25 reasons Hulu's 'The Bear' assembled an unforgettable second season
How could they possibly outdo an incredible first season?
They did outdo it. I don’t know how Christopher Storer and an amazing cast and crew pulled off that second season. Following up on a home run-type (if slightly implausible) first season finale, Carmen Berzatto and his edgy, lovable, and loyal kitchen grunts faced a ridiculously tall task: Rehab and reopen a (semi-fictional) Chicago institution previously called The Beef.
Oh, and not kill each other while doing it. After a required second trip through, I kicked it old school and scribbled down 25 reasons it flipped the bat this summer amid insurmountable (but apparently mountable) odds. Enjoy, or read it after you watch the complete collection of 18 episodes. It’s time to let it rip!
25) Carmen’s math issues humble the culinary wizard
Jeremy Allen White is a wizard himself in the acting department after this constantly building performance--and that fires through during his more-than-rare occurrences of issues. The funniest one has to be the insensible math skills that he displays in the first episode. While drawing erratically across a torn-off piece of cardboard, “Carmy” recaps the debt of the leadership group that includes Sydney (Ayo Edibiri) and Natalie aka “Sugar” (Abby Elliott). It’s so inaccurate that everyone looks at Carmen as if they just saw a white tiger.
The mad chef can’t really add! Ha. It’s the little things.
24) Syd’s omelet
Yes, I crumbled up potato chips on a homemade omelet soon after watching Chef Sydney cure an overworked and pregnant Sugar. One must respect someone going for a Michelin Star trashing up a classic breakfast dish to help a friend. Speaking of which, this show helps my appetite remain strong in the face of any illness.
23) Richie’s renaissance
It’s not that Cousin Richie was an evil being in Season One; he was just a giant dickhead. A troublesome dad with no real identity in the kitchen--outside of his mouth. Ebon Moss-Bachrach brought the character to life last year. This was just a tweaking of all the bad deeds in a man’s life. Richie’s inability to see past an expired restaurant style and direction mixed with his natural attitude like water and oil, but season two chilled the menace.
In sending him to work at a high-class restaurant for a week to rediscover some discipline and find “purpose,” Richie found himself hiding in a giant onion of self-hate. Once he took care of himself, and recognized the daughter and family that needs him dearly, the path was blazed. Forks is arguably my favorite episode.
22) Episode Six
Wow is one word. Exhausting isn’t enough. Overpowering is more like it. I say “arguably” with the next episode featuring Richie because of this one’s power. An hour-long flashback episode took the Berzatto family back five years to Christmas dinner, where the matriarch (Jamie Lee Curtis!) was making the dreaded yet nostalgic dish, the Seven Fishes.
The episode also featured the likes of Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Paulson, John Mulaney, and several of Season One guest stars like the invaluable Oliver Platt and Jon Bernthal. What it lacked in patience and pacing, it made up for in writing, acting, and impact. Imagine the worst holiday dinner dysfunctional households, and multiply it by Jewish lightning.
Bernthal’s Mikey is deceased in the current storyline, but he pops up once a season to add weight to the proceedings. Viewers got to see some of the jewels and skeletons in the closet of the close relationship between Carmen and Michael. The episode doesn’t hold back in theatrics, bringing that rugged tension of the show to a full tilt. Watch with alcohol.
21) Alex Gonzalez
Any St. Louis Cardinals fans will appreciate some playoff debacles that don’t include a Redbird. Platt’s Uncle Jimmy-who provides the funding, for better or worse-delivers the goods on the infamous Cubs-Marlins playoff game that incriminated poor Steve Bartman for life. Jimmy’s take is that the game was lost when Cubs shortstop Gonzalez fumbled a routine grounder, and helped extend the inning.
“All that kid do is what any fucking person would do, and that’s try and catch the fucking ball!”
I happen to agree. Steve should have known the stakes, but it’s hard to resist reaching in. Platt deserves an Emmy for this alone.
20) The versatile FAK
Matty Matheson is an entertaining fella, and a legit chef in real life. If the cast needed to resemble a real kitchen based on true experience, M&M would lead the pack. It doesn’t take long watching his Facebook page-stuffed with interesting and hilarious cooking videos-to understand why he’s on the show.
Matheson brings skill, energy, and a comic timing that can’t be taught to the role of Fak, the everyman at The Bear who fixes and cooks. Nothing cuts intensity faster than good comedy.
19) Mikey’s locker
There doesn’t need to be much said. It’s a quick moment early on in Season 2 where the kitchen gathers around the departed leader’s locker, finding only a New York Yankees cap inside. Storer doesn’t beat us over the head with nostalgia or dramatics, always striking a nice balance.
