Spoilers for “The Bear” season 4 follow.
“The Bear” seemed to be having a charmed existence. Almost from the jump, audiences and critics were hooked on the show’s energy and obsessed with its cast of damaged characters and the fast-paced culinary world they inhabited. Awards came rolling in. Everyone fell in love with Ayo Edebiri. Everyone wanted to talk about how hot Jeremy Allen White looked chain-smoking cigarettes and yelling. Everyone wanted to give Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Richie a hug. Then season 3 arrived and something changed. There was a very noticeable shift in the show’s reception, and a kind of backlash seemed to be in danger of forming.
I gave season 3 of “The Bear” a positive review, but I also noted the show felt like it was stumbling for the first time. Had Carmy and his team flown too close to the stove and melted their Italian beef wings? In my humble opinion, “The Bear” season 3 wasn’t bad. It was just a bit lost. In attempt to the keep the momentum up, series creator Christopher Storer and his team seemed to embrace an experimental approach with season 3. The first episode unfolded as one long montage — a decision that I liked even though many other people did not. As season 3 plodded along, the story felt a bit directionless, and then came the finale. Rather than give us a satisfying conclusion, season 3 spent a huge chunk of its runtime focusing on a group of guest-star chefs playing themselves. Then everything ended on a cliffhanger. It was disappointing and more than a little underwhelming.
Thankfully, “The Bear” season 4 is a major improvement. But more than that, there are so many apologies thrown around in this new season that you might start to think the series is apologizing for the misstep that was season 3. To be clear: this is probably a coincidence, since it seems like seasons 3 and 4 were written very close together. But asking for forgiveness becomes a major theme this season, and that’s worth noting.
There’s a lot of apologizing in The Bear season 4
One of the problems of “The Bear” season 3 was a sense that the show had hit a wall and wasn’t going anywhere. To be fair, that might be intentional as a way to reflect the directionless spot the characters find themselves in. Indeed, as season 4 begins, we catch a moment where Carmy is watching “Groundhog Day,” a movie about a man caught in a time loop. Anyone who has seen “Groundhog Day” can tell you that the only escape from that time loop is for the main character, a rude weatherman played by Bill Murray, to become a better person.
And an attempt at bettering oneself becomes essential to “The Bear” season 4 as various characters apologize for the lousy things they’ve done. Carmy does the most apologizing, probably because he has the most to repent for. He apologizes for breaking the heart of his former girlfriend Claire. He apologizes to Sydney and the staff for changing the menu up every night, throwing everyone into chaos. He apologizes to Richie for not realizing Richie was just as broken up over the death of Carmy’s brother Mikey as Carmy was.
Other characters apologize, too. Most notable is Donna, Carmy’s troubled mother played by Jamie Lee Curtis, who regrets alienating her children with her heavy drinking and mental instability. All these apologies can’t help but make one think that the show might be saying “sorry,” too. “Did season 3 annoy you?” “The Bear” season 4 seems to be saying. “Well, we’re sorry about that. Here’s a much better season instead.” Apology accepted.
“The Bear” season 4 is now streaming on Hulu.
