Hell yeah

Not one aspect of that meant it was good tv or NOT an interminably pretentious wank. 

I think the last point is one of the best biggest ones. That’s really the whole season in a nutshell. As an audience we really didn’t learn anything new

Yeah I don’t know who the fuck those people were. Nor should I or any other viewer have to do homework for it. I understand bringing them in for quick little Easter eggs or something but to dedicate that much time to people who aren't characters on this show is absurd

I felt like Syd completely regressed

The way Millichik moves is constantly fascinating, compelling, and so gently sinister beneath the surface, at all times. Fucking terrific work.

Silo started automatically when severance ended for me this past week; i was intrigued. Is it good beyond the premise? 

So I just watched s1 this past week.

It was medicore TV with some good spots. It doesn’t matter if the season was intended to be a meta reflection of The Bear and Carmy itself; they failed to excecute in a way that wasn’t dull, tedious, self-indulgent, and unbelievably padded. 

The scene with Chef David was *incredible*. How many of us have rehearsed in our own minds, a thousand times, what we could say if we got the chance to tell off our bully, accuser, person who made our life hell?

“Ice Chips” was not an episode on its own, at all. torture porn is apt. juxtaposed with the restaurant, a and b plots? Sure. it could have worked.

which doesn’t make it good tv

I feel like I saw a dish on the menu that had everything I wanted and liked, but the execution and plating was terrible; side dish was bland, main was slightly overcooked, etc. I like your metaphor as well. Or a prixe frite menu with five courses and it ranges from eh to excellent.

Your point about the creative team wanting to spend time with, and reward, real chefs...

oh my fucking god, it was insufferable. the big collage, then all the “real chefs” telling their stories... which i get was to be inspirational, but it felt so incredibly pretensious and smug. and *boring*

lol i’ve been all over the bear subreddit and nobody is even talking about this. wtf are you even talking about 

That’s the conceit of s3: I understand what it is trying to do. I get it.

In s3, absolutely.

SUBTRACT!!! 

IMO the big difference is that in s1/2, Neil Fak was part of the main cast, constantly interacting with the main crew. In s3, he is essentially “spun off” with his far less interesting cousin to basically be bumbling idiots. Fak is no longer part of things; almost every scene with the Faks could be excised and not…