‘The Bear’ Season 2’s “Fishes” Is A Star-Studded Spectacle of Family Dysfunction (2024)

Much like Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) and Sydney’s (Ayo Edebiri) experimental restaurant menus, Christopher Storer’s critically acclaimed FX series The Bear thrives on thoughtful chaos.

As fans of the sharp culinary dramedy will recall, “Review,” a terrifically tense 20-minute episode filmed in a single shot, emerged as The Bear‘s clear Season 1 standout in 2022. But with a longer runtime, a larger stage, higher stakes, and a surprise star-studded cast, Season 2’s sixth installment, “Fishes,” turns the heat up in a totally different kitchen.

The supersized 66-minute episode shattersThe Bear’s traditional format, catapulting us five years into the past where Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), Natalie (Abby Elliot), and their late brother Mikey (Jon Bernthal) are struggling to survive Christmas dinner. Familiar faces including Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt), Fak (Matty Matheson), and Pete (Chris Witaske) join in the seasonal celebrations. And thanks to a roster of jaw-dropping guest stars we meet Fak’s brother Theodore (Ricky Staffieri), Cousin Michelle (Sarah Paulson), her husband Steven (John Mulaney), Richie’s then wife Tiffany (Gillian Jacobs), Uncle Lee (Bob Odenkirk), and the infamous Berzatto matriarch Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis).

The meticulously-crafted masterpiece opens on a cherished moment of calm as the Berzatto siblings seek solace in the front yard and strategize over how best to handle their temperamental mother. Once Nat vows not to rile Donna up by asking if she’s OK for a fourth time, the three head back inside and are sucked into a swirl of spirited chatter, frantic movement, mounting stress, and classic holiday conflict.

Traditional Christmas tunes, warm decorations, and a homey set design establish an immediate air of authenticity that swells as the night devolves into intimate asides, kitchen catastrophes, and familial dysfunction. Like “Review,” the camerawork in “Fishes” crucially contributes to the episode’s overall disorder. And in utilizing sound design to the fullest, near constant background discussions and a symphony of kitchen clamor — led by repeatedly blaring kitchen timers — turn up the tension. In a truly impressive feat, however, The Bear manages to make space for quiet and comical moments amidst the parade of seemingly incessant chaos.

Episode 6 shows a softer, more vulnerable side of Richie as he slips away to his mom’s bedroom to comfort his pregnant wife, who spent a large portion of the holiday puking. We see the emotional toll the family’s deepening cracks take on Nat, along with her desperate desire to fix them. And Carmy, fresh from Copenhagen, turns inward, summoning patience and taking in the spectacle from the sidelines until he’s thrown into the game.

A scene in which The Bear‘s wholesome outsider, Pete, shows up to Donna’s Feast of Seven Fishes with tuna casserole (aka an eighth fish) prompted some of my heartiest cackles of the season. But from start to finish, “Fishes,” will fill you with an unshakable discomfort fueled by especially complex, devastating performances from Bernthal, Odenkirk, and Curtis (who Decider deemed worthy of an Emmy). Plus, a satisfying save from Mulaney, whose presence evolves from baffling, to irksome, then comforting and necessary.

Passive aggressive dinner table banter between Mikey and Lee escalates to an agonizing battle featuring Berzatto cutlery with palpable rage and regret emanating from Bernthal and Odenkirk. And a final heartbreaking eruption of emotion from versatile queen Curtis, who keeps characters and viewers alike on edge throughout, brings us to a searing conclusion.

Can’t get enough of The Bear Season 2? For more insight, analysis, GIFs, and close-ups of Carmy’s arms, check out all of Decider’s episodic recaps:

• The Bear Season 2 Episode 1 Recap: “Beef”
• The Bear Season 2 Episode 2 Recap: “Pasta”
• The Bear Season 2 Episode 3 Recap: “Sundae”
• The Bear Season 2 Episode 4 Recap: “Honeydew”
• The Bear Season 2 Episode 5 Recap: “Pop”
• The Bear Season 2 Episode 6 Recap: “Fishes”
• The Bear Season 2 Episode 7 Recap: “Forks”
• The Bear Season 2 Episode 8 Recap: “Bolognese”
• The Bear Season 2 Episode 9 Recap: “Omelette”
• The Bear Season 2 Episode 10 Recap: “The Bear”

The dense, eventful hour is an exhausting reminder of The Bear‘s Season 2 mantra: every second counts. It’s a painful showcase of mental health struggles and the burden of navigating family dysfunction, which at times feels inescapable. And in the center of a kinder, calmer season, “Fishes” stands out as a terrifying, triumphant tale of a kitchen even more chaotic than The Bear’s.

The Bear Season 2 is now streaming on Hulu.