Like any exciting recipe, The Bear‘s first two seasons established a solid mix of tradition and experimentation.
At first glance, the show operates like a workplace dramedy. Yet the more time we spent getting to know the various workers of The Bear (formerly The Beef), the more comfortable The Bear became with playing with its own form. Season 1 treated us to the anxiety-inducing “Review,” a blistering one-take episode that played out in real time. Season 2 turned up the heat with “Fishes,” its nightmarish, hour-long take on a Christmas special.
‘Fishes’ vs. ‘Forks’: What’s the best episode of ‘The Bear’?
But The Bear also proved it could do more than stress us out. Single character-centric episodes like “Honeydew” and “Forks” — focusing on Marcus (Lionel Boyce) and Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), respectively — served as surprisingly mindful oases in a sea of screaming chefs. By switching up its own formula with episodes like these, The Bear cemented itself as something special. It’s no wonder, then, that “Review,” “Honeydew,” “Fishes,” and “Forks” all wound up on various best-of-the-year lists.
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