Television

I think the problem with season 3 is there was no public victory for them. Season 1, they find the money, Syd decides to stay, they plan to open The Bear. Season 2, Carmy's in the fridge but Richie and Syd hold down the fort and the first night is a success. Syd is vindicated as a chef and realizes she can run shit, Richie finds his purpose.

Now for spoilers
Season 3 had nothing like that. I completely hate that they kept teasing Claire and the closest we get to a resolution is the Fak's stupid attempt to apologize for Carm. I guess the public victory was he finally validated by asshole chef while also realizing he is now asshole chef. And now you have the bad review and Jimmy pulling his funding. Sydney needs to move on. She will drown there in Carm's shadow. It wasn't all bad but I hated the final two episodes. Sugar is great and JLC better win an Emmy for her face acting alone. I loved Marcus, Ibram, and Tina getting in their groove. Carmy is the one weighing down The Bear now. Carmy needs to be a #2 and not a #1.

Best line was Jimmy asking if the Orwellian butter was dystopian.
 
I think the problem with season 3 is there was no public victory for them. Season 1, they find the money, Syd decides to stay, they plan to open The Bear. Season 2, Carmy's in the fridge but Richie and Syd hold down the fort and the first night is a success. Syd is vindicated as a chef and realizes she can run shit, Richie finds his purpose.

Now for spoilers
Season 3 had nothing like that. I completely hate that they kept teasing Claire and the closest we get to a resolution is the Fak's stupid attempt to apologize for Carm. I guess the public victory was he finally validated by asshole chef while also realizing he is now asshole chef. And now you have the bad review and Jimmy pulling his funding. Sydney needs to move on. She will drown there in Carm's shadow. It wasn't all bad but I hated the final two episodes. Sugar is great and JLC better win an Emmy for her face acting alone. I loved Marcus, Ibram, and Tina getting in their groove. Carmy is the one weighing down The Bear now. Carmy needs to be a #2 and not a #1.

Best line was Jimmy asking if the Orwellian butter was dystopian.
My biggest gripe of season 3 is the “To Be Continued…”

Season 3 and Season 4 were filmed at the same time to accommodate everyone’s schedules. It’s clear now they took the opportunity to tell a 20 episode arc instead and of two separate 10 episode arcs. I am completely fine with that but they should be more up front about that aspect. If I had know that there was no resolution coming in this final 2 episodes I would have enjoyed them more. Instead, I kept checking the remaining time because I was getting anxious about how they were gonna wrap up all the loose ends within the ever-dwindling run time.

Knowing that this was season 3A and season 4 is actually season 3B I am completely fine with this season being mostly set up for what’s to come. Chris Storer has not done anything thus far for me to doubt that the payoff will be worthwhile. My guess is Syd, and Claire will factor in greatly in season 4.

Someone online made the astute observation that the Syd/Carmi relationship really echos that of the Peggy/Don dynamic on Mad Men. The gifted yet self-destructive mentor leaving their talented hardworking apprentice to clean up their mess while they self-sabotages everything they’ve strived for.
 
This season they are leaning in to character study and that works well but when there is only 10 episodes total and a third of them are siloing off cast members we don’t get as much focus on the full larger story.
I think this observation was, for me, both a complaint and a strength. There was very little story in a more traditional sense. Anything hanging from S2 (e.g. Claire) was only obliquely addressed. In general, I think most story progression was in building anchor points from which to dive in the future (so, very little progression).

With that said, the character building was immense. The Berzatto family dynamics as a whole; a lot of characters getting entire or almost entire episodes that explored their past or present situations - Tina, Marcus, Syd, Richie, Carmy. I say it is a pretty bold gamble in television because audiences can be fickle and I cannot think of other examples of shows that created such an imbalance of character vs. story. I think it was largely successful because it created some beautiful episodes, if not simultaneously frustrating because I wanted to see where things went (def Claire/Carmy and Syd's decision).

