My Honest Review on “The Bear”

While doing my homework, I have been watching The Bear, which is a show that aired on Hulu. At first, I wasn’t sure whether or not to watch it because I am not familiar with working in food service (although I have had friends who have). But then after binging Shameless via. TikTok, I fell in love with Lip Gallagher’s character, who is the main character of this show. After the actor blew up on the internet due to his divorce, there was something about him that motivated me to watch The Bear.. Perhaps because he looks like Gene Wilder or because he is insanely muscular? I don’t even know at this point. Below this introduction, I will be giving my opinion on aspects of the show that I have noticed while watching.

1. Plot: After the death of his brother Mikey, Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto is left with Mikey’s bankrupt, famous sandwich shop called “The Beef”. Desperate to save the shop and honor his brother, Carmy takes many measures which would be categorized as outlandish. 
2. Characters: In this show, there are many different characters with many different personalities. You have:
   1. Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto: Carmen is the owner of “The Beef”. He was originally a Michelin star chef before he moved back to Chicago. The one thing I like about his character is how much I can relate to him. Yes I do not work in food service, but I know what it is like to scrap everything and start fresh with individuals who have a fixed mindset.. He is overcome with anxiety attacks, obsessive thoughts, and grief due to his brothers’ passing. There is a scene when he is at an AL-Anon meeting ( meeting for those who have lost people to addiction), which was suggested by his sister to go to. His monologue about himself as a person and how much his brother meant to him touched my heart. Also, he’s really hot (especially when he’s angry). I would hate working for him, but it is attractive to see him throwing stuff around and ordering people around. He also has a nice sculpted body and his hair is gorgeous (I just want to run my fingers through it). Maybe it’s time for me to get a boyfriend…..
   2. Natalie “Sugar” Berzatto: Carmen’s sister, who is the co-owner of “The Beef”. She is seen as caring but blunt.. When Carmy opens up about his anxiety, it scares Sugar and she suggests that he attends an AI-Anon meeting. She clearly struggles about Mikey’s passing, but she 
   3. Sydney: A professional chef that is hired by Carmy. She runs the show in the kitchen, which becomes an issue to the other staff at first. In the beginning, they all decided to haze Sydney by hiding her chopped onions and turning the oven on too hot. She is the glue of the kitchen, because they became more successful when she started running the show. She is a strong woman, and is pretty cool. She is also very intelligent when it comes to food.
   4. Richie: Best friends with Mikey and has a close relationship with Carmy. Richie is hot-headed and VERY loud. There was a scene when he was talking to Carmen and said, “this is a delicate ecosystem” when Carmen was switching up things in the kitchen. Towards the end of Season 1 into Season 2, we get an inside on Richie’s life. He has a daughter he loves very much, but his ex-wife keeps her away from him. It is clear all he wants is a family, so he turns to the restaurant for moral support. 
   5. Tina: Strong headed and has a fixed mindset. When the main character (who I will talk about later on) made a decision to have them address him as “chef”, she passively-aggressively refers to him as “jeff”. Towards the end of the first season, she comes around but still calls him “Jeff”.
   6. Marcus: A passionate and kind man who throughout the first season gradually learns how to bake. He is a hard worker and always puts in extra hours to perfect his donuts. 
   7. Fak: The restaurants’ handy-man, who is light hearted and hilarious. Him and another character named Richie always bicker, almost like a married couple. If my memory serves me right, I think him and Richie are roommates. The funniest thing is his actor is a real-life Canadian chef, so it is funny that he does not cook at all in the show.
   8. Ebraheim: A somalian chef who has tons of wild stories about his life. He is not seen as much, but he always has a sense of comedic relief when things get intense. 
   9. Uncle Jimmy: Carmy’s uncle who is a serious businessman. In order to save “The Beef”, Jimmy gives Carmy $300,000 and expects him to pay it. He goes as far as making Carmy cater for his son’s birthday party (which Richie did NOT like).
   10. Claire: An old friend of Carmy’s, who shows up during season two. She is an ER nurse, and is trying to reconnect with Carmy. I know they are supposed to be in some kind of situationship, but I find her unlikeable. Then again, I am still at the beginning of the season, so I am trying to keep an open mind. 
3. Setting: This show takes place in Chicago (which might be familiar as Shameless also took place in Chicago, more importantly Southside Chicago). The bulk of this show is at “The Bear” (formerly “The Beef”), which is the restaurant. There are some scenes where Carmy and Sydney go to different food places to find new food to add to the menu. 
4. Small things I noticed
   1. Tums and Pepto all around the kitchen: In some scenes, you can see Tums and Pepto. I was watching someone on TikTok to talk about it, and the creator of this video said it has to do with the stress levels of being in the kitchen, which leads to upset stomachs.
   2. Kitchen Accuracies: This show does a great job of highlighting the realities of the food industry. One example of this is how they yell “behind” and “corner”, which is considered “Kitchen vocabulary” and is used. Also, Carmy is seen drinking water out of a plastic quart, which is a quirk that is sometimes seen in kitchens.
   3. Carmy’s AL-Anon meetings: Throughout this show, you see Carmy attending AL-Anon meetings. You can see his growth and he even applies what he has learned into the kitchen. At one point of the show, Carmy says, “Keep your side of the street clean”. What he said is a suggestion that all of them should focus on what they can control; their own choices. 
   4. Carmy’s Phone Code: In the show, Carmy has a pass code which consists of only 1s. It shows that he does not like to waste time. 

Overall, I highly recommend this show!

• #tv shows
• entertainment