This episode of The Bear was so stressful that I almost forgot that it opened with Marcus’ mom’s funeral with a beautiful monologue delivered by Lionel Boyce. However, after the lovely words and pretty flowers, “Doors” captures the utter dysfunction of The Bear from the balance sheet to waiter faux pas and especially, the kitchen. Director Duccio Fabbri takes the helm for the first time and puts his skills working as a 2nd unit director for the Safdie Brothers and Darren Aronofsky to good use while showrunner Christopher Storer collaborates with a true insider, restaurateur Will Guidara of NoMad fame to truly bring the hellscape to life.

Score and editing continues to be the beating heart of successful episodes of The Bear. It’s the nonverbal communication that Marcus said his mom was so good at especially later in life. Flowing from the stately Catholic funeral mass, classical music swells throughout “Doors” beginning with a nice routine like a glass of Coke for Sydney, a reading of the incredibly complicated menu, and the making of the mirepoix broth. But then Tina (Liza Colon-Zayas) messes up a wagyu that Carmy pitches in the trash can, and everything starts to go to hell. The music picks up tempo, the cuts between scenes get more frenetic, and Ayo Edebiri’s face goes numb as she psychologically collapses from the weight of expoing, coaching Tina, and making sure that Carmy and Richie don’t kill each other.

This numbness hits like slow-mo in an action sequence with all the training, skills, and ideas thrown to the wayside as Carmy stares and has flashbacks while repeatedly yelling “Hands”, or Richie, who usually takes ownership of the dining room sees a discarded fork (Like the ones he had to polish last season when he staged at Ever.) and an expensive handbag on the floor. It’s only 3 episodes in, the restaurant has barely gotten started, and everyone is at a breaking point. The Bear is a true ensemble show, and Storer and Guidara explore around the edges of the restaurant to show Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson) struggling by himself at the sandwich window, or Manny (Richard Esteras) being pelted with dishes and glassware. The Bear isn’t a sustainable ecosystem, and even though the food is mouth watering, the exterior is the very definition of normcore with Cicero getting in a crack about how they should have the restaurant name on the outside.

And it’s these little moments of self-aware gallows humor that break up the tension of “Doors” and make it less of a stress headache than Season 1’s “Review” where the Beef accidentally turns on the pre-order option and spews out a neverending wad of order receipts. Matty Matheson is delightful as Neil Fak channeling his inner Amelia Bedelia and pouring fancy broth into cups and walking away after Carmy told him to pour the broth in front of the customers. Some of the edge has also been taken off with Cicero being the only adult in the room at time and confronting Carmy in the middle of service with his extravagant spending habits like $20,000 for butter in Vermont. It’s cool that Carmy is living his dream of making different, minimalist dishes every night that everybody (Even Sydney) forgets, but how the hell does The Bear make any money. (There’s spreadsheet montages to go with the food and cutting ones.)

“Doors” is the first great episode of The Bear Season 3 putting the strained relationships that Carmy has with Sydney and Richie in the pressure cooker of a trendy fine dining restaurant. But the real strength of the episode is when Fabbri cuts to characters not played by Jeremy Allen White and shows their pain and struggles. My heart breaks for Tina struggling to keep up with constantly changing menu, and maybe one episode, we’ll actually learn a wait staff member’s name.

Overall Verdict: 9.0