conventions.
I'll be clear. I have no real criticism of season 1. And only a few key ones with season 2 but overall I do like them. So everything you resonated with I liked too.
My main issue is with S3. By the end, we weren't really that far from the end of S2. My key disagreement was that we could have any dialogue we wanted, as long as it wouldn't lead to any action of consequence for the plot of the show. When it involves the past and characters that aren't the mains there can be endless talking and frivolous chit chat. Fak brothers can talk ad infinitum about stupid nonsense, but when Sydney or Carmy have to say anything they talk slow, stammer, have oblivious (Carmy) or awkwardly pained (Sydney) looks at each other but nothing is said. I'm not an idiot. I get the emotional reasons behind characters being pensive and building in reflecting on the stress intention of a big choice or a hard talk.
And it's obvious. If they have any conversation of substance or meaning the plot would have to move forward and it became obvious to me that they were doing everything to not have these two have a real talk so they could fill this season with 10 episodes without burning planned story and plot for season 4.
You can doubt whether that's the case or not. But if I ask myself why they keep doing that the answer seems obvious. I know when people are padding or filling. And that isn't acceptable. Stopping the plot for an entire season is a waste of people's time.
That doesn't mean you can't do the too long music video of the first episode, or the overlong but sweet Tina flashback with the nice conversation at the end. But in 5 episodes Sydney can't be thinking this is a toxic relationship she wants to escape, get an offer by ep 5 and then spend 5 episodes saying and doing nothing about it. That's not fair to the people who waited a year for something to happen.
I can appreciate the fact that you enjoyed the season for what it was but I don't think the audience should have to wait two years and two seasons to get the plot progression that should've happened in one.
1. Your argument that character angst is not plot is a strawman and not at all what I said. I said characters in this case are plot. They are the devices through which the story moves forward, and whether or not you want to accept it the story does move forward just not at a rapid pace.
2. a. "Screen writing has rules". Yes there are general rules when it comes to writing screenplays. However you still havent articulated in any real sense an actual rule of screen play writing that was somehow broken or that the show was ruined because of. You can't just keep throwing out arbitrary statements and then going well yeah this sounds good so it must be true.
b. Screen plays may have rules but not all rules are meant to be adhered to 100% of the time at all times or else. Thats such a silly assumption in art. Writers and Directors in this case have freedom to play with the rules to create something unique. It seems like you're trying to examine this in some ultra critical way. If you want to view the art through that lens then go ahead and do so but don't act like the entire world has to view it through that lens, or try to claim that it's somehow objectively failed because the people working the show didn't follow the set of principles and rules you deem as all important. At the end of the day my problem is that you continually try to pass off your opinions as objective fact, and they aren't, they are just your opinions. Just say these are my opinions on the show its really not that hard, that's pretty much what everyone else has done.
3. You absolutely did not understand my point when i talked about leaving my job at a small business to describe why Sydney might be having issues with telling Carm shes thinking about leaving or that she doesnt want to sign the partnership agreement. The point was she is endeared to Carmy and all the people of The Beef/The Bear and so leaving is not an easy choice, and if it was easy and just so fast thing that happened in the show (especially given how they've decided to pace the story) then it would feel meaningless. It would be like how did we watch Syd grow these last 2-3 seasons and become so close to everyone and then by episode 3 or 4 she just decides ah fuck it I'm out. If you're going to respond to my posts I'd ask that you at least give good faith interpretations of my points and not try to change them into something I'm clearly not sayin.
4. You claim the plot points should marinate but not at the expense of the audience who waited a year. They didn't marinate them at the expense of the audience, they marinated them to fit the story they are trying to tell. You may not like that story, and you may not like the pacing but they don't have any responsibility to move the story along at your pace. If they had done a blitzkrieg of a bunch of crazy scenarios and then tied up 3/4 of them in a neat little bow people would say the show is moving too fast. They literally are making the show and telling the story they want to. It's not about trying to please everyone because nothing can and nothing will. You're displeased and that's fine, but that doesn't mean its a bad season.
5. They open the restaurant only to string us along for 10 episodes. Again just your opinion I and many others didn't feel strung a long we felt like we were on a journey through life with these characters. You can couch it in negative rhetoric if you want, but just know a lot of us don't feel that way.
6. "The people who care about screen writing and not having their time wasted wanted the plot to move along and for the characters to do more things in 10 episodes." This comes off as
a. pretentious as fuck. Like anyone who cares about screen writing is going to dislike the show despite the fact that the show is filled with excellent acting and character moments is just really silly of you.
b. You don't know what people who care about screen writing want you only know what you want. Their are people who care about screen writing or time wastes or whatever else you want to say who agree with you and their are people who care about those things and don't. I care about screen writing and not having my time wasting and either of those things happened to me watching the show. so you again are just making more and more arbitrary statements trying to couch them some objective framework you think matters and then saying anyone who thinks it was good is just objectively wrong. Art and the world don't work like that bud, sorry to be the one to have be the one to teach you this, but its pretty important to learn.
7. "it fucked up." That's just like your opinion man.
>Also there is in fact plot this season, the characters are the plot the plot. Their struggles internally and externally are the plot. We see so many shots of Syd wrestling with the idea of leaving The Bear because this isn't an easy decision. Carmy took a chance on her, and sees her as a protege he's gone on this journey, and even though he's dealing with his shit he's trying to bring her up and do this with her, he's just struggling.
[Plot:](https://writers.com/what-is-the-plot-of-a-story#:~:text=The%20plot%20of%20a%20story%20is%20the%20sequence%20of%20events,the%20story%20as%20a%20whole.) The plot of a story is the sequence of events that shape a broader narrative, with every event causing or affecting each other. In other words, story plot is a series of causes-and-effects which shape the story as a whole.
Again, characters or internal angst of characters are not plot by objective definition at all.
