1-1-1: The Bear Season 4

 Season 3 | 2 | 1
created by Christopher Storer

The What 100: The Tribune review is in, and it neither made The Bear, nor broke it, but left it to fend for itself. Uncles Jimmy and Computer put a countdown clock in the kitchen for when the money runs out which hangs over everyone's head (even though it's on the counter).  Carmy realizes that he is his own worst enemy and that his past trauma and trauma avoidance has maybe been sabotaging not just the restaurant but his own life. Sidney wrestles with her decision to stay or go. Ritchie's anxiety reaches its spillover point as his ex's wedding approaches. Tina struggles with insecurity in the kitchen, Ebraheim gets a mentor, while Marcus levels up and also avoids his dad. You could almost forget Sugar had a baby.

(1 Great) Episode 9: "Tonnato". Ever since Season 2's "Fishes" Donna "DD" Berzatto (Jamie Lee Curtis) has been the livest wire in a show of livewires. She supercharged with electricity and she flails around ready to strike, and you're never sure what kind of shock she's going to deliver. In season 3 it was DD showing up for Sugar at the hospital, being a real mom, and helping her daughter through a difficult time with almost no selfishness at all. In Season 4, DD is in a better place. We see that she's helping Uncle Jimmy sell his home, we hear from "Uncle" Lee that she's going to therapy and she's quit drinking, we see her take herself out of an equation as much because she can't handle it as she knows others can't handle her presence. In Episode 9, Carm is encouraged by Sugar and Sid (and even Claire) to personally bring her the photo albums she wants, and he reluctantly does. When she asks him to stay, he does, and she takes him through some old photos, giving him new perspective on his family. Then DD reads Carm a letter that is full of her regrets, acknowledgement of the pain she caused, awareness of her destructive behaviour, awareness of the distance she has put between her and her children, and honesty about how gutted she still is by Mikey's passing. The show started around Carm coming back to Chicago because of Mikey's suicide, and in season 2 and 3 it was maybe just a spectre that hovered over the show, but this season deals with it head on, as Carm deals with it head on, which gives us even more perspective that he wasn't the only one to lose somebody. The bridge Carm forgets with DD here is very powerful, and Jamie Lee Curtis is for sure getting her second Outstanding Guest Actress Emmy for this, as she did for "Fishes". She absolutely destroys this scene reading her note to Carm, and Jeremy Allen White's reaction is equally powerful (no surprises if he gets an Emmy win either). 

(1 Good) Episode 7: "Bears". It's Tiff's wedding, the day Ritchie has been dreading for months. Ritchie still seems to be best friends with Tiff, and he wants to hate Frank (Josh Hartnett) but he is really such a good guy. Ritchie and Frank have to come together to help Eva, Ritchie's daughter, as she's hiding under a table and won't come out. Meanwhile Carm shows up and verges on a panic attack but has his entire life put into new perspective by, of all people "Uncle" Lee, who he vehemently dislikes. Sid (as Ritchie's plus one) meets Donna for the first time, and it's totally awkward, but in a nice way. The Fak's sister, Francie (Brie Larson) turns up and immediately gets into it with Sugar, as they had a falling out years ago, and have not seen each other since. There's other little moments between characters, and the set-up is that every one of them is entering the wedding like a grenade with the pin missing. The explosions can go off at any time. Thinking back to Season 2's "Fishes" in terms of family gatherings, it's like we know what to expect. And yet, for everyone here, for all the anxiety they're carrying, they're in a different place now, looking for a different path, more receptive to dialogue, to listening, and the fireworks never really explode. Much still is left unsaid, but everyone winds up under that table with Eva, Ritchie and Frank, expressing their greatest fear to help Eva get over hers. It's the season in a nutshell, changing behaviours, trying to be a better, more supportive person, because these people are family, some blood, some found, but they mean something to each other, and any barriers getting in the way are not insurmountable.

(1 Bad) There is nothing outright bad about season 4. It's not the perfection that was season 2 but it's a lot more propulsive and impactful than season 3, with so much more meaningful growth and interactions. The weakest part is Tina's story and Lisa Colon-Zayas' involvement in the season, which was pretty minimal compared to the past. Tina's entire story here consisted of her getting her pasta dish down to under 3 minutes. It would almost be a running gag if Colon-Zayas weren't so good at selling what the emotional stakes are for Tina, which continues the thread from previous seasons about wanting to feel like she has earned her spot in this kitchen and she belongs.  Marcus' story is similarly a bit under baked, as it's tantamount to him dodging his dad's phone calls and texts for 10 episodes, but they manage to incorporate L-Boy into this season much more and give him a few big wins as well as pair him up with a returning Luca (Will Poulter), a guest spot that makes me wonder if Poulter is going full cast next season. Nice to see Marcus' roommate Chester back as well. Definitely not bad is Ebraheim's sub-plot which finally gives that character more life and stake in the show (and the restaurant), after a season in which he all but disappeared. He has an incredible sub-plot with guest star Rob Reiner. For the most part the secondary cast is used well, so it's just a disappointment that Tina feels put on the sidelines.

META: I described Season 3 as its most assured, and yet also its weakest as it failed to resolve almost every storyline. Season 4, which picks up immediately as season 3 ends, might as well be season 3.5 as it wraps up pretty much every thread that was dangling, and picks up more that, by its end, also feels like they've come to very satisfying conclusions. 

The journey this season was so much more dynamic and more than any other season I felt pulled through it, rather than pushing myself through it. It's kind of the Ted Lasso effect of people gaining emotional intelligence and there being less drama, which doesn't mean less conflict, but rather more ability to work through it without plot contrivances or story cliches getting in the way. It's a season of evolution and where it leaves off is both beautifully ambiguous but also quite satiating. If the final episode, a remarkably well done bottle episode that pits our three leads in difficult conversation at the end of the clock's countdown, it's not that *everything* is resolved, but it ties up enough threads that it could act as a series finale should they wish it to. They don't, of course, as it's still an awards juggernaut, but it definitely would be a terrific finale.

And also, not for nothing, this season is kinda funny again.