'The Bear' Season 3's Most Important Episode Has Nothing to Do With the Restaurant (2024)

Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for The Bear Season 3.

The Bear is back in the kitchen for its third season as it continues to mix restaurant culture with rich characters to make a feast for TV fans everywhere. The stakes are high as Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), and the rest of the staff attempt to keep their dreams afloat now that the restaurant is officially open for business. Although the series revolves around a restaurant and the people who work there, some of The Bear's best episodes are set outside the chaos of the kitchen — with Season 2’s “Fishes” as a perfect example via a holiday meal with the Berzatto family.

One of Season 3's standout episodes also has nothing to do with the restaurant. Instead, Episode 8, “Ice Chips,” tackles the stress of Natalie (Abby Elliott) going into labor while navigating the lingering tension between her and her mother, Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis). Through an episode that is reliant on two characters talking in a hospital room, with an emphasis on close-up shots of the actresses’ faces, Natalie and Donna are forced to face their relationship and ultimately come out on the other side with a new understanding of each other.

The Bear

Comedy

Drama

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto, a young chef from the fine dining world, returns to Chicago to run his family's sandwich shop after a tragedy. As he navigates the chaotic environment of the small kitchen, Carmy must manage the struggles of turning around the failing business while dealing with his own grief and personal demons. The series dives deep into the intense world of culinary arts, highlighting the challenges of running a restaurant, the bonds formed among staff, and the relentless pursuit of perfection.

Release Date

June 23, 2022

Cast

Jeremy Allen White , Ebon Moss-Bachrach , Ayo Edebiri , Lionel Boyce , Liza Colón-Zayas , Abby Elliott , Oliver Platt

See Also

'The Bear' Season 3 Had A Few Things MissingThe Bear season 2 ending explained: Carmy self-destructs in the finaleThe Bear Season 2 Finale Recap: How Does the Opening Night Go?‘The Bear’ Season 2: Cast and Character Guide

Main Genre

Drama

Seasons

3

Story By

Christopher Storer

Writers

Christopher Storer

Network

FX

Streaming Service(s)

Hulu , Disney+

Directors

Christopher Storer

Showrunner

Christopher Storer

Donna and Natalie Switch Roles in "Ice Chips"

Before this episode, the only time audiences have seen Donna and Natalie together is in the aforementioned "Fishes." Throughout that episode, Natalie is warned not to ask her mother if she's OK. The Berzatto family matriarch is an emotionally volatile woman, and asking her will only trigger her rage and make things worse, which is proven right towards the end of the episode when Donna lashes out at the dining room table. Donna and Natalie have a strained relationship wherein Natalie is constantly fearful of her mother. Therefore, Natalie doesn’t trust Donna, so much so that she doesn’t tell her mom that she’s pregnant. It’s actually her husband Pete (Chris Witaske) who spills the news outside The Bear on friends and family night in the Season 2 finale. Donna is the last person to know the news, and she also happens to be the last person Natalie wants to call as she drives herself to the hospital at the beginning of “Ice Chips.” After everyone else fails to pick up her call, having stowed away their cellphones before the beginning of dinner service at The Bear, Natalie reluctantly calls her mom.

From the moment Donna meets Natalie in the hospital parking lot, we see a different side of the character. Initially, Donna’s manic energy is channeled towards attempting to coach her daughter through a breathing exercise. As Natalie goes through her contractions, Donna is quick to hold her and rub her back to help soothe the pain. She still maintains her more narcissistic qualities, like proudly telling the nurse about how she walked to the hospital while in labor, or jumping to share her opinions on Natalie getting an epidural. At one point, Donna even cracks a joke that Natalie has her ex-husband’s butt. However, it's clear that Donna is trying to be better for Natalie, even backing off when Natalie insists that she’d prefer to give birth naturally; Natalie does eventually change her mind about an epidural, but Donna doesn’t gloat about the situation.

Although Donna is trying to be a supportive mother, Natalie is initially mistrustful. Her mom was the last person she wanted to be there with her. As she’s walking into the hospital at the beginning of “Ice Chips,” Natalie snaps at Donna for trying to initiate said breathing exercise. It’s the reverse of what we’ve seen between them before, as Natalie repeatedly tells her mother to stop telling her to breathe, a reversal of the dynamic in "Fishes." Natalie has been disappointed by her mom time and time again; she held out hope that Donna would show up at the restaurant in the Season 2 finale. Although Natalie didn’t originally want her mom to be present during the birth, we see her harshness towards Donna begin to chip away over the course of "Ice Chips."

As the two women sit alone together in a hospital room waiting for updates on Pete's whereabouts as well as the progression of Natalie's labor from the doctor, the episode provides the necessary space for the two women to unpack the hurt in their relationship. Although Donna claims she understands the reason Natalie didn’t tell her about her pregnancy, Donna still inquires about it in the moment. Natalie doesn’t initially tell her; instead, she tries to distract her mother by asking about Donna’s birthing stories with each of her siblings, Mikey (Jon Bernthal) and Carmy.

With each contraction, and her eventual compliance to embrace her mother's silly breathing exercises, Natalie’s resolve starts to melt. Natalie confesses that the reason she withheld telling her mother about her pregnancy is that she was scared of her, and didn’t want everything that came with her. But it isn't just Natalie who’s scared of her; all the Berzatto kids are terrified of their own mother. The close-up shots in these scenes show the moment of impact on Curtis' face, and we see the moment that this knowledge breaks Donna's heart. Despite this revelation, she doesn’t lash out like we've seen her do in the past; Donna accepts the harsh truth, telling Natalie that she’s been trying to work on her issues, which hasn’t been easy.

As Donna makes strides to comfort Natalie, such as getting her ice chips to chew on, enough metaphorical ice is broken for Natalie to confess to her mom that she has her own fears. Natalie is a kind woman who cares for the people in her life, yet underneath that, she’s scared that Pete will leave her, and she has doubts that she’ll be a good mom to her daughter. It’s a rare moment of vulnerability for Natalie to be so open about her fears to the woman who instilled much of that fear. When Donna assures her daughter that she'll be a great mom, Natalie seems to take her words to heart, which might very well be the first time in a long time.

After "Ice Chips," Donna and Natalie Can Move Forward on 'The Bear'

What emphasizes mother and daughter's collective and individual growth throughout "Ice Chips" is Donna finally sharing Natalie’s birth story. With tears in her eyes, Donna shares the dream she had before her water broke, how calm she felt as Gail, Cicero’s (Oliver Platt) first wife, waited with her in the hospital, and the song she listened to while in labor: “Baby I Love You” by The Ronettes. As Donna pulls up the song on her phone to play it for Natalie, the lyrics communicate all the love she feels deep down without her even needing to say the words.

Over the course of “Ice Chips,” Donna and Natalie overcome years of hurt and personal demons in order to face the pain they’ve inflicted on each other. By doing this, mother and daughter reconcile their past in order to be there for each other in the present. Natalie goes from dismissing her mom to accepting Donna's advice, understanding the true similarities between them, and not fearing that as much as she used to. In turn, Donna really listens to her daughter, putting aside her bruised ego to be there for Natalie until Pete arrives. Not everything has been resolved between these women, but through this experience, Natalie and Donna see each other in a new light and discover the love that still remains.

The Bear is available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.

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