System – As the first episode of The Bear begins, we hear several stoves being lit. Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) walks to a cage and unleashes the bear inside. He slowly lures it out of the cage. When the bear lunges at him, Carmy wakes up in his restaurant. He answers the door and learns he only paid for 25 pounds although he needs two hundred. He calls Luanne in hopes of working it out. Carmy admits he is still trying to figure this place out after Michael and they’re lucky to still be open after everything that has happened. They say they miss Michael. After the call, Carmy gets upset with the arcade games and contemplates unplugging them only to be stopped by Tina (Liza Colon-Zayas).

She warns him that they won’t work again if he unplugs them. Carmy asks when she last emptied them, but she doesn’t know. He removes all the coins from the machines before calling Chi-Chi to see if he still has that meat connection. Tina tells him he cuts vegetables like a b!tch. He meets with Chi-Chi to sell some stuff and buy more meat. Then, he posts online that they’re having a Ball Breaker tournament at the restaurant tonight. Carmy calls Natalie ‘Sugar’ Berzatto (Abby Elliott) to say he needs the jacket that Mike gave him. He thanks her after she promises to bring it to him. Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri) tells Carmy she is there for the sous position.

He quickly looks at her resume and learns she worked at UPS. She drove for them to pay her way through culinary school. Sydney reveals this was her dad’s favorite spot when she was a kid. He tells her that they’re going to make family and it is meat plus three. They eat around two. She knows he is the most excellent CDC at the most excellent restaurant. She asks what he is doing here. Carmy responds by saying he is making sandwiches. He asks Tina to start a new giardiniera as Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson) asks about the beef. Ebraheim doesn’t want to change his system since he normally prepares the beef first. He asks Tina not to touch the pot that has been going for 12 hours, but she complains that it is her pot.

He asks her to use another pot before telling Marcus (Lionel Boyce) to prepare a double order of bread today. Marcus explains that the mixer is messed up so he has been doing everything by hand. He also says Tina changed the temperature and it is changing his rise. Carmy doesn’t have the money to fix it right now, but promises he’ll get him a new mixed. The buzzer sounds meaning the beef is here. The others learn that Sydney is helping them out. When Gary enters, Carmy asks him to set up a compost for him today. Sydney asks Tina about a family shelf in Spanish only to be told to screw off. Ebraheim tells her it is on the bottom right side of the walk-in. Richie Jerimovich (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) joins them and warns them not to mess with his program.

When Richie asks about Ball Breaker, Carmy says they need the business and nerds from Rockford will come to play. Richie tells Tina that she murdered the recital. Then, he tells Carmy that he needs to run stuff by him first, but Carmy says he doesn’t need to do anything. They continue arguing as Richie is introduced to Sydney. In private, Richie tells Carmy not to be rude and start doing a thousand things. Richie mentions taking care of his mom for six months and receipts he has from his divorce lawyer backing that up. He has been spending time trying to put his family back together because Carmy won’t come home. Richie says the guys are texting him because Carmy is making them do stuff backward. He asks him not to do that because it’ll mess with their heads.

This was his brother’s house and Richie was running it fine without him. Carmy asks why he didn’t leave it to him then.  Once he returns to work, Carmy begins complaining about the knives not being sharpened. Richie says Carmy has been here for two weeks and they’ve been having money problems for two weeks. Everyone argues while they prepare food for the upcoming Ball Breaker tournament. Carmy says housekeeping means they need to clean their stations because this place is a mess. He calls everyone chef as a sign of respect.

Carmy reveals that Neil Fak (Matty Matheson) is going to increase the price of play to a dollar for the tournament. Richie learns about the meat cooking a bit longer. Carmy admits they’re out of money and could only get bone-in meat that he had to braise. Richie doesn’t like the idea of straying from the system, but Carmy says the system can barely afford to pay people. Richie yells that bread and gravy should stay the same. When Fak arrives, he isn’t sure it is a good idea to increase the price of the game. He apologizes for not being at the funeral, but Carmy admits he wasn’t there either. Fak says it’ll take about an hour before he notices that Carmy is bleeding. On his way out, Carmy runs into Ebraheim and puts a band-aid on his finger.

He hears a bear roaring while waiting for the event to begin. Carmy tries to remind everyone that they have service in an hour although his cousin keeps everyone distracted. Carmy notices a knife on the ground so he picks it up. He looks at a religious photo while we hear police scanner audio and see someone at a morgue. Carmy tells Tina he needs to go see his sister and he isn’t sure why she doesn’t come around anymore. Sugar gives him the jacket before saying she hates seeing him here. Richie complains about the labels. He learns why Marcus is called Sweeps. Natalie tells Carmy that their mother would love to see him. She also reveals that Uncle Jimmy wants to buy this place, but Carmen insists it isn’t for sale.

Although he says he is going to fix this place, Natalie reminds him that nobody is asking him to do that. Carmen goes inside where he learns that the bread is too crumbly. He tells Marcus to fill a baking sheet with water, put it on the oven floor, and throw in another batch. When they try the sandwiches, Ebraheim says it is redundant and white just like Carmen. Gary gives Sydney a taste and asks how she is going to pass the family test.  When he asks whether it will be delicious or impressive, Sydney says delicious is impressive. After seeing all the guests outside in cosplay, Carmy says they’re going to need more bread. While Fak works on the mixer, he tells Marcus that he was friends with Michael until he got dark at the end.

He admits that Richie is not a nice guy and is sad inside. Richie makes sure he knows he heard him. Sydney yells that family is up as everyone enters to eat. They all begin discussing what they’re grateful for as Fak mentions his cats. Since it is getting crazy outside, Carmy asks his cousin to give him a man, but Richie says this is on him. When Carmy goes outside, he ends up making matters worse and getting hit. Richie shoots one shot into the sky before calling them incel, QAnon, 4chan mfers. Carmy thanks him. Richie says they’re going to have a tournament and be on their best behavior without scaring any of the regulars. The winner will receive free Italian ice for a year. He hates litter so he makes it clear that the cucks are going to clear up after themselves and recycle.

They go back inside where Carmy thinks it is good that he got such a big crowd, but Richie argues they’re not ready for it. Richie says they’re going to do what works and make sure they have enough food to feed the dorks. He tells Carmy to make the spaghetti. Marcus tells Carmen that he was right about the steam tray. Carmen begins opening the tomato sauce but throws it into the garbage.

 

The Bear Review

It isn’t always a good idea to judge an entire season of a show based on the first episode even though many viewers won’t stick around for that long. The first episode of The Bear got better near the end, but it was a pretty chaotic experience. While the idea is interestingly original, the execution wasn’t spectacular. The dialogue is infantile and over-the-top. There is obviously tension between the characters although it is difficult to determine whether it is organic or manufactured.

If I hadn’t read about the episode ahead of watching it, I am not sure I would’ve understood exactly what was happening. Unfortunately, the first episode was just too loud, too chaotic, too fast, and too cheesy. Regardless, there are beacons of light in the midst of the mess so this could easily get better with future episodes.

With a little more finesse, The Bear could be an interesting drama with enough spark to cook up something good. The first episode scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of The Bear will be available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our work at this link.