The Bear: Season 4

The Bear is a fascinating series because when it arrived it became an instant and massive hit thanks to its chaotic but incredibly high quality drama. The first two seasons were pretty excellent but maintaining this level of success has been a challenge and the third season dropped the ball a tad. The question with the recent fourth season is if The Bear can get back on track and return to its impressive heights.

After wrapping Season 4, I don't think The Bear has quite returned to form yet. This might sound like I'm about to tell you that this series is wide off the mark and on the cusp of being avoidable, but that would be completely false. The Bear is still quality and fantastic television, but Season 4, like Season 3, isn't quite as good as what came originally, and I think there are a handful of core reasons especially in this latest round of episodes as to why.

For starters, The Bear has never really been an easy watch. This show has found its place by being emotional, loud, stressful, and sometimes uncomfortable as the different characters find themselves at odds with one another. This hasn't changed at all in Season 4, but there does seem to be a grander focus on the characters and less on the cuisine and culinary arts, meaning the pacing feels more bracing and challenging to stomach as there's less relaxed moments revolving around a spectacular dish being birthed. Instead, it's back to the el clasico of screaming and shouting at one another, or seeing characters deal with their problems in gut-wrenching and honest scenes that feel as uncomfortable to watch as they would be if you were in the room with the stars performing them live. It's a strange dynamic that is admirable and proves the excellence of this series, but it also makes it hard to consume at times, and this season is a particular offender in this regard as it feels like the misery has been cranked up to eleven.

This nature of pacing and beginning to further distance itself from food and culinary arts also impacts many of the episodes as it feels as though The Bear wants you to remember that it's more than just a chef drama, by delivering spinoff-like episodes that explore Ayo Edibiri's Sydney and how she comes to terms with a big decision, or the wedding of Gillian Jacobs' Tiff and Josh Hartnett's Frank, as examples. Some of these episodes are some of the best that the season offers, further seeming to show that The Bear is transitioning from a kitchen drama into a family drama, and while that has its benefits, it also feels that it's losing some of the charm of the initial premise along the way.

But beyond this, The Bear continues to be one of the best-acted shows on television today, delivering great and authentic performances from its core cast, be it Jeremy Allen White, Edibiri, or Ebon Moss-Bachrach, or the various supporting stars that includes acting titans like Jamie Lee Curtis, who returns as the scene-stealing and demanding Donna. It does feel as though they've scaled back on cameos this time however, as beyond Will Poulter and John Mulaney returning, the big new addition is Brie Larson as Francie Fak, a great and very loud counterpart to Abby Elliott's Sugar.

So yes, The Bear is still quality and great television, but it also has yet to return to the top form that we once knew it as. The character development and the performances in this show are some of the best you will see on TV, and the last episode in particular is one of the most emotional and challenging single-scene shots I have seen to date, proving that at the heart of this show is still excellence that few can rival. But is it as effortlessly entertaining and fresh as what we once knew? Not quite in my books. There's clear evolution and innovation needed in the coming fifth season, something that the ending of Season 4 should set up quite well...