The Bear Season 4 Review – Dials down the style but keeps the heart

The Review Geek

16 hours ago

Episode Guide
Episode 1 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 2 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 3 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 4 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 5 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 6 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 7 -| Review Score – 4/5
Episode 8 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 9 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 10 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
The Bear is a different show now. It's slower and calmer. The series' trademark style — tight, focused episodes, snappy editing, overlapping dialogues, and general chaos — was already fading in Season 3 and only shows up in glimpses in Season 4.
The Bear Season 4 actually kicks off in a perfect way. Cicero, otherwise known as Uncle Jeremy, gives the restaurant two months until the money stops coming in — indicated by a giant digital clock that is actually counting down the seconds. The ticking clock, the tight finances, and Carmy's bold claim to vie for a Michelin star are solid narrative points to anchor the season.
But it doesn't build the story around these elements. Instead, the episodes are loosely written, scattered across various characters, themes, and storylines that don't quite come together like they used to. There's a meandering sense to the narrative and the season doesn't make use of its full ensemble, leaving a few supporting characters pushed to the side. There's not much focus on actually solving the restaurant's issues and when the daily menu changes are finally addressed, it's wrapped up in a few lines.
On the whole, Season 4 feels like the second half of Season 3, following up Carmy's frantic manner of running the new restaurant, with him facing the consequences of his actions. After the Chicago Tribune's review, which particularly criticises the restaurant's dissonance. Carmy is forced to reckon with the chaos of the kitchen and evaluate all of his decisions so far.
Unfortunately, this also means that Carmy takes on a much more passive role in The Bear Season 4. He spends a lot of time deep in thought, watching his staff from the sidelines. We know that Carmy is rethinking his attitude towards cooking and restaurants and life in general but the problem is that we're never given the privilege of being let inside this thought process. The camera often lingers on his face while he's in these contemplative moods and soon, this starts to get monotonous.
On the other hand, Ayo Edebiri's Sydney gets a lot more to do this season. It's a relief after all her frowning and sighing in Season 3, and Edebiri gets to experiment with a lot more range this time. She absolutely kills it and her solo episode is easily the best of the lot.
While the frenzied thrill of the restaurant is missing, the show makes up for it with a lot of heart. The Bear retains this part of its trademark and continues to shine light on its incredibly nuanced and life-like characters, flaws and all. It not only dives into Carmy's relationship with Donna, Richie and Sydney, but also in Sydney's relationship with her father, Richie's insecurities about Frank (his daughter's stepdad), and so on.
It's definitely a lot more reflective this time around. We get a lot of one-on-one conversations, heartfelt confessions, and musings. Some of the dialogue here can lean on the simpler side of things or feel like generalisations. At the same time though, all the actors do such an incredible job that you're convinced this is what these characters need to hear — whether it is Luca telling Marcus it's okay that he didn't go to see his father or Tina telling Carmy he doesn't have anything to prove.
It all leads up to some pretty big changes towards the end of the season, and the overall messaging, particularly in Carmy's character arc, is a heartwarming and important one. While The Bear Season 4 definitely lacks the structure and tone that made it so engaging before, it still retains a lot of heart.