This just showed up in my feed, so I'm here to have a very belated argument about why I liked the first season. :)
I think the main reason is that I had a different take on the "trauma plot". I don't think the Mikey plot makes Carmy's character stuck, but lays the groundwork for a show about punishment and forgiveness, and how to move on after you've failed someone you love. Carmy fails Mikey because of his childish, self-obsessed relationship with him. He placed Mikey on a pedestal as an impossibly perfect idol, and when Mikey started to distance himself, Carmy decided it must be because of his own unworthiness and embarks on an all-consuming quest to perfect himself to make himself deserving of Mikey's attention again. His obsession with his own flaws blinds him to the reality that Mikey is troubled and pushing him away out of shame over his own issues, so he fails to try to help him. The Al-Anon speech makes you realize that Carmy sees The Beef as a punishment - he failed Mikey in life, and his only path to forgiveness is to grind through this Sisyphean task Mikey granted him in death in perpetuity. That's why the money (in the stupid sealed tomato cans) is significant - it flips Carmy's perception of The Beef. Mikey isn't punishing him, he gave him the restaurant and the money to help him live out his dream because he loves him. It's the blessing Carmy needs to let go of his obsessive self-hatred and try to move forward with a happy life. The point of season 2 is to show that it's not that easy - wherever you go, there you are, and Carmy fails to actually change. I saw the chef plot as a way of voicing Carmy's internal monologue for the audience, to emphasize his self-obsession, and the mom plot as explaining why Mikey was so troubled.
I can easily see why this would be too maudlin or self-serious for someone else. But I thought it was an interesting take in a time that glorifies this kind of tormented, anxiety-driven achievement. That's also why I wasn't bothered by Garret's character - there's a difference between going to work with the goal of focusing on someone besides yourself for a while and Carmy's all-consuming, anxious self-obsession. There's a reason gratitude or volunteering and not more rumination about themselves get recommended to people who are feeling a little blue.
Thank you for this thoughtful comment! It hadn’t really occurred to me to see Carmy as a narcissist but you’re absolutely right—his whole “I’m a piece of shit” routine keeps him only thinking about himself, albeit negatively. I still think the show could have done a better job exploring this angle—whenever other characters take him to task for his failings they miss the mark so badly and are so overly harsh about the wrong things in a way that made me take Camry’s side—but I appreciate the insight and generosity into what they were going for.
Yes, I agree that the show sends mixed messages. I thought it was totally absurd when Marcus and Syd were complaining that Carmy yelled at them in the episode that a billion orders came in. One of you caused the problem and one of you was off screwing around instead of helping deal with the crisis - it is the least surprising thing on earth that your boss would tear you a new one.
Belatedly, I love this essay (because I love watching "The Bear" being taken down a peg) but this paragraph is just fantastic:
> "But mostly I find Garrett’s philosophy of self-abnegation pernicious and dispiriting. His solution to his personal struggles is to deny his personhood as much as possible. There’s nothing wrong with avoiding temptation of course, but Garrett has taken it farther, into an all-encompassing avoidance of life. He has refashioned himself into a pure servant, living exclusively for others. In trying to conquer a particular, destructive desire, he has extinguished desire in himself generally. Where there once was a person he has substituted an enthusiastic cog in a notoriously exploitative and toxic industry."
...in which you put into words how I feel about nearly everything in 2025. (Especially after reading a very annoying book about grad students - not that career academics would know anything about exploitative and toxic industries!)
Thanks Quiara! I found it so bizarre how many critics were praising the show for "questioning the insane demands of chef culture" or whatever. Just purely projecting what you want it to be saying onto the show. The Bear fucking loves chef culture and thinks the more hours you work the better. Totally vile, and, like you say, emblematic of far too much these days
Stumbled across this piece on my feed; really enjoyed it.
FWIW along with Coach K books, Will Guidara’s Unreasonable Hospitality also makes a cameo in season two. If one reads it, one reads the synapses of The Bear; where it has been and where it’s going. There are both small asides and entire plot points lifted from the book.
Finally a piece , well reasoned , that explains why this show is so so disappointing . Never made it to the end of season one to be honest . Just horrible television ! Had to watch Ratatouille just to alleviate the pain
I have not watched the show, so coming at it from a place of someone whose chief mode of interaction with video content is reading about it. With this caveat.
The Bear has been recommended to me as one of the best things on television, I resisted an now having watched that first clip I am glad I did. Tho most people who did recommend it focused on it showing the guts of hospitality environments with great emotional if not factual accuracy. So maybe the universal aspects of the story were less of a focus.