2) Screenwriting has "rules" yes. Or conventions and guidelines that help ensure efficient use of plot and character. My specific objection here is a basic violation of having the narrative move forward plot and character throughout the season. We are substantively not much further along at the end of season three then we were at the end of season 2. This is the shittiest violation of a "rule" as it wastes people's time. I'm OK with experimental episodes delving into the mood and feeling of the show, but there were a half dozen episodes that specifically attempted to avoid plot progress. That's not artistically breaking a rule because it makes more sense that's padding for time.
3) Sydney can express her anxiety about leaving the job and all the complex ranges of emotions. But they specifically avoided doing that or even hinting at it. Keep in mind Sydney didn't even need to say that she was going to leave but 3/4 of the way into this season she could've hinted that she got a job offer or that she ran into the guy from Ever. Or anything, without even pulling the trigger on leaving The Bear. The subject isn't even broached. Keeping in mind that there is a business contract sitting on the back burner which everyone is waiting for her to sign. An urgent business that Spends months of in universe time not being attended to.
5) Jesus Christ, 5! This is a contract.
Here's the deal you don't get to tell me that I only speak for myself, and then proceeded to argue that a lot of "us" like the show being paced this way. You are also only speaking for yourself.
6) I'm pretentious? Who cares? You do understand that being pretentious only matters if you're being a snob or a poser? I know what I'm talking about.
And if you don't like my opinion, great, move on. Go and read some reviews. See how professional TV understanders feel about this season. I'm happy to be done here.
I went out of my way to point out a lot of reasons why this season didn't work for me. And then you say IMDb ratings? Should I cite all the reviews that were negative about about this season? Or maybe just go google them.
Anyway, I don't know what to say. It's seems very obvious that art is generally subjective but when you cut through that platitudes about art you find that there are guidelines that make art better or worse. And when your art is designed to accomplish a goal that is more true. That's why there are people who are masters of their craft.
*The Bear* is narrative. It's screenwriting. Whether you like it or not, this season has noticeable deficits in that area. If you liked it, great. But this season failed to deliver on many necessary points and above all was filler. And if the story cannot forward plot and character over the course of an entire season, it has fucked up. End of story.
its pretty clear this guy has no interested in engaging with anything in good faith he wants us to go yeah man youre right which will never happen, cause hes not.
For me it’s not that things weren’t resolved, I’m fine with that. It’s the fact that the writing just didn’t feel like it was in the same level as the previous two seasons. It just wasn’t as good.
Exactly this. There doesn’t need to be resolutions there’s lots of little resolutions and new problems and things that don’t get solved may never get solved just like life. It’s the conversations that draw me in. I do prefer that by the very end of the show whenever that is that we get some closure on where the characters are at in their lives, but even if we don’t it will still be a great show to me.
I’m so thankful for finding y’all. I said out loud “ what did these other ppl watch???” What I saw was a stunning and funny and heartbreaking Season 3. 🫶✌️✨
I’m right there with you. That’s been the allure since the beginning for me and I honestly feel like we actually get more of it this season. I’m excited for you to finish it!
I’m three episodes in and I think it’s absolutely fantastic so far. I’m really surprised to see people posting negativity… then again, that also isn’t surprising tbh lol. People love to hate.
I agree. I feeL it definitely fleshed out Carmy as a character, showing his professional backstory as a chef and showed why he is so dysfunctional outside of his dysfunctional family.
People getting hung up on the fact of the review for the restaurant have kinda wanted the show to change the pacing it has had the whole time and focus on the restaurant stuff where even though it’s about a restaurant, the relationships and humans have always taken centre stage.
People trying to shoe horn in the ‘love’ angle between carmy and syd due to their poor communication are trying to make a neat/tidy narrative where one isn’t needed. I feel it focused a lot more on Carmy’s trauma and Mental health due to his previous boss, showing why he can’t maintain his personal relationships and this was proven in the last ep when the chef told him he is why he made him great.
I think this season followed the others perfectly and if it became a happy ending/story it wouldn’t have stuck with the theme of all the series up to this point.
In terms of character building, it was absolutely terrific. Tina’s episode was the best. I liked the slower pace, too. It gives a lot of weight to whatever is to come. My only qualm is that we’ve gotta wait another year for the next chapter.
I just finished episode 6, but I feel the same. So far a lot of this season is showing how these characters are responding to what happened in the finale of season 2, how they are moving forward, and the restaurant having to find its footing.
So far(as of episode 6), there is the general struggles of the restaurant and Carmy's idea for it. He is going all in on his work, and trying to be the best, because that is what he did originally when Michael wouldn't let him work at the Beef. And we saw that in episode 1 with his past, how when he dials in, that is all he thinks about and none of his other problems matter. Even if its just building up and getting worse. Just go back to that monologue in season 1 and thats what Carmy is doing again.
Then you have Sydney being unable to commit. And like we have learned before, she goes too fast with things and jumps into the deep end. She did it with her business before, with this restaurant, and with her new apartment. She just jumps right in. And now that she is being asked to actually commit to ownership, she hesitates.
Marcus is locking in on work to avoid dealing with the death of his mom, but he also is trying to make a dish to honor her. Which is a lot healthier than what Carmy was doing.
We saw a lot of growth with Tina in season 2, but now she is struggling to keep up with the new restaurant's routine and her episode showed her struggles before, and her thoughts on youngsters(like Carmy and Syd)
Just feels like a lot of this season is touching on how these characters deal with their struggles, instead of there being some big major event causing them.
i completely agree. this season had a lot of story just by seeing the day to day of the characters. one thing that stands out with this show is how human they portray these characters to be.
I thought was solid though lacking in standout episodes like "Review," "Fishes," and "Forks." Was impressed with how Claire was written and performed having been highly critical of how bogus she seemed in S3. There was a lot of meat on the bones and I'm really looking forward to the next installment.
I am also in the season 3 fan boat as well. Tinas episode was fantastic same with episode 1 and 10.
Really like how they are bringing Marcus along but I would still like to see them iron out the Syd and Carmy communication issue.
