It's always gratifying when a season of television succeeds in being a season of television, as opposed to being more like a miniseries or a reworked movie that's being meted out to us in multiple parts. You can tell that the second season of "The Bear" was conceived of and always meant to be serialized television. It builds on all the characters and relationships that were introduced in the first season, and carries through to a satisfying endpoint that points the way toward a third season, without being a cliffhanger. And it takes advantage of all the benefits of being a prestige streaming series - variable length episodes, binge model release - without ever feeling indulgent. I can't remember the last time a ten episode season felt exactly the right length.
After being relatively cool on season one of "The Bear," I'm definitely in its corner after second two. This year is more tightly focused, with one big goal in mind: charting the efforts of Carmy and Sydney and the rest of their crew as they struggle to open the new restaurant. This requires massive amounts of work, more debt, endless stress, and multiple characters going off to train and build up their skills. There are a slew of high profile guest stars in the mix, but the focus of the show remains on the core characters we were introduced to last season. Many of them are significantly improved. Sugar, Carmy's sister, agrees to be the project manager for the restaurant's remodel, and comes into sharper focus. Richie, who was a character I couldn't stand last season, undergoes a transformation into a far more stable, promising version of himself. Fak (Matty Matheson), Carmy and Richie's childhood friend, becomes a series regular, spearheading the construction efforts and the comic relief.
Many of the important members of the ensemble get individual spotlight episodes - Richie, Marcus, Sydney, and Sugar most prominently - while others get stories playing out more quietly throughout the season, like Tina and Ebraheim. There's a good balance between the more chaotic, anxiety-inducing installments, like the flashback episode, and the much more laid back, character-focused entries like Richie's reinvention. It also helps that this season has so much more emphasis on food and restaurant culture. There's plenty of time in the kitchen, but the scope expands so we're seeing different kitchens, and the front of the house, and other operations. Sydney's episode, where she visits multiple restaurants in search of inspiration for a new menu, is foodie heaven.
We learn a lot more about the Berzatto family, especially in a star-studded hour-long flashback episode covering an eventful Christmas dinner. We meet more family members, and other people from Carmy's past, including his old friend Claire (Molly Gordon), who emerges as a potential love interest. In the process, the show fills in the details about Carmy, encounter by encounter. Because of him, everyone in his orbit is inspired to better themselves, and make the dream of the new restaurant a reality. And because of him, the process is also endlessly fraught and rife with conflict, leading up to a spectacular finale where Carmy's ambitions and deficiencies collide in a beautiful piece of dramatic irony. Sydney continues to be a standout. Her big arc this year is overcoming her doubts about putting everything she has into the new venture, about relying on Carmy as her partner, and ultimately about performance anxiety. I love that we get to meet her father, played by Robert Townsend, and Richie's ex-wife, played by Gillian Jacobs, who help put so much into context.
There's a wonderful attention to detail in the show that helps to ground it in a very specific time and place. Instead of glossing over all the little complications that other fictionalized depictions of renovation work would happily skip, "The Bear" leans into them. Every missing permit and scheduling snafu and failed fire suppression test piles on the tension. Shots of closed restaurants remind us both of the financial stakes and the post-pandemic setting. The motto "Every Second Counts" is introduced this year, and it feels like the creators of "The Bear" take it to heart. Every second of the show is executed with such care and such thoughtfulness. I love the editing in particular, which sets the tempo of the show - sometimes mellow and sometimes on the verge of a heart attack. The montages of chaotic construction work and perfectionist food service are fabulous.
The performances, however, are what I really love the season for. Carmy and Claire's relationship is the kind of sublot that might drag down a weaker show, but I dug every minute the two were onscreen together. I adored seeing Abby Elliott as Sugar, holding her own against every other Berzatto (and Berzatto adjacent) male in sight. Ayo Edibiri, Lionel Boyce, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach are inevitably going to break my heart. I wish we'd gotten more of Liza Colon-Zayas and Edwin Lee Gibson, who do so much with hardly any dialogue. Even Oliver Platt returns for a brief, but moving arc, revealing some new dimensions. I wish I could add comments on some of the other guest stars, but that would be ruining some wonderful surprises.
Finally, as well done as it was, my favorite episode was not the popular Christmas special. I continue to have trouble with the sustained levels of anxiety and shouting matches that some of these characters see as a way of life. I'm glad I watched it, but I'll never be able to watch it again. Having Richie's much calmer episode as the direct follow-up was very much appreciated. His and Marcus's quiet voyages of discovery were the highlights for me this season. Well, not that quiet in Riche's case. I don't think I've ever been so happy to hear anyone blasting Taylor Swift.
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