What ‘The Bear’ Needs to Save Season 4

Please note that this article contains spoilers for ‘The Bear’ Season three and the first episode of Season four.

At the end of The Bear’s third season, many viewers — myself included — were left equally frustrated with Carmy’s choices and the show’s pacing. After Season one’s groundbreaking and accurate portrayal of the constant pressure in a restaurant kitchen, and Season two’s evident progress with Carmy’s fine dining restaurant, Season three seemed like… nothing really happened.

We watched as Carmy’s personal and professional relationships gradually fell apart, and it seemed as if Carmy was just observing too. He didn’t apologize to Richie, Sydney, or Claire; didn’t make any moves to save his failing business; and there were no major developments in the plot beyond the obvious — and repeatedly emphasized — signs that The Bear’s restaurant model isn’t working.

But I’m not giving up on The Bear. Partially because a show that features Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, sandwiches, and fine dining seems to personally appeal to all of my interests, but also because of the beautiful writing and world that Chris Storer introduced us to from the start.

What The Bear needs is movement. Carmy’s restaurant needs to move into its next stage of development. (When will he realize what the show has already made clear for an entire season, which is that those daily menu changes aren’t working?) It’s been clear throughout the seasons that Carmy has been traumatized by his family life and past work experience, but now it’s time to see him grow.

Growth might mean that Carmy finally takes steps to repair his fractured relationships, adjusts how he runs his restaurant, accepts culpability for The Bear’s hectic atmosphere, or has difficult conversations with the people he cares about.

I’m not privy to the long-term plans of the show’s creators, so maybe growth isn’t what they have in store for Jeremy Allen White’s character; maybe devolution is the route they’ve planned. Either way, the atmosphere at The Bear and the way these characters interact need to change, instead of focusing on the same tired tension we saw last season.

Based on the first episode of Season four, it seems that The Bear is raising the stakes. After a cliffhanger at the end of Season three, we finally learn that the Chicago Tribune’s review of the restaurant is… not favorable. (More specifically, the headline for The Bear’s review declares that the fine dining spot “stumbles with culinary dissonance.”)

This review adds another source of pressure that’s weighing on the restaurant — in addition to a litany of lingering issues like Sydney’s pending job offer, overspending on everything from flowers to butter, and constant discord between Carmy and Richie — and confirms publicly what each member of The Bear’s team has feared: that their efforts are not working.

In the aftermath of the review, several team members appear to finally take some measure of accountability. Carmy and Richie both admit fault for the harsh critique, although after a brief moment of vulnerability with Sydney (and one of those circling hand over heart motions), Carmy fails to apologize to her or acknowledge that his chaotic menu system needs to change.

It’s at this point that I started to fear that Season four would repeat Season three, with more montages showing how chaotic The Bear’s kitchen energy was and constant hemming and hawing from Carmy. But two major changes are finally introduced, giving me hope that we’ll see more plot movement throughout the new season.

To start, uncle Cicero and “the Computer” — an accountant and friend of Cicero’s introduced last season — instruct The Bear’s team that their financial situation is much worse than they realize, and the restaurant will close in two months if a very, very dramatic change of course doesn’t take place. (It’s at this point that Carmy asks if earning a Michelin star would be enough to make the place profitable.)

Luckily, one key player reveals that he has already taken steps to improve the restaurant. It seems that Richie has taken control of the chaos at The Bear and has hired the rigorous hospitality team from the now-closed Ever, the restaurant where he apprenticed in Season two.

The exacting and precise maître from Ever immediately starts whipping The Bear’s staff into shape. This initially seems like excellent news at first, but prompts another montage of nights in kitchen service, albeit with scenes that highlight the restaurant’s newly regimented operations.

Considering this is only episode one, I feel confident that The Bear needs more than just a hospitality consulting team in suits to turn things around, but at least something in this stress-inducing restaurant has finally changed.