The Bear on FX: aka HEARD! aka YES CHEF! aka Ketamine Gene Wilder cooks for u

they had their scene already! oh god i hope they don't fuck up s3

maybe the neurodivergents do belong together though. i wouldn't root against them as an item, too-neat as it might be

also also, i spent most of both seasons reading marcus as gay, so the romantic tension between him and sydney caught me off guard a bit

I did, too, especially whenever his dapper roommate dropped by.

Marcus in general, I could never figure out why they were letting him experiment with molecular gastronomy donuts or whatever in the back of the beef shop. Like, they justify why Sydney is there, and of course we know why Carm is there. But Marcus, even in season 1, he seems to be working toward the goal set up in season 2.

The ‘romantic tension’ between Marcus and Syd was responsible for some of the worst scenes in Series 2.

I think it's essentially a badly written show with some good scenes and good actors.

yeah, as i say marcus had a good arc until it vanished around the time S2 decided to 'get serious' and they kept him involved by working some bullshit romantic intrigue up, it was the biggest failing of the series as a whole imo

i also read his 'roommate' as his partner yeah and that they were making no big deal of it and that this was good

idk i bought it. maybe he was gay. maybe he was bi. who knows. surprising things can happen in high pressure situations.

he'd entertained her to dinner in S1 without the merest hint of a frisson. ach maybe

I didn't care for the breakup either. Claire works in an even more stressful environment, so you'd think she'd recognize that Carmy is just spiraling from stress.

Oh right, the roommate in S1 totally read as his partner.

I feel like there's a little bit of "this character's arc didn't go the way I wanted, therefore this is bad actually" going on here, but eh, I guess that seems to be pretty par for TV and film these days.

Marcus in general, I could never figure out why they were letting him experiment with molecular gastronomy donuts or whatever in the back of the beef shop

I kind of accepted that because there’s a really strong theme in the show about the obsessive pursuit of perfection, beyond the needs of a Chicago beef sandwich shop. Carmy relates to Marcus’s obsessive quest, respects it, and allows him the space to pursue it.

That's sort of what I got, too, with Carm the catalyst that prompts Marcus, the former McDonald's employee, to pursue more ambitious culinary goals, and Carm recognizing that, too.

yeah they had one conversation about it but that was it

kinda feel that she wouldn’t have been so quick to leave him after hearing the fridge rant either, I mean seems like part of the reason she’s attracted to him is because he IS a chaotic mess, who has already tried to push her away before. at least call him out on his obvious bullshit or something

― Roz, Tuesday, July 4, 2023 11:46 PM (eight months ago) bookmarkflaglink

i mentioned this upthread re: claire's reaction, which I also thought was out of character.

hope syd and carmy isn't gonna be a thing - i much prefer the idea of them as platonic soulmates.

It's one of my least favorite TV contrivances, and something that would never happen in real life. A character does something another character misunderstands or doesn't wait around for clarification on, they have to do the dramatic exit. In real life it just doesn't occur like that. I think the show is pretty gripping but a lot of its elements are artificially heightened in a way that feels a bit theatrically unreal, for all its stylistic overtures in the direction of realistic cinema verite. I still think it's good, the most offensive thing about the whole program is how it's consistently categorized as a comedy in awards season.

ugh no to Syd/Carmy, would betray the fundamentals of their relationship - one of my favourite things about this flawed show is that it shows relationships which are intimate without being romantic/sexual, which is why the Claire thing pissed me off too.

Why are we all so certain that Claire/Carm are "done" done? She's not ruled out and rumored to be a part of Season 3, which doesn't mean things revert back to normal, no, but doesn't rule it out, either.

Have none of you ever had a moment where someone close to you upset you, you initially got upset and overreacted, and reassessed things in the sober light of morning? The episode ended not long after Claire left the restaurant so nobody was really of clear head in that scene

I will change my mind if this turns into the "she's not Rachem" thing from Friends but I never read that scene as a door inherently shutting

Strong agree that Syd/Carmy is a terrible idea. It's such a good depiction of a platonic working relationship, which has it's own kind of non-romantic intimacy. Torpedoing that with some cliche romance shit would put me off the show forever.

