What are you watching in 2024?

[StillAWarrior]

The Carmie character was, in general, too pathetic for much of the season. Rather than rooting for him, as I did in the first 2 seasons, I spent much of this season wanting to slap him.

My daughter who thinks it is boring through E4 specifically said, "Carmie is the worse character on the show now."

[MuggsyB]

We finished The Bear S3, and I won't give any spoilers here, just a few general takes.

There were episodes with long, boring stretches, something that wasn't the case the first 2 seasons.

There were WAAAAY too many flashbacks, and the same flashbacks kept getting repeated. It detracted from the storytelling IMHO.

Jamie Lee Curtis, who will win an Emmy for her incredible one-episode turn in S2, had another amazing one-episode performance in S3.

Episodes that fleshed out how Tina ended up employed at Original Beef and that dealt with Syd's career choices were pretty damn good television IMHO.

The Carmie character was, in general, too pathetic for much of the season. Rather than rooting for him, as I did in the first 2 seasons, I spent much of this season wanting to slap him.

In general, there was too much of the Fak brothers.

S3 was good. But as so often happens in TV series, it just wasn't quite as good as the first 2. Still glad we watched, and we look forward to S4.

Ya....I'm having a rough night's sleep and started S3.  Other than parts of  the 1st episode, I'm not digging it.  Exactly right :  Way too many flashbacks/long periods of extreme boredom.  I'm not really sure what the writer's were thinking.  Maybe things will get back on track in S4. 

[MuggsyB]

My daughter who thinks it is boring through E4 specifically said, "Carmie is the worse character on the show now."

Your daughter is 100% correct. 

[MU82]

Ya....I'm having a rough night's sleep and started S3.  Other than parts of  the 1st episode, I'm not digging it.  Exactly right :  Way too many flashbacks/long periods of extreme boredom.  I'm not really sure what the writer's were thinking.  Maybe things will get back on track in S4.

Don't give up on S3 yet, though. Most of the final 3-4 episodes are good to very good.

[MuggsyB]

Don't give up on S3 yet, though. Most of the final 3-4 episodes are good to very good.

i hope you're right but II honestly think the show has gotten progressively worse after a good season 1.  And S3 so far is much, much, worse than S2.  I dunno if it's too much of a reliance on the success of the show, and its stars, but I'm finding it pretty grating right now.  There's no real character development, and I'm getting to the point where the only person I like is the pastry chef.  Even the music insertions are annoying.  Maybe they rushed to get S3 out for immediate coin?  I dunno.  At some point every episode can't be about a train wreck and Carmy's inner demons.

[MU82]

i hope you're right but II honestly think the show has gotten progressively worse after a good season 1.  And S3 so far is much, much, worse than S2.  I dunno if it's too much of a reliance on the success of the show, and its stars, but I'm finding it pretty grating right now.  There's no real character development, and I'm getting to the point where the only person I like is the pastry chef.  Even the music insertions are annoying.  Maybe they rushed to get S3 out for immediate coin?  I dunno.  At some point every episode can't be about a train wreck and Carmy's inner demons.

OK Muggs, stop watching it. Whatever you decide to do is A-OK by me.

[PGsHeroes32]

i hope you're right but II honestly think the show has gotten progressively worse after a good season 1.  And S3 so far is much, much, worse than S2.  I dunno if it's too much of a reliance on the success of the show, and its stars, but I'm finding it pretty grating right now.  There's no real character development, and I'm getting to the point where the only person I like is the pastry chef.  Even the music insertions are annoying.  Maybe they rushed to get S3 out for immediate coin?  I dunno.  At some point every episode can't be about a train wreck and Carmy's inner demons.

S2 was better than s1 by a good margin

[Pakuni]

S2 was better than s1 by a good margin

Yep.
S2 episodes 6 and 7 were some of the best television I've seen.

[muwarrior69]

Do people like "The Beekeeper" actually exist?  I may have to open up a slot on my payroll.

He didn't even break a sweat taking out 100 people.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

S2 was better than s1 by a good margin

My first reaction as well

Yep.
S2 episodes 6 and 7 were some of the best television I've seen.

Cosign

[JWags85]

Don't give up on S3 yet, though. Most of the final 3-4 episodes are good to very good.

We finished last night and I agree.  Last episodes were MUCH stronger and more of what made this show so good in Season 2.  It lost its way a bit but still had high points early and mid on.

I think the stuff about Carmy is fair, though I don’t think it’s out of character.  People that are super emotionally fractured and self destructive can be REALLY damn annoying.  It’s not always their fault, but it’s true.  I actually think he was still written very well this season.  HOWEVA, that doesn’t necessarily make for good television or a likable character.

The high point of this season for me was the secondary performances. 

I’ve spoken about my love for Matty Matheson’s career before this show, but he got more shine this season and was absolutely unreal.  The Fak brother dialogue and comedic foils were just incredible.  The scene where he brought out the soup and messed up the service was hysterical.  He had 3-4 running gags all season that were perfect.

The biggest winner of the season for me was Abby Elliott.  Holy hell was she brilliant in every episode.  She’s been around a long time, but mostly comedic stuff (as an ex-SNL naturally) but man her range really showed up.  Jeremy Allen White does A LOT of heavy lifting with subtle facial expression acting but she kept up.  Jamie Lee Curtis was awesome in her episode, but the scenes were so good cause Elliott was step for step.  My wife remarked how spot on a lot of the nuances of the labor process were, while still keeping this amazing comedic tempo and interplay.

Also thought the season continued what Forks started with Richie.  He was an obnoxious dope for a season and a half.  But he’s become a likable and emotionally complex character.

