Top Line Thoughts: This show. Wow. I am honestly blown away. The first season was great. I loved it a lot and was so excited for it to come back. But I was not expecting to the second season to be this unbelievable. People always say that the second season of a show, second album for a musician, etc. is the hardest because the first one is the idea that you’ve been working on your whole life and you’ve had years to develop and perfect. And then if that is acclaimed and successful, you’re expected to follow it up with something just as good or better as soon as possible. “Sophomore slump” is sometimes used to describe occurrences where the novelty of something has worn off by the second go around.

I was worried The Bear might fall into this trap (no pun intended) because the first season saw such high highs that would make the success especially hard to duplicate. My fears then heightened when I learned that the storyline of the new season would involve the show stepping outside of the restaurant and expanding into the world. For a show whose entire aesthetic was built on feeling claustrophobic in a kitchen, this seemed like an odd choice. But I think a great way to avoid the sophomore slump is to not try to replicate the success of the first one by doing the exact same thing again but, instead, to do something completely different. Show everyone that you’re not just one thing, you can be many things.

Something I didn’t think this show was but after this season it turned out to be was a show where I connected deeply with the characters. Season 1 had a handful of moments that were less frantic and more emotional where I was able to feel for the characters, but I honestly found most of them a little grating. Not in a way that affected my enjoyment of the show, though; it all worked towards the entertainment value. But after season 2, every single one of these characters has such a hold on my heart, I could cry how much I care about all of them. Moving the show beyond just the restaurant kitchen allowed the audience to see these people in their real lives and give them meaningful character development. Carmy and Sydney were already the main characters and still got more evolution this season, but it was really the Marcus and Richie focused episodes that were the standouts of the season.

Speaking of season standouts, the most notable, expansive, jaw dropping episode of season 2 that everyone is talking about is without a doubt episode 6. A flashback episode that’s twice as long as the typical episode and features high caliber guest stars out of the blue and also keeps the relentless, anxiety-inducing pace the show is known for. This episode was both incredible and hard to watch in the best way possible. 

Everything else I want to say about this season veers into spoiler territory so I will just end with this: The Bear is not like anything else on television right now and I think that’s its biggest asset. It pushes the envelope in both its writing and visual style. It’s artistic but not in a pretentious way. The shots of food and cooking are stunning (don’t watch this show while hungry), the editing and energy of the chaotic sequences are fully immersive, and the shockingly quiet, beautifully written scenes of just two people talking are captivating. I loved watching this season and I can’t recommend this show enough.

Spoiler Section: There are really just three specific episodes I want to deep dive on here: “Honeydew” (episode 4), “Fishes” (episode 6), and “Forks” (episode 7).

Starting with “Honeydew” or “the Marcus episode”. Marcus was actually one of the only characters I had a soft spot for in season 1, but giving him this episode to pursue his passions was so beautiful. He’s such a sweet, lovable character that everything he says and does just makes me want to give him a hug. This episode not only steps outside of the restaurant but goes all the way across the world to Denmark and it really does have a different energy. It’s so slow and so quiet that it sometimes feels like more of a documentary than a scripted television show. The highlight of the episode has to be the conversation between Marcus and Will Poulter’s character of Luca. The two just get to discuss their passions for cooking and baking and how they got into this world and what motivates them. Two men who barely know each other just having a moment of genuine connection. I was worried when Luca was introduced he was going to be another hard-ass head chef like we’ve seen featured on the show before, but he was the perfect teacher for Marcus; he pushed him but also took the time to actually teach him and get to know him. I also heard someone on a podcast say that in Luca’s speech about always being second best in the restaurant he used to work in that they thought he was talking about Carmy being the best. I didn’t think that was obvious from the speech but the reveal in the photograph in episode 7 proved that to be true. I liked how the world is so insular and interconnected and these people all grew and learned from each other. I just love Marcus and was happy to see him get this opportunity in a beautifully acted and written episode that felt so different from the typical energy of the show but fully in line emotionally.

