The Bear is at the top table of current television. In fact, forget that, it’s one of the best TV shows ever made, and season 3 continues the excellent work of the last 2 seasons. It’s stressful, joyful, challenging, and revelatory in ways that a show about a restaurant selling beef sandwiches shouldn’t dare to be. Chefs (including The Bear‘s cast) often talk about the privilege of being an essential part of so many important moments in people’s lives, their food the centerpiece of memories. It’s hard not to get romantic about The Bear itself in those terms.

The Bear season 3 feels like a confident evolution of an already excellent show: it is complex, chaotic, and uplifting in equal measure. It isn’t entirely consistent, which is why it’s not the perfect score Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) would kill or die for, but the rough edges do add to the flavor.

How The Bear Season 3 Compares To The Highs Of Season 2

Last Season Set A High Bar, But There’s No Need To Worry

It would be wrong not to immediately address one of the few major complaints I have about The Bear for the sake of honesty: I cannot get behind its release method. This should be event television, despite the lack of dragons or lightsabers, and the binge-watch model simply doesn’t mesh. It is no more appropriate to gobble down 10 episodes of something this tense, that demands reflection, than it is to eat a 7-course tasting menu all stuffed between two slices of bread.

I will implore everyone I know who loves The Bear, and everyone who is yet to discover its magic, not to watch it the way the release method seems to prescribe. There needs to be rumination between the episodes, just as watching Forks straight after Fishes in season 2 would give neither the respect to impress for as long as they deserved. And there are high-points as high as those stand-out episodes.

There’s nothing quite as provocative as the festive disaster movie of Fishes, but there is one episode that runs it close for emotional stakes. And Forks’ irresistible propaganda for passion is explored in a different, but not less impressive way here. And if you judge things solely on the aftertaste, there are multiple episodes in season 3 that really soar.

There’s Another Slam Dunk Emmy Episode (Or 2) In The Bear Season 3

As Long As The Bear Keeps Going, Nobody Else Is Winning

Not all The Bear season 3 is a 5-star experience, but that’s an almost impossible task. It’s also a little tempting to compare all of it to the high-points of Fishes and Forks from season 2, but that would be unfair. That said, there are four episodes in season 3 that could reasonably claim to be 5 stars: I won’t spoil three of them, but the opening episode deserves separate mention for what it represents and the trend it sets.

The Bear could be a linear story without any issue: there is a simple but rich reward in spending time with these people – a sentiment the show itself actually states in one of the new episodes. If Christopher Storer gave us 10 episodes of recipe and character development, it would make for a satisfying meal, because his shot choices are beautiful, his characters warm, and his scripts funny and raw, with tension poured over to finish. But Storer goes further.

The opening episode is an artistic triumph, bravely challenging the format of the previous 18 episodes, and refusing to comfort the hungry audience with more of what worked. And despite the change in style, there’s no compromise on what makes The Bear so frighteningly exciting: it is unflinching in its emotion, even as it dials up the audacity. Not to labor an analogy, but this is recipe refinement in near-perfect action.

The Bear Season 3 Is Brave Enough Not To Answer All Of Its Mysteries

The Proof Of Good Food Is In The Eating, Not The End

As already mentioned, bravery is an important point here. The broad creative choices are one thing, but the writing is quite apart from it. By now, fans of The Bear know to expect whip-sharp dialogue, and exchanges between characters that feel like they suck all the air out of the room, but the big picture of season 3 is a different thing.

The season is driven by three intertwining main storylines, that all seem to be heading for conclusions, but just as the mystery of Francie Fak was so delightfully unresolved, The Bear season 3 is brave enough not to answer everything. And there’s no cheap trickery to make you want more (despite the To Be Continued tag), because the real pleasure is in the story-telling journey. Like great food, The Bear is about feeling, not about completion.

There’s also the same gleeful commitment to humor and distraction that has improbably categorized The Bear as a comedy to some. The balance is impeccable: you can’t have relentless high-pressure without some relief or you surrender all rewatchability. In short, you can’t always gorge on Carmy: you need some Richie, and Neil Fak, and Chi-Chi.

The Bear Season 3’s Cast Gets The Right Share Of Screen-Time

The Thing That Matters Most Is The People

Conventional wisdom would say that Carmy’s story in The Bear is the most compelling thread, but the show explores the idea of family, and works its large cast well. Some of the most memorable moments in all three seasons have belonged to side characters, and in this world, the category of “supporting” characters feels less like an indication of lower status, and more a confirmation of importance.

There’s one episode devoted entirely to Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas), which is among the best; one bottle episode for Nat that is the best of the 10; and space given to development of most. Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Richie is a little more blunted than I would have liked at times, but it’s in the name of drama, and it’s an acceptable compromise.

Jeremy Allen White’s performance as Carmy is ridiculously good, obviously. He is tightly wound; a stripped nerve of anxious energy whose physical performance is so convincing that he barely needs to speak at times. This is, as ever, a show about the weight of trauma and the idea of legacy, and White’s convincing portrait of both is a gift.

After season 2 introduced an eye-watering wealth of talent in cameos and supporting roles, season 3 pushes the boat out once again. Some of those favorites return, thankfully, but there is one new surprise halfway through the season that is completely joyous. It’s just a shame it’s going to be clipped and posted all over social media as soon as The Bear‘s audience find it.

All 10 episodes of The Bear season 3 are available now on Hulu.