With three weeks to go until the delivery of the Emmy Awards, The pools place The Bear as one of the favourites to sweep the comedy category this year, just as it did in the previous edition. Although this recognition is being widely applauded by those who consider it one of the best television series of the moment, it is a somewhat controversial decision because it has nothing to do with comedy. In the same way that White Lotus was not a miniseries either.
The Bear is a fiction set in the world of American haute cuisine (that country where they don’t just eat burgers) and which shows us the situations of anxiety and stress that can be experienced in the kitchen when the place is full of hungry customers. Disney brought us to Spain last week third season in fullwith a certain delay from the date of its premiere in the United States. Those who approach this series thinking that they are going to find a Friends with cooks are warned that this is not the dish they are going to find. No canned laughter and lots of angry people, who shout a lot. Perhaps by presenting it as a comedy they avoided having to compete with Succession.
The series started when Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), a young chef with a promising career in the world of haute cuisine, had to return to his city, Chicagoafter the tragic death of his brother and taking over the family business, a family sandwich restaurant on the verge of bankruptcy. Given his prestige, we all assumed that Carmy’s arrival was going to be nothing less than a triumphal walk. In the first episodes we see how the young chef enters the business like a bull in a china shop, introducing the way of working of thes great restaurants in the kitchen of the modest local, creating stressful situations. There are hectic scenes where all the work is planned while dozens of customers anxiously await their food. A wait that is too long can ruin the culinary experience.
Carmy’s clashes with his cousin Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) are constant, who doesn’t take it very well that the star comes to tell them how to do things. Although it seemed that things had been resolved between them, in this new season they have returned to their old ways, although now it is more elegant. We soon saw that not everything we were told came from the stress in the kitchen, but that each character drags their own traumas. Especially Carmy himself marked by an obsessive sense of perfection and other problems derived from the relationship with his mother. Fantastic the signing of Jaime Lee Curtis. And the series has known how to fill itself with truly luxurious guest stars. In the last episode, some of the most internationally recognized chefs play themselves. Among all the cameos, we will recognize more than one face from current cult series.
In the second installment, the protagonists embarked on the titanic task of turning the premises into a prestigious restaurant with Michelin stars. This new season has taken a leap forward by telling us how the new venue tries to aspire to greatness. Not everything is so simple because there is work to be done Constant balancing to ensure that the budget does not go out of control and to maintain qualityAt the end of the season, the continuity of the restaurant depends on a food review, about which we don’t really know if it’s good or not. So it’s difficult for you to get a spoiler with this, unless you know for sure that the path to the fourth season is clear.
The analogies with the world of cinema and music are obvious, arts in which creators can give the spectator/music lover/diner unforgettable experiences. “Making the world a more beautiful place,” they say. There is an episode with a tribute to the filmmaker Georges Mélièsconsidered one of the pioneers in the history of cinema for the introduction of special effects that made people believe in magic in those rooms at the beginning of the 20th century. As Carmy searches for new perfect dishes, Méliès He was constantly experimenting with new narrative techniquesThe carefully selected soundtrack is no coincidence either, with an episode that compares one of those crazy nights in the kitchen to a classical music concert.
Although as in cinema and music, there are also certain toxic creatorsmarked by a insufferable ego in that search for perfection that can make life miserable for those around them. Is Carmy becoming that chef that he hated at the beginning of his career and that made his life impossible? Years later, Carmy confronts him to blame him for ruining those years of his life. And he answers that it was precisely that beating that he gave him that has made him the star of the kitchen that he is. You’re welcome.
It should not be overlooked that the series sometimes ignores its protagonist. to tell us about his secondary characters. Some are even considering leaving the nest and making their own way. New plots for the future. The Bear continues to grow and it seems that its stoves, although sometimes slow-cooked, have a long way to go. As much as Deadpool & Wolverine insists on burying Fox in the time of Disney, the truth is that both this platform and Hulu are giving the mouse giant some of its sweetest moments. After the failure of Acolyte and some Marvel premieres, The Bear and Shogun aspire to sweep the Emmys.
