Spoilers

“CoBro”

I was worried that after the excellent episode last week that the three main leads of the show would just be back together at the beginning of the episode and just push the serious struggles that they faced in episode six’s outstanding work out of the way. Thankfully, that was not going to happen…even though Oliver and Charles did find themselves back to each other fairly quickly. In fact, Charles was ready to be back with his friends almost immediately, but even by the end of the show, Charles and Oliver had not yet reunited with Mabel, who seems to be ready to move on as a solo act.

I’m glad they took some time to wonder whether the group was completely over, but the wisdom of Uma, who was missing Bunny, who was murdered in season 2, and who had actually taken the handkerchief out of Ben’s dead hand. Seems that Uma was a bit of a kleptomaniac and this provided another big clue. We found that she had sold that handkerchief for big money to Ben’s brother Dickie (who is looking more and more like a major suspect).

Mabel, however, has found herself a new duo to team up with, including Tobert and deaf Theo Dimas back from the previous seasons. Mabel started to record the podcast on her own, calling it Only Murders in the Building #BloodyMabel.

Big cameo this week too as Matthew Broderick, who was playing a hyped up version of himself, was hired to replace Charles in the role of the Constable after Charles had quit. Oliver discovered to his horror that Broderick was a nightmare to work with and wanted to go over his role dozens of times, requiring a full background and lifepath for the character. Another cameo included Mel Brooks, whom Oliver called on his phone to see if he could give any advice on working with Broderick. Brooks had worked with Broderick on The Producers and he asked Oliver if he had given into any of Broderick’s “suggestions.” Broderick’s cameo was one of the funnier ones involving the play this season.

Plus, who knew that Charles was up for the role of Ferris Buehler? Funny. There are only three more episodes remaining this season so I expect the case to really amp up now that the podcast is officially being recorded.

Spoilers

“Fishes”

Holy cow.

What a chaotic, hectic, raw episode of The Bear.

I should have guessed that this was going to be something special when I saw that the run time on this episode was over an hour, which was uncommon for the show up until this point. I had no idea what was coming.

We got an entire flashback episode to a Berzatto family Christmas dinner that had everybody on edge and led to some of the most dramatic, mentally unstable moments I have ever seen on the TV screen.

The cast was unbelievable. Along with our normal cast members, we got Jamie Lee Curtis as Donna Berzatto, Carmy mother, Jon Bernthal returning as Michael, Oliver Platt returning as Uncle Jimmy, Bob Odenkirk as Uncle Lee, Sarah Paulson as cousin Michelle, and John Mulaney as Michelle’s boyfriend Stevie. These amazing actors brought such a dynamic to the ensemble that was draining to watch, in the best possible way.

The amount of disfunction going on in this house was just stunning. Every moment, every interaction between these characters were amplified by the tension, the clear mental illness going on among the family members. What started as friendly interaction devolved into anger and resentment within seconds.

Stevie’s beautiful grace seemed to disarm the situation and a lesser show would have sent this show off into a happy ending, but that is not The Bear. It quickly spiraled into a series of shocking conclusions to the episode, punctuated by Donna driving her car through the house’s wall.

Jon Bernthal and Jamie Lee Curtis gave unbeleivable performances and deserve Emmy Awards for them. Bernthal was nominated for Best Guest Actor in a Comedy, but it did not look like Jamie Lee was nominated and that is a shame.

This was the most amazing hour of television I have seen in a long time. One of the most dramatic episodes of a ‘comedy’ that you are ever going to see. Amazing character work from an amazing cast of actors at the top of their games. I was dreading what I thought was coming, but I had no idea.

A special episode, no doubt.

Spoilers

“Ghost Light”

If I am being honest, I have found season three of Only Murders in the Building to be lackluster. They have focused less on the case and the investigation than I would have liked. However, after episode six, “Ghost Light,” I see why they have been making the choices that they have made.

This is the best episode of this entire season.

The previous episodes focusing on their individual lives and the play have beautifully circled back into this wonderful episode, which encapsulates the entire season into that final throw down with our three main characters.

