System

Right, so I've finally given in and started The Bear. After years of hearing people go on about it, I went in expecting another overhyped dramedy. What I got was something far more raw.

Jeremy Allen White's Carmen is immediately compelling... a classically trained chef drowning in the inherited chaos of his late brother's Chicago sandwich shop. The pilot doesn't muck about with exposition. Instead, it throws you straight into the claustrophobic nightmare of a dysfunctional kitchen where everyone's shouting, nothing works properly, and the debt collectors are circling.

What struck me most is how authentic the workplace dysfunction feels. This isn't Kitchen Nightmares theatrics... it's genuinely stressful watching systems fall apart in real time. The writing captures that particular brand of working-class exhaustion where pride and desperation dance together.

Abby Elliott's Sydney provides the perfect counterpoint: optimism meeting reality head-on. Their dynamic already hints at something deeper brewing beneath the surface chaos.

I'm intrigued but not yet convinced. The acclaimed emotional depths everyone goes on about remain hidden. For now, it's a solid workplace drama with cracking performances and genuine grit.

7.5/10 More episodes needed to justify the universal praise.

This was a great firs episode to get you into the premise of the show, the characters and the story! After hearing all the positive talk about the show, i descided to check out the show, and so far I am glad I did!

We see the main character, Carmen as the guy who wants to achieve the best result in order to save his death brothers restaurant, and how the other characters respond as they have their own "system" that Carmen has a hard time overrulling!

We also get a sense of the family drama lurking in the background! We know some things have happened but not what!

Overall a great pilot that leaves you wanting to see whats coming next!

Having worked in a few kitchens, I'm familiar with all the conflict and other things that can blow up inside. The writers tried too hard, as did the director, to create a bunch of conflict all at once by rushing everything. Any one of the several things introduced could have made an interesting conflict to deal with in this first episode. Maybe even two, but not ten. Going through all of them at once with break-neck dialog and people talking over each other with kitchen noise does nothing but confuse the story. Give the audience a break. Not everybody knows all the lingo used in professional kitchens. If you slow it down, viewers get more in context. Yes, all these first episode things can happen, but they never happen all at once. I often criticize TV shows for taking a movie script and stretching it out for ten episodes. The opposite isn't better. I'm going to watch the first few episodes to see if it starts to become more coherent and intentional. If it doesn't, it will be sad, because I can tell this series has promise.

Your mileage may vary depending on how much you liked movies like Uncut Gems, but the breakneck pace and electrifying cinematography of this episode had my attention from the first or second scene. The editing team deserves an Emmy, especially for the later episodes in the season but for this one too. The song selection is FIRE in this episode in particular and is probably the highlight of the season in terms of music. It's been a while since I've seen a TV show that felt like it was firing on all cylinders from the start like this one does.

I've been waiting a long time to watch this show so the hype was real. I finally got my Hulu account and this was my first choice, I can say I got the plattaform speccially to see this series.

The pace is great and a lot happened in just 28 minutes of run time, which talks of great direction. Solid supporting cast, and great camara work. Very akward, yet engaging. Back to the direction, a lot happens in a small location and the way the camera is handled, makes you feel part of that kitchen and gets you into the dynamic of how is it to run a food business.

The soundtrack is catchy and really elevates the excellent cinematography.

8.5.