The raw confronting grit of season one makes way (in part) for a slightly calmer season two as Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) determines the ragbag diner is to be transformed into a fine dining experience.
All the kitchen staff return as they, to different degrees, embrace change. And, as Carmy finds himself (at the wrong moment) distracted by love (Claire – Molly Gordon), so it’s sous chef and partner Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) who steps up. It’s her dream and she has no intention of Carmy’s lack of focus derailing it.
Season two sees Carmy step back in terms of screen time as the likes of pastry chef Marcus (Lionel Boyce), newly promoted sous chef Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) and Sydney herself become if not centre stage, certainly more present. One episode sees Marcus sent to Copenhagen (following in the footsteps of Carmy) to increase his skills; Sydney travels around Chicago taste testing as she goes – from fine dining to acclaimed street food. It’s a much calmer season as, with the old diner being renovated, the knocking down of walls is a symbolic reduction in the claustophobic intensity of the series. Until, that is, the extended episode 6 and Fishes – a flashback to a Berzatto family Christmas when Michael (Jon Bernthal) was still alive and cousin Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) happily married with a child on the way.
Meltdown is an understatement as the intensity of the occasion results in confrontation after confrontation – with the Berzatto matriarch (an extraordinary chain smoking Jamie Lee Curtis) creating tension in extremis in the kitchen. The calm of episode seven (Forks) as Richie finally understands what it’s all about is a welcome relief (and a personal favourite episode).
A slower burn and less immediate than season one with its emphasis on family (pregnant sister Natalie – Abby Elliott – is the project manager of the renovations, more personal stories of Sydney and Marcus are revealed), season two of The Bear nevertheless demands an emotional investment as its authentic narratives with the empathic highs and lows continue to take hold.
Rating: 79%
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