Instead, Carmen wakes up and heads to Al-Anon, where he gets up the courage to speak in front of the group, finally. I love that The Bear doesn’t throw him off the deep end and into addiction himself. It’s all set to a laughing soundtrack, and it’s clear that, while Carmen’s face and demeanor might seem calm, inside, he’s a roiling pot of emotions.
Everything is going wrong around him, too, and he bounces in and out of past dream sequences, like the premiere opening with the caged bear. He’s hosting a bizarre cooking show but doing it his way, with curses, too much family information, and a mop of greasy hair.
When “Braciole” opens, Carmen has yet another of his bizarre food and family-driven dreams. He’s been lighting up every episode of The Bear as Carmy, the tortured genius chef with all manner of problems, but in “Braciole,” the season-one finale, he comes in so hot with an Al-Anon monologue that I’d be shocked (shocked, I say!) if I didn’t see it on every awards reel submitted to every TV voter next year. All rights reserved.įolks, Jeremy Allen White is a good actor. Photo: Photo: Matt Dinerstein/Copyright 2022, FX Networks.
