'The Bear' Season 3 review: Not perfect, but still pleasurable and satisfying

 WHAT IT'S ABOUT The second season wrapped this time last year with the grand opening of Chicago's newest high-end restaurant, The Bear, but there were problems: Forks went missing, a cook, too, while Carmen Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) had a full meltdown on the most important night of his professional life. Trapped in the walk-in refrigerator, he unburdened, and his self-loathing rants effectively (temporarily?) scuttled his relationship with Claire (Molly Gordon) who overhears him. Otherwise, opening night was a success (!) thanks to former sous-chef now partner Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri) and cousin Richie Jerimovich (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) who (more or less) kept their heads.

This third season picks up from there, with the challenges looming. Foremost, when will the local critics arrive to review? And how about money? Can't be cheap to run Chicago's exclusive new establishment. Can Carmy get his life and new restaurant under control? He tries, with a list he calls his “Non-Negotiables.”

This third also promises a few surprise cameos, and the return of some guest stars from prior seasons.

MY SAY With “Succession” out of the way, “The Bear” officially becomes TV's de facto appointment series and the Emmy-certified “prestige” one too. (Each won six at the 75th Primetime awards, including best show in their respective categories.) It's also a carry-over from a once-loaded field that's thinned out over the past year or so.

So the pressure's on — a lot for a show just entering a third season — but the 10 episodes that dropped late Wednesday pretty much say there's nothing to worry about here. In fact, a few of these do gently temporize, and at least one treads water, but there are also four which are flat-out great (more on those in a bit). A pleasure as always if hardly perfect, this balance seems about right for a series that explores the gulf separating craftsmanship from genuine artistry, and whether perfection can bridge it. (Perfection can't, but don't tell that to Carmy.)

Over the first and second seasons, “The Bear” oftentimes worked best as verbal pickleball — those high-octane volleys that contributed to the overall chaos, and either resolved like a passing storm or devolved into more chaos. (Recall the scene from last year when Donna Berzatto — Jamie Lee Curtis — put her car through the living room wall.) With The Bear up and running, this third's different: There's a quieter, more ruminative tone to these 10, and with a few exceptions — notably the superb third episodeh,  “Doors” — the screaming is over, the storm (for now) abated. Carm's gone inside himself to figure out how to make this venture work, but especially how to make himself work. As a result, Sydney is forced to think about her own future too. 

And speaking of those best-of episodes, Edebiri directs her first (“Napkins,” the 6th) which would be this season's high-water mark except that the 8th (“Ice Chips”) is even better. The deeply moving “Napkins” is told in flashback — how Liza Colón-Zayas' Tina Marrero first got the job as line cook. And to be even more vague about “Ice Chips,” that one's a mother-daughter episode marking the series' return of Curtis. Both crowd-pleaser and tear-jerker, “Ice Chips” will remind every fan why they love “The Bear,” or at least why they love Jamie Lee Curtis. But the real revelation here is Abby Elliott (yes, daughter of Chris, granddaughter of Bob) who plays Carm's (very pregnant) sister, Natalie. This third is her breakout.

A perfect season, no, but pleasurable and satisfying? You have your answer.

BOTTOM LINE Soft in spots, but four standout episodes nonetheless.