Many unique ingredients make “The Bear” unlike any other TV dramedy, but the ones I’ll miss the most reduce to a single concept: balance. Series creator Christopher Storer conveys this in the briefest, tightest shots of hands lovingly plating food, as well as in panoramic views of the series as a whole.
Balance guides the fifth and final season’s opening moments, featuring Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) perfecting her spin on a roasted Brussels sprout plate in the peace of her apartment kitchen at dawn. She uses tweezers to nestle the roasted halves on a swirl of verdant puree, then tops it off with crispy fried leaves. But the top note, the sauce, is the silence enveloping it all, peppered by the thunder of a squall just outside. And this tender, small bite sets the emotional tone for everything that comes after, connecting to all that’s gotten Tina, and viewers, to where and how the series leaves us.