18) Syd and her dad
Sweet without being melodramatic. We see Sydney and her father, who she lives with, sitting down for a nice dinner at a restaurant. A piece of cake sits between them, daring one of them to take a stab. They talk about her current working situation, and whether or not it’s going to work out. The taxing info is dropped when the subject of their dinner (and cake) is revealed: it’s her late mother’s birthday dinner. Soulful.
17) Killer soundtrack continues
The setlist just builds and builds, snagging righteous tunes from R.E.M., Counting Crows, and Eddie Vedder. The season opens with Bruce Hornsby’s underrated gem, The Show Goes On, an incendiary-without-being-preachy salute to the everyday hustle. We hear Michael Stripe’s soulful if haunting Strange Currencies throughout the entire season, while getting insightful music additions that sneak up on you. Harmonia & Eno ‘76 is full instrumental, but hits hard during the end of Honeydew.
16) Marcus and that big heart
Thank you, Lionel Boyce. The optimistic baker with a true ambition for the craft is imbued with such heart and soul by the actor. It never seems forced or generic, always a straight for the heart shot from a real one. Storer opened his second season on The Bear’s dark knight of poise, watching over Marcus taking care of his mother in the hospital.
A pivotal reminder of life’s untimed and sudden wrath was wisely mixed into the opening frame, but it deepens our love for L-Boy and his ability. Together with his Honeydew adventure, the second season showed us more of this man’s monstrous heart. That cannoli, aptly titled “The Michael,” is something I need after every day on the job. Comfort, that’s Marcus.
15) The Guest List abides
Season 1 had a decent roster, but round two blew things out of the water. From the packed punch of Fishes, to the surprise arrivals of Olivia Colman and Will Poulter later in the season, Storer didn’t hold back when it came to enriching the already robust flavor of this unique show. It’s intense, but the acting still holds the line when it comes to becoming overheated and too much. Guest spots make a television show run long and strong. The Bear is smoking hot heading into next season.
14) Tina’s smile
The extra screen time with The Bear’s true muscle was a great extension of the show’s multi-faceted character development. But the smile plays. It’s Julia Roberts-powered when at its biggest height, a tough woman showing what makes her passionate and full of purpose like Richie. When Sydney asks to train Tina as her sous chef, the smile that booms across the latter’s face should make anyone smile, even a dickhead like Carmy’s former boss.
Liza Colon-Zayas is a wondrous actress, taking ordinary moments and dialogue and bringing it to life. The talent is legit; the smile radiates.
13) A romance-less (for the moment) relationship between Carmy and Sydney
The scene under the table was the candle being burned out between these two that had been smoking all season long, at least when it came to tension. But if Season 2 pulled off any trick, it was giving Carmy a legit love interest (from his past), and not forcing him into one with his protege.
That’s not to say Allen White and Edebiri couldn’t re-route the connection in future seasons, but it would have gotten in the way of food time—as in our time with the food. It also needed the two big brains of the menu and concept to clash often, because that’s what happens with restaurants, especially new ones. Which gets me to the next thing.
12) It’s still nailing a kitchen’s nuts and bolts operation and feel
The pursuit of a Michelin star. Sending a couple members of the team to culinary school. The ability to crank up the intensity of a kitchen without going theatrical on the audience. All check marks that Storer swiped early and often in Season 2. It could have been a time to jack up the melodrama and see if it can be snuck by an audience, but that didn’t happen.
Merging real life with the hazards of a life-consuming profession wasn’t slept on.
11) The fresh pasta-making scene
Look, I can stare at Sydney slicing and dicing soon-to-be-boiled spaghetti or marvel at Carmy’s dough-creating skills while holding a conversation all day. Part of what makes this series so good is the comfort and care put into the cooking scenes. The art, process, and ultimate jaw-drop of it all. Yes, I am still thinking about crushing potato chips up on my next omelet.
10) Sweet Pete
You have to hand it to Chris Witaske. He makes a small supporting role climb up a few notches in key scenes. Take the scenes from the final episode with the restaurant opening, the ones shared with Elliott’s Sugar and Curtis’s Donna Berzatto. He’s calming his high-strung wife, talking her down from the high perch of insanity she likes to sit near. Pete’s outside begging his mother-in-law to come inside and officially be a part of a big night for her family, but Donna ultimately can’t.
Credit goes to the ladies in these scenes, but Witaske is also brilliant. He never overplays a hand of cards or words of dialogue. His earnestness in the Season 1 kid’s birthday party still ranks as some of my favorite Pete moments. He’s genuine, unlike a lot of people in that world.
9) Coach K
The Bear’s ability to deftly coat certain areas of the show’s episode time in sports lore is noteworthy. From Platt’s Uncle ranting about a botched grounder in the playoffs to the big league background of Sweeps, Storer knows how to make an emotional connection with a story extension.
