Thanks for breaking this season into chunks and not just doing a single spoiler filled review--or no review at all. While I personally wouldn't be against watching all of these quickly to dive into the conversation, my wife (who likes the show more than me, to be fair) prefers spreading them out. So it'll be nice to check in here every few episode batches.
Anyway, I just wanted to say my wife and I could not stop laughing at the scene where Fak tries to serve the mirepoix broth but only pours the broth before taking the tray back to the kitchen. So funny! Well shot too.
Cicero and the Fak boys really are the clowns in a show increasingly full of straight men. In the heat of the tension, when they show up I feel a palpable calm because there's almost always a good joke in the chamber for them.
I gotta admit, I was frustrated by episode one not moving things forward. A character piece is all well and good, and I deeply admired the craft that went into it (imagine being the composer for this episode!), but as you said I didn't feel like we learned very much new.
That said, my heart leapt into my throat when they revealed that Sydney was the customer at the end. That was really lovely, and felt like an earned bit of mythmaking.
Especially considering that she told Marcus last season that her meal at Carmy's old restaurant in NYC was the best meal she'd ever had. Excellent bit of follow through there.
And I don’t know if this is obvious to everyone else, but I thought it a fantastic call-back to Luca’s (Will Poulter’s) conversation with Marcus in the Copenhagen episode, when you saw Carmy and Luca side by side shucking pea pods. Luca mentioned to Marcus that he worked side-by-side with another chef that was leagues ahead of him and took the pressure off Luca to be the best, and instead allowed Luca to be the best he could be.
These flashbacks made it pretty evident that Carmy was “that chef,” and the irony of Carmy effectively taking on Luca’s (and likely Adam’s, and likely countless other chef’s) pressure onto his own (and now Sydney’s) shoulders as he frees his colleagues to be better chefs themselves is fascinating.
I can’t tell you how much I loved “Tomorrow” and its light-on-words, calm, but also frenetic peek into Carmy’s brain.
I adored Tomorrow. I found it breathtaking and beautiful. There’s only a handful of shows (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Atlanta) that could pull that episode off.
This really resonated with me: "I feel confident saying that the “Non-Negotiables” are not there to hold everyone else to Carmy’s standard. They’re there as a form of self-discipline, a twisted idea of what it takes to make it as a chef that foregrounds his most traumatic experiences in the interest of never repeating them. I’m not saying that Carmy isn’t an asshole, or that he’s being reasonable—I just believe at the end of the day that he’s more worried about failing than being failed, and everyone else is just collateral damage to his self-destruction."
Thanks for covering this show! I agree that the binge model is pretty tired these days, as smart streamers have realized their shows go further and last longer when released week by week, but what can ye do 🤷♀️
Episode 1: I was not a fan of the "stream of consciousness" format. Once I realized what the gimmick was, it was less "oh, cool!" and more "oh, THAT'S what they're doing? Why?" And holy fuck Joel McHale. How many people have killed themselves (maybe at his suggestion) after working for him.
Episode 2: I like the stage-play comparison here. So it appears this season will be about Carmy's ill-guided quest to Get a Star. I'm really not a fan of that, since he just kind of appears as the overlord or tyrant making up these rules that everyone has to abide by or else. Why didn't he talk with his staff first and they could 'ratify' a list of non-negotiables that made sense to everyone? This episode also brought back the unwelcome Richie v Carmy yelling (FUCK YOU, NO FUCK YOU must have been easy to write).
Episode 3: Somewhere in this beautiful mess of an episode I think Sydney murmured "I can't do this every day" in the middle of yet another Richie v Carmy verbal slapdown, and she's right. I haven't finished the season yet, but it appears that this toxic environment is exactly why she hasn't signed the DocuSign yet: why would anyone want to be financially tied to a restaurant run by someone who cannot harness his unbridled emotions, despite his genius?
Oh, plus, Marcus is the best. The actor plays the character so quietly but so affecting, and he's such a welcome source of warmth in every line.
Luckily, these are the exact same episodes I allowed myself last night. Great write-up that really solidified some of my own feelings. Thank for the cool info that 'Batista' is her real life husband!
I'm hoping others will chime in with all the real chefs in the first episode. Nothing blew my mind more than when Fak (Matty Matheson) turned up as a guest judge on Top Chef. How had I missed that he's a famous chef with 2 cookbooks?
My brother alerted me that episode 1 had some wild cameos which I assumed meant more actors on a John Mulaney/Bob Odenkirk level of surprise and fame. I was in no way prepared for that to mean Daniel Boulud (head chef at two Michelin star Restaurant Daniel) and Rene Redzepi (head chef at three Michelin star and multi time best restaurant in the world winner Noma). There were also a few shots filmed at The French Laundry (three Michelin stars, multi time best restaurant in the world winner), which means that a Thomas Keller cameo must be coming at some point this season.
