Tag Archives: Abby Elliott

Mini Reviews: The Bear! Episodes 6 to 9

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The Bear Season 3

Sometimes, the staff at Graphic Policy read more comics than we’re able to get reviewed. When that happens you’ll see a weekly feature compiling reviews of the comics, or graphic novels, we just didn’t get a chance to write a full one for.

These are Graphic Policy’s Mini Reviews and Recommendations.

Logan

The Bear S3E6 “Napkins” – Leave it to Ayo Edebiri to direct the best episode of The Bear Season 3. She, writer Catherine Schetina, and actress Liza Colon-Zayas tell Tina’s origin in such a beautiful way and touch on how infuriating it can be to find a job in this day and age. The quiet glory of Kate Bush’s “Morning Fog” is contrasted with the dead faces of the young employees that Tina interacts with at different jobs as not even replying to an open interview hour on LinkedIn gets her a position. She breaks and gives a “Fuck you”, but is saved by dropping into The Beef, getting a comped sandwich and coffee from Richie, and having a real heart to heart with a then-stranger Mikey (Jon Bernthal). Edebiri, Schetina, Colon-Zayas, and Bernthal cut the bullshit and just have two people venting about their days and also finding inspiration in the next generation with Mikey showing a picture of one of Carmy’s dishes that was teased in the season premiere. One benefit of TV as a medium is the ability to go deep into people’s lives and motivations for a half hour, and “Napkins” pulls that off with grace and rhythm. Overall: 9.1

The Bear S3E7 “Legacy” – This episode was okay. The restaurant review cliffhanger goes some resolved, and there’s lots of great lines and sequences, but they don’t really fit together. This is definitely a companion piece to episode 5 with the intro featuring Carmy and Claire at dinner, and an extended Fak banter bit about the “haunting”. It’s growing a little stale, but obscure character actor Paul Reilly embodies a Fak much better than John Cena. Also, Shapiro attempts to poach Sydney for his new restaurant where she would have more pay, good benefits, and get to do her own thing, which leads to a lot of frustration and hand wringing across the episode. One true bright spot of the episode is the energy Paulie James and Christopher Zucchero bring as previous employees of The Beef straightening up the sandwich with a killer Beastie Boys needle drop to boot. Overall Verdict: 7.3

The Bear S3E8 “Ice Chips” – The Bear Season 3 excels at these hyper-focused, bottle-type episodes featuring a character or two, and “Ice Chips” is no exception. Writer Joanna Calo, and actors Abby Elliott and Jamie Lee Curtis create a little magic as Natalie goes into labor, and her mother Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis) is the only person to pick up the phone. Calo and director Christopher Storer turn in one of the most tense scenes in the show as Natalie attempts to navigate Chicagoland traffic after her water breaks and also find anyone to pick up the phone using voice to text. Donna and Natalie begin by arguing about epidurals with Curtis giving a loud, over the top performance before mellowing out and sharing stories of Natalie, Mikey, and Carmy’s birth. By the end of the episode when Pete (Chris Witaske) shows up, she’s silent and tears after sharing these beautiful moments with her daughter. Sure, the restaurant review plotline is on the deep freeze, but Calo, Storer, Curtis, and Elliott give us a window into a complex mother/daughter relationship told in an emotionally honest way. Overall: 9.2

The Bear S3E9 “Apologies” – Another semi-frustrating, fragmented episode of the bear. Writer Alex Russell continues the back half of Season 3’s formula of single character-centric episode and then ensemble one, and he’s stuck with the ensemble one. There are some strong visual moments in this episode from director Christopher Storer like a dual color/split screen showing how the front of house and back of house have never been on the same page at The Bear. Between some silly moments with the Faks, Sydney and Pete finding common ground, and an overlong Cicero monologue about Carbon-14 dating, the Claire/Carmy relationship arc has barely progressed plus Oliver Platt speaks for me in his anticipation for the review of The Bear. This season’s best arc has been the dissolution of the Sydney/Carmy working relationship, and the number on her offer sheet matches the bad vibes of their interactions. There’s an interesting early scene in this episode where they lock eyes for a minute showing their distance. However, Marcus and Tina make a new dish of their own while the restaurant is closed continuing the show’s theme of little flowers of hope in the midst of despair. Overall Verdict: 6.5

TV Review: The Bear S3E5 “Children”

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The Bear S3E5 "Children"

“Children” marks the midpoint of The Bear Season 3, and writer/director Christopher Storer tries to do a true dramedy episode balancing humor (John Cena is a Fak, a man only answers to Computer) and serious stuff (Ever closing, Marcus dealing with the passing of his mother, the constant financial struggle) However, he doesn’t quite get the balance right in this taking stock episode that happened four episodes after the previous “taking stock” episode.

Unfortunately, the cliffhanger of The Bear’s Tribune review isn’t resolved even though Richie badgers the photographer while he’s lining up his shots and asking about a duck dish that no one in the kitchen remembers how to make. However, a food critic does make an appearance as Richie sees that Ever, a fine dining restaurant run by Carmy’s mentor Andrea Terry has closed its doors. This hits him like a ton of bricks and ruins his flow when he’s ironing his shirts for service. He has a phone call with Jessica (Sarah Ramos), and they reminisce about how all “the good shit is gone”. But Jessica also tells him that Terry seems more relaxed after closing the restaurant. This brush with restaurant mortality also affects Carmy when he finds out the news and freaks out thinking about his legacy. Storer doesn’t go for melodrama, but instead has him asking Ebraheim if he’s doing a good job after Ebra drops some sandwich buns.

However, this brush with the end of a restaurant doesn’t really connect to the rest of the episode. Christopher Storer officially goes a little too far with the Faks’ antics by having them goofing off and bantering for most of the running time of the episode. It’s like he was trying to balance some of the darker themes of the episode with some lightheartedness, but the bits go on for a little too long although Matty Matheson, Ricky Staffieri, and of course, Cena are gifted physical comedians and make the most with the material. I guess they show the disconnect between the environment Carmy grew up, and how he acts now, especially when Sammy Fak lights up a blunt in the middle of the dining room before the photoshoot.

Although Storer doesn’t find a throughline to tie the episode together (Especially with another Carmy staring at a picture moment.), there are plenty of good moving parts. Billions showrunner Brian Koppelman outshines John Cena in the guest star department as Nicholas Marshall aka the Computer. He doesn’t register words unless addressed as the Computer and brings a cold objectivity to what’s going on at The Bear in everything ranging from microgreens to produce and costs and sadly, their pastry chef Marcus, who has been spending the whole episode trying to make a beautiful dessert inspired by his mother’s favorite flower, the white violet. The Computer’s cut the bullshit attitude is refreshing, but wanting to lay off Marcus is a step too far. Abby Elliott gives a passionate speech about why he is so important to The Bear flowing out of a conversation they had about his dessert, her pregnancy, and wondering about what’s really going on in Carmy’s head. Even though dessert is a small part of The Bear’s offerings and revenues, Marcus is an invaluable vibes guy as one of the few nice, competent, and level-head members of the staff. I was afraid that Christopher Storer was going to have Marcus laid off to spice up the plot, but he refuses a cheap ploy for drama.

Filled with silly antics, celebrity stunt casting, a few poignant moments, and not much plot, “Children” is the weakest half hour of The Bear Season 3 so far although I’m still smiling about the Computer, and Marcus creating art through desserts.

Overall Verdict: 6.9