I just finished the hit comedy-drama “The Bear” – late to the game, I know – and we moved on from it way too soon. Season 4 came out this past summer, but I finally sat down to watch the season’s ten newest episodes- and it wasn’t necessarily what I wanted.
The yelling, the Chicago accents, the chaos and the family dynamic between all the characters is what really captured me in seasons 1-3. In this past season, I didn’t really feel that. I’m glad that Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) has been working to control his temper, but I missed his crashouts in the kitchen. However, Natalie Bear or “Sugar,” (Abby Elliott) crashing out at Neil Fak (Matty Matheson) or her “sweetheart” over his decision to invite Francie to the wedding made up for it.
My favorite scene from the entire season happens in episode 6, when Fak timidly approaches Sugar to share the news that her arch nemesis, Francie Fak, is invited to Tiff’s wedding. Sugar flips from Fak being her little sweetheart to absolute betrayal. Though the details of their fallout aren’t described in detail, we know that Sugar and Francie had a very close friendship that turned romantic. It ended badly, leaving them with a lot of tension and pettiness.
However, the scene captures the true essence of “The Bear,” a restaurant and show. We get to see a fighting match between two characters, but we cut to a more serious scene in the kitchen. The staff is discussing how to be supportive of Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) who is in the hospital with her father who has recently suffered a heart attack.
Just when we think the staff at The Bear only care about the food, we get this heartfelt moment as they all slow down to help Syd.
These scenes are exactly what I wanted from the show, and carry well, but I felt it just wasn’t enough to keep me hooked the whole season. There were a lot of montages this season, what I view as a non-creative copout in television and film. The writers and cinematographers of the show are brilliant, I don’t know why the editing and productivity seem to have fallen through.
It’s almost as if they only had enough scenes for six episodes and they tried to stretch it to ten. There were great scenes and beautiful shots, but I expected more from the physical plot. It wasn’t until the last episode that things really heated up.
“You’re my partner!” The gut-wrenching line screamed out by Chef Syd to Chef Carmy single-handedly carried this season. In a heated argument between the two in the alley outside of the restaurant, Syd confronted Carmry about the new contract for the restaurant and demanded an explanation for his decision to leave the restaurant.
Anyone who says their relationship is platonic is in denial.
This scene,and this line, spoke volumes to their relationship and set them up for so much more to come in Season five. We know the two fight and yell at each other, we’ve seen it for episodes on end, but never have we seen them feel emotions this deeply. Not only do we get the acceptance from Carmy on his family issues, but Syd finally calls him out on it and how unfair it is that he takes it out on the restaurant. Their flaws are on full display.
Carmy goes on to praise all that Syd has done for the restaurant and him personally; he calls her “The Bear.” I was speechless. He continues to break my heart (and Syd’s) by basically crediting her for everything he’s accomplished and more.
I could go on and on about this scene, but I don’t want to waste your time because every second counts. But really, you just need to watch it and you’ll understand my obsession with it.
The last episode being titled “Goodbye” really got me scared this would be the last of “The Bear,” excitingly, this is not the case. Season 5 of “The Bear” is currently in development, but we can expect it to be released in June 2026 if FX continues to follow the schedule they have followed in the past years. It’s not officially designated as the final season, but I don’t see them continuing beyond that.
All I hope is that we learn who Carmy is outside of the restaurant, watch Sugar’s baby grow up and the restaurant gets its successful end before that clock runs out. With characters like these, the show is hard not to love.
I cannot wait for more from them.