My Review of "The Bear: Season 2"

The Bear: Season 2 aired in 2023. That means I'm almost caught up. I loved the first season but it ended on a bit of a cliffhanger. This season is like the first season but on steroids. There's so much to unpack and so much to absorb in this season but I loved every single bit of it. Now I truly know why everyone is so obsessed with this TV show.

The season starts off with Carmy deciding to close down the old family run restaurant to rebuild. He wants it to be a high level restaurant and to keep the staff behind it. Of course if you've seen the last season, you know that's going to be a hell of a task. Everyone has their likeability factor but they don't work together like a good restaurant should. Sure they learned a ton of lessons in the first season but they're still unskilled at running a high end restaurant.

Like I mentioned in the last season's review, the staff feels very much like a tight knit family and that's a lot of the charm with this show. To get rid of any of them would be disastrous to the chemistry of the group. How do we keep them all together? Well this season had it figured out. During the building period of the restaurant, Carmy sends them all to train in their respective skills. He wants the all to experience what it's like to work in a high end restaurant. This way they'll know what it takes and what is expected of them. The big question in each of these episodes is will they want to stay in the restaurant business when they find out what's ahead of them.

There are single episodes dedicated to the character growth of particular staff members. They'll be put into their training and we can see the trials and tribulations that they have to go through. During these episodes we as the audience learn a lot more about these characters. Meanwhile, the characters are learning more about themselves as well.

It's a clever little structure that really works. In some ways it feels like this season was kind of a like an Avenger's origin story. Each hero has their background and they're developed into a super employee ready to help out the team.

The episode that stood out for me the most was Richie's character arch. I love how he's always been questioning his usefulness throughout the season and then he finally finds it. He's one of the most relatable characters in the show. I can see myself in him and a ton of people can see themselves in him as well. In this episode he goes from nonchalant or even begrudgingly only to come out enthusiastic and driven. This metamorphosis is one of the biggest changes of all of the characters. I was rooting for him and it was such a great episode that I could go back to watch it over and over again.

I love how this season reveals more about the family dynamics of the Berzatto family. We learn more about their anxiety and mental instability. It definitely runs in the family. The way that they approached this is so smooth and believable. This season adds to the punch of what season one did. All of the scenarios, though quite ridiculous, are all totally believable. No matter how crazy the situations is in this show there's an air of plausibility throughout the show where you sense that this might have been based on a true story.

Overall, they knocked it out of the park with this season. I thought the last season was great but this was just a whole level above that first season. I can't give this show enough praise. I'm glad I'm a little behind on this one because I can go immediately to the next season. Though I could see the huge anticipation for the third season because I'm really excited for it now. I have to give this season a 9 out of 10.