How The Bear Season 5 Fixed Its Biggest Problem of Its Mediocre Middle Seasons

It’s hard to believe that The Bear is finally over.

During the first two seasons, the FX show was all over the internet, hailed as one of the best prestige TV shows. And then Seasons 3 and 4 happened.

Those two seasons of The Bear cornered the writers into a position where they had to go above and beyond in Season 5 to win audiences back.

After watching Season 5, I found myself still a little lukewarm on the show but much more satisfied than I had been with the recent seasons — and I think I know why.

Instead of focusing on curating an atmosphere, The Bear Season 5 gave its characters a sense of direction and purpose. The show remembered that what makes it special is the story, not its aesthetic.

Let’s Walk It Back To Season 1

As I watched the newest season of The Bear, I reflected on what made Season 1 so special.

While the high-stress kitchen and the gritty filming style may have given the series a unique reputation, what really stood out was the show’s emotionally resonant storytelling.

The throughline in Season 1 is Carmy grieving over his brother and his inability to reckon with how it’s affecting his personal and professional life.

The best scenes weren’t always the ones where he was shouting at other chefs, but rather the ones where Carmy had to confront the unbearable weight of his grief.

I still think about his monologue from the Al-Anon meeting. It’s a haunting and unforgettable moment that reveals why the restaurant matters so much to Carmy.

While The Bear Season 2 may not have been as well received, it still managed to do what Season 1 did right: focus on the characters’ emotional arcs.

One of the show’s best episodes is Season 2 Episode 7, “Forks.”

It follows Richie as he works at another upscale restaurant, where he learns important lessons about running a restaurant and how to carry himself in his personal life.

I went into the episode feeling unenthusiastic about Richie at best, and came out deciding that he’s one of my favorite characters from the show.

Another episode that illustrates The Bear’s ability to offer moving storytelling is Season 2 Episode 6, “Fishes,” or the Christmas family chaos episode.

While the episode had some of the shouty, panicked energy of the kitchen, what really made it stand out was the way it developed the unspoken tension that gradually boiled over.

Unfortunately, by Seasons 3 and 4, those emotional beats weren’t as steadily implemented.

The closest example in recent years was the Sydney-focused episode, The Bear Season 4 Episode 4, “Worms.” But even then, the seasons felt directionless, too concerned with the bigger picture to zone in on the characters’ emotions.

So, How Did Season 5 Improve?

The Bear Season 5 employed a similar strategy to The Pitt by setting the entire season over the course of one shift, and it worked.

While I personally didn’t find it as engaging as the first two seasons, I appreciated that it returned to prioritizing the story.

Even though Season 5 may have been short, it made the most of its time by adopting a more cohesive storytelling approach.

As a whole, it was much better than Seasons 3 and 4, which relied on Season 2’s style of playing fast and loose with bouncing around and spotlighting different characters.

While I’m all for a great bottle episode, if it begins to detract from the overall season and stalls the pacing, making viewers feel like nothing is happening, that’s a huge problem.

The best part of Season 5 is when it explores in depth what it meant for Carmy to leave the restaurant and the impact it would have on the people working there.

Additionally, it was wonderful to see how Sydney handled leadership in a stressful situation. Even characters like Marcus and Luca had their chance to shine.

I can probably more clearly name the emotional beats of each character and their arc in Season 5 than for any single character in the past two seasons.

The Bear’s return to prioritizing the story instead of curating a specific atmosphere was the right decision.

The last season may not have been the most memorable, but it stuck the landing by wrapping up the characters’ stories in a resolute, satisfying way over eight episodes.

What did you think of The Bear Season 5?

Are you satisfied with the ending?

Share your thoughts in the comments below!

You can stream the entire series of The Bear on Hulu or Disney+.