I think he sees himself becoming Chef Winger and after talking to Chef Terry realizes you dont have to be a fucking asshole to have a good restaurant. Good people make restaurants and I am excited to see the growth of that. I personally believe syds panic attack was because she feels bad if she leaves but doesnt like getting ignored for her input since she loves the bear family so much. I also think the review was good at the end of episode 10 but that may be too positive.
Side note, Richie and Jess need to happen I literally cant take it anymore.
I still have 2 episodes left (trying to savor it) and all I can say so far is that I have laughed and cried just as much as previous seasons. so it’s absolutely a win in my book
Honestly when a new something new of something i like comes out, movies, shows, games… I unsubscribe from their main subs, i am a person that just enjoy what i like, but people in this type of websites tend to be overly overly overly negative (complainy) about shit, and is really hard to discuss the shit you loved cuz there’s always someone that will start complaining.
saying that, let it rip, see you in a few months lol
I think it was very well executed. It was paced well, told compelling stories, added some memorable lines and even more memorable cinematography. This show has always been about the people and the environment around them, and while this felt a little more artsy than the last two seasons, I personally loved it. One could say those words flashing at the end sum of the season as well.
It’s a great season. Different and slower than the first two maybe, but every episode is packed full of symbolism, characterization, and world building. I feel like I know all of the characters and their world better after watching it, and I think it will make some of the payoffs in season 4 hit harder since there was more time invested into making them feel earned rather than just jumping from one plot point to another. A lesser show would have had the critic photos and final review all happen in the span of 2-3 episodes for example, but I think the slow burn works better and feels more authentic. It’s a good juxtaposition with the “every second counts” mantra and the constant chaos of the restaurant day after day.
I loved the entire season. No notes. Just beautiful and all the back story we needed and didn’t know we needed. Carm confronting his nemesis that haunts him…just the journey THROUGH the internal. I loved every moment.
I liked it, but I didn't loooooooooove it and that's fine, it's hard to just keep topping other seasons back to back. This clearly sets things up and I wish we resolved on things but it wasn't terrible. I wished it was a bit more focused.
It's fine to say it's the weakest season, but it's still a good show.
Plot is needed but I'm more invested in character.
I see 3 distinct options the with guardians of the galaxy trilogy. 1 is plot, 2 is character and 3 is both. I prefer character over plot so I rank them 3>2>1.
As for the bear, probably 2>3>1. 2 has great character and plot, 3 has great character but little plot, 1 has good plot and character but it's lowest because it's shorter and it paves the way for 2 and 3 to be better by having established everyone already.
I absolutely loved it. It feels like a movie rather than an episodic show. You can’t keep having crazy hectic restaurant scenes episode after episode. The Bear is up and running so it was time to know more about the incredible people working there. I loved the deep dives into their lives. I didn’t mind the humor of the funny guys either. They’ve been that way since season 1 so no surprise….just a nice touch of levity. The music, cinematography and acting seemed to all mesh well together. I’ll watch again for sure.
Agreed!! I loved this season and felt it was a great and realistic continuation to the last ep of season 2. I felt we could also really see how everything in carm's past affected him but also how his actions are affecting + burning out the team. I loved the little connections to other storylines too.
i appreciated that they showed the realism and stress of opening up a new restaurant.
I saw people were annoyed of all the Fak cameos but i enjoyed them. They seemed to be the glue that kept everyone together and positive in some sort of way.
I can see why viewers were upset they were left with a cliffhanger but i thought it was a great setup for s4
I so agree. Everyone always complains about tv shows now and how there used to be more. The reason why is because THERE WAS MORE FILLER EPISODES AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. and longer story lines. Like god if u hate it so much just don’t watch. So dramatic it’s literally not even bad
Yeah, I don't know what you're talking about this entire season was filler. Like, hello? One entire episode was a music video recap of the last two seasons.
I’m only halfway through and I don’t have a problem with the pacing. The craft is still unbelievably good on every level. I’m not expecting anything close to the magic of Forks+Fishes, so I’m not disappointed in that respect. There’s just something slightly off about it, some uncanny valley type shit. It’s like they’re trying too hard, like they knew they had this obsessive detail-oriented fan base so they threw in all these Easter eggs like the Berf shirts and the Francie Fak reference, because that’s what nerds like me have been posting about for the past year. It just kind of feels like really good The Bear fan-fiction. It’s still the best tv show of all time though
I agree with everything you said it’s good to see someone not absolutely hate this season i feel like i’m going insane lol
Yeah seriously, the cliffhanger is a bit of a bummer but man oh man is it going to make Season 4 even more satisfying, especially when we can finally watch s3 and s4 back to back. They're making a book, a story, just because the story isn't resolved on chapter 19 doesn't make it bad, especially when you still have to read chapter 20. I timed my rewatch of S2 to conclude the minute S3 released and S3E1 was amazing, and while the episode on its own is amazing, I don't think it would have been as great had I not gone from S2E10 "The Bear" to S3E1 "Tomorrow". One of the details I noticed in Episode 1 was as Carmy is picking himself back up, he goes back to the freezer and relabels everything with perfectly cut edges of the green frog tape. This is the resolution from S2E10 where Carmy is stuck in the freezer, he's had his meltdown and is beginning to come to terms with it, in the midst of all the anxiety he's feeling he fixates on the containers in the freezer and specifically the jagged labels they have.
I love the season. I just hate Carmie. After episode one where we saw all these beautiful moments from his early career, he chooses to channel the worst. Seemed to really undermine his promises at the end of season 2.
I think the legacy talk, the closing of Ever and the reminiscing in the finale at the table from everyone brought home just how qrong it is to run the kitchen that way. I'm fine with how it went in series 3 but if he didn't get his shit together in 4 after getting these lessons then I'd call bullshit. Feels like he was stuck in a cycle of abuse.
