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In The Battle For ‘Best TV Episode Of The Year,’ Social Media Users Are Leaning Towards A Real Contender

The Bear Richie
FX/Hulu

Following The Bear Season 1, most of the show’s viewers would agree that Cousin Richie wasn’t the most enjoyable part of the show by far. Sure, he could get stabbed in the butt and walk it off, but he was also an annoyance and a miserable human being who was generally miserable for other characters to be around. In Season 2, however, Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s menace to Chef society became the surprise ace in the hole.

As my colleague Jason Tabrys discussed, Ritchie’s “true GOAT moment” arrived in the season finale, wherein Ritchie has gained enough foresight and professional redemption to see how Carmy’s obsessions are also his downfall. Richie Wears. Suits. Now. He was also able to pull the kitchen into being a well-oiled machine in the space of 15 minutes on friends and family night. Meanwhile, Carmy was languishing in the refrigerator, not even able to inwardly appreciate that he had provided enough guidance (and sources for such) to his fellow Chefs that they could keep the fires going amid disaster.

The character growth that Richie experienced in “Forks” is what made this turnaround possible, and that’s why Season 2, Episode 7 is my favorite TV episode of the year. And I’m not alone, although plenty of other The Bear-heads would prefer the nightmare Christmas episode, “Fishes,” which was adorned with endless cameos and painted an exquisitely painful portrait of why the Berzatto siblings ended up, well, the way that they did.

And sure, Succession and Reservation Dogs fired out strong competition, but man, The Bear inspired the most lively conversation on Twitter.

Richie’s character growth (and that Taylor Swift scene) was beautiful for the audience to witness, but no one was more surprised than Richie himself. That’s a recipe for good TV.

Also, there’s the “mental health” aspect to consider when deciding what to rewatch, “Forks” or “Fishes.” No contest there, really.

And the debate continues:

The Bear‘s first two seasons are available to stream on Hulu.