Glad I wasn’t the only who felt this way about episode 6.
For me, as well. I was getting really invested in the process of opening the new restaurant and I feel like it took me out of that a bit.
Episode 7 made me feel some things though
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I think the guest casting in episode 6 was important because you needed real talent for that, and you needed the episode to have its own gravity, and you feel that with such a great cast. I also think it helps keep people from doing the “who is that? What have I seen them in before?” thing during an episode where you really need to pay full attention to what’s being said. The screaming and yelling and chaos of it unfortunately reminded me of a lot of holidays from my childhood, so that probably helped me feel like it was really authentic too.
In ep 7, I know the guy told richie he was gonna be there for a week, but i thought he was a risky there for like 3, based on where the calendar was back at the Bear when he returned. I may be wrong about that, I’ve only watched it once, but I did think it would be weird for him to make all that progress in a week. Especially the tasting part.
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This was definitely another reason why I wasn’t a fan of 6. There was so much to cover in the present day that I didn’t think we should lose an entire episode to the past.
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THANK YOU
I feel like I’ve been taking crazy pills with so many people calling it one of the best episodes in all of television.
It was good. It was purposeful. It did what it set out to do. But not sure it needed to be so quite that much. Maybe do the episode in the same manic way. But if that’s the case, maybe it didn’t need to be an hour?
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Just wrapped. What a fantastic season of television. I have a lot of thoughts, not sure if I’ll get them all down, but I’m floored. Episode 7 was one of the most uplifting things I’ve ever watched.
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I’d argue Episode 6 isn’t even part of The Bear. It was like a short film intermission, especially with the ending title card. Felt separate.
I had my issues with it, but I always love a big swing and damn they went for it.
I agree with @greebs that my favorite cameo came in Episode 7. Perfect television right there.
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They did this same thing with Ep 7 “Review” in season 1. Didn’t quite do the one shot film in season 2’s episode but it felt very close and definitely similar, albeit three/four times as long. Not sure if this is something so that each episode can stand alone as their own piece of art but that’s what it feels like to me.
FWIW I think both episodes are freaking excellent
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Maybe a hot take below.
Summary
The season finale was the worst episode of the season. Not sure if it’s because I wanted a better overall ending, or if simply because I hated seeing Carmy fucking up a good thing.
Just came off like… OF COURSE he gets locked in the fridge (which isn’t possible), misses out on opening night, kind of goes a bit schitzo and ruins the thing with Claire.
Not sure what your family dynamic is, but anyone who has a dysfunctional family that gets together during holidays or big events (weddings, funerals, etc.) this was so spot on. Was Momma Donna a bit much? Maybe. But the yelling, crazy pace, clearly mixed with cocaine, hit close to home.
Luckily, the worst side of my dad’s family didn’t do hard drugs, but they drank and, basically, the Dinning Room set gave me so much anxiety and PTSD. Every family gathering there was a fork throwing incident ready to happen AND it did.
Yessssss!
Yesssss!
Damn that was a hell of a ride.
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It’s definitely possible, especially with how the handle breaks. Most walk-ins have the knob you can punch to get out, but if it’s an old-style walk-in with just the outside handle and it breaks off just right, you can get locked in there.
I once got trapped in a walk-in when the knob didn’t work properly and had to wait until someone came and opened it from the outside. Luckily, it was for less than 10 minutes, but it’s possible. 
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Amen to this.
Also, it annoys me that Syd / Sugar didn’t just handle that shit.
Could not agree more. My wife kept asking if we can fast forward. In a season where we never actually made it to the restaurant public opening, it felt weird to have an entire episode dedicated to that. Its like the writers watched Succession in the middle of making The Bear, and were like “hell yeah, that’s going to be our new thing”.
I don’t disagree that it was good acting, just out of place for this show.
I was also disappointed in the last episode. Felt like it ended a very weird. I get that they were setting the hook for future seasons, but having Carmy locked in the walk-in for the entire season finale was a bold move. Also the drama between Marcus and Sydney felt extremely forced.
Overall, they cranked the slow burn dialog way up from season 1, and I don’t think it fit the narrative as well.
Can’t wait for season 3!
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(Note: I hid what I wrote because there’s spoilers.)
Summary
I took it as they all were so in the shit and didn’t have time to deal with it (it clearly took an electric saw or grinder to cut the lock), so instead they all did what they were trained to do and solved the problem without Carm—which was basically the whole point of the whole season.
It is one of the reasons why I loved this season so much. As Carm is locked in the walk-in, he’s thinking he’s failed everyone because he’s been off doing other things besides working at the restaurant (much like in the flashbacks he thinks he’s failed the family because he’s off doing the chef thing)—he sees the tape isn’t cut right, details are being missed, etc. Reality, he has trained and inspired everyone to be there best and handle the shit themselves.
In fact, he maybe the reason why they’re in the shit to begin with. In the end, his skills wasn’t what The Bear needed, it was his ability to love people, believe and inspire them. It’s why, in the past, everyone in his family loved when he visited for holidays but understood he was too good of a character to stay around for the shitshow.
Addition: Also, it’s why Carm screaming at Richie and belittling him is key to the scene too. Basically, Carm knows his family is nothing but a bunch of shitshows and he was suppose to be the one to go off and better himself for personal growth but for the family too. As he’s trapped in the walk-in, doing a Richie-like takedown of Richie, he’s saying he’s better than the family, The Beef and he’s gone out and done something with his life and NOW everyone else is screwing it up. Yet, that’s not the case. He’s bringing everyone else down while his family is lifting him and The Bear up.
I liked how they executed all of that and let it bleed into Season 3.
I pretty much loved every second of Season 2.
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I was referring to Syd/Sug handling the fridge thing earlier than the night of.
Fully agree with your 3rd paragraph. I think for me, after the way Succession ended I was
Summary
Really hoping the season would have rode off into happiness, and the show pivots to the stresses that now come from trying to obtain a star, maintaining staff, and generally just about the growth of a restaurant etc
Summary
Can we talk about the ending with Marcus? It was pretty obvious what was coming from the very beginning of the season opening with him and his Mom… but man that fucking sucks to end on right after so many good moments for him in that finale. A week afterwards and that’s still the part that’s sticking with me more as opposed to Carm’s situation. Just felt like something bad was bound to happen from Carm internalizing so much stress
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Personally…
Summary
Before the finale, if I had an overall complaint about Season 2, it’s the show felt overly saccharine and convenient (outside of ep 6). Even if there was stress, pretty much everything was going exactly to plan. Tina embraced the cooking school, Marcus has become an all-world pastry chef in one trip to Coppenhagen, Richie is suddenly the best Maître D in the world, they actually opened the restaurant on time on the aggressive timeline. Don’t get me wrong, I loved all of these moments from the bottom of my heart, but things were rolling for them. It was a little too good.
So with that said, the whole time, I was waiting for the shoe to drop. While it was not the ending I expected, I think it’s a good way to leave the show. It was an overall successful opening night; Richie proved himself, Sidney collected herself, the guests were happy. But Carm is in a dark place, they had to fire somebody already, there are several kinks to work out, and of course there’s whatever happened with Marcus’ mom.
I think a full on ride into the sunset wouldn’t have been true to the show. Something bad needed to happen.
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The show is more about the people than it is the restaurant.
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Summary
Bingo bango bongo
If the restaurant was going to open on time and not force Uncle Jimmy’s hand then something else had to happen. This show has very clearly been from the start not about finding rainbows and butterflies but instead being about real people and real problems, however fictionalized it may be at points
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