By the end of its 10-episode run, it becomes apparent that The Bear season 3’s greatest strength is also indicative of the show’s biggest problem. Created by Christopher Storer, the frenetic and often-stressful comedy-meets-drama series is fresh off its impressive glut of Emmy wins. While The Bear became hugely popular well before earning well-deserved accolades, there’s no denying the particular pressure that comes with being the “it” show. As a result, the series takes some big swings, and while it doesn’t strike out, The Bear season 3’s divisive Rotten Tomatoes scores are certainly telling.

While critics gave The Bear season 3 its lowest rating yet — a still-impressive 89% — the aggregate of scores from the show’s viewers is concerning. The show’s first two outings nabbed 92% and 93% scores respectively, while the third season was saddled with a shocking 54% approval rating from audiences. Needless to say, viewers are split over The Bear season 3’s approach. From its first episode — an artistic sizzle reel of Carmy’s (Jeremy Allen White) greatest chef-in-training hits — The Bear spotlights its strengths and weaknesses, which, frustratingly, persist throughout the rest of the season.

The Bear Season 3’s Best Episodes Are Standalone & Character-Driven Like “Napkins”

Season 2’s “Forks” Inspired The Bear’s Best New Episodes

Taking cues from one of The Bear season 2’s best episodes, “Forks,” the show’s third outing includes more character-driven standalone episodes. In “Forks,” a bottle episode focused on Richie’s (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) week-long training session at the upscale-dining restaurant Ever, the season’s overarching narrative doesn’t take huge leaps forward. Afterward, viewers are still waiting for The Bear to open its doors. However, the trade-off is well worth it: “Forks” adds to Richie’s compelling character arc and personal transformation, all while providing more insight into Carmy and Richie’s relationship via Chef Terry’s (Olivia Colman) insights.

Another standout, The Bear season 2’s haunting family Christmas episode, “Fishes,” pulls a similar trick. Set five years before The Bear restaurant is set to open, the chaotic holiday dinner flashback informs the present-day storyline, as well as The Bear‘s cast of characters, in profound ways. The Bear season 3 replicates this winning formula in “Napkins,” which chronicles Tina’s (Liza Colón-Zayas) hard-won journey to working at The Beef with the late Mikey (Jon Bernthal), and “Ice Chips,” which centers on Sugar’s labor and her relationship with the troubled Berzatto matriarch (Jamie Lee Curtis).

Very Little Actually Happens In The Bear Season 3’s Present Story

Carmy & Sydney Are Stuck & The Season’s Narrative Reflects That

Although The Bear‘s third outing boasts incredibly compelling character-driven episodes like “Napkins” and “Ice Chips,” the season’s other installments do very little to drive the paper-thin plot forward. After The Bear season 3, episode 1, “Tomorrow” — which favors style over plot — Carmy outlines his 27 non-negotiables, offers Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) the chance to become part-owner of The Bear, and refuses to apologize to Richie — who’s also not interested in making amends after The Bear season 2’s explosive ending. By the end of season 3, none of these threads have a satisfying resolution.

The fourth episode reveals that a food critic from The Chicago Tribune has already visited the restaurant. The twist certainly raises the show’s stakes and compounds the growing tension in the kitchen, but, frustratingly, the restaurant review plotline isn’t really resolved either. Instead, The Bear season 3’s cliffhanger ending teases Carmy’s reaction to the review — a flurry of positive and negative pull quotes and a shouted curse word that could honestly go either way in terms of indicating his frustration or relief. In other words, not much actually happens in the present storyline of The Bear season 3.

The Bear’s “Napkins” & “Ice Chips” Create A Pacing Problem

The Standalone Episodes Make The Lack Of Narrative Progression More Obvious In The Bear Season 3

Unfortunately, the greatness of character-driven, standalone episodes reiterate the underwhelming nature of The Bear season 3 as a whole. Carmy, Sydney, and Richie all spin their wheels, refusing to take decisive action when confronted by what haunts them. While Richie waffles over whether to attend his ex’s wedding, Carmy grapples with reaching out to Claire (Molly Gordon), and Sydney, of course, wonders whether she should sign Carmy’s co-owner contract or ditch The Bear for a seemingly less toxic work environment. Ultimately, The Bear season 3 doesn’t answer most mysteries — a move that’s both shocking and frustrating.

In some ways, the season’s lack of story progression in the present echoes the characters’ inability to move forward or take action. Looked at from that perspective, the spinning-the-wheels narrative approach and structure is commendable. However, since viewers don’t get resolution to anything, The Bear season 3’s bold choices don’t quite work as intended. The standalone episodes become even bigger outliers when compared to other episodes, which devolve into comedy showcases for The Bear‘s Fak family or often-pretentious montages of perfectly plated meals. This contrast not only underscores the show’s glaring issues, but creates a pacing problem.

The Bear Season 4 Needs To Learn From Season 3’s Mistakes

The Bear Season 3 Took Big Swings That Didn’t Always Succeed

Given the way the third outing went, The Bear season 4 is all but guaranteed to avoid season 3’s biggest problems. All The Bear season 4 needs to do is resolve some of season 3’s major cliffhangers, pushing the as-of-now glacial plot — and its stuck characters — forward. If season 4 learns from past missteps, it could still feature standalone flashbacks or character-driven episodes — and maybe even prompt a reappraisal of season 3 altogether. If every second counts, The Bear must learn to use its time more wisely.

The Bear seasons 1–3 stream exclusively on Hulu.