Richie and Mikey go on a little adventure in "Gary", a pre-sequel episode to season 5 of "The Bear".
Image: Instagram.
Viewers were recently treated to a release that no one saw coming.
Titled simply "Gary", the one-hour pressure cooker episode arrived on Disney+ recently, serving as a standalone prequel to the award-winning series, "The Bear".
While fans were bracing for the fifth and final season, creator Christopher Storer and the cast dropped this quiet, intense and deeply moving character study that redefines everything we know about the Berzatto family legacy.
For viewers to understand why "Gary" is so significant, we have to look at the timeline of "The Bear".
Most of the series focuses on the aftermath of Mikey Berzatto’s (Jon Bernthal) death and his brother Carmy’s (Jeremy Allen White) struggle to turn their family sandwich shop into a fine-dining restaurant worthy of a Michelin star.
Throughout the seasons, we've seen Mikey in brief, chaotic flashes, usually during high-stress holiday dinners, but we never really saw the day-to-day Mikey.
"Gary" changes that.
Set in early 2019, the episode follows Richie Jerimovich, played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Mikey as they drive from Chicago to Gary, Indiana, to deliver a package to Uncle Jimmy's friend, Silas.
The opening scenes show an ecstatic Richie, who sees this as a job that proves he’s a valued member of the family business.
He gets dressed, arms himself with a gun, talks to his wife Tiffany, who is pregnant with their daughter and says he'll be home by 5.15pm, before Mikey pulls up on the roadside to pick him up.
It is a classic road trip setup, two guys, a CD with a playlist Richie made and the open road.
The origin of this episode is just as unconventional as the show itself.
According to behind-the-scenes interviews online, the idea for "Gary" was born during the filming of season 4.
Actors Moss-Bachrach and Bernthal found themselves discussing the lost years, the period when Richie was at his lowest and Mikey was spiralling. They felt there was a missing chapter that explained why Richie felt such intense guilt over Mikey’s suicide.
In fact, the two actors actually co-wrote the script themselves, wanting to capture the specific, rough-edged rhythm of their characters' friendship.
Now it acts as a surprise event episode to bridge the gap between season 4 and the series finale in season 5.
The brilliance of "Gary" lies in its simplicity. By removing the frantic kitchen environment, the show forces viewers to look at the humanness of the Berzatto family dynamic.
"Gary" is raw, loud and sometimes very uncomfortable. For the first thirty minutes or so, the episode feels like a dark comedy.
Richie and Mikey trade insults and stop at a local basketball court in Hammond to play with teenagers. But after a minor foul, Mikey snaps.
However, as the sun begins to set over Gary, the tone shifts.
We see the cracks in Mikey’s facade, the moments where his charisma fails him, and the self-loathing takes over.
Bernthal delivers a performance that is nothing short of harrowing. He portrays Mikey not as a villain or a legend, but as a man who is exhausted by the weight of being himself. He is in a state of quiet collapse.
At some point in the episode, he narrates his tiredness to a woman he meets at a bar while sitting on the floor in a toilet cubicle, sniffing cocaine.
When it's time to leave the bar to deliver the package, things take a dark turn.
Richie is babbling about baby names and plans when Mikey suddenly snaps. He delivers a scathing, verbal teardown of Richie, telling him he will never amount to anything and that their lives are already over.
It’s a moment that reframes their entire relationship. The drive home is just uncomfortable.
We realise that Richie’s later devotion to the restaurant is a desperate attempt to prove Mikey wrong.
After the flashback ends, it cuts to the present day. Richie is sitting in his car, reflecting on that trip to Gary. In the final seconds, a car skips the red light and crashes into him.
The screen cuts to black, leaving Richie’s fate completely up in the air as we head into the series finale next month.
Rating: **** a standout prequel episode with exceptional qualities.