Episode 6. “Fishes”. The holiday dinner from hell. Or, for many, a typical holiday dinner. This episode had my anxiety through the roof from start to finish. I paused it 10 minutes in and saw there were 50 minutes left and genuinely did not know how I was going to survive. I have never seen a better depiction of family holidays than this episode. Many viewers have expressed feeling triggered by this episode for how it resembles their own family dynamics in one way or another. It’s a relentless hour of multiple people talking at the same time, yelling over each other, fighting, laughing, cooking, running around, oven timers, dishes breaking, drinks spilling – basically just chaos. You totally feel like you are really there celebrating Christmas with the Berzattos. As time goes on in the episode, the frenzy starts to become less light and fun and more sinister, like there are dark undertones behind every look and comment that could bring the pot to a boil at any moment. You think we’ve hit a boil when Mikey and Uncle Lee have a full face off at the table, but then a minute later Donna drives her car through the dining room and we’ve gone straight past boil into nuclear explosion. The way the tension was slowly ratcheted up as the episode went on, culminating in this truly shocking finish was executed perfectly. This flashback tells us so much about these characters as we know them in the present day and why they are the way they are. Carmy has grown up in chaos and cannot function any other way. 

Besides its plot mechanics, “Fishes” is notable for its star quality. I don’t know if it was intentionally kept secret or if I just missed any announcements about this, but I was completely unaware of any of these guest actors being involved with the show. This made the moments when their faces appeared on the screen all the better. Jamie Lee Curtis? John Mulaney?? What were these people doing on The Bear??? I know a good amount of people have bumped against the Jamie Lee Curtis performance because it’s so large, but it didn’t bother me so much. I think the character is supposed to be big so her performance doesn’t work against it. I’m obviously biased but I thought John Mulaney was particularly incredible here. It’s not a totally dramatic performance but it’s the most serious acting I’ve ever seen him do and he not only pulled it off, but sold it well. The monologue he gives while saying grace and attempting to smooth over the tension in the room is really moving and feels genuine. He also gets comedic moments with the Faks that felt so true to his voice they could have been improvised. I hope he gets to do more parts like this in the future.

Episode 7. “Forks” or “the Richie episode”. I found Richie to be so utterly annoying in the first season but this episode is a redemption story for the ages. My feelings towards Richie did a complete 180 after his arc here and I could not love him more. Seeing him work hard towards something and find what he’s good at and his purpose in life was amazing. I couldn’t help but root for his success. That storyline on its own was special enough, but when paired with the Taylor Swift of it all it was specifically made for me. As if the creators of the show were like “how can we make Amanda like Richie more?” (as I sit here writing this in my Taylor Swift sweatshirt). The Taylor Swift related breadcrumbs had been dropped in the previous episodes and to have it culminate in the moment of him celebrating his success by singing along to “Love Story” while driving was everything and more. One of the most relatable moments I’ve ever seen on television. I’ve done that exact thing more times than I can count. It was such an incredible triumphant moment in so many ways. I cannot emphasize enough the smile it put on my face for both Richie’s win and mine. Also, Richie, I will take your extra Eras Tour ticket!!! (Side note: I just want to acknowledge the way the creators incorporated Taylor into Richie’s storyline in such an organic and genuine way and did not make a joke out of it. It felt real and earned and sincere and I think that’s commendable for a male-skewing show made by mostly men to not use a figure like Taylor Swift ironically or mockingly.)

Also notable from this episode is yet another high caliber guest star in Olivia Colman. Her conversation with Richie is so important for his character evolution and understanding of himself and the restaurant community. She reveals the “Every Second Counts” motto has been passed down from her father to her to Carmy and Luca who worked under her and now to the new kitchen at The Bear. Like I said earlier, this large community has a deep history that Richie now feels connected to and accepted into.

There are a million other things I want to say about this season so I’ll just run through them briefly:

• Sydney eating her way through Chicago in episode 3 was a beautiful sequence. It made me really hungry and I would love to do that.
• I must shout out Molly Gordon coming in as Claire this season. I thought she was perfect in this role and played off Jeremy Allen White’s Carmy so well. 
• Liza Colón-Zayas as Tina also gave an amazing performance this season. Now that she’s not only bought into the chef world but is thriving in it, I’m more and more invested in her success. Also, her singing karaoke was beautiful.
• Abby Elliot is fantastic in Sugar’s expanded role this season.
• Carmy and Sydney’s friendship is really special and I would love to see more moments of them working well together and understanding each other in a way no one else can.
• Who on the writing staff went to Duke to make Coach K’s teaching a major theme of the season?
• I really want to try a Michelin star restaurant after seeing the dedication in service in episode 7. Do they really look up patrons on social media and eavesdrop on their conversations to tailor their experiences? That’s kind of crazy. In general, I don’t know if I will ever think about dining in a restaurant the same way after seeing what it is like in the kitchen. 

I hope if you’re reading this it’s because you watched the show and you loved it as much as I did. I will be rooting for everyone involved come Emmy season and likely rewatching the whole show to get me through the likely long wait until season 3. Let it rip.

2023 Count: 15 seasons, 33 movies, 1 special