Entertaintothe Bear: Season 4 delivers exactly what the public wanted

There will be only a real spoiler in this review of the fourth season of The Bear (The bear) – But it is something revealed in the early minutes of the premiere, and it is impossible to talk about the return of gastronomic drama without touching this point. So if you don’t want to know if the criticism of the Chicago Tribune About the restaurant – that is, the great hook of the end of the controversial season season – was positive or negative, come back later. The full season is now available at Hulu.

As many expected, especially after the explosive reaction of Carmy At the end, the criticism is negative. The title of the matter is: “The essential bears are missing: The Bear stumbles through the culinary dissonance”. As little as we see in the article, the critic praises the Italian Beef sandwich – the only part of the restaurant preceding the arrival of Carmy “And complains that the rest of the experience varied too much overnight.” Among the criticism is the fact that the service team has difficulty explaining the menu, which Carmy He made a point of changing daily.

In other words, the criticism of Chicago Tribune sounds very similar to many of the reviews that The Bear received in 2024 – including ours. After two seasons acclaimed almost unanimously, the series of FXlike its protagonist, it was too ambitious last year.

The third season began with a visual poem remembering the culinary trajectory of Carmy. There was too much time for real -life chefs, whose presence alongside experienced actors often drained the energy of the scenes. The then winner of the Emmy of Best Comedy Series practically abandoned any comic effort, except in the scenes with the family FAK “Now almost caricatural,” to which the series decided to highlight full prominence.

There was an excellent episode focused on the history of origin of Tina and your first meeting with Mikey. But overall, season three rarely reached the creative peaks of the second, widely considered one of the best ever made. And the abrupt end made it clear that the Creator Christopher Storer He was treating the third and fourth episodes as a single giant season – just separated by a 12 -month gap.

There have been powerful performances and beautiful moments isolated. But, just like the restaurant that names the series, The Bear He tried to do too much things, which resulted in a season that was not cohesive – nor satisfactory.

Carmy spends much of the new season absorbing the criticism of the Chicago Tribune And trying to be a chef, boss, friend and better brother. And, be that part of an existing plan or a direct response to Christopher Storer to the warmer reception of last season season fourth sounds like the work of an artist who was shaken by criticism – and who is striving to learn from them and return to what made the audience fall in love with his work. Carmy Ask for a lot of people this year.The Bear

it seems, too. This includes the series having lost the Emmy of Best Comedy – For the second season, it is worth remembering, which was widely loved – because the vote happened while season third was being shown. Many interpreted the victory of Hacksas a clear message from the gym: or disapproval of the new phase of

The Bear or perhaps a criticism of what they consider “category fraud” (a dramatic series going through comedy?). There are, for example, much less participation of famous chefs playing themselves – and the few that exist are brief and punctual. The presence of FAKS It was also very reduced, which makes when we finally have a more focused episode in them, the comedy really works, instead of looking like an exaggerated repetition of something only “more or less” funny. Helps the fact that the special guest FAKof this year actually operates, unlike the participation of John Cenathat basically did…

John Cena .While the third season sometimes seemed lost, as if Staber , Joanna CaloAnd the rest of the team were just gaining time until the story is walking again, this season comes with a literal timer in the kitchen of The Bear indicating how long the team still has before the

Uncle Jimmy

Stop playing everything. There is a clear goal: to achieve a Michelin star or face failure, which brings real tension and a constant feeling of advancement. The new season also bets much more on the interaction between the main cast, and it is precisely chemistry and affection between these characters who explain why the audience continues to return to one of the most stressful work environments in television history. The seventh episode, for example, brings together almost the entire cast – as well as several known figures of the recurring cast – in the same house, for the wedding ofTiffany( Gillian Jacobs), ex-wife of Richie with your millionaire groom,Frank(

Josh Hartnett

). The episode is 69 minutes, which could easily seem exhausting or pretentious. But the characters and their relationships are so well built – even secondary figures that sometimes appear in a single scene or with little line – that the episode becomes the rare television type you would like to stay forever if you could. If the season sometimes forces Barra by repeating its main messages about the importance of the chosen family and how, working in a restaurant, you are never really alone, everything is justified in times of great emotional reward like this marriage. The series continues with a killer soundtrack – and with enough amount to play

LED ZEPPELIN Already in the debut. Throughout the season, the sound moved with different genres and decades, going from New Wave from the early 1980s to modern Alt-country. Even when season three seemed dispersed or pretentious, the setting created by music and production design never lost its tone. And now, with more narrative focus, this aspect becomes even more impactful. And of course there are the performances. Jeremy Allen White and AYO EDEBIRI continue to find new layers of cross and vulnerability in Carmyand Sydney . At various times, one or both seem to prefer chewing their own arm to continue in certain difficult conversations, and this discomfort and pain overflow the screen in a palpable way. Ebon Moss-Bachrach A little lighter appears this season, while Richie develops an interesting friendship withJessica( Sarah Ramos), with whom he worked briefly in the Ever the best restaurant in the world. The dynamics between the two acts as a kind of exhaust valve, both for RichieAs for the series itself: it is liberating to see him interact with someone he respects, but who does not know the whole drama and tragedy of the extensive family

Berzatto .We are not, worth mentioning, back to the “hall of fame” of season two, at least not completely. Some plots lose strength to the end, even the timer that gave rhythm to the season proves less important than it seemed, or end up wasting characters and actors. After shining in season three and winning the Emmy ,Tina( Liza Colón-Zayas) has very little space this time; Her entire trajectory comes down to doubt if she will be able to prepare her dough a little faster. There is still too much time dedicated to the ex-girlfriend of Carmy, Claire . Molly Gordon gains a little more substance this year, compared to the romantic phase with Carmy in the second season, but

Claire It is still portrayed so angelically and perfectly that it is a series whose strength is precisely to love the characters despite their flaws. But there are three episodes that can already be considered instant classics: the marriage, one centered on Sydney Who follows a memorable afternoon as she tries to braid her hair, and the end of the season – a single scene, with few characters, but full of impact. Even the episodes that are not “very special” this time are more confident, consistent and, as it were, more

Bear than much of the previous season. During the wedding, Frank Question to Claire and to the brother -in -law Stevie(lived again by John Mulaney as a special guest) what to expect now that all these Berzattos – None of them really relative of Tiffany(and not even from “Cousin” Richie by the way) – They are entering your life. Claire Think well before answering, assessing how honest should be with that groom visibly overwhelmed on the day of their own marriage, until it says, “It’s a lot of people with very specific and unique personalities who feel everything very intensely.” Stevie Complements:

Berzattos “They feel everything deeply and live life with intensity.” The Bear It is a series that, in its best moments, can convey exactly this intensity with which

Carmy

and those around you experience life. And this fourth season, these best moments happen much more often than the last time we saw it.

This article was originally published by the Rolling Stone USA, by Alan Sepinwall, on June 26, 2025 and can be checked here.