The Bear season three feels haunted. Not in the spectral sense, but predominantly through Fak family’s innocent prank of comeuppance that can be unleashed at any given moment, instilling constant dread. This feeling manifests in subtler ways, too.
Carmy ( Jeremy Allen White ) is afflicted with debilitating flashes of his past, frequently reminded of his troubled family, his toxic former boss, and the residual grief of his brother Mikey’s (Jon Bernthal) passing. The titular restaurant suffers under Carmy’s self-destructive tendencies, and much of the season plays out in flashback, as if his inability to escape the past spreads like a pernicious rot through every chef inside. None of those flashbacks are as potent as the sixth episode, ‘Napkins’, which revisits how Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) landed her job at The Beef sandwich shop during Mikey’s tenure.
After losing her admin job of 15 years at a confectionery business, Tina is forced back into the job hunt and discovers just how demoralising it is. It’s a devastating episode, detailing how women who aren’t fresh-faced out of college are treated as disposable and invisible. Tina offers her resumé to various businesses, whose staff swiftly turn her away with condescending politeness.
Just getting an interview seems impossible. At her lowest point, she steps through the doors of The Beef and meets Richie ( Ebon Moss-Bachrach ), who generously offers her a sandwich and coffee on the house, despite the chaos and d.
