If you thought Tina gave her all in the first season of The Bear, you were sorely mistaken. The veteran cook of The Original Beef of Chicagoland – now called the Bear – reached new heights in the latest season of the popular drama and left me, and tens of thousands of others, in shambles. Why, you may ask? Well, it’s because she gives nothing but good vibes — and even better karaoke.
When we first meet Tina, she’s high-strung and stuck in her ways. While she gets away with it when it comes to the Berzattos and other veteran staff, she gives Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) a run for her money. Eventually, she becomes open to the slight changes Sydney and Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) bring to the staff, and she lets Carmy know that she cares about him and his late brother. By the end of the first season, it’s clear that Tina is ready for some change in her life. The Bear Season 2 shows us exactly that, giving Liza Colón-Zayas a notable turn stealing the spotlight.
In the first episode of the new season, Sydney is tasked with hiring a sous chef who will be her right-hand man during long shifts. Carmy tells her that she’s going to need to find people who “want to learn,” which he says is “impossible.” Tina sticks her head in the room where they’re having a meeting to say goodbye to staff before she heads home and while she’s there, she thanks Sydney for her advice on deep cleaning their pans, rather than buying new ones. “Sydney, I got a bunch of those stains out. That Bar Keeper works,” she tells her boss with a smile before exiting.
Sydney catches Tina on her way out and asks her if she wants to be her sous chef, which brings the veteran cook to tears before she embraces Syd in a hug. From here on out, we see Tina embark on an inspiring transformation which leads her to attending culinary school, having a night out with her peers, and managing the pressure of their opening “friends and family” night, which sees one of her new hires sneaking out to the dumpsters to smoke crack – subsequently getting himself fired. Tina is now adaptable and can skillfully manage multiple stations while also being a supportive figure to Carmy and Sydney, qualities that she always seemed to have but was never given the chance to put into practice.
Are you crying yet? I’ve been crying. With all said and done, what will affect you the most this season is Tina’s unforgettable performance at a karaoke bar in “Pop” where she breaks out of her comfort zone to hang out with a group of culinary school colleagues. Despite struggling to connect with her younger peers, she has no trouble capturing their attention during a performance of the English-Spanish ballad “Before The Next Teardrop Falls” by Freddy Fender.
Her performance will leave you screaming as you cheer for the mind-blowing character development Colón-Zayas displays in the moment. She makes it clear that Tina is a new woman. The cook has seen the wonders of sisterhood through Sydney’s endorsement of her promotion and she knows that her talent and immense potential have been recognized by people she truly cares about. This is called growth, baby! Tina is pushing herself into new experiences and isn’t afraid to let herself be vulnerable, both behind the grill and in her personal life.
By the end of the season, Tina has fully transformed into a person who bears little resemblance to the oftentimes stand-offish and resistant person she was at the start of the series. She holds her own while other members of the kitchen crumble under the pressure of opening night. She effortlessly manages her team and her duties. At one point in the finale, she witnesses Carmy yell at Sydney after several plates of fish go cold without a runner. Tina watches Sydney intently as she stands up to Carmy as he yells at her and tells him to “take it way down,” she subtly nods in the background and watches to see her next move. Sydney asks Tina to refire the items and mouths “I’m sorry,” to which she responds by using the sign language gesture for the sentiment, something that Carmy and Sydney utilize to communicate during intense moments.
And after the evening is over, Tina is the one who sticks by the broken walk-in freezer, which Carmy is stuck in and comforts the head chef, who is on the verge of a breakdown. “Are you okay? We’re good, we’re doing really good,” she tells him through the freezer door. And she means it. Under her expertise, the restaurant is doing good and her team is doing good, and her performance has been good all evening – perhaps even saving the rest of the crew who faced major hiccups throughout the night, but managed to pull it off to the guests, due to the top-notch food that was delivered to the tables in a timely fashion.
It is in her final moments of the season where Tina prioritizes herself — and her newfound professional life — over the drama of the establishment, stepping away from the freezer door as Carmy laments about how he “failed them.” She tells him, “No, that is so silly, baby,” as Sydney leaves the kitchen to get some air. Tina, presumably, goes to keep an eye on the kitchen. The episode ends with Carmy, Sydney, and Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) facing demons of their own and questioning their place at the restaurant, but Tina remains one of the few who ends the night standing tall.
Sure, the character’s success may be short-lasting as Christopher Storer’s show loves to humble its characters in their brightest moments. But as for now, she escaped Season 2 unscathed – and even more so, as an inspiration. Colón-Zayas delivered a sneaky, groundbreaking performance this season, one that’ll have you smiling every time she’s on screen, rather than gritting your teeth and fearing for the other shoe to drop. So, Tina, sweetie – if this show leaves you high and dry, just remember, I’ll be there for you before the next teardrop falls.
The Bear Season 2 is currently streaming on Hulu.