To me that clip in the "Giant Lyrical Heads Cinematography" tradition felt like comedy, pastiche at the minimum, maybe a parody? But I'm assuming it's done straight? That feels strange to me. But I'm old so there's that, I'm probably not getting something here.
As to trauma as plot vehicle. I think it fails when "why is this character LIKE THIS" is a key point of the story and trauma reveal becomes the story reveal (the fact that nowadays it's CSA 9 out of 10 doesn't help). But often it's more part of the setup, and the mystery is not about "why X is like this", but what X (with their psychosocial makeup including trauma) will do in an unrelated situation. I think it can work quite well especially if trauma is not the only defining characteristic of a character. Still, both the Natural Born Killers and the Hannibal Lecter character were irrevocably ruined by the trauma reveal.
Reading this, I kept thinking about The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro, which is about a very old-fashioned english butler slowly realizing, at the end of his career, just how much his commitment to professionalism and dignified service to the rich and powerful has cost him. I'd recommend reading that instead of watching The Bear.
After abandoning The Bear about 6 episodes into Season 2 because it was just not bringing me joy any more, it's great to find someone who actually puts some intellectual flesh on that bare bone.
I see now that I actually got all the way to episode 9, before I had to admit to myself that I was now dreading each episode rather than looking forward to it. With hindsight I should have seen it coming. But I admit I found the chaos of 'Fishes' fairly entertaining - reminiscent of season 1.
I enjoyed this very much even though I liked The Bear more than you. It has some great stuff going on but it's also very self-indulgent and directionless. I was hoping you'd get on to Fishes, one of the worst episodes of anything ever yet almost universally acclaimed.
Key word is 'Watched'. I have read your review and concluded that although I worked as a pro chef for 13 years and understand everything I saw in The Bear, which I think recreates The Life pretty well, (it's still only TV), I am from another galaxy. This is why I do not understand your feelings or ideas.
This just showed up in my feed, so I'm here to have a very belated argument about why I liked the first season. :)
I think the main reason is that I had a different take on the "trauma plot". I don't think the Mikey plot makes Carmy's character stuck, but lays the groundwork for a show about punishment and forgiveness, and how to move on after you've failed someone you love. Carmy fails Mikey because of his childish, self-obsessed relationship with him. He placed Mikey on a pedestal as an impossibly perfect idol, and when Mikey started to distance himself, Carmy decided it must be because of his own unworthiness and embarks on an all-consuming quest to perfect himself to make himself deserving of Mikey's attention again. His obsession with his own flaws blinds him to the reality that Mikey is troubled and pushing him away out of shame over his own issues, so he fails to try to help him. The Al-Anon speech makes you realize that Carmy sees The Beef as a punishment - he failed Mikey in life, and his only path to forgiveness is to grind through this Sisyphean task Mikey granted him in death in perpetuity. That's why the money (in the stupid sealed tomato cans) is significant - it flips Carmy's perception of The Beef. Mikey isn't punishing him, he gave him the restaurant and the money to help him live out his dream because he loves him. It's the blessing Carmy needs to let go of his obsessive self-hatred and try to move forward with a happy life. The point of season 2 is to show that it's not that easy - wherever you go, there you are, and Carmy fails to actually change. I saw the chef plot as a way of voicing Carmy's internal monologue for the audience, to emphasize his self-obsession, and the mom plot as explaining why Mikey was so troubled.
I can easily see why this would be too maudlin or self-serious for someone else. But I thought it was an interesting take in a time that glorifies this kind of tormented, anxiety-driven achievement. That's also why I wasn't bothered by Garret's character - there's a difference between going to work with the goal of focusing on someone besides yourself for a while and Carmy's all-consuming, anxious self-obsession. There's a reason gratitude or volunteering and not more rumination about themselves get recommended to people who are feeling a little blue.
Thank you for this thoughtful comment! It hadn’t really occurred to me to see Carmy as a narcissist but you’re absolutely right—his whole “I’m a piece of shit” routine keeps him only thinking about himself, albeit negatively. I still think the show could have done a better job exploring this angle—whenever other characters take him to task for his failings they miss the mark so badly and are so overly harsh about the wrong things in a way that made me take Camry’s side—but I appreciate the insight and generosity into what they were going for.
