The pressure cooker kitchen of Chicago’s The Original Beef of Chicagoland is back in Season 3 of The Bear, streaming on Disney+ Hotstar. This time, the heat is not just from the searing pans and bubbling fryers but also the stress that chef Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) is undergoing in running his fine-dining restaurant.

What happened in Season 2 finale

In Season 2 of The Bear, Carmy struggled to transform The Original Beef of Chicagoland into a high-end restaurant: The Bear. The pressure of opening an upscale eatery led to his breakdown in the season finale. What should have been his triumph turned into a nightmare as he got locked in the chiller and spiralled into self-doubt. Unaware that his girlfriend Claire (Molly Gordon) was listening outside, he called his relationship with her a “complete waste of time”. Carmy’s inability to balance work and life set the stage for Season 3.

Carmy’s struggle continues

While Season 3 holds on to the show’s signature frenetic energy and dark comedic brilliance, there’s a lot of focus on character development and backstories, which slows down the pace to some extent.

Cornered by his obsession for excellence on the one hand and the weight of expectations on the other, with added stress from his recent breakup, Carmy drives himself up the wall and struggles to get his entrepreneurial act together.

Jeremy Allen White’s performance is a deep dive into Carmy’s psyche, underlining how the demanding F&B industry rips away his confident exterior, leaving him fragile and on the edge. For a consummate actor like White, this character arc is bound to be happy tidings.

More focus on the supporting characters

As always, the supporting cast remains a highlight of The Bear. Ayo Edebiri continues to be one of the pillars of the show as Sydney, the ambitious sous chef whose fight for her rightful place in a male-dominated kitchen is both relatable and inspiring. Ebon Moss-Bachrach brings a combination of sardonic charm and quiet wisdom to Richie, the grizzled veteran chef.

In the final episode of Season 3, we meet Olivia Colman again, who returns as Andrea Terry, the British executive chef at Ever, the upscale restaurant where Richie trains. Colman is magnetic as expected and steals everyone’s thunder even if she didn’t intend to.

Ayo Edebiri sparkles in her directorial debut

Alongside her turn as Sydney, Edebiri also directed the episode ‘Napkins’. It is lovely and heart-wrenching in equal parts as we go back in time to discover how Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) came to join The Beef — the restaurant that Carmy’s brother Michael Berzatto (Jon Bernthal) used to run before he passed away and Carmy took charge — after losing her 15-year-old job. The moments shared between Michael and Tina are one of the highlights of the series.

Season 3 is chaotic yet tender

Despite the pace taking a backseat, The Bear Season 3 delivers moments of razor-sharp humour as well as tenderness. The camerawork, often claustrophobic and handheld, captures the intensity of the kitchen environment as usual. Ultimately, Season 3 feels like a bridge between the chaos of the first two seasons and the promise of deeper character exploration in Season 4.