The Stop Button

The Bear (2022) s03e03 “Doors” [2024] D: Duccio Fabbri. S: Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Lionel Boyce, Abby Elliott, Matty Matheson, Liza Colón-Zayas. It’s another montage-heavy episode, covering a month of evenings in the kitchen. Things stay tense between White and Moss-Bachrach, where Edebiri playing peacekeeper. Meanwhile, Elliott tries to keep Oliver Platt calm about White spending more than (the very busy) restaurant brings in. Excellent acting and production, but it’s getting weird they’re leaning so heavy away from narrative.

The Bear (2022) s03e04 “Violet” [2024] D: Christopher Storer. S: Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Lionel Boyce, Abby Elliott, Matty Matheson, Liza Colón-Zayas. The show needs more narrative, the show gets more narrative. After some more tonal flexes, the episode settles into a simple catch-up with the characters. Some big decisions haven’t gotten made so they can play out onscreen (someday, not yet). Nice work from Moss-Bachrach, Edebiri, and Elliot. It’s good, just a tad binge-paced with the cliffhanger.

The Bear (2022) s03e05 “Children” [2024] D: Christopher Storer. S: Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Lionel Boyce, Abby Elliott, Matty Matheson, Liza Colón-Zayas. The restaurant has to get ready for the review photographer, but Oliver Platt has also brought the accountant over for some hard truths. Plus, Elliott is about to have her baby. There’s a little character stuff for Edebiri and Boyce, then lots of it for Matheson and guest star Ricky Staffieri as they goof off. And there’s a big cameo.

The Bear (2022) s03e06 “Napkins” [2024] D: Ayo Edebiri. S: Matty Matheson, Liza Colón-Zayas, Jon Bernthal, Christopher J. Zucchero, Edwin Lee Gibson, David Zayas, Paulie James. Colón-Zayas gets a secret origin episode (secret origin flashback episode) about how she ends up working at the restaurant. Real life husband Zayas plays her husband, and we’re treated to a nice extended cameo from Bernthal. It’s a nice showcase for Colón-Zayas, but it doesn’t answer any questions about the half-over season’s trajectory.

Evil (2019) s04e02 “How to Train a Dog” [2024] D: Peter Sollett. S: Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Emerson, Christine Lahti, Patrick Brammall, Wallace Shawn. It’s a “scary tech” episode, this time with robot white dogs (trained to hunt Black people). Despite some profoundly obvious plot holes, it’s a decent mystery with solid thrills. Colter gets lots this episode, ditto Mandvi. Herbers gets less, mostly supporting Brammall and the kids, with Lahti then getting a major subplot. Shawn’s a continued delight. EVIL’s rising.

Evil (2019) s04e03 “How to Slaughter a Pig” [2024] D: Fong-Yee Yap. S: Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Emerson, Kurt Fuller, Christine Lahti, Patrick Brammall. Despite a nice cameo from Tony Plana, and a check-in with every character (except the daughters, which makes so much room), the mystery isn’t very good. And Herbers’s seeming new plot line is pedestrian. There some great team building though. At its best, it reminds of the show’s strongest early outings. At its worst… it just never delivers.

Evil (2019) s04e04 “How to Build a Coffin” [2024] D: Darren Grant. S: Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Emerson, Andrea Martin, Christine Lahti, Wallace Shawn. It’s almost a mythology episode but only because it follows Martin on her unexpected demon hunting around the rectory. Otherwise, it’s a potpourri of story threads, one for each character. Everyone’s losing the ability to find the right words to speak. It gets a little too meta (or not meta enough), but there’s some good and great acting throughout.

Evil (2019) s04e05 “How to Fly an Airplane” [2024] D: John Dahl. S: Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Emerson, Christine Lahti, Chukwudi Iwuji, Patrick Breen. After punting on all last episode’s big deals, the team heads to Rome because the Vatican wants to see the Catholic relic being smuggled (as part of their latest case). Meanwhile, back home, the four daughters have to take care of themselves. No one really gets anything to do? Some decent moments–funny, even scary–but it’s listless.

Evil (2019) s04e06 “How to Dance in Three Easy Steps” [2024] D: Joe Menendez. S: Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Emerson, Kurt Fuller, Christine Lahti, Chukwudi Iwuji. Yawner more than stinker episode has Herbers falling under the spell of dancer and possible witch Stella Everett. Meanwhile, Lahti finds out Emerson’s been up to no good. Well, worse no good. Maybe if Everett were compelling, or if the episode didn’t hinge on the Catholic Church not liking female autonomy; Iwuji’s particularly not charming while delivering those lines.

Evil (2019) D: Darren Grant. S: Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Emerson, Andrea Martin, Christine Lahti, Wallace Shawn. It’s almost a mythology episode but only because it follows Martin on her unexpected demon hunting around the rectory. Otherwise, it’s a potpourri of story threads, one for each character. Everyone’s losing the ability to find the right words to speak. It gets a little too meta (or not meta enough), but there’s some good and great acting throughout.