"There’s material for an entire season of sitcom stories here."
I just commented about this in the review of episodes 7-9, but also wanted to share here that I find this analysis of Doors to be very similar to "Dance Dance Resolution" from season 2 of The Good Place. They're even both the third episodes in their respective seasons.
Not sure if the screeners didn't have the credits, but David Zayas was credited! He'll always be Batista to me too so I was happy to see him for a brief second AND THEN WONDERED IF HE HAPPENED TO BE RELATED TO LIZA COLÓN-ZAYAS!!
Coming to this quite late, but very appreciative of the insight. Breaking this up into chunks works really well for me, and at least from what I've seen, feels very much to follow the rhythm of the show.
I'm not sure what the rest of the season will look like, but so far I've really appreciated the dive into Carmy's mind, and the mapping of that onto the kitchen and his coworkers. He is the kitchen, and the kitchen is him. Together, they're the bear.
The show has too much talent though, and they really need to give everyone else room, but living in Carmy's head for this season (so far) feels very interesting and immersive.
Are we supposed to infer that he is changing the menu every day without repetition? I assume every one is further along at this point, I will only say, it's a point later on that he has to recall a dish and can't. Like wouldn't that shit be written down and recorded. Wouldn't you note what went over well and what did not?
Changing the entire menu every day without it at least being cyclical is insane.
my first impression of the fork on the floor was from the movie "Burnt" where they describe what critics (I believe Michelin star specific reviewers) do at restaurants -- and that includes placing a fork on the floor to gauge the service/ attention to detail. The purse after that kind of threw me though
"Some of the cuts to commercial seemed really jarring even without commercials, but the most strange was the one right after Richie spots a fork on the ground (I get that symbolism) but then spots a woman’s purse? It seemed like there was a bit missing, but maybe I just don’t get it."
I think he saw someone was trying to steal the silverware but I wasn't sure about it either.
Great review. First episode didn't work for me but just seeing all the characters talk and then throw themselves into work the next two eps worked a lot for me.
Thanks for breaking this season into chunks and not just doing a single spoiler filled review--or no review at all. While I personally wouldn't be against watching all of these quickly to dive into the conversation, my wife (who likes the show more than me, to be fair) prefers spreading them out. So it'll be nice to check in here every few episode batches.
Anyway, I just wanted to say my wife and I could not stop laughing at the scene where Fak tries to serve the mirepoix broth but only pours the broth before taking the tray back to the kitchen. So funny! Well shot too.
He looked so proud of himself as well! I could easily watch a spinoff of Fak and Fam
Cicero and the Fak boys really are the clowns in a show increasingly full of straight men. In the heat of the tension, when they show up I feel a palpable calm because there's almost always a good joke in the chamber for them.
I too space out my watching of the show. It’s a show I have to be in the right frame of mind to properly enjoy - kind of like savoring a good meal.
I gotta admit, I was frustrated by episode one not moving things forward. A character piece is all well and good, and I deeply admired the craft that went into it (imagine being the composer for this episode!), but as you said I didn't feel like we learned very much new.
That said, my heart leapt into my throat when they revealed that Sydney was the customer at the end. That was really lovely, and felt like an earned bit of mythmaking.
The score for the episode is "Together" from the Nine Inch Nails album Ghosts V. It wasn't written for the episode, but it fit perfectly.
Especially considering that she told Marcus last season that her meal at Carmy's old restaurant in NYC was the best meal she'd ever had. Excellent bit of follow through there.
And I don’t know if this is obvious to everyone else, but I thought it a fantastic call-back to Luca’s (Will Poulter’s) conversation with Marcus in the Copenhagen episode, when you saw Carmy and Luca side by side shucking pea pods. Luca mentioned to Marcus that he worked side-by-side with another chef that was leagues ahead of him and took the pressure off Luca to be the best, and instead allowed Luca to be the best he could be.
These flashbacks made it pretty evident that Carmy was “that chef,” and the irony of Carmy effectively taking on Luca’s (and likely Adam’s, and likely countless other chef’s) pressure onto his own (and now Sydney’s) shoulders as he frees his colleagues to be better chefs themselves is fascinating.
I can’t tell you how much I loved “Tomorrow” and its light-on-words, calm, but also frenetic peek into Carmy’s brain.
I adored Tomorrow. I found it breathtaking and beautiful. There’s only a handful of shows (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Atlanta) that could pull that episode off.
