The Bear – Season 3 Episode 4 Recap & Review

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Episode 4 of The Bear Season 3 starts with a moment between Claire and Carmy. They discuss their favourite days of the week and Carmy says his isn’t Sunday, because the restaurant’s closed and he doesn’t know what to do. She then asks about the scar on his palm and he says he got it from grabbing a hot pot.

Claire tells him about a young patient of hers who had cuts all over her body due to an accident but when she came out of surgery, she was laughing. It hadn’t started hurting yet.

We then see Marcus still mourning his mother, meanwhile, Sydney hesitates to open the partnership document. She and her father look at a new apartment later but it’s clear he’s not sure about the partnership deal. However, it turns out that she’s already signed the lease.

Elsewhere, Richie hangs out with his daughter who seems worried about him being alone now that her mother is getting married to Frank. Richie also learns that DD, Carmy’s mother, is going to attend the wedding. Later, Richie leaves his wedding ring aside while getting ready.

Natalie and Pete, on the other hand, are excited about their baby who is due in two weeks. Tina goes to a farmer’s market but learns that there’s less produce than usual. Back at The Bear, the Fak brothers put up a wall of pictures of food critics and show Carmy.

Seeing all those faces staring at him definitely triggers some of his anxiety but he doesn’t let on. They need to know when a critic comes in. By the beef window, Ebra’s station is still very messy and the orders are too much for him to handle.

Richie drops his daughter off at her house and Frank asks to speak with him. He tells Richie he should have given him a heads-up before asking Tiff to marry him but Richie makes it clear he didn’t need his permission. He just wants things between them to be smooth.

While traveling, Sydney comes across Adam Shapiro from the fine dining restaurant called The Ever. He says he visited The Bear and the food was really good, especially a scallop dish. They chat a bit and Sydney takes her leave.

Back at the restaurant, Sydney and Carmy bump horns over another recipe he changed. She then brings up that communication within the team is quite bad and Carmy realises it as well.

Natalie is researching Michelin stars when Richie comes by. He realises she’s worried about the effect her own mental health could have on her child. Richie sympathises. Nat then assures Richie that Evie would still want him around in her life even after her mother got married again. Natalie then gets a phone call.

The two of them go to the kitchen and tell the others that The Tribune is coming over to take photos. This means that a food critic has already been to The Bear and they’re going to get reviewed at the end of The Bear Season 3 Episode 4.

The Episode Review

The Bear Season 3 Episode 4 slows things down after the train wreck of the previous one, which is a good change of pace. It allows the characters to take up their own space, giving us a deeper look than we usually do in the midst of quick cuts and overlapping conversations. With Richie, in particular, we get to see more of his fatherly side, which is heartwarming after all his arguments with Carmy. His scene with Natalie and their conversation about parenthood was a nice touch too.

It is a bit frustrating for Carmy to not see what everybody else, including us viewers, clearly can. His daily menu change is not working. His monopoly over things is not working. He needs to be more flexible in order for the staff to be able to work as a team. He’s also ignoring his anxiety again which is bound to blow up on him sooner rather than later.

Sydney is a bit more of a shrouded character in the sense that it’s clear she’s not happy but it’s not clear what she’s thinking. She doesn’t open the partnership contract but she goes out and leases an apartment. Talk about two minds. Either way, The Bear continues to have some great characterisation and treats all its players with depth, making it a great watch.