‘I Wear Suits Now,’ the Best Show on Television Is Back

Late in The Bear season two, Ebon Moss Bachrach’s Richie Jerimovich walked into The Bear restaurant and announced to the assembled crew, “I wear suits now. It makes me feel better about myself.” After the remarkable run The Bear season Two had, the same can be said for the entire cast and crew of the FX show.

Season Two transformed the characters and turned Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, and Ebon Moss Bachrach into stars and award-winning actors.

But this week, The Bear returns for season three with pressure mounting on the characters as the restaurant opens and pressure on showrunner and writer Christopher Storer to live up to the greatness of season two.

So, let’s catch up with Carmine Berzatto, Sydney Adamu, Richie Jerimovich, Marcus, and Uncle Jimmy to see where they left off in season two, the awards the show captured, and look forward to season three.

The Bear Season Two

The season ended with Jeremy Allen White’s Carmy Berzatto trapped in the refrigerator. That is not a metaphor. He was trapped in the fridge on The Bear’s “Friends and Family” opening.

While trapped, Carmy Berzatto unintentionally tells Molly Gordon’s Claire that their relationship was a “waste of time.” Claire leaves the restaurant in tears as Richie and Carmy end the season with a massive blowout fight.

Despite the bleak ending, the season was about change for those characters not irreversibly damaged by trauma and their inability to deal with it.

Never is this dichotomy more apparent than in the two oldest chefs at the Bear. Carmy sends Liza Colon Zayas’ Tina and Edwin Lee Gibson’s Ebraheim to culinary school. While Tina thrives and ultimately becomes Sydney’s sous chef, Ebraheim leaves the school and only returns to the Bear in his previous role.

We learn that Ebraheim is a Somalian refugee and has experienced some trauma. At one point, he tells Carmy, “no uniforms, I won’t wear a uniform.” His inability to process his trauma keeps him in a constant state of stagnation.

Ebraheim is not alone. Ayo Edebiri is outstanding, like Sydney Adamu; however, the audience does not learn until the end of season two that her mother is dead. She continues her relentless drive to succeed without showing the flexibility needed to maintain such a high level of excellence.

Sydney’s season ends with her vomiting in the alley behind the Bear after having frozen when Carmy got stuck in the refrigerator.

The most significant changes come from Lionel Boyce’s Marcus and Ebon Moss Bachrach’s Richie. Lionel Boyce is understated and calming, while Richie is “in Van Halen because he’s like this.”

Marcus’ trip to Copenhagen opens him to a new world of experimentation and kindness. He returns to the Bear experienced and beyond the pettiness that ruins everyone in the restaurant business.

However, Sydney tests this new Marcus by screaming at him at the opening and refusing to date him.

Richie has the most significant transformation of the entire series so far. He is loud, obnoxious, and annoying, but he learns it can change after a week at a three-star restaurant.

His transformation comes after he learns that his ex-wife, Tiffany, is getting remarried. The Bear and its success become all he has left and all he can give his daughter.

He quickly learns that service to others is the best way to becoming a better person, and driving fast and singing Taylor Swift doesn’t hurt either.

While some of the characters change, the Berzattos do not. That leads us to Fishes, which is possibly one of the best and most intense episodes of television you will ever see.

It is clear from this episode that the family has multi-layers of trauma that Carmy and Abby Elliott’s Sugar are not dealing with. Jamie Lee Curtis makes a guest appearance as Donna Berzatto, the matriarch of this dysfunctional mess, and Jon Bernthal returns as Mikey Berzatto before his death.

Bob Odenkirk, John Mulaney, and Sarah Paulson also make guest appearances in this extended episode, which makes a few things clear about this family.

Jamie Lee Curtis’ Donna is the root of the family’s trauma, which started long before Mikey killed himself. She is manic, drunk, and angry all at once.

Jamie Lee Curtis returns for the final episode but refuses to enter The Bear. Instead, she wants her children to have something special that she would have ruined.

The second thing that everyone should have known was that Mike Berzatto was using drugs. Bob Odenkirk’s Uncle Lee called him out in front of the family, and the fork-throwing incident should have indicated that he was high.

Abby Elliott’s Sugar Berzatto seems to be the most well-adjusted, but that’s thanks to her husband, Chris Witaske’s Pete, who is just a nice person in a world of horror.

And finally, there’s Jeremy Allen White’s Carmy Berzatto. Carmy ran into the kitchen to escape his family and the secret knowledge that his brother was on drugs. His inability to process Mikey’s death keeps him stagnant as a character.

When Molly Gordon’s Claire comes into his life, he finally has something good. However, he manages to destroy that as well.

Award Season

It may be easier to list the awards that The Bear didn’t win than the ones it did. The show and its actors cleaned up this awards season.

Executive Producers Joanna Calo, Josh Senior, and Christopher Storer collected a Critics Choice Award, Emmy, Golden Globe, Peabody, Writer’s Guild of America, and AFI Award for the Best Comedy Series for season two of The Bear. 

Jeremy Allen White won a Critics Choice Award, Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award for his portrayal of Carmy Berzatto.

Ayo Edebiri won a Critics Choice Award, Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Sydney.

Ebon Moss Bachrach won a Critics Choice Award and an Emmy for Richie.

Even Oliver Platt was nominated for an AARP Movies for Grownups Award for his portrait of Uncle Jimmy.

It was a crazy award season. Nearly every actor in The Bear brought home some hardware.

Season Three

The Bear is doing something unusual for season three. It will drop on June 27 on Disney+ and Hulu, but the entire season will be released. There’s no waiting around for episodes to drop—it’s all there.

Several questions need to be answered. Will Molly Gordon’s Claire come back? This would mean that Carmy would have to come to some resolution on the death of Mikey and find a healthy outlet for his grief other than pushing himself to near death in the kitchen.

Did Marcus’ mother die? The season ended with numerous phone calls from his mother’s nurse that went unanswered as Marcus dealt with the insanity of opening night for friends and family. And will Marcus and Syndey finally go out?

Will Richie leave The Bear? Now that he has some skills and understanding of how to use them, will he use Carmy’s latest insult to find the door?

Please say yes to this. Will Jon Bernthal’s Mikey and Jamie Lee Curtis’ Donna Berzatto return? There is an unmatched intensity when those two are on the screen, and the show needs to balance some of Carmy’s mopey times.

Here’s what we know: season three comes out this week, and season four is filming now. That’s right, there’s going to be a season four right after season three.

So, buckle up, Bear fans; it’s time to head back into the kitchen.

What are you most looking forward to in The Bear season three?