Honorable mention favorite moment: Luka weirding out Grant Achatz but being an over eager fanboy

[MU82]

Lots of good points in there, Wags.

My wife absolutely hated the Faks, and I mostly tolerated them. We both thought the slapstick often detracted from the best of the season. But reasonable folks can disagree (as long as I'm right - ha!).

Totally agree about Abby Elliott. Really allowed to shine this season, and that episode was, in its own way, as intense as the Christmas dinner episode in S2. Curtis obviously was a major contributor to both, and I agree again about Elliott being her equal in this episode. Simply great television.

Richie's conversion from white-trash yahoo to refined restauranteur in S2 was a little too swift and convenient, so I liked that his character got fleshed out a lot more this season.

All in all a good experience, despite some of the previously mentioned less-good stuff in the first half of the season. We also could debate the season finale, but I don't want to do any spoilers here, so I won't.

[brewcity77]

Going to try sticking with the Bear, but the first few episodes are rough. We're 3 in and while we're used to the occasional stressful episode, they all feel like ultra tense screaming matches. The moments of joy and family are what make the show worth watching, and it feels like there's very little of that so far.

[Lennys Tap]

Yep.
S2 episodes 6 and 7 were some of the best television I've seen.

100%

[StillAWarrior]

I’ve spoken about my love for Matty Matheson’s career before this show, but he got more shine this season and was absolutely unreal.  The Fak brother dialogue and comedic foils were just incredible...He had 3-4 running gags all season that were perfect.

I disagree. Too much. Way too much.

The scene where he brought out the soup and messed up the service was hysterical.

I agree.

[StillAWarrior]

We finished The Bear S3 last night. I'm having a hard time settling in on what I think about it. There are parts of it that were outstanding and parts that were just meh.

After the Sugar/DD scene, when there were just two episodes left, I figured, "OK, they're going to really move things along here and get some resolution (or at least some plot progression)." Nope, not really. It's really beautifully done. If you look past the flashbacks -- and there were a lot of flashbacks -- this season had so many outstanding scenes in it. Often, they were just two person scenes (e.g., Mike and Tina, Cicero and Carmy, DD and Sugar, Richie and Tiff, Carmy and both of his former Chefs, Sydney and Marcus, etc.). But it just seemed to be missing a through-line. I'm not usually a person who really needs a plot-heavy show, but my immediate thought after watching E10 last night was that there just wasn't enough plot...a lot of really great scenes stitched together without much plot.

That said, I still love the show and can't wait until S4. Notwithstanding what I consider it's "faults" it's still one of the better shows on TV.

Also, despite my belief that there was a little too much of the Fak brothers this season, as soon as they said they were going to see Claire I was eagerly awaiting that scene. It did not disappoint.

[MU82]

We finished The Bear S3 last night. I'm having a hard time settling in on what I think about it. There are parts of it that were outstanding and parts that were just meh.

After the Sugar/DD scene, when there were just two episodes left, I figured, "OK, they're going to really move things along here and get some resolution (or at least some plot progression)." Nope, not really. It's really beautifully done. If you look past the flashbacks -- and there were a lot of flashbacks -- this season had so many outstanding scenes in it. Often, they were just two person scenes (e.g., Mike and Tina, Cicero and Carmy, DD and Sugar, Richie and Tiff, Carmy and both of his former Chefs, Sydney and Marcus, etc.). But it just seemed to be missing a through-line. I'm not usually a person who really needs a plot-heavy show, but my immediate thought after watching E10 last night was that there just wasn't enough plot...a lot of really great scenes stitched together without much plot.

That said, I still love the show and can't wait until S4. Notwithstanding what I consider it's "faults" it's still one of the better shows on TV.

Also, despite my belief that there was a little too much of the Fak brothers this season, as soon as they said they were going to see Claire I was eagerly awaiting that scene. It did not disappoint.

The Faks' scene with Claire was by far their best moment of the season IMHO. It went on a little too long (like the Faks themselves) but it made us laugh and even had some tenderness.

Overall, good review. Still way more good than bad in S3, and I also look forward to S4.

[Jockey]

The Faks' scene with Claire was by far their best moment of the season IMHO. It went on a little too long (like the Faks themselves) but it made us laugh and even had some tenderness.

Overall, good review. Still way more good than bad in S3, and I also look forward to S4.

2nd half of season 3 was up to earlier standing after a weak start to the season.

[MU82]

We just watched season 1 of Reacher. What a fun show.

[LloydsLegs]

We just watched season 1 of Reacher. What a fun show.

Dude is a monster.  Loved it.  Fun is exactly right.  That is a show that knows exactly what it is.

[StillAWarrior]

I know some fans hated it because it was a departure from the show's vaunted "gritty realism", but I thought that McNulty's scene with the FBI profiler was hilarious. Even realistic shows like The Wire can be forgiven -- or appreciated even -- for a great inside joke.

[LloydsLegs]

I know some fans hated it because it was a departure from the show's vaunted "gritty realism", but I thought that McNulty's scene with the FBI profiler was hilarious. Even realistic shows like The Wire can be forgiven -- or appreciated even -- for a great inside joke.

That thread of The Wire was insane, but that one scene almost made me love it!

[muwarrior69]

I watched the Burial on Prime. Pretty entertaining film.

[StillAWarrior]

That thread of The Wire was insane, but that one scene almost made me love it!

Agreed. They're testing the limits of my willingness to suspend disbelief.

[PointWarrior]

“Jamie Lee Curtis, who will win an Emmy for her incredible one-episode turn in S2, had another amazing one-episode performance in S3.”

While well acted by JLC, the whole episode was boring, contrived, and could not wait for it to end.  It was about 20 mins too long.