It’s a mark of the contraction of time, or at least the perception of it, that The Bear has just dropped its fifth and final season.
It just got here, right? How can it already be over? It’s not as though five seasons is chump change, especially in this streaming era when most don’t survive past its sophomore year.
When The Bear premiered in mid-2022, it was electric, a total TV sensation. It wraps up with not quite the same level of enthusiasm among audiences, but an excellent instalment that cements the series as one of the great shows of the 2020s.
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It does what the show has often done in crafting a story that is beautifully written, emotionally resonant, wonderfully performed and expertly directed.
That’s almost not even notable because the show has always strived to be that, and anything less in the past has earnt it ire that it didn’t always deserve – because of the high standards it set from the get-go. We want it to be perfect.
The eight episodes, which drop all at once, and which the first seven were made available for review in advance, are tight, accomplished and remind you why you became obsessed with the stories of Carmy, Syd, Richie, Marcus, Tina, Nat and the Faks.
Abby Elliott and Ayo Edebiri in The Bear season five. Credit: Hulu
In the fifth season, the first seven episodes re-concentrate the drama and the stakes to the core group and story – the restaurant and those that make it what it is – while still keeping its signature anxiety at levels high enough to be suspenseful but not so elevated as to give you a panic attack.
It’s set over one disastrous day, immediately following the scene of the previous season in which Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) told Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) and Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) that he is leaving The Bear, and he is signing it over to them and to Natalie (Abby Elliott).
The next morning, as Chicago wakes up around them, the rain is coming down and the weather report warns of flash flooding and hurricanes.
Sydney is in the kitchen by 8am as the rest of the crew come dribbling in. A storm water drain out the back is starting to be blocked by cigarette butts and there’s an ominous clanging sound coming from the pipes inside the building.
The emotional fallout from Carmy’s decision is reverberating, especially on Sydney, as the two chefs re-assess their former mentor-mentee dynamic. Carmy had already ceded control of the kitchen to Syd, but when it gets crunchy, can he suppress his instincts to take over?
Richie also makes it in – the car crash at the end of the surprise prequel episode which dropped last month did not end up being a massive deal, merely another disruption in a stressful day.
The restaurant is financially on the edge as Jimmy (Oliver Platt) frantically tries to sort out a solution for this money pitt, aided by Computer (Brian Koppelman) and newcomer Cheese (Elsie Fisher).
The overall vibe is the gang has to get through this one day, despite the many, many, many challenges. It doesn’t mean tomorrow will be saved, but, for now, today is what counts. How to cope with only one sink, an overbooked seating, no new deliveries, the ceiling caving in and the added emotional baggage that this was all coming to an end.
That focus on getting through that one day is not unlike when Carmy goes to a meeting for the families of alcoholics. AA and overcoming addiction is one day at a time, and The Bear has always been interested in these intense personalities who become completely immersed in the thing they think defines them.
That’s addiction by another name.
The Bear season five is streaming now. Credit: Hulu
Carmy’s declaration that he doesn’t love it anymore, and that’s why he’s walking away, is it an epiphany or is it just another coping mechanism, just for today.
There’s an outburst at one point from Luca (Will Poulter), Carmy’s former colleague at an esteemed fine diner and now working with Marcus (Lionel Boyce) that encapsulates the anxieties of not sinking too deeply into a mindset that could consume you.
The Bear has been many things to its audience, but one of its potent themes has been how to live with a purpose and pursuit that fulfils you but can also make you miserable because it exacerbates whatever else that is roiling inside, unresolved.
Its various characters have come at it in different ways, and when all is said and done in that final episode, which this reviewer has not seen, it’ll be interesting to see what its ultimate word is.
Whichever way(s) it lands, it was a privilege to have spent five seasons in its stressful company.
The Bear season five is streaming on Disney+