Even in this episode, Charles, Oliver and Mabel are focused on individually, each having to deal with an uncomfortable situation or a truth. Charles, unable to accept how much Joy’s departure has hit him, Mabel, afraid to move forward in fear of what she would leave behind, and Oliver, who suspects his new love has secrets to hide that would leave him alone.

The investigation went to the theater and moved into high gear. It was cute to see how Charles and Oliver felt threatened and jealous of Mabel’s new relationship with Tobert, again, probably built out of fear of being left.

The whole Gideon Goosebury ghost twist in this episode really worked well, as Howard is clearly a true believer. His whole arc within the episode centered around his ‘protecting’ the play from this killer ghost. The addition of Jerry, a former friend and colleague of Oliver who was down on his luck and squatting in the theater brought a new witness to the case that only played on Oliver’s fears of failure and loss. Jerry was truly a sad story. He did tell Oliver about Charles’ punch to Ben that we learned about last week.

Jerry helped Oliver make a decision about his life, which was to protect Loretta under all circumstances, that his love for the actress was greater than the chance that she was a killer. This lead him to erase the lipstick message on the mirror in the dressing room which triggered the meltdown among the threesome.

I have pretty much decided that Loretta is not the killer, but it seems apparent that she wrote that message on Ben’s mirror.

Ben’s understudy, Jonathan seemed to be cleared of suspicion this week as he revealed to Mabel and Tobert that he did not want to be the lead of this play, that the stress of carrying a Broadway play was overwhelming, thus taking away his motive. He also revealed that Ben had been taking some concoction of medications from his doctor, which feels like an important clue for down the road. My guess is that this mixture of drugs played a part in Ben’s first ‘death’ on stage.

I loved this episode and it helped frame what the season had been about up to this point. I am sorry that I even entertained the idea that the season was lackluster. I do not think this episode hits as well without the set-up prior. Four more episodes to go and I am invested.

Spoilers

E5: “Pop”

Carmy gets out of the restaurant for a bit as he goes to hang out with Claire. She talks him into accompanying her to a ‘party’ where one of her friends had just had a bad breakup. Carmy clearly was uncomfortable.

As this was going on, all kinds of troubles were coming to the restaurant in only six weeks before the opening. Oliver Platt made another appearance and helped get a liquor license. Better to not know how he cut through the red tape.

Richie is always fighting with everyone and it is becoming an issue.

Sugar is trying to deal with all of the problems as Sydney struggled with the menu.

The restaurant continues to be a place of chaos and it feels as if something is going to need to give soon.

Tina is doing well in her training, but she is worried about  Ebraheim. Others in the program invited Tina out for drinks that night and she ends up singing at karaoke and just knocking it out of the park. Tina seems to be living her best life so far this season. Carmy had gotten her a new knife too.

Carmy and Claire end up kissing after returning to the restaurant and seeing the chaos first hand. He admits how much he likes her and this is great. These two have amazing chemistry and have expanded the character depth while interacting.

This was a solid episode, but it does feel as if the show is in a bit of a holding pattern as it moves toward their opening date.

Spoilers

E3: “Sundae”

E4: “Honeydew”

The crew formerly of The Beef are on a time crunch, and they wind up facing a ton of new problems over these two episodes. Meanwhile, a few of the other crew have their own paths to follow.

Sydney was supposed to go to a whole ton of restaurants around Chicago with Carmy to sample some other foods for inspiration. However, Carmy canceled on her to go help Claire move family stuff. Sydney went ahead to an all-day eat-a-thon. As she was going, there are seeds planted to make her question her partnership with Carmy. I expect those seeds to take root later this season, otherwise this would be a wasted opportunity.

Marcus heads to Denmark to for an internship with chef Luca (played by Will Poulter) but leaving his comatose mother causes stress for him. The interaction between Marcus and Luca are some of the best seasons of the episode.

Wall are falling down at the restaurant as Murphy’s Law rears its ugly head hard (raccoons… plural?). One of those walls fell just as Sugar is telling her brother Carmy that she is pregnant but wants to keep it a secret. She blurts out the pregnancy just as the wall falls, revealing the secret to everyone.

