NFL
By: Rick O’Donnell
Now that we’ve binged season 4 of The Bear in a weekend, we can’t help but to be left wanting more. This season was better at moving the story forward than season 3, so what are we hoping they address, should they get renewed for season 5?
*spoilers ahead if you’re not through season 4 yet*
Carmy and Claire
So Carmy is leaving The Bear. Whether that means just the restaurant or the show completely, we don’t know. Whether Jaremy Allen White will be there full season, reduced to a part-time role, or written out completely was left wide open. Yet, his story has plenty of room to continue. He could take a backseat at the restaurant and still have plenty of stories to go off of and even eventually return.
When we last see Carmy, he’s attempting to work through some things. He says he doesn’t know who he is outside of the business and wants to find out. Hopefully, that means with Claire. Could we see him work through therapy, allowing him to work through his emotions. Would he realize all he wants is to be the best for her, and maybe eventually a family?
Carmy’s story is interesting because no matter how deep it goes, it could always come back to The Bear, and the door would always be open. If Carmy has his “break the cycle” moment in a show all about family and realizes the only thing that matters is his success for his family, he could easily shed the pressure and find his mojo again.
Papa Berzatto
There’s one character we have yet to see on the show, the patriarch of the Berzatto family. That story needs to be explored as it could very well explain the dysfunction and tragedy surrounding the family. Why does Mikey spiral? What made Donna such an emotional wreck? Was Richie’s father close with him, and that’s why he became so close with the family? How does it relate to Uncle Jimmy always looking after the boys? Now that we’ve got so much backstory on these characters, it’s time to know the why on why they are who they are. Give us one of the hour-long episodes where it all comes together and let it tug at the heartstrings. If done correctly, it could easily be the best episode of the series so far.
Richie and Jess
I don’t think there’s a bad dynamic on the show, but the on-screen chemistry between Richie and Jess is insane. The show would be absolutely crazy not the explore this dynamic. Now that his ex, Tiff, has moved on, maybe it’s time for Richie to do the same. However, it needs to be done right. Richie is the hot hea,d and his biggest struggle is finding his purpose and his need to inspire. He wants to be the one to bring people together, to be “the sand” but, in his mind, he’ll never do that if he never finds his purpose.
What better way to do that than a story about getting out of his own way? That should be one of the easiest stories of the series so far. You’re writing a show about a restaurant that is built on precision. A simple, overcrowded restaurant with too many moving pieces sets up a story about getting out of each other’s way. With Jess’ experience running a Michelin-star restaurant, she could be the one to point out the obvious, then all you would have to do is let their chemistry do the rest. His feelings for his ex, being a good dad, being ready for something new, and it’s obvious he wants to be to The Bear what Mikey was to The Beef. All those things could happen if he gets out of his own way.
Luca The Backbone
At one point, I was on board with pushing a spinoff for Luca. Now that he’s joined The Bear staff, the opportunity for a much bigger role is there. His whole backstory is his experience with Carmy and how it pushed him to be a better chef. With both Sydney and Richie being hot heads and often spiraling at various times, Luca could be the one to step in and rein them back in.
Season 5 could definitely explore the history of the Carmy/Luca friendly rivalry. If Luca was brought in to learn from Carmy, he could also be the one to fill the gap left by his absence. Him, Syd, and Richie all looked up to Carmy, but only one experienced his brilliance on a consistent basis outside of the Bear. Luca worked with him before and saw what he was like when he didn’t have the pressure of running his own place.
That pressure was the same pressure that made him spiral, and it’s the same pressure he passed on to his staff. Luca could easily tell stories of how he watched Carmy’s work come together and his vision excel.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. So far, the Bear has set up so many great stories with characters you want to know more about. This series could not be renewed, but it would be a shame if it didn’t. There are so many avenues left unexplored that it could easily go 2-3 more seasons without getting stale, and it’s up to FX and Hulu to keep it going.