I think Claire leaving had such a sense of finality simply because it happened at the end of the season. In any other context it would definitely feel more like a temporary hurdle in the relationship.

Camry not being a toxic chef, as far as sexualizing his workplace, has been so key to the show. Yeah, it’ll turn a corner if that develops.

xpost yeah but tv seasons always have *big events* in the season finale that don't always have permanence.

otm, not hard to imagine season 3 opening a few weeks/months after season 2 ended, as they creep up on the actual opening of the restaurant (guessing some setbacks will pop up to delay the official thing), with Carmy and Claire working on patching things up.

absolutely, if Carmy and Syd get together romantically, it will absolutely ruin the show for me. I hope the creators are smarter than that.

tangentially, scenes are being filmed not terribly far from my house, though I haven't seen much signs of it. the crew (sadly no cast) popped into the local brewery I really dig though.

Hell, if they really want to throw people for a loop, S3 could start right after the closing of the new place, with everyone cleaning their wounds and figuring out what comes next.

just do a timejump 11 years into the future, Carmy has a kid, a wife we've never seen before, and a huge mustache, the restaurant is long gone and destroyed in a fire set by Chicago mobsters, Richie has a reality show about managing restaurants, Syd has her own Michelin-starred restaurant, and there's this new character Jules who has a wacky catch-phrase that he invented in the in-between times and since we're not privy to its origins it doesn't make sense

lol. Or maybe it can start with Carmy's kid on a space station, trying to spruce up the bad space food (which may have been an actual plot line of the most recent season of For All Mankind, unless I imagined it).

haha I love that I can find this thread by searching "ketamine"

so there is gonna be a Season 4 too?!?!

https://www.avclub.com/bear-season-4-renewal-back-to-back-1851337717

Yep yep, may be shooting back-to-back.

hay guys what if season 3 starts with a BAD REVIEW in the newspaper and then everybody has to team up to make a really good meal and win the critic over? And then the critic is Carmy’s mom in disguise.
Just putting it out there.

i’m so ready for moar seasons

Chicago news is making sure everyone knows that S3 is filming.

Season three they decide to bail on the Michelin thing and go back to being a beef sandwich joint.

no, time for a fast casual concept.

Richie is replaced by touchscreen terminals.

Fisher Stevens plays an evil beef sandwich restaurant owner from several counties over who is planning on opening a new location....across the street

Mikey faked his death, reopens o.g. The Beef two blocks away from The Bear.

Carm steps away from The Bear to make The Bear, a TV show about a troubled chef who

holy shit, I could totally imagine a future shitty season set in LA, on a set, with Carmy a consultant on a shitty show based on their story, while the rest of the crew tries to open up a new place without him. And of course we all know how that season ends: getting the band back together again.

but he has to solve/commit a murder while in LA

To Live and Fry in LA

Open for service 6/27!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHiwdDFPsZY

YES
CHEF

new trailer looks stressful af and i am here for it

hm
Claire detected

Those bowls are definitely different sizes.

I loved the first 2 seasons and that trailer fills me with dread. Carmy is turning into the Joel McHale character and I don't want to watch that. I don't know if I even want to watch him approach that precipice, wake up and back off.

idk I mean he kinda had a few out of character moments in S2 where he was explosive to his employees to where they quit, before recognizing what he did, owning it and atoning. like screaming at his employee "WHY ARE YOU FUCKING ME RIGHT NOW?" over and over again. still far removed from McHale's "you should die" levels of abuse but far beyond anything he'd done up until that point.

I feel like wrestling w/ the devil is something lots of kitchen managers struggle with, because of its high intensity, and of course the power trip some take w/ it, and unfortunately from my own experience, most of them seem to lose. can't imagine the writers will outright send Carmy completely into that rabbit hole though, it's definitely a show that wants us to root for him.

xp - otm, my first reaction to that trailer was "fuck, I hope they don't lean in to making him a stock asshole chef character" but trailers be trailering

Feels more like coked Gene Wilder by E2?

well by s3 he’s meth gene wilder bc our Carmy has lost his everloving mind