Somehow, though, the meaning and implications of trauma have become the only subject The Bear wants to explore—a focus that makes the new season frustrating to watch. Across its 10 episodes, there’s little space for crucial dramatic elements like characterization, plot, and comedy. (The overreliance on slapstick scenes featuring the unwieldy Fak clan this season seems like an attempt to convince us that The Bear is still funny, even as every other character is mired in grief, burnout, and despair.) The show is overwhelmingly filtered through what appear to be Carmy’s experiences of post-traumatic stress disorder, which manifests itself in flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, debilitating anxiety, and bursts of rage.