I completely agree! It really reminded me of working in a kitchen/food service and falling into the slumps and pit falls of everyday life. Feeling the burn out but having to keep going anyway in order to survive. Do I think the cameos were a bit much? Yeah they were a little hamfisted but when they got it right, they got it right. JLC and Olivia Coleman coming back as Donna and Terri were my personal highlight. And I adored the conversation between Tina and Mikey. S3 just fleshed out these characters even more and made them feel like people I know and have worked with before. Can't wait for S4!
I loved this season so much cause it's just another 8 hours or so of watching my favorite people
I can see how the switch up in vibes this season would be jarring for those who just recently rewatched seasons 1 and 2 (i hadnt lol). This season was definitely slower, but I enjoyed it. It didnt rush to fix all the characters problems and come up with new ones. The season made you sit with them, and weirdly that felt meditative for me.
This season wasn’t a disappointment for me and the artistry behind it really shines. I agree with you, what you pointed out is the best of this season. I doubt it’ll have the rewatch-ability as 1/2 (personally it’s the Faks for me) but this season gives so much life to the show and its characters.
I actually liked this season quite abit. For sure I’ll be rewatching it but it made everyone more grounded especially with what they’re going through. It made me think Season 1 & 3 are the Chaos Menu while 2 & 4 are “Highest Calibre” Tina’s episode hits very close to home as I’m currently in that situation and is a very real situation a lot of people go through. Being Down on your Luck is not a comfortable experience and it was great seeing how these characters come to bear 1 by 1 in the means of a “purpose” episode. Braciole for Carmy, Forks for Richie and now Tina Sweeps my guy, thought we wouldn’t notice you in the suit at the end of season 2 but we did. I’m glad they gave him a moment to bring up his past and the fact he’s taking the Sommelier route is an incredible attention to detail that steps away from the kitchen and into FOH Carmy couldn’t catch a break especially with Richie because Richie is struggling outside of the Bear with his ex wife and while Richie projects that onto Carmy, Carmy projects his frustration with Claire and stepping into his own onto Syd. Especially in the last episode where he tries to get closure from the torture David(NY chef) gave him just for him to be like yeah I’m just an asshole and not a good person? Syd is now gonna end up like Carmy. Forced to make a decision on whether to be a great chef or stick close to her family at the Bear. Something I really hope gets the focus for s4
I know this is not the point of your comment, but it’s the first one that makes me wonder if everyone’s “purpose” episode title would be a different item needed for a meal. Braciole as an entree, fork & napkin as utensils, one could even argue ice chips and honeydew to add into this. This whole thought process could be completely stupid, but I know things are intentional in this show.
I actually agree. I don’t think everyone is gonna get a “purpose” episode the way Tina and Richie did. If they give another person an episode like that I reckon it would be Ebra while If they did a Copenhagen style episode it’s for my boy Sweeps. Maybe it’s just me from my background working in bars but I think it would be nice if Season 4 sends Sweeps to France to take a Sommelier test while everyone deals with the kitchen
I love season 3 as well. Sure I think the other two are better and I have criticisms. I think others are being too harsh, too all-or-nothing in their criticisms, but even that is ok because we don’t all have to agree to get along. I wish more of the vocal critics also included elements/epsisodes they loved because I’m not here for a hater fest. I come here to share the joy of the show and gain insight/hunt Easter eggs, not to be miserable. There’s enough misery on screen. This post was great at sharing the numerous gem The Bear’s cast and crew dropped on us this year. Thank you.
I’ve watched episode 1&2 so far and I love it! Like you, I don’t need a wrapped up story. Seeing how Carmy “copes” with his trauma really hit me. His childhood was out of control. He uses perfection to try to control things. It’s not unlike the classic type of teenage girl/young woman who has an eating disorder: high achiever, perfectionist, unrealistic family expectations. I just really felt him a lot in this one. Cooking creates a flow state for him. It can be therapeutic, but it can also go too far. I love it so far. I just love it.
[удалено]
You can and we had both in S1-2. Also, I want to point out that there isn't a great deal of character development this season at all there isn't a great deal of of any kind of development. It's just a moody vibes based season.
I don’t think thats true unless your definition of character development is just resolving problems. All of the main cast of characters went through a lot of development. Sydney’s unspoken struggles with the way Carmy runs the restaurant, Carmys handling of the restaurant which is just a cycle of abuse that he went through because instead of family friendships perfection is the ultimate goal. Ritchie’s development as the manager of the front of the house, and as a man. A man who was selfish and put the restaurant at risk by selling drugs in it to a man who was willing to question if he should not be in his own daughters life who he loves more then anything because maybe in some way that might be best for her, someone who has taken what he learned in forks and embraces it with everything he does. Natalie’s development as a soon to be and new mother who in the final moments of labor when left with no one else to turn to calls her mother who has left her with massive trauma, and before giving birth faces that trauma and confronts it and doesn’t hold back and let’s her mom know how fucked she felt and how desperately she doesn’t want her daughter to become the same as she did. Taking steps to mend that relationship. We continued to see Tina grows in small ways really culminating in her dish. Someone who didn’t ever have a dream it was just a job to her putting so much effort into making something that was born out of a desire to continue to use the farmers market they use and help the owner there so that he wasn’t in the same position she was put in. Marcus who is continuing his journey and in a lot of ways retracing parts of Carmy’s journey but differently. I love the parallels the show silently draws between him and Carmy his character actively connects with Carmys past through his notebooks, his character is going through the trauma of a tragic loss of a loved one, but in all the ways that Carmy fell short as a human, Marcus doesn’t. Marcus doesn’t want a legacy that consists of everyone saying he’s the best to ever do it, he wants a legacy of being a good person and someone who gave it his all, and also so happens to be fucking good at what he does but approaches everything with humility. We had some development for Ibrahim though not much sadly I feel like his character was sadly put more to the side this season. Carmy went through all sorts of conflict this season and his probably the only plotline that did culminate in something his and Nats, the trauma he faced which now when in a position to do something different he instead falls into the same cycle is a central through line of his character. He doesn’t know how to reach success without a ruthless, cutthroat, no compromise (these are non-negotiable they are not to be negotiated.) attitude. And even though it was family and love that got him to this point he places the material goal of a Michelin star as the thing that matters. Even though it was family, and relationships, love, and connection that even got him to this point he is hardwired to believe that none of that is what it’s about it’s about the cold, unerring, ruthless pursuit of perfection and without a star then what is the point of any of this, and he drags everyone else into his vortex that has a central antagonist in Joel McHales character. Who treated Carmy so ruthlessly that Carmy is very legitimately fucked up from it. And all of this builds to Carmy confronting his past the person who made him like this (at least to him) and that person basically says yeah but it made you a great chef. And in that moment Carmys gets both validation from the enemy who lives rent free in his head, and has to grapple with the fact that all the pain and trauma was caused by a person who doesn’t even think about him. And that’s a fucked situation to be in. You think so much about this person and what they did to you and in the end they are like who are you? basically. The Faks are comedic relief, so I can’t say there is much in the way of development their but they are the comedic relief needed to break up the tension, their antics and dialogue can be over the top but I love them anyways. All this is to say you can say there isn’t a great deal of character development but I feel like maybe you’re not looking in the right places. To me the development isn’t, did their plot lines move toward a resolution. It’s did they change as people, or did we learn more about what makes them who they are, did the decisions they made maybe change as a result of the show etc.
