The Bear Season 3 (Not Cooked Enough)

Take us to success, Bear.

The Bear season 3 was served to Hulu in 2024. Now that The Bear is open, the employees struggle to keep things running. Carmy is persistent in making his restaurant successful but learns about a looming review that could affect everything.

I am a big fan of The Bear, but season 3 wasn’t served to prime expectations. It was missing important ingredients. Season 3 spent too much time on flashbacks, redundant jokes, and repetitive storylines, instead of developing the main plot.

Let’s start with the first episode, a debate that’s fired-up feedback. We already know that Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) is an excellent chef and has gone to great lengths to be the best. This episode is a repetitive kaleidoscope of cooking and flashbacks. The episode would have benefited more by exploring Marcus' arc, especially in his grief.

Jeremy Allen White’s performance is the usual angry, on-edge chef who barks orders. He has a difficult time more than ever letting people in. The Carmen who I want this series to explore more of is the person we saw in the last episode. White’s emotional moment was excellent. It was his best acting.

Ayo Edebiri is wonderful as Sydney. We needed more focus on her storyline. She’s caught in the middle of the drama at the restaurant. Things are getting real by the end with a critical decision.

The rest of the supporting characters are not included enough in the meal. Richie’s (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) growth is huge. I can’t believe this is the same Richie from season 1. Carmy and Richie are at constant war, spatting F-bombs at one another. But then they ignore each other for the rest of the season. We’re missing their dynamic.

Somebody ordered too many scenes involving the Faks (Matty Matheson and Ricky Staffieri). They’re good comedic levity in the show’s darkest moments. Eventually, their scenes become filler. I can’t believe they showed up to an important family event, instead of Carmen.

Similar to last season, there are a few cameos. John Cena’s cameo as Sammy Fak didn’t make sense. Christopher Zucchero, David Zayas, Josh Harnett, Will Poulter, Joel McHale, and a couple of real-life chefs have small roles. I adore Olivia Colman’s role as Chef Terry. She always brings remarkable depth to any role.

Napkins is the best episode of the season. Directed by Ayo Edebiri, Tina’s (Liza Colon-Zayas) job search is the most relatable storyline. I watched this episode while on the treadmill and was surprised that Tina and Mikey’s (Jon Bernthal) conversation was 20 minutes. This conversation was dictated well, both by the actors and the writing team.

Why is season 3 serving meals from the past over creating a new recipe? It overloads the plate with too much or not enough proportions. Ice Chips could have been shorter. It’s a heartwarming episode between Natalie (Abby Elliott) and Donna (Jaime Lee Curtis) but like most storylines, it becomes repetitive.

Only two episodes concentrated on the new restaurant. That’s what the series is all about. I liked Doors (episode 3). It’s a stress-inducing time as characters prepare and blunder meals while arguing.

In my research, someone mentioned that season 3 is meant to feel stuck. Was this restaurant a good idea? Is it what Carmy wanted or was that all a childhood dream? My theory for season 4 is characters will go in different directions.

Overall, The Bear’s third season was not its finest. The acting is amazing along with the storyline and cinematography. Even if you have not seen The Bear you must watch this captivating series.