The Bear Season 4

It’s been a while since I have seen the first three seasons, but I enjoyed all three of them. I was excited when my wife and I found time to start this season, even though the episodes can sometimes take me awhile to digest. Unlike a lot of shows I enjoy that are more in the brain candy category, The Bear is at its best when it makes me think for awhile about what I am seeing.

I know some of the crowd was bored with the third season, but I loved it. This season felt a lot like the third, so once again I enjoyed it a lot more than most, at least according to Rotten Tomatoes. Although the first two seasons started out with a heavy focus on the plot of developing the restaurant, the third and fourth seasons moved towards an intense focus on dialogue and character development and exploration. More than any other show I have seen, The Bear excels at building authentic dialogue that makes great actors look incredible.

I don’t think there is any other show that spends so much time with two characters talking about their feelings, whatever they might be, in such a compelling fashion. When I write it like that, it sounds like the show must be boring as hell. However, I find myself riveted when the show explores grief, growth, personal acceptance and all the other complex emotions that everyone lives with and usually ignores.

Also, Oliver Platt is a legend, and anything he is in deserves a bonus point right from the start.