Last summer, Hulu released one of the best shows of the year, The Bear. The Bear follows a fine-dining chef named Carmy, who goes back home to Chicago after his older brother dies and leaves him the family restaurant. Throughout the first season, we see Carmy learn how to lead a full-service crew when they’re not used to his style of work, and there are plenty of moments where the chefs clash and problems arise. Throughout the first eight episodes, you learn to love the characters that pop up in every episode, especially the side characters that don’t have as many lines as Carmy, Sydney, or Richie.
If you’ve ever worked in a restaurant of any kind, you’re sure to relate to what happens in each episode, whether it’s someone not calling out "Corner!" or you get so many to-go orders in five minutes you feel like breaking the machine. With the second season coming out, it’s time to take a look at the first epic season of this great show and rank the episodes from worst to best.
8 Episode 3 - Brigade
Disney Platform Distribution
Coming in at last is episode three, titled "Brigade". In this episode, Carmy suggests that he and Sydney form a new plan for how to run things and, against Sydney’s wishes, implement a hierarchy system. The system is known as Brigade de Cuisine, and Syd is apprehensive that it won’t go over well with the crew, which she is, in fact, right about. Carmy leaves her in the middle of the shift to attend an Al-Anon meeting, and things go very bad at the restaurant as Sydney struggles to connect with the crew, especially Richie.
7 Episode 2 - Hands
"Hands", episode two, gives us a much-needed backstory for Carmy when he was in New York City as a fine dining chef and saw how his relationship was with the head chef at the restaurant. He was verbally abused and treated terribly, so the contrast to the way he treats his crew with respect and appreciation is stunning and makes you feel for Carmy even more. We also learn that he sleepwalks and cooks things in his sleep, leading him to almost burn down his apartment, which is shocking and stressful for the audience.
Carmy really goes through it in this episode as he’s constantly hit with a new thing, such as a health inspector coming and giving the restaurant a C rating, which isn’t surprising since the restaurant is such a mess. Then, Carmy’s uncle, Cicero, comes and informs him that his brother took out a $300,000 loan from him, and it is now Carmy’s responsibility to take care of it. Gotta love family.
6 Episode 1 - System
The pilot of The Bear doesn't have time for introductions and throws you right into the chaos of it all as Carmy tries to win over his crew and also make some extra money since they’re broke. You find yourself fighting to remember exactly who is who in the first 20 minutes, wrinkling your nose at how brash Richie is, and feeling bad for Sydney as she gets mixed into the mess that is The Beef.
A great scene in this pilot is when Carmy hosts a Ballbreaker tournament and a fleet of nerds, as Richie calls them, lines up outside the restaurant. Richie isn’t happy with the crowd and makes sure to tell Carmy exactly how much he hates it, but when his "cousin" starts to get jumped by the impatient nerds, Richie steals the scene. He ends up shooting a gun up in the air and threatens the "Incels" to pick up their litter and to act correctly.
5 Episode 5 - Sheridan
Disney Platform Distribution
"Sheridan", episode five, might gross you out as you see the single toilet basically explode on Carmy and overflow all over the floor. Fak, a lovable character that we wish had more screen time, comes over to fix it because he can fix just about anything, and while it goes well at first, it ends up with Richie and Fak getting into a physical fight as they roll around the floor.
Fak reveals to Carmy that Richie has been selling cocaine in the back alley of the restaurant, and Carmy, appalled (for some reason), makes Richie swear he won’t ever do it again. That is, until a fuse blows and the entire restaurant is shut down because the condenser and the gas line completely break. So, Carmy has to suck it up and humbly ask if Richie can sell some booger sugar once again to pay for it.
4 Episode 6 - Ceres
Disney Platform Distribution
In episode six, "Ceres", we finally get to meet Mikey, Carmy’s older brother, and Richie’s best friend, who both died of suicide. It’s a tender moment as we see one single scene in which Jon Bernthal portrays the deceased older brother and former owner of The Beef. The rest of the episode almost passes by in a blur as Sugar comes to the restaurant to help Carmy deal with the back taxes of The Beef, Sydney bonds more with the crew, and an unknown assailant shoots out the windows.
The scene in which we see Mikey is when Carmy, Sugar, Richie, and Mikey are in the kitchen, and Mikey is telling a very long-winded story to his captivated audience. He’s also cooking at the same time, and we can see how his characterization is perfectly captured in this short scene, with how Richie stares at his best friend like he hung the moon and Carmy’s pride for his older brother’s unbelievable story. Mikey is idolized, and it was smart to have us wait until episode six to see exactly who he was.
3 Episode 4 - Dogs
In "Dogs", we’re able to see the real relationship between Carmy and his "cousin," Richie. They’re both hardheaded and both hurting from the loss of Mikey, so whenever they talk, it almost always ends up in a fight or severe name-calling. Richie and Carmy agree to cater a kids' birthday party for their uncle in order to work on paying their debt, and we learn more about Richie as he reveals he struggles with anxiety and dread, leading him to take Xanax at the party.
Somehow, the Xanax ends up in Carmy’s punch, and it sends all the kids into a deep sleep in the middle of the party, and naturally, no one is really concerned. There’s a hilarious moment as Cicero, Carmy, and Richie all collectively stare in disgust at Sugar’s husband, Pete, as he sleeps on the couch, a victim of the Xanax punch. As you watch each episode, you’ll find yourself rolling your eyes whenever Pete is on the screen, simply because everyone hates him.
2 Episode 8 - Braciole
Disney Platform Distribution
The finale of the first season of The Bear was the perfect conclusion to this first season and made you feel more for the characters, if that was possible. You’ll be completely captivated as you watch Jeremy Allen White deliver such a beautiful monologue about his brother Mikey and how his death affected him. One of the best characters in the show and the one who goes through the most character development is Richie, and after a bachelor party gone wrong lands him in jail, you see a different side of Richie as he calls his ex-wife.
Richie, finally getting over himself, finally gives Carmy the letter that Mikey left him to find, and the audience feels a sense of relief as Carmy receives the recipe for the famous spaghetti. Carmy also swallows his pride and apologizes to both Marcus and Sydney, leaving you feeling relieved as you watch the found family come together again.
1 Episode 7 - Review
Coming in at number one is episode seven, titled "Review". If you’ve seen the episode, you know exactly why it’s at the top of this list, seeing as most of the episode was a single shot, making it so smooth as you experience this very hectic day with the crew. There’s so much conflict, you might feel like you’re there, in the hot restaurant, as Carmy becomes unglued and absolutely loses it on his crew.
There’s the verbal fight between Sydney and Richie, which results in Richie getting accidentally stabbed by Syd after she calls him ugly and tells him his daughter is most likely embarrassed by him. Then you have Marcus, who’s extremely behind on cakes because he’s wrapped up in his donut business, and you watch in second-hand embarrassment as Carmy slaps the donut out of his hand.
The height of the conflict comes when Sydney accidentally leaves the pre-order option on for the to-go order machine, and hundreds of tickets start to print in under three minutes. You’ll be captivated from the moment the episode begins, and you’ll be feeling some intense second-hand embarrassment as Carmy lets loose.