The Bear (Season 5)

⭐ 6/10

Your suffering is over, you can go to sleep now. We started this season, got 6 episodes in, then stopped for over 3 months. That should tell you all you need to know.

The season basically takes place over like 3 long and painful days. There is a huge storm, the restaurant is flooding, they have no money, everything that can go wrong is. There are tons and tons of close ups on cigarettes blocking a drain that is causing a bunch of these issues, and it felt ironic to me, but completely not self aware. Maybe the show is... circling the drain? I think they think all the madcap stuff and fast talking is funny, but it really isn't. Every moment of humour feels ad-libbed, where people are swearing and being sarcastic or whatever. Its just so worn out.

There is a moment early on when a mom is talking to another mom about how she is sad she is here and not with her kid. And the other mom is like, but would your kid want you home and sad wishing you were here instead? Which to me was an insane sentiment, and must reflect the feelings of the creator, justifying working on this show so much even when it means no time with his family. Guess what buddy, you should have stopped this show 3 years ago! You could have had a hit show end on a high and spend time with your kids, instead of pumping out 3 additional filler seasons.

This show used to be propulsive, now the episodes drag, spending so much time with characters I don't care about accomplishing absolutely nothing. I have never seen a show be so in love with itself and its characters, as if we are all here for the vibes or something. Carmy has been sidelined for 2 seasons! A background character, this show isn't about him at all, except when it decides that it is again at the end. His growth is basically non-existent because it happened at a snails pace, and I am not sure I like where we ended with him at all, a nice tidy bow after resolving nothing. I remember being dissatisfied with season one's ending, I should have known. We spend so much time with every other character bantering about nothing, manufactured tension, as if there aren't compelling characters we want to spend more time with. Remember when we saw Carmy's apartment and he was trying to figure out how to have a normal relationship and build this restaurant? Remember when Richie became a better man and a better father over a glorious episode? Distant memories, this show only cares about their warm fuzzy feelings everyone gets in this kitchen.

So there are a couple amazing scenes, and its when Richie and Carmy get into the same room! The twin heartbeat of the show completely abandoned, and when they finally get time you can feel a resurgence! It's gone quickly, but man, how does this happen, how are you so unaware of what made this show popular in the first place.

Its early seasons will be remembered fondly, but more than half this entire show is not good, so that's a shame.