Also, speaking of Syd's decision....I think her final move will be based off of a collection of incidents and marginalization by Carmy. But if one scene highlighted Carmy's pathology toward Syd and the imbalance in their "partnership", it was in the kitchen (forget which episode) when she came in to work on the day's menu but Carmy had already begun. She had choices already picked and he either sidelined them completely or changed key ingredients.
 
My biggest gripe of season 3 is the “To Be Continued…”

Season 3 and Season 4 were filmed at the same time to accommodate everyone’s schedules. It’s clear now they took the opportunity to tell a 20 episode arc instead and of two separate 10 episode arcs. I am completely fine with that but they should be more up front about that aspect. If I had know that there was no resolution coming in this final 2 episodes I would have enjoyed them more. Instead, I kept checking the remaining time because I was getting anxious about how they were gonna wrap up all the loose ends within the ever-dwindling run time.

Knowing that this was season 3A and season 4 is actually season 3B I am completely fine with this season being mostly set up for what’s to come. Chris Storer has not done anything thus far for me to doubt that the payoff will be worthwhile. My guess is Syd, and Claire will factor in greatly in season 4.

Someone online made the astute observation that the Syd/Carmi relationship really echos that of the Peggy/Don dynamic on Mad Men. The gifted yet self-destructive mentor leaving their talented hardworking apprentice to clean up their mess while they self-sabotages everything they’ve strived for.
Season 4 wasn't shot yet. That was the original plan but it didn't happen.

 
Liked this season of the Bear, but a substantial step down from season 2 imo. Works either as a third act to season 2 or a set up to season 4, but not by itself. Lot's of subtle moments of character growth I liked, but frustrating overall considering how little actually happens, and how much screen time is devoted to asides. Was also deeply annoyed with the Faks by episode 5, and they just kept showing up. Felt like several episodes where you saw them more than Carmy.
 
I’m only a couple episodes in but I am very much enjoying the sort of protean nature of the show’s structure and how any given episode is treated as its own object. The Bear x Terrance Malick? Excellent. The next episode is single conversation around a prep table? Excellent.

I’m prepared for the season to feel less elementally satisfying than the first two because each of those felt conceived on their own terms, while this was made with a two season renewal on the mind, but very few shows tickle me on the same level when it comes to sheer fucking craft.

TV and movies are like fine dining. Ultimately, you eat with your eyes, and it’s nice to see someone working very hard on the plating when most other shows, regardless of budget, just slop it into a single bowl.
 
I’m only a couple episodes in but I am very much enjoying the sort of protean nature of the show’s structure and how any given episode is treated as its own object. The Bear x Terrance Malick? Excellent. The next episode is single conversation around a prep table? Excellent.

I’m prepared for the season to feel less elementally satisfying than the first two because each of those felt conceived on their own terms, while this was made with a two season renewal on the mind, but very few shows tickle me on the same level when it comes to sheer fucking craft.

TV and movies are like fine dining. Ultimately, you eat with your eyes, and it’s nice to see someone working very hard on the plating when most other shows, regardless of budget, just slop it into a single bowl.
You are right, the Bear does have a Mallick-esque feel to it.
 
Latest House of the Dragon maybe nest of the series so far. Love having a large scale dragon fight you can actually see.
Agreed. The CGI was excellent too which was always the case with GOTs but with Zaslav and Team Discovery Channel taking the reins of HBO I was afraid they mighta started to cheap out on their flag ship.

I will say they need to change up the Vhegar sneak attack dragon kills. The slayings of Arrax and Meleys were very similar in tone and execution though I will say even though I knew something was gonna happen both still made me jump.
 
Season 4 wasn't shot yet. That was the original plan but it didn't happen.

A bit more clarity on the season 3/4 situation…

Ebon wasn’t coy like the other actors. Pulled the relevant quote:

“We were going to make one season,” Moss-Bachrach says, “but that season was getting bigger and bigger and at a certain point it seemed like maybe we should write more, not feel constrained and turn it into two seasons.”