Yes, I agree that the show sends mixed messages. I thought it was totally absurd when Marcus and Syd were complaining that Carmy yelled at them in the episode that a billion orders came in. One of you caused the problem and one of you was off screwing around instead of helping deal with the crisis - it is the least surprising thing on earth that your boss would tear you a new one.
Belatedly, I love this essay (because I love watching "The Bear" being taken down a peg) but this paragraph is just fantastic:
> "But mostly I find Garrett’s philosophy of self-abnegation pernicious and dispiriting. His solution to his personal struggles is to deny his personhood as much as possible. There’s nothing wrong with avoiding temptation of course, but Garrett has taken it farther, into an all-encompassing avoidance of life. He has refashioned himself into a pure servant, living exclusively for others. In trying to conquer a particular, destructive desire, he has extinguished desire in himself generally. Where there once was a person he has substituted an enthusiastic cog in a notoriously exploitative and toxic industry."
...in which you put into words how I feel about nearly everything in 2025. (Especially after reading a very annoying book about grad students - not that career academics would know anything about exploitative and toxic industries!)
Thanks Quiara! I found it so bizarre how many critics were praising the show for "questioning the insane demands of chef culture" or whatever. Just purely projecting what you want it to be saying onto the show. The Bear fucking loves chef culture and thinks the more hours you work the better. Totally vile, and, like you say, emblematic of far too much these days
Stumbled across this piece on my feed; really enjoyed it.
FWIW along with Coach K books, Will Guidara’s Unreasonable Hospitality also makes a cameo in season two. If one reads it, one reads the synapses of The Bear; where it has been and where it’s going. There are both small asides and entire plot points lifted from the book.
Whoa! I had no idea!
Funnily enough the first scene you shared is exactly the scene that made me stop watching the show. Completely agree with your take!
Finally a piece , well reasoned , that explains why this show is so so disappointing . Never made it to the end of season one to be honest . Just horrible television ! Had to watch Ratatouille just to alleviate the pain
I have not watched the show, so coming at it from a place of someone whose chief mode of interaction with video content is reading about it. With this caveat.
The Bear has been recommended to me as one of the best things on television, I resisted an now having watched that first clip I am glad I did. Tho most people who did recommend it focused on it showing the guts of hospitality environments with great emotional if not factual accuracy. So maybe the universal aspects of the story were less of a focus.
To me that clip in the "Giant Lyrical Heads Cinematography" tradition felt like comedy, pastiche at the minimum, maybe a parody? But I'm assuming it's done straight? That feels strange to me. But I'm old so there's that, I'm probably not getting something here.
As to trauma as plot vehicle. I think it fails when "why is this character LIKE THIS" is a key point of the story and trauma reveal becomes the story reveal (the fact that nowadays it's CSA 9 out of 10 doesn't help). But often it's more part of the setup, and the mystery is not about "why X is like this", but what X (with their psychosocial makeup including trauma) will do in an unrelated situation. I think it can work quite well especially if trauma is not the only defining characteristic of a character. Still, both the Natural Born Killers and the Hannibal Lecter character were irrevocably ruined by the trauma reveal.
Reading this, I kept thinking about The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro, which is about a very old-fashioned english butler slowly realizing, at the end of his career, just how much his commitment to professionalism and dignified service to the rich and powerful has cost him. I'd recommend reading that instead of watching The Bear.
After abandoning The Bear about 6 episodes into Season 2 because it was just not bringing me joy any more, it's great to find someone who actually puts some intellectual flesh on that bare bone.
Was it Pop, the house party episode that did you in? That was the one that broke my wife
I see now that I actually got all the way to episode 9, before I had to admit to myself that I was now dreading each episode rather than looking forward to it. With hindsight I should have seen it coming. But I admit I found the chaos of 'Fishes' fairly entertaining - reminiscent of season 1.
I enjoyed this very much even though I liked The Bear more than you. It has some great stuff going on but it's also very self-indulgent and directionless. I was hoping you'd get on to Fishes, one of the worst episodes of anything ever yet almost universally acclaimed.
Fishes is not an episode of television, it is a one-hour holiday-themed motion sickness simulator
Marcus went to Copenhagen.
Dang. The Underline regrets the error
You say this having worked your way up in restaurants, right?
I’ve watched more Top Chef than you could possibly imagine
Key word is 'Watched'. I have read your review and concluded that although I worked as a pro chef for 13 years and understand everything I saw in The Bear, which I think recreates The Life pretty well, (it's still only TV), I am from another galaxy. This is why I do not understand your feelings or ideas.