Every product was carefully curated by an Esquire editor. We may earn a commission from these links. The Bear nails a lot of things—the feeling of losing a loved one, fucked-up workplace dynamics, the beauty of a perfectly plated meal—but for my money, it has one true knockout move.
Better than any other show, The Bear knows exactly how to incite immediate, debilitating heartburn. On the spot. And I have to say, kudos to The Bear creator Chris Storer and his talented crew, because season 3, episode 3, "Doors," brings out the big guns.
Choose your OCD-triggering fighter in this episode: Sink packed with dirty dishes? Shoes on a glob of fallen ravioli? Someone slicing their hand on a shard of broken glass? If episode 1 was Carmy's fridge-enclosed vision quest and episode 2 was our reintroduction to the restaurant's crew, episode 3 is a reminder of why The Bear captivated us in the first place: the shock-horror-can't-look-away-from-the-car-crash feeling of watching shit go very, very wrong. With that in mind, "Doors"—as in what Carmy & Co. scream when service begins each evening—is a vintage episode of The Bear.
It's the first time we see the kitchen truly in full swing since the restaurant's disastrous opening in the season 2...
Brady Langmann.
