The Bait-and-Switch of The Bear

Season 4 of The Bear did its best to rectify a terrible trick the show played on viewers in Season 3.

Love it or hate it, The Bear is likely one of the most unique shows you’ve ever watched. That’s assuming you still watch it, as the culinary dramedy saw a significant drop off in viewership after the horror show that was Season 3. I am not exaggerating when I say Season 3 of The Bear was one of the most boring, self-indulgent stretches of television I’ve ever seen. You know what? It is the most boring and self-indulgent stretch of television I’ve ever seen. Add that award to the litany of others they managed to win (I do not know how). But nevertheless, it’s unique in its combination of camera work, character exposition, and accuracy when it comes to source material.

The core issue lies in the massive bait-and-switch that they pulled on viewers in Season 3, which they have still not recovered from after Season 4 (but we’re on the right track). 

Pedal to the Metal

Seasons 1 and 2 of The Bear were as heart-pounding as it gets, especially for something not actually life-threatening (angry cooks in a kitchen). If you were prone to anxiety, this was NOT the show for you. Every episode felt like there were real stakes. An order not coming out on time, a dish being dropped, a recipe done incorrectly: these things felt like the end of the world. Yet our characters powered through. The dust settled, the chaos ended, and through a haze of cigarette smoke, our heroes trudged on home to prepare for tomorrow’s new set of hurdles. 

Even the scenes not set in the kitchen had a certain pace to them that kept you locked into the action. Look no further than Fishes, the somewhat infamous sixth episode of Season 2 that centers on a Christmas Eve dinner with the Berzattos. Was this panic-inducing style of storytelling a little repetitive? Did it have some cheap thrills? Yeah, probably. But at least it gave you something to chew on. You never left an episode of Seasons 1 and 2 of The Bear having felt cheated, that’s for sure. 

Season 3...huh?

Thennnnnn we arrive at Season 3. I would love to have been a fly on the wall for the writers’ meeting as they planned out this season. The show was obviously going to slow down. We need some backstory, some bottle episodes, some exposition, etc., all the artsy shit that make the show well-rounded and not just Fast & Furious: Culinary Edition. Unfortunately for my eyeballs and the eyeballs of millions of viewers, however, they decided to COMPLETELY abandon everything that made the show good in the first two seasons. 

This was The Bear’s great bait-and-switch. 

You thought you had a fast-paced show? Get ready for something slower than Giancarlo Stanton. You thought you had fast, witty dialogue? Get ready for a million closeups of characters staring blankly into the camera, mixed in with them muttering confused sentence fragments. You thought you had a dynamic plot? Get ready for even the most basic of plot points to not be resolved FOR AN ENTIRE SEASON. It was as if they stretched a post-credit scene from Season 2 into ten episodes of hot garbage. The writers did their best Willy Wonka impression and yelled, “You get nothing! You lose! Good day, sir!” 

There is nothing wrong with being avant garde. The problem is the jarring transition from the first two seasons to whatever the hell Season 3 was. We didn’t sign up for this. We don’t need to watch you smell your own farts. 

Season 4

A ton of viewers abandoned the show after Season 3. I found myself juuuust invested enough to give Season 4 a try (hold your applause). 

In Season 4, we’re back to cooking with fire. Pun intended. 

The kitchen sequences are back. We finally know what their first big review looked like. Carmen finally addressed the Claire situation. Sydney finally decided whether she was staying or going. We finally got to watch the Carmen and Richie and Carmen and mom talk-it-out sessions. Uncle Jimmy and The Computer putting a timer in the kitchen to signify how long the restaurant had to pull off a miracle was appropriate, as the patience of the show’s remaining viewers was also ticking away. Season 4 never reached the high speeds of Seasons 1 and 2, but at least the car wasn’t in park, like in Season 3. The finale alone will probably earn either Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, or Ebon Moss-Bachrach an Emmy win.

Some of the bad habits are still there. The incessant close-ups that do a better job of revealing skin blemishes than emotions. Sydney whining about everything she can. Carmy not being able to put together a complete sentence. Per the ush. But hey, at least it felt like I was watching The Bear again.

Hopefully, the bait-and-switch of Season 3 can be chalked up to temporary insanity. I am back on board and rooting for these characters to succeed. Season 5 comes out next year.

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