Sydney’s allegiance to a method of madness in the kitchen-pushing one’s self to riskier limits and endeavors-puts her in collision with college basketball’s most well-known coach. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski pops up in the show a couple times, but never in a too-on-the-nose actual appearance. Archival interview footage and his book do the talking in his time on The Bear.
This show pushes the limits of what a show can do, and how to mortgage time.
8) Episode count went up without a change in feel
Viewers know when a show runs too long. The network gave them some extra time, so the showrunners packed it with fluffy subplots and useless scenes. The show dives down for a stretch, and the end result doesn’t land as succinctly. Thankfully, The Bear doesn’t mess around with its pacing. Season 2 gained two episodes, but the audience didn’t feel it at all. Heck, we wanted even more time!
7) Ebra finding respect for himself
Another nice touch in Season 2 was expanding the role of The Bear’s most stubborn chef. Edwin Lee Gibson’s ability to use Ebraheim’s sad dog eyes in his performance is so well-played. Showing us the insecurities of a man who doesn’t wish to become more is another example of the show being able to observe the non-showy parts of a kitchen or operation.
While everyone else is trying to scrape the last bits of greatness out of their bodies, Ebra is content enough to know where he would like to exist. I’d love to share a moment with him at the walk-up sandwich window. He’s lived a helluva life, and Gibson shows it.
6) Avoiding ANOTHER feel-good ending
Season 1 was sweet. So sweet that it kind of didn’t make sense. Michael hid money so his little brother could climb out of debt later on, or the fact that everybody left those cans alone for so long. Or the fact that one rolled underneath the oven. But the catharsis of the characters and their coming-together made it sing long and well.
Season 2 was a bittersweet finish. They opened the restaurant to a big crowd, but there were some personal wedges put in place. Nat doesn’t know her mother did show up, and that will blow up in Sweet Pete’s face. Carmy blew things up badly with Molly Gordon’s Claire, the girlfriend he didn’t want to announce until everybody gave him shit about it.
Everything is better, but still far from well in this corner of Chicago. Season 3 has pieces to pick up and glue back together, and I look forward to seeing how they do it.
5) Sydney’s fashion
The colors, combinations, and vibes all echo her fearless culinary talents in fashion form. I like that it changes and evolves with her mood, just like it did with Carrie Bradshaw on Sex and the City. An element that could be forgotten about or mishandled is given a good amount of thought.
4) Jeremy. Allen. White.
What more can be said about the Emmy winner? He brings layers and layers of nerves, deception, and introspection to a role that he could coast on at this point. The big monologue at the meeting in Season 1 had a sibling pop up in the Season 2 finale. That was the moment in the walk-in fridge, where Carmy ends up trapped.
He’s there due to his own forgetfulness and loss of balance amid his pursuit of higher professional ground. Someone who admits to having moments where he can’t breathe does have a depth to drop down to, and Allen White is a giant in these scenes. The slowly realized confession-type rant in the fridge about his priorities in life-without knowing Claire is right outside-cuts deep. It’s heartbreaking, all due to the actor giving real ounces of guilt to the words.
Carmy was stretched thin in Season 2, and it brought out more light in Allen White’s talent. He *used to* the guy from Shameless. Now, he’s Carmen Berzatto, a maverick chef who figures out being good to himself isn’t an option when chasing culinary perfection.
3) Oliver Platt
We talked about the Gonzalez story and the other moments of Uncle Jimmy wisdom, but Platt as a whole is a big factor in the show’s success. He’s the thorn in the side of the crew last year, and then the investor/co-owner this year. His role and dimension on the show changes, but the Platt Express doesn’t stop kicking out one-liners and hilarity with ease. He makes it look too easy, just like he did busting Jon Favreau’s balls in Chef.
2) Honeydew
The fruit can be sweet without going overboard, and the episode matched it. Marcus going to Amsterdam to train with Will Poulter’s Luca, elevate his game, and save a man trapped under a fence after a bike crash was a heart-stuffed affair. The stillness in the scene between the fallen cyclist and the caring baker was a reminder that good deeds do not go unnoticed. The tilt and flow of the world shows people the right of way eventually. I can take this episode out and watch it separately anytime.
1) Everybody matters
Ultimately, Storer created a follow-up season that exceeded high expectations due to leaning on every facet of the television series. The deep cast, balanced mix of comedy and drama, killer soundtrack, honesty, and a pace that can get intense without overwhelming. All of it plugs into a desire to stay far away from the star-driven show. Allen White and Edebiri are the leads if you had to point at two, but the ensemble powers The Bear’s rich appeal.
Go watch it. First time, repeat visitor, or a nut who is going on the seventh binge. It’s good all the time.