Yahoo Lifestyle 6 Ways 'The Bear' Can Improve in Season 4
It's been almost a week since The Bear Season 3 dropped on Hulu. Hopefully, fans have had a minute to digest the 10 episodes and parse out how they feel about the latest chapter of the FX-produced dramedy.
The series returned with mixed reviews, which is perhaps to be expected for such a highly anticipated television season. The first two seasons of The Bear were pitch-perfect, but the third outing showed that even the best in the business can find some room for improvement.
Nobody likes a list of complaints. Season 3 was good, but we know the series can do better, and we wouldn't be offering ideas for potential fixes for Season 4 (which still hasn't been officially announced) unless we cared.
Here are the improvements we think The Bear needs to make before Season 4.
6 Ways The Bear Can Improve in Season 4
1. Lay off the montages
Rapid-fire montages have been part of The Bear's DNA since the beginning. The technique helps create the stressful environment of the kitchen and put the audience in Carmy's (Jeremy Allen White) shoes when his panic starts to set in. But it felt like the montage method went off the rails in The Bear Season 3. Most of the first episode was flashbacks and montages as Carmy tried to work through the trauma of the restaurant's opening night. He reflected on his past to figure out his vision for tomorrow. It's clever and was also apparent in the first five minutes of the episode. We didn't necessarily need 20 more minutes of Carmy's past adventures in the kitchen to understand what was going on, and it stalled the first episode from setting up the obstacles for the rest of the season.
Related: How Much Would It Cost to Eat at The Bear?
2. Introduce the overarching conflict much earlier
This season of The Bear felt like the first half of a Netflix batch rather than a complete chapter on its own. That's because the external obstacle—the restaurant running out of money—wasn't fully revealed until the finale episode. Most of the season was spent fighting Carmy on his menu choices, and yes, Jimmy (Oliver Platt) complained loudly about how much his nephew was spending on butter, but it didn't become clear that the restaurant was in real danger until the very end of the season. The Tribune review of the restaurant posting and Jimmy blowing up Carmy's phone was the season cliffhanger, but we don't really know what it means. Based on the quick flashes of the article that we saw, the review was mixed at best. So is Jimmy pulling the plug? Is there a way for Carmy to pull back expenses at the restaurant? Is there another buyer they could bring in, considering how many supporters Carmy and Syd (Ayo Edibiri) have? This wasn't a devastating drop-off like last season, but just a confusing pause in a season that spent too much time spinning its wheels.
Related: 'The Bear' Season 3 Ending Explained: What Does the Restaurant's Future Hold?
3. Give Carmy some character growth
Carmy is the center of this series, but he hasn't really changed since Season 1. He's been stuck in his head since the audience met him in the series premiere. In the first season, he bullishly pushed the staff into turning their beef sandwich joint into a fine-dining experience. In Season 2, he gets so caught up with Claire (Molly Gordon) that he blocks everything else out until getting locked in the freezer forces him to face everything he has ignored for most of the season. In the moment of crisis, he blew up everything, including his relationship. In Season 3, he adopted a set of "non-negotiables" that may be the thing that puts The Bear out of business before it really has a chance to grow.
In all three seasons, the problem is that Carmy can't get out of his own head or his own way to succeed. Losing Syd in Season 1 and losing Claire in Season 2 wasn't enough enough to shake him of it. It's gotten so bad that he's now giving Syd panic attacks of her own. He's been called out. He stood up to his bully of a former boss (Joel McHale). He's lost people important to him. He's on the brink of losing the restaurant. Is that enough for Carmy to actually change? If it isn't, what exactly is going to drive the story forward in the next season?
4. Focus more on character interactions
When Season 3 allowed its characters to talk to each other (emphasis on talk to, not yell at), it showcased what makes the show so special. Episode 6, "Napkins," and Episode 8, "Ice Chips," are two of the stand-out episodes because they let characters talk and thus grow and move the story. "Napkins" focused on Tina (Liza Colon-Zayas) and how she got her job at The Beef. Her heart-to-heart with Mikey (Jon Bernthal) in the dining room revealed so much about Tina's ethos and her dreams. It also gave insight into how Mikey was struggling in the time before his death. In "Ice Chips," Nat (Abby Elliott) gets to iron out her frustrations with Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis) and we get to see the mother-daughter duo get real about generational trauma. The conversation is all close-ups and quiet whispering, but it is Emmy-worthy in its power and shows exactly why The Bear is so special.
The appeal of the show isn't just fancy shots of food but how it makes us care so much about the Berzatto family and everyone in its orbit. The guest stars are great, but the show sings when those stars get to do what they came for and act.
Related: 'The Bear' Season 3 Adds John Cena, Josh Hartnett and More to Guest Star List
5. Tell us more about the Fak family
The amount of Fak family hilarity in Season 3 was actually perfect, so this is more of a "keep it up" note than a request for improvement. Shout out to John Cena for bringing his comedy A-game to Episode 5, "Children." We will never think of the word "haunted" the same way again. Every time the Fak brothers were on screen it was a treat. If The Bear creative team ever decides to do a spinoff, it should be about the Fak family. They are legends and we will never get enough of them.
6. Give us more Chef Luca
This is a humble request, but after making a big splash in Season 2, Episode 4, "Honeydew," and then making a triumphant return in Season 3, we'd like Chef Luca (Will Poulter) to become a regular part of The Bear proceedings. He is so charming and funny. Were we imagining a spark of chemistry between him and Syd in the Season 3 finale? The character can give us more insight into who Carmy was before he took over The Beef without having to rely so much on flashback montages. He already has a great relationship with Marcus (Lionel Boyce), which gives him an even deeper connection to The Bear kitchen. We think he'd make a great addition to the next season.
What would you most like to see in The Bear Season 4? All episodes are now streaming on Hulu.