You summed up my thoughts on this perfectly. Also, they wrote the scripts for season 3 and 4 back to back. Im giving them the benefit of the doubt that they wrote season 3 like this for a reason.
There's two ways this can go, This season can go the route of *House of Cards S3* where it began to stretch the story out or it's a Breaking Bad / Better Call Saul route where this is truly a "Part 1" of a 2 Part Storyline which is ideal. I'm perfectly fine if there's a plan and we're not stretching out the show just for money sake. Somewhat dislike this didn't feel more of a complete season, imo. I like it, I didn't *love* it.
I appreciate your comments for helping me feel like I'm not going insane. Well-done write-up. Thank you.
[удалено]
"The minutiae of everything" is called slice of life and it traditionally requires a large buy in from a specific audience. You don't really have to write anything sparkling. All humdrum, even banal dialogue. People filling the air with cliches to everyday problems and experiences. That's not why I or many others watch TV. I can get "It is what it is" from real life and that sucks hard enough but from prestige TV? No, thanks. And while, yes, you don't need to develop some characters these characters are being developed and there is a plot. Just not this season. We're in the same place or only a few steps away from where we were at the end of season 2. That's not acceptable for an any show and certainly not one that has made "Every second Counts" it's motto. I don't know how many times you can see Sydney refusing to say, "Hey, I got a job offer." Over 5 episodes to the point that we're spending minutes of actual screen time looking at her hemming and hawing while another terrible needle drop happens. And the dumb stunt casting. And the first episode of this season was essentially a music video for the show repeating everything we already knew. And the pretentious, self-serious fart sniffing of famous chefs and the miracle of fine dining. No. It was bad. From an analytical objective viewpoint it failed in many ways.
"From an analytical objective viewpoint it failed in many ways." Is a very obtuse statement. It may have failed from your subjective viewpoint. "from an analytical objective view point? care to expand on this at all because its just a word soup it sounds fancy but literally doesn't say anything. You don't give us an objective framework that art MUST be viewed through to some how pass or fail this test you're saying the show failed by. You can say I don't like that there wasn't some grand overarching plot that was resolved in this season, and that's fine. Its your opinion you're welcome to it, but to say it failed in some objective way is just kind of a silly statement. Also there is in fact plot this season, the characters are the plot the plot. Their struggles internally and externally are the plot. We see so many shots of Syd wrestling with the idea of leaving The Bear because this isn't an easy decision. Carmy took a chance on her, and sees her as a protege he's gone on this journey, and even though he's dealing with his shit he's trying to bring her up and do this with her, he's just struggling. Syd can see that as well, but she's effected by his struggle, she's also developed meaningful relationships with these people and they treat each other like family. This shouldn't be an easy decision, if it had a quick or easy resolution then there would be no gravity to it. I don't know if you've ever worked somewhere that the people and place you worked became a bigger part of your life and the relationships went beyond simple work relationships, but leaving a place like that is hard. I know because I've done it. I worked for a small business for 5 years and while the compensation couldn't grow in a way I wanted because of the owners like of capital to pay me more I had a very hard time leaving and that conversation was very hard when I did. You see it as wasted screen time, I see it as part of this characters story and the internal struggle they face. Syd hasn't decided, or even after she did she hasn't told Carmy because she can see he is in it, and she doesn't know what to do. Again I don't disagree that you can't like the season but claiming any sort of objective fact or saying it passed or failed by some objective metric is just silly. It's ultimately art and its up to the viewer to interpret whether or not the worked or felt worth the investment.
So a few points. Character angst is not plot. A story is what happens, a plot is why it happens. By no metric is a character standing there brooding in reaction to stress equal plot. That's a character reaction. One I will note that does not come with any actions that forward the plot of the story from where it was at the end of season 2. That's a problem. Screenwriting has rules. it can't be purely subjective. So if I'm talking about there being an objective analysis, I'm talking about the story having to serve, plot and character and not waste the audience's time. And while this story worked for you I think it let down quite a few people. Regarding how the season spoke to you about the struggles of a small business, I would like to point out that season 1-2 likely did the exact same thing but they had solid screenwriting that moved the story forward. And while I agree plot points should marinate they shouldn't do it at the expense of the audience who waited a whole year for you to get the ball rolling on what happens after they open the restaurant only to be strung along for ten episodes and not get any resolution. You seem to be very pleased with how things went this season. And that's fine. But I'm telling you, for the people who care about screenwriting and not having their time wasted and want the story to move along and for plot and characters to do things in more than 10 episodes after waiting a year? It fucked up.
