Summary
The Bearhas captivated audiences with its emotional and raw storytelling. Critics praise the show forThe Bear’s stunning and relatable cast of characters, but there is one character that the show seems to be struggling with. Despite being a major presence in Carmy’s story, the show has arguably never been able to get its portrayal of Claire right. While season 2 attracted some criticism for its approach, season 3’s story presents a whole new set of problems for Claire and Carmy.
The show’s handling of Claire was criticized in season 2 for her perceived depiction as a manic pixie dream girl with thin character development. However, Season 3 decides to go a different route bymaking her nearly absent from the show altogetherby only showing her in flashbacks. Not seeing Claire’s reaction to the fallout of season 2 creates even more problems with Claire’s character and the show’s narrative – highlighting one ofThe Bear’s major ongoing flaws in the process.
10 Best The Bear Episodes, Ranked
The Bear is one of the most critically acclaimed series on television, winning 10 Emmy Awards despite only having 28 episodes. Here’s the 10 best.
Claire’s Season 3 Role Is Only An Idealized Version Of Her In Carmy’s Mind & Flashbacks
Carmy’s Memory Of Claire Is Pure Fantasy
The Bearseason 3 takes an unusual approach to Clair’s character by physically removing her from the main narrative. Aside from a particularly funny moment with the Faks, she mainly exists in flashbacks and Carmy’s memory of her and last season’s events. These scenes often portray Claire as anidealized embodiment of everything that Carmy desiresbut can’t quite grasp in reality. This is particularly problematic since viewers get very little of Claire’s reaction to how things ended between her and Carmy, making her an unrealized character and just a projection of Carmy’s fantasies.
This portrayal raises concerns aboutClaire’s character developmentand the authenticity of the show’s narrative. Without showing Claire’s reactions, the show risks herbeing reduced to just a plot device to further Carmy’s narrative. She just becomes a way to show Carmy’s struggles with his own ideals and his pressures of perfectionism. While intriguing, this approach leaves a gaping hole in the storytelling, depriving the audience of a clearer picture of their relationship and Claire’s true character.
Claire’s The Bear Flashbacks Make Carmy’s Season 3 Problem Even Worse
Carmy Is Obsessed With Perfection, And It’s Destroying Him
The use of Claire in flashbacks amplifies Carmy’s problem in season 3. Seeing her as an idealized version of herself is a stark contrast to the chaos of Carmy’s everyday life, highlighting thissplit between his aspirations and his actual experiences.Carmy’s obsession with Clairebegins to muddle with his past trauma, taking over his thoughts. Carmy loses himself over his fixations until they are all he sees.
Carmy is building Claire up as his perfect image and will only be let down when he has to face her in reality.
Carmy’s fixation with his fantasiesmirrors his perfectionism with The Bear. He wants everything to be perfect, and he seemingly can’t handle it when things don’t pan out the way he sees them in his head. Season 3 showsCarmy’s increasing decline, isolating him from everyone around him and causing friction in the restaurant. Carmy’s projection of Claire shows him making the same mistakes in their relationship as he makes with his relationships at The Bear. He is building Claire up as his perfect image and will only be let down when he has to face her in reality.
The Bear Season 4 Has To Finally Resolve Carmy & Claire’s Romance
The Show Must Return To Form
Moving forward into season 4, it’s clear thatCarmy and Claire’s relationship must be resolved. To ensure the development of Claire as a character and hold true to the authenticity of the show’s narrative, The Bear season 4 must focus on Carmy resolving these issues with the real-life Claire and not fixate on his mind’s memory of her. This will allow Carmy to realize that perfection is anunrealistic and sometimes harmful goal to achieve. Resolving their romance will give audiences some closure as they are left with ambiguity over the state of their relationship.
Season 3 gave viewers this slower story that highlights how Carmy’s trauma and insecurities are causing him to project that trauma onto those around him. It shows that if Carmy continues on his path,he will cause the same trauma to his own staff, just as he experienced working underChef David, played by Joel Mchale. Moreover, having Carmy and Claire’s relationship resolved will move the show’s narrative and allow Carmy and the rest of the crew to move past this weird slump they’re in.
100%
92%
99%
93%
89%
53%
Returning to a straight narrative will return to the show’s original pace and momentum. It would be refreshing after a slow-moving Season 3 that left most of its characters at a standstill. Plus, as great of a show asThe Bearis,it’s inexcusable to have a character’s sole purpose being to serve our main character’s development. Claire is bound to have her moment and launch into a full-blown character with her own thoughts and aspirations without being tied so directly to Carmy’s development. AsThe Bearseason 4 might be the series' end, it seems to be gearing up for a major collision course, as there are a lot of questions still left unanswered.