This really resonated with me: "I feel confident saying that the “Non-Negotiables” are not there to hold everyone else to Carmy’s standard. They’re there as a form of self-discipline, a twisted idea of what it takes to make it as a chef that foregrounds his most traumatic experiences in the interest of never repeating them. I’m not saying that Carmy isn’t an asshole, or that he’s being reasonable—I just believe at the end of the day that he’s more worried about failing than being failed, and everyone else is just collateral damage to his self-destruction."
Thanks for covering this show! I agree that the binge model is pretty tired these days, as smart streamers have realized their shows go further and last longer when released week by week, but what can ye do 🤷♀️
Episode 1: I was not a fan of the "stream of consciousness" format. Once I realized what the gimmick was, it was less "oh, cool!" and more "oh, THAT'S what they're doing? Why?" And holy fuck Joel McHale. How many people have killed themselves (maybe at his suggestion) after working for him.
Episode 2: I like the stage-play comparison here. So it appears this season will be about Carmy's ill-guided quest to Get a Star. I'm really not a fan of that, since he just kind of appears as the overlord or tyrant making up these rules that everyone has to abide by or else. Why didn't he talk with his staff first and they could 'ratify' a list of non-negotiables that made sense to everyone? This episode also brought back the unwelcome Richie v Carmy yelling (FUCK YOU, NO FUCK YOU must have been easy to write).
Episode 3: Somewhere in this beautiful mess of an episode I think Sydney murmured "I can't do this every day" in the middle of yet another Richie v Carmy verbal slapdown, and she's right. I haven't finished the season yet, but it appears that this toxic environment is exactly why she hasn't signed the DocuSign yet: why would anyone want to be financially tied to a restaurant run by someone who cannot harness his unbridled emotions, despite his genius?
Oh, plus, Marcus is the best. The actor plays the character so quietly but so affecting, and he's such a welcome source of warmth in every line.
Luckily, these are the exact same episodes I allowed myself last night. Great write-up that really solidified some of my own feelings. Thank for the cool info that 'Batista' is her real life husband!
I'm hoping others will chime in with all the real chefs in the first episode. Nothing blew my mind more than when Fak (Matty Matheson) turned up as a guest judge on Top Chef. How had I missed that he's a famous chef with 2 cookbooks?
My brother alerted me that episode 1 had some wild cameos which I assumed meant more actors on a John Mulaney/Bob Odenkirk level of surprise and fame. I was in no way prepared for that to mean Daniel Boulud (head chef at two Michelin star Restaurant Daniel) and Rene Redzepi (head chef at three Michelin star and multi time best restaurant in the world winner Noma). There were also a few shots filmed at The French Laundry (three Michelin stars, multi time best restaurant in the world winner), which means that a Thomas Keller cameo must be coming at some point this season.
Thanks for this info!
Thank you so much! I was sure that was the chef from Noma, but I couldn't remember his name.
"There’s material for an entire season of sitcom stories here."
I just commented about this in the review of episodes 7-9, but also wanted to share here that I find this analysis of Doors to be very similar to "Dance Dance Resolution" from season 2 of The Good Place. They're even both the third episodes in their respective seasons.
Not sure if the screeners didn't have the credits, but David Zayas was credited! He'll always be Batista to me too so I was happy to see him for a brief second AND THEN WONDERED IF HE HAPPENED TO BE RELATED TO LIZA COLÓN-ZAYAS!!
Coming to this quite late, but very appreciative of the insight. Breaking this up into chunks works really well for me, and at least from what I've seen, feels very much to follow the rhythm of the show.
I'm not sure what the rest of the season will look like, but so far I've really appreciated the dive into Carmy's mind, and the mapping of that onto the kitchen and his coworkers. He is the kitchen, and the kitchen is him. Together, they're the bear.
The show has too much talent though, and they really need to give everyone else room, but living in Carmy's head for this season (so far) feels very interesting and immersive.
Are we supposed to infer that he is changing the menu every day without repetition? I assume every one is further along at this point, I will only say, it's a point later on that he has to recall a dish and can't. Like wouldn't that shit be written down and recorded. Wouldn't you note what went over well and what did not?
Changing the entire menu every day without it at least being cyclical is insane.
my first impression of the fork on the floor was from the movie "Burnt" where they describe what critics (I believe Michelin star specific reviewers) do at restaurants -- and that includes placing a fork on the floor to gauge the service/ attention to detail. The purse after that kind of threw me though
"Some of the cuts to commercial seemed really jarring even without commercials, but the most strange was the one right after Richie spots a fork on the ground (I get that symbolism) but then spots a woman’s purse? It seemed like there was a bit missing, but maybe I just don’t get it."
I think he saw someone was trying to steal the silverware but I wasn't sure about it either.
Great review. First episode didn't work for me but just seeing all the characters talk and then throw themselves into work the next two eps worked a lot for me.