Series review: The Bear

No TV show has surprised me more than The Bear.

It’s a drama series about a group of chefs trying to make it big in Chicago’s restaurant business. 

While it’s sad to see the show go after a five-season run, The Bear is one of the best character journeys on TV.

Season 5 kicks off with chefs Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri) and Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) with one day left to earn their first Michelin star for the restaurant — and there’s chaos at every turn.

If ingredient shortages and stretched budgets aren’t enough, the restaurant has a pipe burst in the storage room and a big hole in the kitchen ceiling, all beyond service. Carmy also plans to quit cooking altogether.

Just another Tuesday in The Bear.

One of the most rewarding aspects of this series is seeing these chefs not only improve and excel in their culinary skills, but learn to work together and be there for each other. Quiet moments between characters calm the craziness in the kitchen and humanize the crew.

Tina Marrero (Liza Colón-Zayas) comforts Natalie “Sugar” Berzatto (Abby Elliott) while talking about the anxieties and uncertainties of raising children. Carmy and Richie Jerimovich (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) explore the importance of staying present during their chat together.

While the entire cast gives impressive performances, Ayo Edebiri as Sydney gives my favourite performance. Sydney grows from a rookie in Season 1 to a capable leader by the finale.

Whether it’s in the kitchen or in life, the show teaches us the value of people supporting each other and what we’re willing to do to achieve seemingly impossible goals.

Yes, it’s about restaurants. Yes, it’s about food and family. Yet, The Bear is a coming-of-age story that just happens to be in a kitchen.

There’s also plenty of comic relief supplied by the hilarious Matty Matheson as the crew’s friend and server Neil Fak. His goofy bickering with other characters and childlike naïveté can make anyone laugh.

The cooking sequences, like in past seasons, are more exciting to watch than an action blockbuster. Each scene is a tempo of rapid, aggressive cuts that create perfect yet absurd, stress-inducing tension from watching the crew work.

One moment, characters are reciting meal orders, only to switch to snappy closeups of various events in the kitchen: a pot boiling to the rim, a hand furiously stirring ingredients in a pan, a digital clock counting down, and plates of food swiftly taken off camera. 

Sounds stressful, right? Don’t worry, you’re not alone.

If I had to pick one flaw with Season 5, it’s White’s performance as Carmy — which isn’t as strong as before. He has a few touching scenes with Sydney that strengthen their friendship, but he just felt more restrained with little impact this time. 

The Bear evidently proves, however, that the restaurant genre could succeed on television as more than just live cooking shows or reality TV competitions.

The final season will never beat Season 1, but it wasn’t trying to surpass what the show started. Rather, it gave us more time with our favourite characters before its end, and that’s a recipe worth the reservation. 

Season 5 of The Bear is available to stream on Disney+.