The Bear has a Claire problem (and it needs to get fixed in season 4)

The Bear is a very intentional series. Those of us invested in the story that's being told in the FX on Hulu show know this well. It's the reason so many theories are spun after a new season drops and why some fans are writing dissertation level meta about the themes explored in the series and how that's playing out in dialogue, framing, and even song selection. But, if there's one thing the majority of the fandom can agree on, it's that the character Claire is underdeveloped.

Sure, that could be purposeful. Dream girls tend to have just enough characterization to make them interesting. They're meant to be set apart and prized; their function in the narrative is to be who their partner hopes to deserve once they've reached their end goal or worked through whatever drama is presented as an obstacle between them and their ultimate happiness. However, that is quite boring and, honestly, beneath The Bear.

The women in this show are complicated. They don't always get it right. They're allowed to be unlikeable and dismissive and angry whilst still maintaining a complexity that lets the audience see where they're coming from even if we don't always agree with their actions or words. Each season has progressed their stories and expanded on what we know about them in beautiful ways, showing their personal growth, warmth, and desire to want more for themselves. But the same can't be said for Claire.

We meet her in season 2 as "The Girl," the character archetype that, when done well, starts off as the protagonist's fantasy woman but then becomes fully actualized in her own right--for good or for bad depending on her purpose in the story or the genre. But she doesn't break free from that archetype in that season or in season 3. Instead, Claire becomes stagnant and cut off from the rest of the characters and the plot at nearly every turn. That's a problem in a show like The Bear, which at its core is about family and connection.

The most glaring example of Claire being held apart from everyone else came in season 3, episode 8 "Ice Chips" when Natalie's car kept trying to call The Bear instead of Claire like she was asking it to do. Her calls, to found and blood family, went through. Watching that moment in the scene is a trip because it so clearly denotes how far removed Claire is from these characters. So, it's a problem that we're going into season 4 with the issue of where she fits into the story outside of Carmy still hanging in the air. This should have been resolved in season 3.

The fact that it wasn't, and that we continue to see Claire and know her through Carmy's eyes or her waiting on him, presents her as a plot device. One we're supposed to be invested in because of Carmy and who we're not really supposed to care about outside of whether their romance will live or die. That can work for one season, it can't for two.

If Claire is still "The Girl" in season 4 it's going to be a disappointing misstep for The Bear if she and Carmy get back into a relationship. She can remain that archetype if we say goodbye to her and she exits stage left but she can't if she's going to be a part of this found family. I say that because if Claire stays this empty as a character, she'll come off as tacked on like she's some kind of reward for Carmy getting his act together, and I certainly don't want that as a fan of this show.

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