This episode is incredible. The music works in perfect harmony with the building tension and frustration of everyone in The Bear. Each part of the team is getting more and more exasperated with Carmy, who is clearly suffering and has gone cold turkey on the coping mechanisms he had in the last two seasons (smoking, going to AA, Claire). The comedic elements are refreshing and understated, though they do little to dissipate the rising dread created by the multiple montages of the more rock solid members of the team messing up. Every second, every shot, every vignette and audio cue are building the tension and signaling how precipitous the fallout will be. I haven't finished the season yet but I'm very excited to see how this will pay off.
On a side note, the latent/nagging intrusive thoughts (depicted as quick flashes, not always connected to the scene directly) is one of the more accurate visual representations of how my PTSD has manifested. I really applaud the entire team on The Bear- definitely hard to watch at times but for all the right reasons!!