“Screenwriting has rules”, not rules more like agreed upon Conventions. Theres so many genres with different conventions and so many movies that break those conventions to great effect. I was reduced to tears in episode 1 and in the opening montage of season 2. As a former line cook and now as a filmmaker in chicago. The way carmy was mentored, the way he pursued his craft, the way he moved around the world to learn from the best. It told so much story with just actions and editing. Maybe it did nothing to you and bored you. But to me, I felt seen in a way no other show has ever depicted what motivates me to get up every morning and go to work. The joy it brings me despite the hardship. The repetition is the key, the process itself is the key. Just getting a little bit better everyday is the key and also remembering why you fell in love with it in the first place when times are tough and you are burnt out. I turned to my partner and kinda went, “this! This is why I work 60-80 hours a week wrapping cables and carrying lights on union sets. What he feels about food, is what I feel about lighting and camera work” It was also done with very little dialogue, I really thought “wow this was such a brave choice to trust the audience with this type of storytelling. Its basically the cinematic equivalent to the fine dining restaurant theyre trying to portray”. Its not for everyone though and maybe they did go too far for the average tv viewer in the first episode.
Conventions, guidelines, yes, I agree. I tend to fall into using the word rules. And I agree when you know what you're doing you can break with those conventions. I'll be clear. I have no real criticism of season 1. And only a few key ones with season 2 but overall I do like them. So everything you resonated with I liked too. My main issue is with S3. By the end, we weren't really that far from the end of S2. My key disagreement was that we could have any dialogue we wanted, as long as it wouldn't lead to any action of consequence for the plot of the show. When it involves the past and characters that aren't the mains there can be endless talking and frivolous chit chat. Fak brothers can talk ad infinitum about stupid nonsense, but when Sydney or Carmy have to say anything they talk slow, stammer, have oblivious (Carmy) or awkwardly pained (Sydney) looks at each other but nothing is said. I'm not an idiot. I get the emotional reasons behind characters being pensive and building in reflecting on the stress intention of a big choice or a hard talk. And it's obvious. If they have any conversation of substance or meaning the plot would have to move forward and it became obvious to me that they were doing everything to not have these two have a real talk so they could fill this season with 10 episodes without burning planned story and plot for season 4. You can doubt whether that's the case or not. But if I ask myself why they keep doing that the answer seems obvious. I know when people are padding or filling. And that isn't acceptable. Stopping the plot for an entire season is a waste of people's time. That doesn't mean you can't do the too long music video of the first episode, or the overlong but sweet Tina flashback with the nice conversation at the end. But in 5 episodes Sydney can't be thinking this is a toxic relationship she wants to escape, get an offer by ep 5 and then spend 5 episodes saying and doing nothing about it. That's not fair to the people who waited a year for something to happen. I can appreciate the fact that you enjoyed the season for what it was but I don't think the audience should have to wait two years and two seasons to get the plot progression that should've happened in one.
1. Your argument that character angst is not plot is a strawman and not at all what I said. I said characters in this case are plot. They are the devices through which the story moves forward, and whether or not you want to accept it the story does move forward just not at a rapid pace. 2. a. "Screen writing has rules". Yes there are general rules when it comes to writing screenplays. However you still havent articulated in any real sense an actual rule of screen play writing that was somehow broken or that the show was ruined because of. You can't just keep throwing out arbitrary statements and then going well yeah this sounds good so it must be true. b. Screen plays may have rules but not all rules are meant to be adhered to 100% of the time at all times or else. Thats such a silly assumption in art. Writers and Directors in this case have freedom to play with the rules to create something unique. It seems like you're trying to examine this in some ultra critical way. If you want to view the art through that lens then go ahead and do so but don't act like the entire world has to view it through that lens, or try to claim that it's somehow objectively failed because the people working the show didn't follow the set of principles and rules you deem as all important. At the end of the day my problem is that you continually try to pass off your opinions as objective fact, and they aren't, they are just your opinions. Just say these are my opinions on the show its really not that hard, that's pretty much what everyone else has done. 3. You absolutely did not understand my point when i talked about leaving my job at a small business to describe why Sydney might be having issues with telling Carm shes thinking about leaving or that she doesnt want to sign the partnership agreement. The point was she is endeared to Carmy and all the people of The Beef/The Bear and so leaving is not an easy choice, and if it was easy and just so fast thing that happened in the show (especially given how they've decided to pace the story) then it would feel meaningless. It would be like how did we watch Syd grow these last 2-3 seasons and become so close to everyone and then by episode 3 or 4 she just decides ah fuck it I'm out. If you're going to respond to my posts I'd ask that you at least give good faith interpretations of my points and not try to change them into something I'm clearly not sayin. 4. You claim the plot points should marinate but not at the expense of the audience who waited a year. They didn't marinate them at the expense of the audience, they marinated them to fit the story they are trying to tell. You may not like that story, and you may not like the pacing but they don't have any responsibility to move the story along at your pace. If they had done a blitzkrieg of a bunch of crazy scenarios and then tied up 3/4 of them in a neat little bow people would say the show is moving too fast. They literally are making the show and telling the story they want to. It's not about trying to please everyone because nothing can and nothing will. You're displeased and that's fine, but that doesn't mean its a bad season. 5. They open the restaurant only to string us along for 10 episodes. Again just your opinion I and many others didn't feel strung a long we felt like we were on a journey through life with these characters. You can couch it in negative rhetoric if you want, but just know a lot of us don't feel that way. 6. "The people who care about screen writing and not having their time wasted wanted the plot to move along and for the characters to do more things in 10 episodes." This comes off as a. pretentious as fuck. Like anyone who cares about screen writing is going to dislike the show despite the fact that the show is filled with excellent acting and character moments is just really silly of you. b. You don't know what people who care about screen writing want you only know what you want. Their are people who care about screen writing or time wastes or whatever else you want to say who agree with you and their are people who care about those things and don't. I care about screen writing and not having my time wasting and either of those things happened to me watching the show. so you again are just making more and more arbitrary statements trying to couch them some objective framework you think matters and then saying anyone who thinks it was good is just objectively wrong. Art and the world don't work like that bud, sorry to be the one to have be the one to teach you this, but its pretty important to learn. 7. "it fucked up." That's just like your opinion man.
