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Carmy Berzatto is miserable.
The Bearwas always going to find itself in this tricky place.
Continuing the trend of extending and improving what came before was a tall order.
Within the show, too, the story has arrived at a challenging, uneasy place.
Seasons one and two were driven by desperation and forward momentum.
And more often than not, especially in narrative storytelling, stability looks a lot like being stuck.
Tina (Liza Colon-Zayas) has to keep up with the new pace of this kitchen.
Marcus (Lionel Boyce) is grieving his mother.
So instead of looking forward,The Bearspends a lot of time staring backward and sideways.
The backward focus is both logical and tedious.
Season three is perfectly willing to rub it in too hard.
Theres an argument to be made that this is a case of form meeting function.
Hes stuck, and so are we.
More than once in season three, the show remembers how to make that feel special.
Richies fine-dining establishment from season two is now explicitly called Ever, the real-life name of that restaurant.
Once again, its as thoughThe Bearno longer trusts its viewers to see its sublimated themes.
Despite its season-three missteps, though,The Bearis still one of the most interesting shows on TV.
For every bit of preening self-congratulation, theres another moment that can knock you sideways.
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