The Bear just dropped a surprise episode, and it's a portrait of avoidance.
The genius of 'Gary' is that it already knows that *we* know what happens next.
In a surprise, genuinely illuminating and tender episode, we get yet another flashback to the before times – Mikey is alive, and Richie hasn't evolved yet. So much is left painfully unsaid...until it kind of isn't. Despite being a fantastic way to promote the next season – saving Disney Millions in ad spend with one special stunt – it also happens to be written by our two leading men.
In places, it does feel that way, I won't lie. The dialogue and characterisation take a while to warm up, and do feel like two friends doing a jam sesh in Pre-Production, but the nooks and crannies these guys provide us with – and the outright and unchangeable fortress that is Mikey at his wits' end - end up turning an already incredibly rich show (no pun intended) into something even more layered.
The infinite feedback loop between what we're learning and what we know happens next builds to a complete crescendo, where expectations are completely subverted (both the big and the small ones), and the limitations of "traditional" male friendship are laid bare. It has already been very difficult to watch flashbacks with Mikey, knowing what happens to him, and knowing how tough he had it – and this episode pulls exactly 0 of those punches, and dare I say, sticks the fork in deeper.
I am literally vibrating – the final season of The Bear will officially be dropping June 25th. I'm so emotional I may take a few days to process and write my review – this is perhaps one of my favourite shows of all time, and to see it evolve into such a brilliant, tender, intelligent...everything...will be something I tell my kids about.
(As a Community fan, though, I must insist that there's a movie.)
