Member-only story
Episode of the Week: The Bear “Forks”
*this article contains spoilers for The Bear, Season 2 Episode 7 on Hulu, now streaming
I am an absolute sucker for a redemption arc, and it seems season two is gearing up to be Richie’s. The opening of this episode plays heavily on science fiction blues and unsettling lines, sterile and separate. It’s part of the reason I don’t love open concept kitchens in general, it’s hard to be familiar. I love how starkly Richie contrasts with this environment, even the lockers, the other service staff.
Few episodes of television spurn me onto a second rewatch immediately, the list is short. But I found episode two to be exceptional, I devoured every frame and fell head over heels into the story. A stark contrast from the retrospective Christmas episode just before, which I found to be a bit of a snooze-fest.
This entire episode carries a sense of montage, a quick succession of growth and change in a short period of time. The score emulates something sprightly, like watching the timelapse of a flower bud bloom. With flashbacks to movement happening at the Bear and their staff, interspersed with Richie shining forks, waking up early, going home exhausted.
It’s the karate kid, “Wax on, Wax off” so famously coined, now turned to forks. We can see all around the kitchen an ensemble of ornate food, and precise…
