Life Lessons from The Bear, Season 2
I love nothing more than wisdom and meaning, especially if they come wrapped in beautiful storylines and character arcs. Plus some key moments from season two of The Bear.
Watching both seasons of The Bear left me with a lot of feelings, it became one of my favourite shows from episode one. It’s rare for me to find something that speaks to me on such a personal level. I felt completely in love with the characters, flaws and all, I carried their feelings like they were my own. But the series also left me with a few lessons. If you haven’t watched it yet, the latest season is just as spectacular as the first.
Let’s start with a big one.
A note for those who haven’t finished watching season two:
***Spoilers ahead***
#1 Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
We are not born with skills, we practice and we get better. We may be born with certain dexterity and talent but the skills you hone, you work them, you hammer them down until you can do it - whatever it may be - with your eyes closed and with so much focus you lose yourself in it.
I’ve recently come to the sobering realisation that I don’t truly know the meaning of passion. After half-watching the recently completed Tour de France, I found a common thread. The cyclists didn’t just like pain, they bathed in it and it fueled them as nothing else ever could. They kept pushing, pedalling, and climbing, despite their bodies half breaking down halfway through the toughest climb. Broken collarbones not just hope, half-torn jerseys, and some bloody faces too. I realised as I sat there grilling my husband with all these questions ‘But HOW can they do this? HOW can they LIKE this?’ It made absolutely no sense to me and then it hit me, passion is not fun, relaxing or even enjoyable. Passion is tough and it will kick you down even when you are at your limit, with nothing else to give. It will reach into the depths of your soul and make you rethink every single decision you’ve ever made and then kick you some more for good measure. In the end, it only comes down to two things, how much can you take? How much are you willing to give?
If I had to boil it down to one subject, The Bear is about one man’s passion through teamwork. Not the passion we think we know, but the one most of us might be scared to experience.
#2 Don’t be the one who gets in your way.
Throughout the different stages of menu development, Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) was so wrapped up in fitting into the collective’s idea of perfection, that nothing she put together seemed to work. She wasn’t letting herself be and being herself was the only thing she needed to create a unique menu.
Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” Yeah, let’s not do that either.
#3 ‘Am I doing this right?’ Enough with the self-doubt.
When you’re unsure you are content with the course your life is taking, external validation from someone you trust can mean the difference between persevering and giving up. Take one of the last scenes of the last episode in season two, where Sydney’s father, Emmanuel (Robert Townsend), tells her the meal was ‘absolutely incredible.’ “It’s the thing”. All this time, she had been trying to convince him that this is where she was meant to be, even if she wasn’t 100% sure herself. Against her father’s better judgement, she kept pushing and hearing him praise her in agreement was all she needed to fully believe it herself.
Self-doubt. We all have it, but it’s what we do with it that can make or break us. Have you ever felt like you‘re the only one stuck while everyone else succeeds at what they set out to do?
“I have written 11 books, but each time I think, ‘Uh-oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out.’”
— Maya Angelou
Eight minutes into the first episode of season two, Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) have a talk. Richie is struggling to find purpose and where he stands amidst the restaurant renovations and relaunch.
Richie: “I’m forty-five. I’ve been here a long time. You feel me? You know what the fuck you’re doing, you know? You love all this shit. It’s fun for you. I don’t have that. I’m afraid one day, I’m gonna wake up and you guys are all just gonna cut … just drop this ass.”
Carmy: “Richie, I’m not gonna drop this ass.
It’s just not fun for me.”Richie: “Yeah but you love it.”
Carmy: “That doesn’t make it fun.”
Richie: “If this shit is not fun for you, cousin, what the fuck is fun for you?
And that further proves my first point #1. Being passionate about something is not fun, at least not for Chef Carmen Berzatto.
As the season progresses we see a renewed Richie, full of ambition. Perhaps one of my all-time favourite character developments. Proof that our environment is everything.
#4 Staying in your comfort zone won’t help you.
This one is tough for me because I’m the Queen of my own comfort zone. You know when the answer to your question is staring right to your face but you don't have the guts to make the first step?
We see Ebra (Edwin Lee Gibson) drop out of culinary school, he can’t picture himself there, it doesn’t feel right, he feels too old, while Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) thrives.
In episode eight, he tells Tina he doesn’t like change, and he got scared. She tells him that’s why he should surround himself with people who can take care of him and push him forward. It’s a beautiful scene, fueled with tough love but ultimately a coming together of two old friends who only want to see each other succeed.
Change is hard, scary, it’s tough, but it’s necessary. We never stay the same even if we try, and lingering in your comfort zone only makes that first step harder. Use it to your advantage, let it be the place where you rest when you most need it but ditch it when it’s time to allow space for great things to happen.
I leave you with one of my favourite Richie quotes: “Look alive, lizards!”
Have you watched the latest season? I would love to read your thoughts. Leave them down below.
Further Reading and Listening
“On ‘The Bear,’ Interning at a Fine-Dining Restaurant Is Rosier Than Reality” by Amelia Nierenberg on The New York Times
“Self-doubt can actually help you bloom — and it all starts with how you talk to yourself” by Rich Karlgaard on Ideas.Ted.com
“The Bear Season 2: Thoughtful Chaos” by J.R.R. Talkin’ on Youtube
The Prestige TV Podcast - five hour-long episodes dissecting season 2.