These episodes felt more like character studies for the main cast members involved while the construction (or was it deconstruction) of the restaurant was underway. Carmy was not front in center in either though his presence is still throughout the series.

Spoilers

“Ah, Love!”

I really enjoyed this episode. It focused on the relationships of the three main characters yet included the case extremely well.

Charles had some confrontations with Joy as some truths came out. Charles had to try to find out why Joy had a lipstick found back stage in Ben’s dressing room. Of course, there was a message written in lipstick on the mirror which said, “F*#%ing Pig.” Joy did not take it well having her just recent fiancée accuse her of being involved in a murder. What turned out even worse was when she found out that Charles had not intended to ask her to marry him. These two, who had never felt right before this, really suddenly made me want them to stick together, but it looks bad for them.

Oliver lost a tooth on the pork chop cooked by Loretta on their dinner date. He took that smoothly. Oliver and Loretta went out and roe the ferry to toss the tooth overboard like Loretta would do when she was a child (the Tooth Ferry). Martin Short and Meryl Streep had a ton of chemistry, which was a surprising thing for me. I know it shouldn’t be because they are both exceptional actors, but I was not expecting such a strong connection. However, Oliver still found evidence that implicated that Loretta had an obsession with Ben. We also found out about a physical conflict between Loretta and Ben the night of the failed play opening. Charles apparently punched Ben too right afterwards.

Meanwhile, Mabel had a ‘meeting’ with Tobert at a restaurant. Mabel accepted under the idea that Tobert had a lead, and, in truth, it was more of a date. They were staking out Ben’s understudy, Jonathan, who they saw meeting with Ben’s doctor, Dr. C. When they accidentally revealed themselves to Jonathan, they went back and added Dr. C to the murder board. Then Mabel and Tobert had sex.

Oliver and Loretta had sex as well during this episode, while Charles and Joy were falling apart.

We had the return of the awesome Jane Lynch as Charles’s longtime stunt double Sazz. Sazz is always a great addition to an episode.

The three couplings did not take away from the story as the work on the play has done in previous episodes because the murder was always there in the atmosphere. We got a lot of interesting details dropped throughout the episode. I still hope that the killer is not Loretta as that feels just too contrived.

I believe we are now officially halfway through the third season and I have no idea who the killer is.

Spoilers

S2 E1: “Beef”

S2 E2: “Pasta”

I started in season two of The Bear on Hulu this morning, watching the first two episodes. It’s been about a week since I finished the first season and I remember thinking that the first season ended in a manner that could have easily concluded the series. I was intrigued to find out exactly how they were going to press on. The first two episodes showed me how.

There was a ton of details and areas of improvement in order to open a restaurant, and the first episode did a great job of showing all of the things that they have to do.

The best part of this series has always been the character interactions, and the second season continued that trait. Sydney, seeing how Carmy was not strong at managing the plans for everything that needed to be done, offered a project manager position to Carmy’s sister Sugar, who has seen her presence in the series pick up over the first couple of episodes. The episode started with Marcus rubbing lotion on the hand of some woman in a hospital bed. We do not find out the identity of this woman, but I do believe it will come into play as the season progresses.

Oliver Platt returned as Carmy, Sugar and Sydney work to try and convince him to invest in the restaurant to the tune of another $500,000 dollars. Carmy makes a deal with him that if he did not pay him back by 18 months, Oliver Platt would get the whole property. This sets a ticking clock in place for the crew at the Bear.

Richie is struggling with purpose and the show gave us more scenes between Richie and Fak, first arguing about moving lockers and then about mold in episode 2. How they have started to calling Sugar “Mom” like they are quarreling brothers is a hoot. More of Fak this season would be awesome.

Carmy also ran into a childhood friend, Claire, who is clearly heading toward being a romantic interest for Carmy. Apparently, Carmy had shared his restaurant name with her at some point in their childhood and she remembered it. Carmy did not believe she remembered the name, and bet her, jokingly, a million dollars that she did not know the name. She did and these two showed a ton of chemistry in this short scene. Claire is being played by new cast member, Molly Gordon (from Booksmart).