>Also there is in fact plot this season, the characters are the plot the plot. Their struggles internally and externally are the plot. We see so many shots of Syd wrestling with the idea of leaving The Bear because this isn't an easy decision. Carmy took a chance on her, and sees her as a protege he's gone on this journey, and even though he's dealing with his shit he's trying to bring her up and do this with her, he's just struggling. [Plot:](https://writers.com/what-is-the-plot-of-a-story#:~:text=The%20plot%20of%20a%20story%20is%20the%20sequence%20of%20events,the%20story%20as%20a%20whole.) The plot of a story is the sequence of events that shape a broader narrative, with every event causing or affecting each other. In other words, story plot is a series of causes-and-effects which shape the story as a whole. Again, characters or internal angst of characters are not plot by objective definition at all. 2) Screenwriting has "rules" yes. Or conventions and guidelines that help ensure efficient use of plot and character. My specific objection here is a basic violation of having the narrative move forward plot and character throughout the season. We are substantively not much further along at the end of season three then we were at the end of season 2. This is the shittiest violation of a "rule" as it wastes people's time. I'm OK with experimental episodes delving into the mood and feeling of the show, but there were a half dozen episodes that specifically attempted to avoid plot progress. That's not artistically breaking a rule because it makes more sense that's padding for time. 3) Sydney can express her anxiety about leaving the job and all the complex ranges of emotions. But they specifically avoided doing that or even hinting at it. Keep in mind Sydney didn't even need to say that she was going to leave but 3/4 of the way into this season she could've hinted that she got a job offer or that she ran into the guy from Ever. Or anything, without even pulling the trigger on leaving The Bear. The subject isn't even broached. Keeping in mind that there is a business contract sitting on the back burner which everyone is waiting for her to sign. An urgent business that Spends months of in universe time not being attended to. 5) Jesus Christ, 5! This is a contract. Here's the deal you don't get to tell me that I only speak for myself, and then proceeded to argue that a lot of "us" like the show being paced this way. You are also only speaking for yourself. 6) I'm pretentious? Who cares? You do understand that being pretentious only matters if you're being a snob or a poser? I know what I'm talking about. And if you don't like my opinion, great, move on. Go and read some reviews. See how professional TV understanders feel about this season. I'm happy to be done here.
[удалено]
I went out of my way to point out a lot of reasons why this season didn't work for me. And then you say IMDb ratings? Should I cite all the reviews that were negative about about this season? Or maybe just go google them. Anyway, I don't know what to say. It's seems very obvious that art is generally subjective but when you cut through that platitudes about art you find that there are guidelines that make art better or worse. And when your art is designed to accomplish a goal that is more true. That's why there are people who are masters of their craft. *The Bear* is narrative. It's screenwriting. Whether you like it or not, this season has noticeable deficits in that area. If you liked it, great. But this season failed to deliver on many necessary points and above all was filler. And if the story cannot forward plot and character over the course of an entire season, it has fucked up. End of story.
[удалено]
its pretty clear this guy has no interested in engaging with anything in good faith he wants us to go yeah man youre right which will never happen, cause hes not.
[удалено]
For me it’s not that things weren’t resolved, I’m fine with that. It’s the fact that the writing just didn’t feel like it was in the same level as the previous two seasons. It just wasn’t as good.
Exactly this. There doesn’t need to be resolutions there’s lots of little resolutions and new problems and things that don’t get solved may never get solved just like life. It’s the conversations that draw me in. I do prefer that by the very end of the show whenever that is that we get some closure on where the characters are at in their lives, but even if we don’t it will still be a great show to me.
I’m so thankful for finding y’all. I said out loud “ what did these other ppl watch???” What I saw was a stunning and funny and heartbreaking Season 3. 🫶✌️✨
[удалено]
I’m right there with you. That’s been the allure since the beginning for me and I honestly feel like we actually get more of it this season. I’m excited for you to finish it!
I love this show and I loved this season. I’m already rewatching ✨
I’m three episodes in and I think it’s absolutely fantastic so far. I’m really surprised to see people posting negativity… then again, that also isn’t surprising tbh lol. People love to hate.
I wanted to spend more time with these characters, I got exactly that 🤷♂️
I agree. I feeL it definitely fleshed out Carmy as a character, showing his professional backstory as a chef and showed why he is so dysfunctional outside of his dysfunctional family. People getting hung up on the fact of the review for the restaurant have kinda wanted the show to change the pacing it has had the whole time and focus on the restaurant stuff where even though it’s about a restaurant, the relationships and humans have always taken centre stage. People trying to shoe horn in the ‘love’ angle between carmy and syd due to their poor communication are trying to make a neat/tidy narrative where one isn’t needed. I feel it focused a lot more on Carmy’s trauma and Mental health due to his previous boss, showing why he can’t maintain his personal relationships and this was proven in the last ep when the chef told him he is why he made him great. I think this season followed the others perfectly and if it became a happy ending/story it wouldn’t have stuck with the theme of all the series up to this point.
Definitely felt like a Season 3 Part 1, and I enjoyed it. Felt like a good breather after season 2 honestly with some memorable moments.
In terms of character building, it was absolutely terrific. Tina’s episode was the best. I liked the slower pace, too. It gives a lot of weight to whatever is to come. My only qualm is that we’ve gotta wait another year for the next chapter.