They ended up shooting season three and four together. At least, he thinks they did.
“We shot about 18 episodes,” he says. “But everything shifts. In the past, what was one episode on the page has been split into two. I just lose myself in the messiness and chaos of it. I like getting taken by a wave that’s bigger than you thought it was, tumbled around and spit out the other end.”
 
I'm still crawling my way through the new Bear season (episode 3) but I'm a little baffled by Carmy's heel turn. Seasons 1 and 2 he's actively trying to work against his programming (both his personal trauma and the toxicity of high-class kitchens), has an emotional break in the walk-in, and comes out pure asshole. It feels like both he and the show have given in and become about the very things they promised they wouldn't be about.
 
I'm still crawling my way through the new Bear season (episode 3) but I'm a little baffled by Carmy's heel turn. Seasons 1 and 2 he's actively trying to work against his programming (both his personal trauma and the toxicity of high-class kitchens), has an emotional break in the walk-in, and comes out pure asshole. It feels like both he and the show have given in and become about the very things they promised they wouldn't be about.
The way I've thought about it is that recovery is always more about 2 steps forward and one step back. If season 2 is two steps forward for Carmy, then season 3 is his one step back. Yeah, it's maybe not as naturally convincing as the show could have made it, but I don't think it's unbelievable or a slight on the show. It just seems incomplete, I think because, again, season 3 isn't a full arc.
 
I'm still crawling my way through the new Bear season (episode 3) but I'm a little baffled by Carmy's heel turn. Seasons 1 and 2 he's actively trying to work against his programming (both his personal trauma and the toxicity of high-class kitchens), has an emotional break in the walk-in, and comes out pure asshole. It feels like both he and the show have given in and become about the very things they promised they wouldn't be about.
I mean he goes through a traumatic event all the way around in the walk in and reflects on a lot of bad shit and realizes that he has shit to work though. He’s working through it. I don’t seem him as a heel so much as a human.
 
The way I've thought about it is that recovery is always more about 2 steps forward and one step back. If season 2 is two steps forward for Carmy, then season 3 is his one step back. Yeah, it's maybe not as naturally convincing as the show could have made it, but I don't think it's unbelievable or a slight on the show. It just seems incomplete, I think because, again, season 3 isn't a full arc.
I mean he goes through a traumatic event all the way around in the walk in and reflects on a lot of bad shit and realizes that he has shit to work though. He’s working through it. I don’t seem him as a heel so much as a human.
I guess it hasn't felt like a step back so much as a tumble into emotional oblivion, and (at least at this stage in the season) I'm not seeing any work or grappling on his part yet; he's just cooking and yelling and occasionally thinking about his ex.
 
I guess it hasn't felt like a step back so much as a tumble into emotional oblivion, and (at least at this stage in the season) I'm not seeing any work or grappling on his part yet; he's just cooking and yelling and occasionally thinking about his ex.
I think his reaction to trauma is to bury himself in the work and allow himself to fall back into all the toxic dynamics he thought he had escaped. I trust he will resurface eventually, because the series knows where its bread is buttered, but he is damaging his relationships with everyone around him in the meanwhile.

I thought it was cool how in the first episode the various flashbacks showed the trials and tribulations of Carmy's learning to make dishes under various chefs, some supportive, some abusive, all demanding, and we later see that each of the changes he made to Syd's menu reflect, consciously or not, those same dishes. It makes an interesting point about creativity springing from the assimilation of other people's work, but it also demonstrates how he is incapable of fully leaving behind the experiences that shaped him.
 
It all seems very convincing and understandable to me, with a lot of it surrounding his brother and how Camry deals with it. Carm still is working through that trauma (the first ep shows that he can’t even bring himself to go into the church for the funeral). He later understands that Mike wouldn’t let him work at the Beef because he felt Carm had potential which would be wasted if he stayed in Chicago. Once Carm accepts that, he now has that weight on him, to make The Bear succeed. And even though Carmy has seen positive ways to succeed, he is drawn back into the bully and bluster method (this can be seen with him bullying Luka) because he still has the baggage from his family dragging him into the vortex of suck. Just the way I am seeing it.
 
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