Ebraheim and Tina are attending culinary school. Tina seems excited, but there is something bothering Ebraheim. This is clearly another of the side stories this year and I’m down for it. Ebraheim did not have much screen time last year. I love Tina and her excitement when Sydney asked her to be the new sous-chef was one of my favorite moments of the first two episodes. The connection between Sydney and Tina has grown so much since their initial negative response that it is great to see.

SPOILERS

“The White Room”

Only Murders in the Building returned this past Monday night with the next episode of the third season. Charles, Mabel and Oliver did a little more investigating on the murder of Ben Glenroy this week while Charles’s panic over his patter song from the musical Death Rattle Dazzle sent him into the White Room.

Apparently, the White Room is a panic-induced delusion suffered by stage actors where they do not realize what they are saying or doing. Charles’s trips into the White Room apparently resulted in some vile and shocking behavior during his song performance.

This was not the only thing that happened when he was in the White Room. He also proposed to his girlfriend Joy, who has just recently moved in with Charles- along with her 62 fish. Charles was trying to find a way to get her to move back out when he went into the delusion and ended up popping the question.

Meanwhile, Joy becomes yet another suspect as they found one of her lipsticks in Ben’s dressing room, with a picture of a pig drawn on the mirror in the red lipstick. Mabel discovered that someone was in the dressing room with Ben the night he collapsed and ‘died’ on stage.

We also got the return of Tina Fey as Cinda Canning with an offer to Mabel. It’s always fun to see Tina Fey on this show and I am curious about what she is really trying to do with her offer to Mabel.

Mabel, who was having trouble finding an apartment. She was shown doing a visit to an apartment that was very small (all white too) and you could tell that she simply did not want to move into this after living in the Arconia.

We did not see Meryl Streep this week, but we did hear about Oliver’s stress over trying to come up with the perfect date to break his rule about dating someone from his play. He eventually just texted her the word, ‘dinner?’.

It was good to get more into the mystery and less with the musical.

Spoilers

Wow. These two episodes were fire. I have to say, they felt more like a series finale than just a season finale. Most of the main storylines were wrapped up ion the eighth episode.

E7: “Review”

E8: “Braciole”

Episode seven was amazing, but I swear it was over like a snap. I paused writing this to look up the run time for the episode and it was only 20 minutes. So much was packed into that 20 minutes though that it really had a frantic pace, which really emphasized the breakdown that the characters were having in the show. It was set in real time and that added to the nature of the chaos happening in the restaurant.

The end was as anxiety-filled as the entire episode as I couldn’t believe that it was over. I had just mentioned how the crew had been starting to really blend as a team heading into this episode, but that went straight out the window.

“Review” was an outstanding episode and, probably, the best episode of the series so far.

Then, episode eight had some amazing work too. First, we kicked off with one of the best monologues you are going to see on TV from Jeremy Allan White. His seven minute monologue was so powerful and filled with amazing character admissions that had been building all season.

White had another astounding moment when he accidentally set the stove on fire and he was suddenly lost inside his head. You could almost hear his thoughts thinking that this would end the problems of the restaurant.

Richie had wound up in jail waiting to see if he would be charged with manslaughter because he had punched a guy who was tearing up the restaurant and the guy had hit his head. Thankfully, the guy awoke and Richie was not facing a manslaughter charge. You could see how this affected Richie and he made some realizations of his own.

Then Richie gave Carmy the letter he had found a few episodes ago from Michael. Another dramatic moment from White as he finally opened the letter.

It read “I love you dude. Let it rip.” and then on the back was a recipe for the family spaghetti and that which indicates that they should use smaller cans of tomatoes for their taste.

Another thing I had speculated on earlier in these posts was what Michael was doing with all the money that he had been borrowing or taking in. We discovered that answer here as when Carmy had opened up the tomato cans, he found bags of money in it.

Closing down The Beef and announcing the soon-to-be opened The Bear was very satisfying as a closing scene. Episode seven and eight really work well together and highlights the best parts of this series.

Season two is next up, featuring 10 episodes instead of the 8 like season one received.