My brother never skips anything in his life. He made an exception for The Bear.
I started The Bear randomly, right after finishing Shameless, because I wanted to see what else Jeremy Allen White had done. I didn't expect it to stay with me the way it has.
It honestly made me anxious at first. Then, slowly, it healed something. The direction, the camera work, the arcs. Richie, Carmy, Sydney, Tina, Marcus, Sugar, Mikey, Pete, Fak, Claire, everyone. The show has a way of breaking a part of you and then putting it back together a little better.
I've rewatched it more times than I'd like to admit. For years I pestered friends and family to watch it. A few started, and nobody finished.
Then on my last rewatch, my brother happened to be in the room.
Some context on him: he's an advocate. He worked on cases for years, joined a firm, and was made a partner. Then he left to work at a bank. After two years he left that too, to chase his real dream of becoming a judge, and he's been preparing for the exams ever since. He doesn't skip anything, especially his studies.
He made an exception for The Bear. He got properly hooked.
Tonight we were one episode away from finishing Season 5, but family came over, we only have one TV, and we had to postpone the finale. I could see the frustration on his face. I could also see some relief that he still has a little time before he has to say goodbye.
I'm not sure he'll ever rewatch it. That's not because he didn't love it. It's because he did. It broke something in him and healed something too, and I don't know if he'll have the courage to go through it again.
He wants to get "Let it rip" tattooed.
Anyway, I just wanted to share this with people who'd get it.