The Bear (2025-Season Four) * *

Starring:  Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Oliver Platt, Abby Elliott, Josh Hartnett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Rob Reiner, Brian Koppelman, Will Poulter

Season four of The Bear starts out intensely and pressure-filled with the restaurant's financier Uncle Jimmy setting a clock which will count down sixty days until Doomsday.  Not the end of the world, but the end of The Bear, unless it can miraculously starting turning a profit.  The first three or four episodes crackle with intensity as The Bear tries to reverse its fortunes.  It is packing the place nightly, but still no profits.  Uncle Jimmy is part of the Berzatto family and feels for his nephew Carmen (White), but business is business and money talks. 

I thought The Bear would return to form as a pressure cooker of a series which shows why I would never wish to own a restaurant.  But then, The Bear falls back on the issues which has plagued its previous two seasons, the endless dialogue and entire episodes devoted to making us forget that the countdown is on.  These people operate as if their livelihoods won't end soon, and waste valuable time on endless conversations which would test anyone's patience and comprehension.  The shows should be taut and tense, even if they only have to clock in at thirty minutes instead of 45.  But we need PERFORMANCES from these actors so they could submit the scenes at awards season for consideration by the voting bodies, so we need dialogue for them to espouse.

However, there are scenes which reveal truth.  Abby has a heart-to-heart with the perpetually miserable Carmen in which she states that it's okay for him to no longer being a chef or enjoying the restaurant business.  Carmen is still Haunted by his brother's suicide and his family issues, not withstanding his breakup with Claire, who I'd honestly forgotten about as he awkwardly tries to reconcile with her.  There isn't much chemistry there, and I can't imagine having Carmen having much chemistry with anyone.  For a restaurant looking to cut costs, Richie (Moss-Bachrach) brings on additional staff and consultants which help shape the place and push it towards success, but I'm sure they aren't cheap.  

With season five eventually going to stream, I must say I think I'm over The Bear.  There are too many characters, too many subplots, entire episodes which are devoted to bores like Syd (Edebiri), who painfully tries to decide whether to jump ship to a startup establishment.  The Bear is at its best when the tension overcomes everyone, but The Bear almost seems to feel guilty allowing this to happen.