Review – As the seventh episode of The Bear begins, Sufjan Stevens’s Chicago plays while we see chefs travel to The Beef. We also see archival footage of different events. Carmen (Jeremy Allen White) walks to work as Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson) reads a review about the restaurant. Marcus (Lionel Boyce) is busy working on his donut. The writer says he would call The Beef elevated or elegant now and the menu is slightly updated. Carmen yells that it is 20 minutes until the service. He tells Ebra to stop reading that because they open in 20 and to-go starts in 20.

Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) explains that she is covering Tina’s prep since she isn’t here. The writer says that the standout dish was the risotto with braised beef. Sydney tries to get Ebrah to shut up as Carmen tells him to get back to work too. She tells Carmy that she gave a dish to a customer because she didn’t want it to go to waste. She insists she didn’t know who it was. Sydney wants to make sure everything is fine and not weird or anything. Camry tells her that it is good although the guy is a hack anyway. Tina (Liza Colon-Zayas) finally arrives and explains that Louie (Pedro Henrique) got suspended. She asks Carmy if he can teach Louie to work in the kitchen.

Carmy says okay even though they’re starting a new program today. Tina tells Sydney that she has skills so she can teach Louie too. Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) calls the writer a hack as well before he learns about the dish that Sydney has been working on. He is surprised that Sydney accidentally left it on the writer’s table and doesn’t think they can do risotto. Richie asks her if she is blowing someone at the Telegraph, but she thinks that is stupid. Carmen tries to keep everyone on track while Richie goes on and on about the writer complimenting Sydney. Carmy tells them he is going to turn on the to-go orders in 10 minutes. Richie pulls Sydney aside to congratulate her for getting her dish in the paper and the to-go tablet.

He suggests everything is going according to plan although Sydney acts like she doesn’t have a plan. Richie accuses her of pushing out the working man and replacing them with her people. Sydney says she was hired to work here and bring in new business. She admits he doesn’t have to speak to her at all. Carmen interrupts to say he just turned on the to-go tablet. Sydney tells Carmen that she is worried that they’re not on the same page right now. Then, they find out that she left the pre-order option open and they have a bunch of orders now. They have 78 slices of chocolate cake, 99 French fries, 54 chickens, 38 salads, and 255 beef sandwiches due up in eight minutes. Richie says he told her, but Sydney says he didn’t tell her anything.

Carmen tells them to shut up before telling Sydney that they and the dish weren’t ready. He yells for the chefs to grab everything and get it firing on the grill right now. Richie begins working on fries while Neil Fak (Matty Matheson) tries to find a way to be helpful. Sydney gets upset when she finds out that Marcus is still working on his donuts instead of cakes. Carmen gets mean with Sydney and tells her to get out of his expo right now. Sydney runs into Richie while carrying the cakes causing them to crash to the floor. He reminds her that she didn’t say corner and it was her BS that screwed them today instead of his. Tina checks on Sydney and insists screaming isn’t her, but Sydney says maybe it is. She doesn’t know what Louie is supposed to learn in this crap hole of a place.

Carmen yells for someone to get him a sharpie that works while Tina tells him they’re out of giardiniera. He tells Sydney to prep it. Richie tries to help Sydney who tells him not to do that because they’re her vegetables. He tells her that there is something broken in her. She is being mean and ugly. They begin arguing about who the loser is. Sydney says everyone knows he is a loser and even his poor daughter probably knows it. When she pulls out a knife, she suggests she might stab him. Marcus tells Carmen that he figured out what he was doing wrong. Carmy gets mad at him, knocks the donut to the ground, and yells at him to get back to work.

Richie tells him to chill before walking back into the knife Sydney is holding. He begins calling for Ebra to tend to the wound. Carmy says he probably deserved it. While Ebra tends to the stab wound, he tells Richie about a Civil War. Marcus takes his donuts into the lobby and throws them onto the table before taking off his apron. Carmen screams at Tina to find more chickens. Sydney sits near the lockers and takes off her shoes because she is quitting. She calls Carmen an excellent chef, but a POS. Carmy throws something as she eggs and eats scraps from the floor. Richie asks if they’re open or not. Carmen knocks the printer off the shelf and walks away as the episode ends.

 

The Bear Review

The Bear is a unique experience that viewers are going to love or hate. It is easy to see where both sides of the argument are coming from. The infantile, over-the-top dialogue will be enough to turn away some viewers. Those that can handle the high-paced drama and in-your-face dialogue may come to appreciate the intense experience that The Bear offers.

Having watched the episode twice now, it seemed more fluid the second time through. Ultimately, the episode did a good job of setting up the finale since everyone is at odds. The episode was shorter than the rest, yet it covered a lot in just 20 minutes. The episode scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of The Bear are available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our work at this link.