Josh Reviews The Bear Season Five

The Bear season five brings the show to a strong, satisfying conclusion.  Even today, when it’s more common for shows to end in the time and manner of their creators’ choosing (as opposed to when I was younger, when most shows were either cancelled before their time, or dragged on for years past their prime), it’s a rare pleasure to see a great TV show stick the landing so smoothly.

The eight episodes of this fifth and final season chronicle the day of what looks like it will be the final night of service at The Bear.  When this structure became apparent to me, a few episodes into the season, I’ll admit that I was skeptical.  I worried about plate-spinning (a funny metaphor when talking about this show, set mostly in kitchens) and the manufacture of fake drama in order to stretch a whole season’s worth of stories out of just one day in the lives of these characters.

Thankfully, I needn’t have worried!  I loved the way this season unfolded, giving us plenty of time to spend with each of the main characters and their journeys, along with all of the classic nail-biting stress & anxiety the show is known for.  And with only one exception (the out of nowhere tension between dessert team of Marcus & Luca), I thought the narrative played out in a smooth and naturalistic way, propelling us dramatically right through to the extended finale and conclusion.

Before I get deeper into a discussion of season five, I should mention that the season was preceded by a special surprise episode, “Gary”, that was released about a month before the rest of the season.  That episode was written by Ebon Moss-Bachrach & Jon Bernthal, and tells a flashback story of their two characters, Richie & Mikey, set before the series began.  I thought this was a cool experiment and a lovely spotlight on these two great characters and talented actors, but overall I did not care much for this episode.  I thought it was fun at first, but as the long episode plodded forward, I found it to be a drag.  It was not enjoyable watching these two characters make self-destructive decisions and be horrible to one another.  I got the point a half hour in, but then the episode just kept going and going.  I found it hard to get through.  Adding insult to injury, the episode ends with a baffling cliffhanger (albeit one that is quickly explained once the actual fifth season begins).  (After watching this and then the dour, off-putting Punisher: One Last Kill, I am not so impressed with Mr. Bernthal’s skill as a writer, though I continue to think he’s a terrific actor.)

So that episode got me off to a worrisome start, though thankfully, I thought the actual eight official episodes in season five were all spectacular.  I loved this season!  I was hooked immediately back into all the drama of the individual character stories, and the episodes skillfully ratcheted up the tension from episode to episode.  I had a hard time stopping watching, and I binged this season quite quickly!  I loved it.

Most importantly, I was satisfied with the ending and where most all of the characters were left.  That is so important when ending a long-running TV show!  I wanted a happy ending for these characters, who we’ve watching (mostly) struggling, but I also didn’t want the show to abandon its style of storytelling to give us a fake-feeling, artificially happy or overly schmaltzy ending.  Thankfully, Christopher Storer and his team admirably stuck the landing.

SPOILERS AHEAD, so if you haven’t yet seen season five of The Bear, stop here!

Season four made clear that Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson)’s plan to create a franchise from their lunchtime sandwich window would likely be the key to the restaurant’s salvation, and that is indeed what winds up happening.  (I had been hoping that maybe the late, great Rob Reiner had filmed scenes for this final season before his tragic murder, but sadly he does not appear this season.  Instead, the show writes around him by having Ebraheim talking to his character on the phone, though we only hear Ebraheim’s side of the conversation.)  It feels correct that, after everything we’ve seen these characters go through to launch this version of the restaurant, it would continue beyond the end of the show, despite Uncle Jimmy’s financial woes.  This feels like an earned victory.

So too was the climactic moment in which Carmy reveals to Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) that the Bear has received not one Michelin star, but two.  Yes, Carmy delivers the line in a sort of TV-fake, building suspense sort of way.  And maybe that is a bit fairy-tale-ending unrealistic.  But I was bought into the moment completely, and I shared the characters’ joy at this hard-fought victory.  That was a wonderful scene in the final minutes of the show.

I’m glad that the show allowed many of the characters to achieve a victory of some sort this season, even a small one.  One of my favorites: they stretched it out until the very end, but I was very happy to see Richie and Jess (Sarah Ramos) finally connect romantically.  I loved all the scenes of the two of them together, and I almost cheered to see them sitting together on the plane to Japan at the end.  That made me very happy!!

I liked seeing Syd finally feel comfortable taking charge in the kitchen and stepping out from Carmy’s shadow. It was nice to see her get validation from Natalie (Abby Elliott), who calls Syd their captain.  That was sweet.  It was also nice to see the hard-working Natalie get a win as she finally sees towards the restaurant’s eeking out a profit, while also finding her feet as a new mom.

I loved seeing Sweeps (Corey Hendrix)’s victory in correctly identifying the wine vintages for the diner who he thinks is the “star-man” reviewer.  That was a great moment!  I loved the scenes with Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) and her husband, and I was as happy as she was when her brussel sprouts saved the day.  It was great to get to see her enjoying her new chef de cuisine title at the end.  Of course, the nervous Ebraheim is the one who really saves the day with his franchise idea; it’s nice to see how easily and truly Carmy believes in him.

The ending with Carmy interviewing was strange to me.  I loved seeing Jon Mulaney again briefly, and Bonnie Hunt is always a delight.  But I’m not convinced that Carmy’s becoming an intern at an architecture firm is the right path for him.  We know he’s a wonderful artist from seeing all of the food illustrations in his many notebooks.  But is he still running away from his problems?  I’m not sure the show quite sold me on this as a victory for Carmy, but I can live with it, especially with all the other characters on the show all seeming to have wound up in good places.

Other thoughts:

• I’m not sure I totally understood the business about Marcus’ stealing spoons. What was up with that?
• I was glad to see the great Jamie Lee Curtis back a few times in this final season as Donna Berzatto; it was nice to see her reaching a peaceful understanding with both Natalie and Carmy.
• As always, every scene with the Faks was a comedic pleasure.  Love those guys.  Doff of the cap to the comedic duo of Matty Matheson and Ricky Staffieri.  (How adorable was Neil, when he takes over as the main server for star-man’s table??)
• Watching Richie and the gang turn the outside of the Bear into a rockin’ party area, thus allowing them to turn over tables at a faster pace, was a delight!  What a grat idea!  It’s fun to see how good Richie is at his job at this point in the show!  He’s probably the character who has grown the most.
• It was lovely to see the gang wearing their “Original Beef (Berf) of Chicagoland” t-shirts for their final service!
• I loved hearing Ebraheim say “as you wish” when on the phone to Albert, a lovely tribute to the late Rob Reiner.

I know some people who felt The Bear lost a step in seasons three and four, but I never saw that.  I think the show has been strong throughout, balancing pathos and humor and allowing us to dig far deeper into all of these characters than most TV shows go.  From the beginning, this show has been as much about creating the atmosphere of this world, making the audience feel like we’re right there in a restaurant’s kitchen, as it’s been about plot.  I’ve always enjoyed that about The Bear.  I never found that boring.  I felt that in this final season, Christopher Storer and his team did a terrific job harnessing all the best elements of the show.  These final eight episodes were thrilling and emotionally moving.  I loved the ride.  I’m sad it’s over but happy that it ended so satisfyingly.