The Bear Season 2 Recap and Review

Well, Season 2 of the extremely popular FX show, The Bear, has come and gone, and really, like a delicious helping of some epic dish, we couldn’t get enough. The Bear Season 2 did not at all disappoint and if anything, the second season did nothing but cement an imprint, or rather lasting impression on everyone paying attention.

And there certainly are people paying attention. The New York Times said: “Season 2 of the restaurant dramedy is more uplifting, more team-focused and more magnificent.”

And really, it goes a lot deeper than that. Last time we saw the characters in the show, they had stumbled across Mikey’s money, and the first season left off with plans to remodel and launch the restaurant that Carmy always wanted to open with his deceased brother, the aforementioned Mikey, played expertly by Jon Bernthal.

Season 2 of The Bear on FX really packs a punch. Read on to learn more about it and binge watch it next chance you get. Trust us on that one…

Carmy, played by Jeremy Allen White, leads this incredible cast of characters and the show really, or rather the second season, is all a lead-in to that first night of service at the new and improved restaurant.

That means training of his old staff and even a new love interest for Carmy himself, if that is at all possible to imagine. But as for the money they found, was it enough to do the things Carmy had set his sights on doing with the new place?

No, I can definitely tell you that without ruining it for you if you haven’t seen the second season, but let this news entice you, because Cicero, played convincingly by Oliver Platt, is around to help out with money and a few encouraging words of wisdom and is always good for a laugh, even though if the restaurant fails, not only would Carmy have to pay the money he is loaned back, but instead, he has to give Cicero the whole location, which Cicero would sell for a decent profit.

So yeah, the stakes are high, but this cast of cooks and waiters is sure up to it.

The same cast has returned with of course a few surprises that are definitely worth your time.

The aforementioned Jeremy Allen White and Oliver Platt are there, but the absolutely astounding Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who was nominated for an Emmy for this performance here in which he plays Richie, who has an incredibly profound character ark during the season.

Ayo Edebiri returns as Sydney and the shroud is pulled back slightly with her character and we learn quite a bit more about what drives her.

The rest of the cast are impeccable and play their parts expertly; each would be missed if not there, and together the show has the feel of a movie. I dare you to try not to binge watch this one. I don’t think you’ll succeed, but if binge watching this one is a failure, who the heck wants to succeed?

The astounding and incredible Molly Gordon is introduced as a long lost potential love for Carmy, and things develop beautifully for the two as the season progresses, and Claire proves to be good for Carmy, who has issues of his own that are still unresolved, but when looking at the entirety of the Berzatto family, the term ‘unresolved issues’ screams at you loud and clear when looking in on them. And look in on them we do in Season 2—big time!

Abby Elliott does a tremendous job as Carmy’s sister, and adds a whole new realm of emotion in her performance as Sugar.

But perhaps the piece de resistance this season, the true moment of glory and unrelenting talent comes at the viewer in episode 6, titled quite appropriately, “Fishes.”

In the episode, the viewer is taken back to 5 years before we first met Carmy and the crew. Carmy was working as a chef in Copenhagen at that time, and he returns for Christmas dinner, an ill-fated Christmas dinner.

Guest stars include the incomparable Jamie Lee Curtis, who plays the Berzatto clan’s matriarch. And even Bob Odenkirk is added to the cake batter, who plays Uncle Lee.

The characters all in one setting like that can best be described as Tarantino meets Scorsese. Dramatic tension with a whole lot of comedy thrown in. It’s a master class of acting, writing, directing and really is a tour de force; the episode could have been a film and I would have been hooked on just what we saw unfold on that ill-fated Christmas night. Tremendous.

But in the end, this is a food magazine, isn’t it? Indeed it is and the show is about food; after all it’s what brought all of these incredible characters together and the food is present, always present, full of tasting, prepping, menu discussions between Carmy and Sydney, but in the end, the food isn’t the focal point of the season. If you’re looking for something like Jon Favreau’s Chef, The Bear doesn’t really hit those kinds of marks.

In Season 2 of The Bear, dramatic tension is at the forefront as these characters we’ve grown to love learn a lot of lessons as their beloved place of work transitions form a sandwich shop to a fine dining establishment, and all with Carmy at the helm, who has valuable lessons to learn as the season unfolds.

Is he ready for the task, or will Carmy lose everything before he ever has a chance to realize what may just slip though his fingers? I implore you to binge watch this show. You won’t regret it, dear readers.

What were some of your favorite moments from Season 1 of The Bear. Let us know, dear readers.