“The Bear” season two and the path to healing
Warning: This article contains spoilers
Season one of FX’s “The Bear” ended with a joyous discovery of $300,000 hidden in tomato cans, and it seemed like the show with 99% positive ranking from Rotten Tomatoes couldn’t get much better than it already was. With episodes that were consistently as heart-wrenching as they were heart-pounding, every character and their struggles with working in an up-and-coming sandwich spot in Chicago felt incredibly relatable and real. With the second season releasing on June 22 and going straight to Hulu, it’s a must watch for anyone looking for an enticing, moving, and impeccably written show.
In this new season, Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) and the uniquely interesting team that he works with embark on a challenging journey to transform their struggling deli, “The Beef,” into a high-end dining spot named “The Bear.” Picking up from where the last season ended, an emotionally fragile Carmy begins to let himself try to be “normal”, starting a romantic relationship, having priorities outside of work, and generally finding an identity outside of the stressed and obsessive chef he’s used to being defined as. With the first season of the show being so focused on Carmy’s struggles with his brother’s recent suicide as he tried to look after the restaurant he left him, this season follows those themes of loss masterfully and shows that healing isn’t linear--And can’t be done just by distracting yourself.
Season two of “The Bear” tells the story of a team more than just the story of Carmy. Multiple episodes were devoted to other characters in the cast, such as “Honeydew” that showed the team’s pastry chef training in Copenhagen while grappling with his mother’s bedridden state. Another episode, “Forks” follows Carmy’s deadbeat and short fused ‘cousin’ (his deceased brother’s best friend,) Richie, as he trains in a high-end restaurant and gains respect for himself and the craftsmanship that goes into the service industry. Apart from just these solo-shot episodes, this season generally takes characters out of the context of just the kitchen at “The Bear” and into scenarios that reveal more about who the characters really are, for better or for worse. The standout episode of the season was easily “Fishes”.
It was the longest episode of the show, coming in at one hour and six minutes, instead of the usual ~30 minute run time. Depicting an overwhelming Christmas dinner in the Berzatto household, one that happened in years past, the episode provides juxtaposition back and forth between the family’s strong bond and their undeniable mental health issues, and the toxicity that brews from that. This episode, in addition to having the same typically impressive cast it always does, features cameos from well-beloved actors like Jamie Lee Curtis and John Mulaney that really make the script come to life. Along with “Fishes”, the final episode of the season is a finale so well-crafted that it’s able to make up for having to wait a year for the next season to release. Even though it’s not as flashy as “Fishes”, with cameos, new sets and objectively devastating lines, this culmination of the show so far brings Carmy’s self-destructive tendencies to light, proving that his inability to be content isn’t about his career, friends, family, or anything else. It’s about him. In this captivating second season, viewers were plunged into a story that was deeper than just a tale of culinary success. Balancing complex themes of loss, healing, and resilience, the show’s masterful cast, script, and visuals came together better than before and outdid any expectations the first season might have set up. “The Bear” tells a relatable story of the long and hard path to self-discovery and acceptance, one that’s far from over, and will only continue to be developed in the highly anticipated future seasons.
The Bear / Hulu