On June 25, the final episode of “The Bear,” a series about the restaurant business whose first season became known for its frank depiction of nervousness in the kitchen, aired. In the end, the heroes seem to understand that swearing an oath is unlikely to affect the quality of the dishes. Film critic Alexei Skvortsov tells details about the series finale.
Note. This text contains spoilers for the ending of The Bear. If you haven’t seen it yet and want to maintain the suspense, be warned.
Heavy rain has hit Chicago, there are traffic jams and emergency services are unable to handle them. The chaos is not only in the street, but also in the “Bear” restaurant, where the “chefs” arrive early in the morning, despite the bad weather. Everyone understands very well that it is hopeless, the business is mired in debt, the building is literally collapsing, and there is a catastrophic shortage of dishes, food and other ingredients. But all the tables are reserved for the evening, and there is a rumor that among the visitors will be those who award Michelin stars to the restaurants. This means we need to pull ourselves together again and work through this hellish transformation together, just like last time, improvising on the go and inventing dishes from what’s left in the already empty fridge.
Not everyone on the team knows yet that Carmen (Jeremy Allen White) is planning to quit. On this difficult day, Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) will have to learn to drive on her own, become the captain of a sinking ship and make a miraculous rescue.
The Bear, unlike any other series, shows the hard work that goes into each dish on the guest’s plate. After watching it, you can no longer be angry with the waiter when he tells you that something is not on the menu today. We understand everything, “bosses”, just live.
Although this is a very uneven series with many monotonous and repetitive plots, it manages to keep the main thing until the end – a story about broken people. The meaning of life in the kitchen is to methodically chop vegetables, prepare perfect dishes that could otherwise end up in the trash with the slightest mistake. Always on the edge, in combat, and only one thing keeps them all afloat – the hand of a partner, who in a difficult moment will ask you: “How are you, can I help you?” The mutual assistance of the “cooks” has calmed and inspired, and in the end this effect reaches its climax.
In its fifth season, the series returns to the chaotic, nervous pace of the first season, which is still the best. Meanwhile, he is close to producing another drama, House.
The plot of the new Bear unfolds over the course of one day, one shift, which of course, as in Pete’s case, does not go according to plan. The kitchen turns into a battlefield, and the “chefs” lined up next to the plates and pots look like soldiers before a decisive battle. Each has its own arrangement, location and class. The timer counts down each dish. The seventh episode of season five, when the restaurant is completely filled with customers and the “chefs” have to quickly decide what to serve, is one of the best episodes in the entire series. As Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) figures out where the guests are sitting, the kitchen runs out of ingredients, the stove breaks, and dishes break.
This time the team agreed to no swearing, no hysterics, no fights this evening. Therefore, even the main character of the series, Carmen, fades into the background here: now he is part of the team, and he himself learns to follow orders. Oddly enough, it is in this role that he finally finds peace and stops falling apart. The fifth season in this sense contrasts with the first, when Carmen was at the forefront and used toxic techniques that she learned from a chef in one of the fine restaurants in New York. It turns out that you can get out of a difficult situation in a different way and improve yourself – without insults and psychological violence.
The characters also shed the ghosts of the past. Sidney and Marcus (Lionel Boyce) finally gain confidence in their talent, while at the same time repairing their relationship with their parents. Natalie (Abby Elliott) reconciles with her mother, Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis) — and learns to trust her with her child. But most importantly, the ghost of Michael (Jon Bernthal), who committed suicide, no longer torments the spirits of his siblings Carmen and Richie — the heroes finally come to terms with loss.
Season 5 continues the story perfectly and takes the characters where they want to go. The ending may seem sentimental – and in some ways trite – but it is very interesting to see how the heroes finally find happiness, smile and shake hands.
Season 5 has a lot to criticize: it drags on for too long, and the whole plot with businessman Caesar (Oliver Platt), his computer-titled uncle (Brian Koppelman) and his niece Chase (Elsie Fisher) coming out of nowhere seems unnecessary and hastily attached to the main plot. One of Bear’s best heroines, Tina (Lisa Colon-Zayas), is pushed to the side a bit, seemingly without really knowing what to do with her. Sandwich master Ibra (Edwin Lee Gibson) remains a purely comedic and secondary character.
But all this does not prevent “The Bear” from finishing on time and at a high level – the series does not have time to turn into an endless boring epic. Just like the Bear chefs, the show’s writers cooked their final dish to perfection.
Alexey Skvortsov