Roush Review: ‘The Bear’ Season 2 Is Good Enough to

Matt’s Rating:

[Mild spoilers follow in this review.]

Not many shows are as flavorful as The Bear, FX’s sumptuous dramedy for Hulu that burrows into the chaos within a Chicago family restaurant still recovering from tragedy. The ingredients of great TV are all there: flashes of comedy to relieve the intensity and harrowing drama, emotion both tender and raw, and a cast that just won’t quit surprising us.

The Bear also manages that feat that often eludes all but the best series in its second season: deepening what was good about the breakout freshman year, adding new colors and conflicts along with substantial character growth. This batch of 10 episodes is all available instantly for binge-watching, though I wish the season were allowed to play out weekly, letting us savor each morsel before greedily devouring the next.

What may be most remarkable is that The Bear keeps us engaged even while the kitchen, the locus of so much of the drama, remains closed for nearly the entire run. Because Season 2 is all about renovation and renewal — of the restaurant, after the Original Beef of Chicagoland sandwich shop was shuttered in the Season 1 finale to make way for an upscale dining establishment. But also of its staff, led by celebrity chef Carmy “the Bear” Berzatto (Emmy front runner Jeremy Allen White) and his ambitious sous chef Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), who seize on this opportunity to show what they’re made of, and to make more of their ferociously loyal yet fractious co-workers.

To say that things do not go smoothly in the retooling would be an understatement. The bureaucracy of city regulations, the restaurant’s crumbling infrastructure, from mold-encrusted walls to exploding toilets, and the frayed tempers of too many alphas demanding to be heard create an escalating tension as the clock ticks toward reopening. It doesn’t help that Carmy has imposed a seemingly unrealistic timetable to secure the loan he needs from their shady Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt, never better).

Along the way, though, something unexpected occurs. Each of these vividly drawn characters finds new purpose in their calling toward service. That includes Carmy’s overwhelmed sister Natalie (Abby Elliott), the “mother” of this project in more ways than one; Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas), the proud line cook who yearns for promotion; Marcus (Lionel Boyce), the quietly committed pastry chef who jumps at the chance to apprentice with a master; and most especially Richie (the amazing Ebon Moss-Bachrach), the volatile “cousin” — in spirit, not blood — who wants to be in charge of everything but struggles to figure out where he fits in.

Chuck Hodes/FX

For Carmy and Sydney, the challenge involves balance between work and life. Syd’s concerned father (a warm Robert Townsend) worries that she no longer has a backup plan should this fail and wonders if she can truly trust her brooding partner. The congenitally unhappy Carmy falls into a tentative relationship with a friend from his past (the endearing Molly Gordon) but frets about ever taking his eye off the prize.

And trust me when I say nothing will prepare you for the blistering experience of the season’s sixth episode (“Fishes”), an extended flashback to a nerve-wracking Berzatto family Christmas when brother Mikey (Jon Bernthal) was still alive. (His suicide was what brought Carmy back into the fold.) With surprise guest stars playing members of the extended clan — some have been leaked, most have not — we get a glimpse into a destructive family dynamic that makes you wonder how anyone survived these gatherings.

The frantic preparations in the home kitchen make the behind-the-scenes restaurant mayhem almost pale by comparison. And without giving too much away, I can’t help observing that a recent Oscar winner is going to be hard to beat in next year’s Guest Performer Emmy campaign.

As the season builds in suspense towards the restaurant’s reopening, the emotional stakes couldn’t be higher. No wonder Syd clings to Duke basketball Coach K’s (Mike Krzyzewski) memoir as a bible to glean inspiration about teamwork and leadership. Everyone will need to be at the top of their game when the newly rechristened “The Bear” opens its doors for friends, family and others.

You’ll want to be there so badly you can almost taste it. I’m already hungry for the next chapter.

The Bear, Season 2, Streaming Now, Hulu

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