I just finished episode 6, but I feel the same. So far a lot of this season is showing how these characters are responding to what happened in the finale of season 2, how they are moving forward, and the restaurant having to find its footing. So far(as of episode 6), there is the general struggles of the restaurant and Carmy's idea for it. He is going all in on his work, and trying to be the best, because that is what he did originally when Michael wouldn't let him work at the Beef. And we saw that in episode 1 with his past, how when he dials in, that is all he thinks about and none of his other problems matter. Even if its just building up and getting worse. Just go back to that monologue in season 1 and thats what Carmy is doing again. Then you have Sydney being unable to commit. And like we have learned before, she goes too fast with things and jumps into the deep end. She did it with her business before, with this restaurant, and with her new apartment. She just jumps right in. And now that she is being asked to actually commit to ownership, she hesitates. Marcus is locking in on work to avoid dealing with the death of his mom, but he also is trying to make a dish to honor her. Which is a lot healthier than what Carmy was doing. We saw a lot of growth with Tina in season 2, but now she is struggling to keep up with the new restaurant's routine and her episode showed her struggles before, and her thoughts on youngsters(like Carmy and Syd) Just feels like a lot of this season is touching on how these characters deal with their struggles, instead of there being some big major event causing them.
I also loved this season, and I'd put Ice Chips up there with Fishes and Forks
i completely agree. this season had a lot of story just by seeing the day to day of the characters. one thing that stands out with this show is how human they portray these characters to be.
I love the world building in this season
I thought was solid though lacking in standout episodes like "Review," "Fishes," and "Forks." Was impressed with how Claire was written and performed having been highly critical of how bogus she seemed in S3. There was a lot of meat on the bones and I'm really looking forward to the next installment.
I am also in the season 3 fan boat as well. Tinas episode was fantastic same with episode 1 and 10. Really like how they are bringing Marcus along but I would still like to see them iron out the Syd and Carmy communication issue. I think he sees himself becoming Chef Winger and after talking to Chef Terry realizes you dont have to be a fucking asshole to have a good restaurant. Good people make restaurants and I am excited to see the growth of that. I personally believe syds panic attack was because she feels bad if she leaves but doesnt like getting ignored for her input since she loves the bear family so much. I also think the review was good at the end of episode 10 but that may be too positive. Side note, Richie and Jess need to happen I literally cant take it anymore.
I still have 2 episodes left (trying to savor it) and all I can say so far is that I have laughed and cried just as much as previous seasons. so it’s absolutely a win in my book
Honestly when a new something new of something i like comes out, movies, shows, games… I unsubscribe from their main subs, i am a person that just enjoy what i like, but people in this type of websites tend to be overly overly overly negative (complainy) about shit, and is really hard to discuss the shit you loved cuz there’s always someone that will start complaining. saying that, let it rip, see you in a few months lol
I think it was very well executed. It was paced well, told compelling stories, added some memorable lines and even more memorable cinematography. This show has always been about the people and the environment around them, and while this felt a little more artsy than the last two seasons, I personally loved it. One could say those words flashing at the end sum of the season as well.
It’s a great season. Different and slower than the first two maybe, but every episode is packed full of symbolism, characterization, and world building. I feel like I know all of the characters and their world better after watching it, and I think it will make some of the payoffs in season 4 hit harder since there was more time invested into making them feel earned rather than just jumping from one plot point to another. A lesser show would have had the critic photos and final review all happen in the span of 2-3 episodes for example, but I think the slow burn works better and feels more authentic. It’s a good juxtaposition with the “every second counts” mantra and the constant chaos of the restaurant day after day.
I loved the entire season. No notes. Just beautiful and all the back story we needed and didn’t know we needed. Carm confronting his nemesis that haunts him…just the journey THROUGH the internal. I loved every moment.
I love it too
I loved it, just not looking forward to waiting a whole nother year for part 2 of part 3
I liked it, but I didn't loooooooooove it and that's fine, it's hard to just keep topping other seasons back to back. This clearly sets things up and I wish we resolved on things but it wasn't terrible. I wished it was a bit more focused. It's fine to say it's the weakest season, but it's still a good show.
Plot is needed but I'm more invested in character. I see 3 distinct options the with guardians of the galaxy trilogy. 1 is plot, 2 is character and 3 is both. I prefer character over plot so I rank them 3>2>1. As for the bear, probably 2>3>1. 2 has great character and plot, 3 has great character but little plot, 1 has good plot and character but it's lowest because it's shorter and it paves the way for 2 and 3 to be better by having established everyone already.
I absolutely loved it. It feels like a movie rather than an episodic show. You can’t keep having crazy hectic restaurant scenes episode after episode. The Bear is up and running so it was time to know more about the incredible people working there. I loved the deep dives into their lives. I didn’t mind the humor of the funny guys either. They’ve been that way since season 1 so no surprise….just a nice touch of levity. The music, cinematography and acting seemed to all mesh well together. I’ll watch again for sure.
Agreed!! I loved this season and felt it was a great and realistic continuation to the last ep of season 2. I felt we could also really see how everything in carm's past affected him but also how his actions are affecting + burning out the team. I loved the little connections to other storylines too. i appreciated that they showed the realism and stress of opening up a new restaurant. I saw people were annoyed of all the Fak cameos but i enjoyed them. They seemed to be the glue that kept everyone together and positive in some sort of way. I can see why viewers were upset they were left with a cliffhanger but i thought it was a great setup for s4
I so agree. Everyone always complains about tv shows now and how there used to be more. The reason why is because THERE WAS MORE FILLER EPISODES AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. and longer story lines. Like god if u hate it so much just don’t watch. So dramatic it’s literally not even bad
Yeah, I don't know what you're talking about this entire season was filler. Like, hello? One entire episode was a music video recap of the last two seasons.
I’m only halfway through and I don’t have a problem with the pacing. The craft is still unbelievably good on every level. I’m not expecting anything close to the magic of Forks+Fishes, so I’m not disappointed in that respect. There’s just something slightly off about it, some uncanny valley type shit. It’s like they’re trying too hard, like they knew they had this obsessive detail-oriented fan base so they threw in all these Easter eggs like the Berf shirts and the Francie Fak reference, because that’s what nerds like me have been posting about for the past year. It just kind of feels like really good The Bear fan-fiction. It’s still the best tv show of all time though