GamesRadar+ VerdictEqual parts delicious and depressing, The Bear season 3 serves up another stellar slice.
GamesRadar+ Verdict
GamesRadar+ Verdict
Equal parts delicious and depressing, The Bear season 3 serves up another stellar slice.
Equal parts delicious and depressing, The Bear season 3 serves up another stellar slice.
Why you can trust GamesRadar+Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about our reviews policy.
Why you can trust GamesRadar+Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about our reviews policy.
As The Rolling Stones once said, “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might just get what you need.” That’s solid advice that has steered many a heartbroken or disappointed soul through some tough times, but in Season 3 of The Bear, we see our central trio face an even more challenging conundrum. What happens if you get what you want and it’s absolutely not what you need?
To put it mildly, everyone is miserable on Season 3 of The Bear. Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) is doing a killer job running the front of the house of their newly titled fine dining establishment ‘The Bear’. However, he is still lonely, reeling from his ex-wife Tess’s (Gillian Jacobs) impending nuptials and no amount of success can make him recover from the loss of his best friend Mikey (Jon Bernthal). Sydney (woman of the moment Ayo Edibiri) is outwardly going from strength to strength, her talents in the kitchen are being recognized, and she’s running the passe with aplomb but it’s all proving a bit too much, and imposter syndrome is setting in as she is afforded new opportunities.
Tough act to follow
(Image credit: Hulu/FX)
As a former chef turned film and TV critic, The Bear does feel specifically designed for me, and it’s hard to see what non-restaurant kitchen traumatized people will take from the triggering stress of an ill-placed cartouche, a birthday reservation going unacknowledged or the brutal choice of choosing between a cherry or apricot pairing with a duck breast. But even those who don’t appreciate how beautifully concassed the mirepoix at the base of The Bear’s consommés are there’s a devotion to intricate character study at place that makes The Bear rightly regarded as one of the very best shows on television.
Season 3 doesn’t quite reach the heady heights of season 2 where our group of epicurean rapscallions were tasked with creating their dream restaurant, as now we are stuck in a more existential dread where the greatest obstacles in their way are hubris and self loathing. The first episode essentially recaps the reasons for their feelings of inadequacy while the second is an extended montage of a month of service containing all the Murphy’s law that is so tangible in restaurant work, anything that can go wrong will at some point go wrong, but that is simply the nature of the beast and has to be planned for in any given service. The Bear may be brilliant television but if nothing else, it is also a testimony to people’s ability to roll with the punches in spite of themselves.
Still delicious
(Image credit: FX)
The series finds itself at a bit of an impasse, trapped in a prison of its own success with characters that have hit the markers of success and cannot plausibly be trapped in fridges or accidentally left the pre-orders accumulate. And while the stasis of triumph entraps both the narrative and the characters in a prison of their own making at times, there’s still much to enjoy, in particular the arc of the grieving pastry chef Marcus (Lionel Boyce), who proves the tender heart of the show. He’s such an endearing character that at one point, when the validity of his continued employment is called into question, Carmy’s sister and restaurant manager Natalie becomes an audience surrogate with a steely promise that if anything happens to Marcus, “I will murder you”.
But even though the third season of The Bear is a wonder, and one that thankfully uses its celebrity cameos more sparingly, it still is far less fun than its predecessors. There are phenomenal high-concept episodes devoted to a single character or playing with the form of the medium that still makes it amongst the very best of the televisual landscape, but it comes across as a crueler and less joyful piece of work.
There’s undoubtedly a creative competence from the entire team that continues to soar within this premise, but it feels increasingly untethered from their arcs as they are no longer underdogs. In previous seasons, when they were operating a sandwich shop and dreaming of the big leagues, it was a clearer goal to root for, and those darn sandwiches looked utterly delicious, but it’s never clear to the audience, or indeed to Carmy, if what the new iteration of The Bear is serving up is any good. The show is still delicious but the choice to elevate the restaurant into fine dining turns out to not have elevated the narrative.
The Bear season 3 is out now. Check out our guide to all ofThe Bear season 3 episodesand for what else is coming this year, here’s a breakdown of all thenew TV showson the way.
CATEGORIESDisney PlusStreaming Services
CATEGORIES
More about the bearHow many episodes are in The Bear season 3 on Disney Plus and Hulu?The Bear’s Carmy and Sydney won’t be getting together in season 3: “There was no talk about any romantic implications"LatestSquid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now"See more latest►
More about the bearHow many episodes are in The Bear season 3 on Disney Plus and Hulu?The Bear’s Carmy and Sydney won’t be getting together in season 3: “There was no talk about any romantic implications"LatestSquid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now"See more latest►
More about the bearHow many episodes are in The Bear season 3 on Disney Plus and Hulu?The Bear’s Carmy and Sydney won’t be getting together in season 3: “There was no talk about any romantic implications”
More about the bear
How many episodes are in The Bear season 3 on Disney Plus and Hulu?The Bear’s Carmy and Sydney won’t be getting together in season 3: “There was no talk about any romantic implications”
How many episodes are in The Bear season 3 on Disney Plus and Hulu?
How many episodes are in The Bear season 3 on Disney Plus and Hulu?
The Bear’s Carmy and Sydney won’t be getting together in season 3: “There was no talk about any romantic implications”
The Bear’s Carmy and Sydney won’t be getting together in season 3: “There was no talk about any romantic implications”
LatestSquid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now"See more latest►
Latest
Squid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now”
Squid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now”
Squid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now”
See more latest►
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GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2
Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3
Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
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Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2
Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3
Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5
Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
1
Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
2
Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
3
Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4
Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5
Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”