Ice Chips

I cannot get over the fact how brilliant Jamie Lee Curtis is as Donna in The Bear. Her performance is truly nothing but spectacular. So rough, so real, yet so vulnerable at the same time, so emotional.

She already set the bar high in season 2, but man, her work in this episode is exceptional. I caught myself forgetting it was Jamie Lee Curtis whom I was watching, despite her face which we are all very familiar with. All I saw was Donna. That's how great she is. She is just 100% believable.

So whoever needs to hear this, Emmys or whatever: Give her all the awards you have.

She absolutely deserves them.

This show isn't about the kitchen, it's about the people who run it. Someday you are going to be a dad or a mom and you are going to feel what she was feeling if you are from a dysfunctional family and how much you want your child to not grow in such an environment. You will freak out because you will feel you will be never enough for your daughter or your son because your mother wasn't there for you in your tough times and how much it will hurt. There is a line and it isn't a spoiler "he did not wanted to come out". I was bawling my eyes out and when that line was spoken. Obviously there will be people who are complaining or say it's boring, for me this episode was everything I want the bear show to be, it's a study about humans not the kitchen!

Then you would know. Then you'd know the need to love her and the need to pull away from her, and how that drives Natalie and drives Carmy and drive Ritchie. This show is about food, yes, and as a foodie who made it to Noma twice in the past year, I adore that aspect. But more importantly, it's about people, a character study, of mostly deeply damaged people, many dysfunctional, whose need for this restaurant to succeed mirrors their need to rise above their own hauntings. Carmy's need for perfection, Natalie's need to rewrite her own origin story through her marriage and child, Michael's desire to create the work family to fix the family family. It's not a comedy, but it elicits a bitter laugh.

This episode blew my mind. Raw, honest and heart warming. Just top tier entertainment. It was almost like watching theatre.

Jamie Lee pulls out a stellar performance as Donna. Sugar is great at being vulnerable but still headstrong about her child's needs. Her fears are so relatable to any parent to be. Amazing.

The Bear does redemption and arcs better than most shows. I think it's their strongest trait. They get you attached to theses characters for positive and negative reason then just spin you around. I love the hope that this show exudes and fragility of humans. It's one of the best all around shows since the Sopranos.

Half the complaints on here are moaning about this not adding to the story or narrative. If this is your issue I don't even know how you've made it this far in the show?!

Yes, this is a standalone episode that doesn't particularly move the cogs along for the main plot, but overall "The Bear" is a character driven show. Last years "Fishes" episode showed us the family dynamic, so we already knew the relationship between Nat and Donna here, but that allows us to care about their rare shared loving moments in this episode.

Forget about overarching plot elements and enjoy the drama! I may be coming across as pretentious here but this show is all about family dynamics, mental health, self worth and what success is to each person. Whereas I do want the series to be wrapped nicely in season 4, for now- just enjoy each episode for what they are. And in my opinion- Great.