The Bear Season 4 Review: Last Season's Flawed Recipe Is Improved With An Emotional Feast

While this review is as spoiler-free as possible, and the new season is already streaming, consider this a spoiler warning for "The Bear" season 4.

"The Bear" was great TV seemingly from the jump. Christopher Storer's stress-inducing series about the struggles of a Chicago sandwich shop turned fine dining establishment hooked me (and many others) almost immediately with its intense filmmaking, it's electric editing, and its excellent cast. Season 1 was good, season 2 was even better. But I suppose sooner or later, every great show stumbles. After the highs of the first two season, "The Bear" season 3 felt adrift, lost, unfocused. Perhaps that was intentional — a way to reflect the way the characters felt lost. Intentional or not, it didn't quite work — something was missing.

I ultimately gave season 3 a positive review, but it was the first time I found myself struggling with the show. While I appreciated some of the more daring formal choices (many folks seemed annoyed with the season 3 premiere which unfolded as one long montage scored to a Nine Inch Nails track, but I actually thought it was rather brilliant), "The Bear" season 3 felt like a show that had perhaps let its hype and acclaim go to its head. It was as if Storer and his team felt an urge to go bigger and stranger in an attempt to keep things fresh but lost sight of the bigger picture in the process. Again, this could be intentional, as losing sight of the bigger picture is a problem that seems to be plaguing main character Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto, played with the perfect amount of angst by Jeremy Allen White.

Yet, "The Bear" season 3 never found its footing, and the series kept making strange choices that didn't add up. While there were strong episodes ("Napkins," helmed by series star Ayo Edebiri was a real standout), there were baffling decisions that left a bad taste in your mouth. For one thing, the majority of the season finale was devoted to focusing on a horde or guest star chefs playing themselves rather than the main characters of the show we care about. And then there's the fact that season 3 ended with an unnecessary cliffhanger.

Thankfully, "The Bear" is cooking again with season 4. At times, this new season almost feels like an apology for season 3 — a fact underscored by multiple scenes of the characters telling each other they're sorry for the lousy things they've done in the past. Season 4 is a reminder of why so many people fell for this show in the first place: it's funny, it's dramatic, it's raw, and it's highly watchable. It's also surprisingly sweet — the characters who populate this series really care for each other. They're not just coworkers, they're family. And we're invested in seeing them work things out as they struggle with all the chaos life throws at them.

Season 3 set up a looming Chicago Tribune review that could make or break The Bear. Carmy got a glimpse of that review in the season's final seconds, and he didn't seem particularly pleased. Sure enough, season 4 confirms that the review was not overwhelmingly positive — "They didn't like the vibes," Carmy says to Ayo Edebiri's Sydney, to which Sydney replies: "They didn't like the chaos." Sydney counters that Carmy seems addicted to the idea of chaos — why else would he insist on constantly changing up The Bear's menu, throwing his entire team for a loop night after night? Carmy insists he doesn't love chaos — but what does he love? He used to love cooking, but now, his entire worldview seems to be upended.

Bad review in hand, The Bear is now at a crossroads. The restaurant only has enough money to stay afloat for a short period of time, and the clock is literally ticking. Can Carmy and his team get their act together to pull off a miracle and save The Bear? Or will it be going out of business like so many other restaurants? But saving The Bear isn't the only focus of season 4. This new season also finds the characters all asking themselves where they're going — a moment where Carmy watches a clip from Bill Murray's time-loop movie "Groundhog Day" hammers home the idea that everyone might be caught in a never-ending cycle. Murray's character escaped his seemingly endless loop by learning to be a better person, and that's exactly what Carmy and his friends have to do, too. They have to grow, and they have to make amends.

Once again, the cast is firing on all cylinders, and while some get more to do than others, the ensemble is really the secret ingredient that makes "The Bear" such a successful meal. White remains inherently watchable — he has a hypnotic, intense quality, and as an actor, he's very good at conveying deep emotions while saying very little. A late-season scene where he meets with mother, played by returning guest star Jamie Lee Curtis, is emotionally devastating, and White and Curtis are both doing incredible work in the moment. It's bound to be a scene everyone will talk about.

Ebon Moss-Bachrach remains the show's MVP as Richie, a character who has grown so much since we first met him — although I will say the character feels somewhat sidelined for huge chunks of the season, perhaps because Moss-Bachrach was busy shooting the upcoming Marvel "Fantastic Four" movie. And Ayo Edebiri's Sydney has to contend with her own issues — she has an offer to jump ship and start fresh at a new joint, but can se really leave The Bear behind? Comedy is Edebiri's forte, but she's given a few heavy dramatic moments this season and nails them.

While there are big emotional beats and even bigger revelations, "The Bear" season 4 frequently has a back-to-basics approach. It forgoes the experimentation of season 3 to tell a more stripped-down story — one that's easy to get caught up in. Again: I don't know if season 4 is meant to be a deliberate course correction (judging between the brief time between seasons 3 and 4, there's a good chance it isn't), but it feels that way. It's good to try new things from time to time, but you can't beat the comfort food that you know and love, and "The Bear" season 4 understands that. I doubt the show can last much longer judging by the direction the story is going, but I'm glad the series returned to its strengths.

/Film Rating: 8 out of 10

"The Bear" season 4 is now streaming on Hulu.