by Samuel Nichols, Contributing Writer
In the age of streaming, inflated budgets and years-long gaps between season, The Bear defies all modern conventions. Every year, just like clockwork, the end of June gives us another season. Despite the meteoric rise of stars Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, they have retained their incredible depth chart of on-camera talent. But with the show wrapping up, it’s a question of will they stick the landing or leave a bad taste in our mouths.
Chef Carmy (White) has asked for discretion from Richie (Moss-Bachrach) and Sydney (Edebiri) about his choice to leave the business. His choice could not have come on a worse day, as a generational storm hits Chicago. Not to mention the Bear’s benefactor Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) is out of time and needs to decide on how to recoup his losses. Chefs Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas), Marcus (Lionel Boyce), and Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson) are all helping out as much as they can, but they know what they are up against. Resolved to continue serving until the lights are shut off, the staff prepares for a difficult day. With Carmy’s sister Natalie (Abby Elliot), the Fak brothers Neil (Matty Matheson) and Ted (Ricky Staffieri), and pastry stage Luca (Will Poulter) in the wings.
The most valid criticisms of the prior two seasons of The Bear has been the lingering pace and the hot and cold nature of how things are going. Yes, it was difficult time running the restaurant in season one and then rebuilding it all during season two, but there were small victories like Sydney’s first good review or Marcus’s time in Copenhagen. But season three and four seemed extra set on either the losses or the wins, respectively. They still had moments of parity, but not nearly as many as the first seasons. Not to say the show had dipped in quality, the acting and cinematography was still excellent. But here in season five, some diversity of emotion is back on the menu, boys.
Obviously there’s a tension around the fact that the Bear may be closing. But the whole staff has a “ride until the wheels fall off” mentality. Watching the staff work together despite the heavy weather, the short resources and little squabbles they have with each other is inspiring. And there are moments where everything just clicks, and the team works like a well-oiled machine. Particularly the final few episodes have the team humming unlike we’ve ever seen them before.
What keeps the vibes strong too is the sense of humor. Moss-Bachrach’s high energy and wittiness pair well with the methodical and sarcastic White and Edebiri. While he is more of a supporting character, Uncle Jimmy gets a lot more play here. It is his money on the line if the restaurant goes under. So, he is making plays and chatting people up to get this to work. The Bear has never been a comedy like a Judd Apatow movie with witty one-liners and crass jokes. But watching these nut job characters yell at each, bounce around, and react to their fellow staffers can get a chuckle out of me. Keeping the lightness counteracts the insanity of all the challenges facing our chefs.
Speaking of lightness, Carmy has found that exerting vice-like control in the kitchen will not make his coworkers or himself better. Collaboration is the new name of the game for him, and White fully adopts this behavior for Carmy. There is a softness here and a trust in his fellow chefs that he has never shown before. By taking a step back and letting them show him what they are made of, he has found happiness in their success.
Despite White being the face of the show and the titular “Bear” in a sense, he is not the only central performance that shows off his character growth in this final season. Moss-Bachrach and Edebiri have spent 5 years in their roles and grow their performances with these characters too. Richie has not lost one ounce of his fast-talking style. Yet he uses it to his advantage to inspire his other front-of-house staffers and connect with the patrons of the Bear. He found a patience for people now that he did not have when we met him. Sydney has found a self-assurance and confidence she did not have before. Her collaborating personality style is still intact as she wants Carmy’s and the opinions of her fellow chefs. But seeing her come into her own has been incredibly pleasant as a viewer.
As per usual the cinematography and soundtrack are terrific. It is easy to follow the intensity and vibrancy of a restaurant, and the music captures the dual nature of Chicago in both its class and its blue-collar people. Honestly, the best part of The Bear has been it showing two sides of people: grief and hope; failure and success; happiness and fear; setbacks and redemption. It captures the seasons of life for its central figures so well and allows them to grow past where we met them.
Rating: Loved It
The Bear is currently available to stream on Hulu and Disney+
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