Legacy

This episode was so stupid, I can't believe I watched the whole thing. It's like I'm hanging out in a hospital with people I don't care about as they talk about having a baby. After the 'Tina' episode I've now given up on this pretentious show, it's not even close to good. Lots of yelling when anything is actually happening, and the head chef just stands in one place and looks at a spot on the table and says 'hands' and 'please and thank you' which is completely unrealistic in any restaurant. She is utterly useless as a chef, someone from front of house should be expediting, she doesn't cook a damn thing.

This episode was thought-provoking, and it's necessary to watch this one over again, like the rest of the series, to learn its full message: such as the Bear's people and their roles as Carmy works out his philosophical addiction to running a restaurant. It's like being with close work friends as they talk about having a baby. After the "Tina" episode, there was no way to have an episode that matched its power, but this episode serves as a good intermediary between the two long (mostly) single-character deep-dives. Like the rest of the series, there's lots of yelling, and to exemplify the main internal conflict of this season, Sydney does not get to cook, which obviously is her passion. Not every restaurant is the same, and Sydney may well be contemplating such a fact. Examining her role as chef at the Bear versus her potential role as CDC with Shapiro. Sugar states that there are enablers, heroes, scapegoats, mascots, and lost children who surround addicts. This season has illustrated how the enabler may be Uncle Jimmy, how the hero may be Natalie or even Tina, how the scapegoat is routinely Richie, how the mascot is Marcus, and how the lost child is clearly Sydney. People who can understand the deeper meanings to life and the people who live it will love this episode.

With the exception of a few episodes of the first two seasons, where my wife and I skipped some scenes because we couldn't stand the excessive and meaningless chatter anymore, we really enjoyed the series and especially the characters. Unlike another reviewer, we think Ayo especially is a fantastic actress. Her facial expressions in the scene with the great Oliver Platt in one of the episodes of this 3rd season were so brilliant, I could rave on and on about her. They didn't give her anything meaningful to say, but she made the most of her screen time. The only actor hard to watch is Abby Elliott for me. She seems constantly overtaxed.

But the reason I am writing this: With this 3rd season we have our fair share of problems. We had to skip dozens of scenes because we couldn't stand the pointless chatter any longer. There is no plot whatsoever. The scenes too often seem improvised instead of being written in a purposeful manner. It's annoying and a waste of time. We're starting to feel like we're watching a really bad soap opera with great actors whose talents are wasted. There is no character development, no moving the needle. We're about to let it rest a while. We don't have much time to watch anything these days and after this episode (with one about Sugar to follow), we're really tired of it.

We sincerely hope this show gets back on track with the 4th season. One little suggestion: Have a dramatic arc in place! Geesh!

Ayo Ediberi cannot act. Her method of conveying confusion and lack of self-confidence is to say "what" or "like" in between sentences, I really don't understand how she was cast considering everybody calls their weight show. It is just not as interesting as it used to be. The Faks are in it too much as well where it's more hijinx than moving the show along. Anyway, I feel like this whole season has been anticlimactic and I was expecting so much considering how good season two was. The first episode of season three was so strong as well and then I felt like somebody put on a generic directing cap and said "be edgy. " I get what's going on. It's just not that impressive this season.

I don't even know what to write...

This entire season is a disappointment, and this episode encapsulates very well what's wrong with it.

Basically, a bunch of people talking nonsense. I know this series has always had this, but it seems like the writers forgot how to do what this series does best: the dialogues between the characters.

The Faks... Jesus.

If we count the minutes of the episode that actually help the story move forward, I think we have about 4 minutes.

Maybe the creators of the series got a little overconfident after the second season and thought that whatever they did would be loved by the audience. To me, this episode and this entire season exudes arrogance.