THE BEAR: SEASON THREE
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Lionel Boyce, Liza Colón-Zayas, Abby Elliott, Matty Matheson, Ricky Staffieri, Corey Hendrix, and Oliver Platt
Creator: Christopher Storer
PRESTON
I want to excuse this season like a mother would excuse her execrable child: “It’s not Timmy’s fault that he bit a teacher, he was just tired from his exhausting gaming marathon!” My best attempt is that Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) wins me over completely, the celebrity chef cameos are killer, and Neil Fak (Matty Matheson) provides much needed comic relief. Tragically though, the previously successful nonlinear structure becomes a regressive hindrance, the plotline goes nowhere fast, and the episodes are disjointed. Let’s hope this is all to whet the appetite for a redemptive Season Four.
PAIGE
Season Three of The Bear continues to do a fantastic job of blending the tranquility and mayhem that make this series so remarkable, even though this crop of episodes is missing a few appetizing ingredients. Frustratingly, nothing is resolved, leaving the story thinner than in its previous exquisite seasons, and each episode plays more like a collage of artistic images than a plot-driven narrative. Don’t get me wrong, the aura of the show is still there, and the performances are its best feature; however, it needs to beef itself back up to deliver what we loved about Seasons One and Two.
QUENTIN
Even though it boasts the same top-notch acting, celebrity cameos, and food porn that contributed to the first two seasons’ success, The Bear is starting to show some cracks in its storytelling (a point punctuated by an unsatisfying and lazy “to be continued” tag on the finale). For whatever reason, the show’s writers made this season almost entirely about character development, and in the process, sacrificed anything that resembles an actual narrative arc for the titular restaurant. Each episode is more like a character vignette, with a couple even feeling like filler. It’s not a terrible season by any means, but it’s a definite step backwards.
ADRIANO
It's with a heavy heart that I say I was underwhelmed with the third season of The Bear. After its pitch-perfect second season, the bar was always gonna be high for the follow-up. But while the performances are still top-notch, the energy is still kinetic, and more than any season, I was more into the creative filmmaking on display, I don't feel like anything was accomplished. At least for the first eight episodes, I felt like we were going in circles to arrive at no destination. A pretty disappointing third season to an otherwise outstanding show.
AMARÚ
Season Three of The Bear is one of transition. It’s as stressful, well-acted, frenetic, and funny (it’s a comedy right?) as the first two seasons, but the direction and plot structure takes those familiar vibes and presents them in a new, artistic, and swing-for-the-fences way. There’s less of a narrative thru-line, making this more of a stop-gap season between stories, and that doesn’t always translate as naturally to the show’s grounded history, but it emphasizes each character’s journey in a way that highlights the cast’s tremendous talent. The art-house approach may not work 100 percent, but I appreciate the attempt at something new.
KATIE
Season Three of The Bear, one of the greatest shows on TV, delves deep into the psyche and past of its protagonists, favouring character study over driving the narrative forward. This season took a more complex and abstract approach, with some episodes consisting of montages of beautiful food, creative editing, and compelling performances, and although this is definitely not a bad thing, it demands more patience and willingness to focus on the moment. I felt I got to know each character far more intimately, setting us up for hopefully a more productive next season, enhanced by all of this previous character development.