The FX/Hulu series “The Bear” returns this week and, based on the season’s first two episodes, the show growls and grumbles reliably. 

After last season’s masterful finale found its characters barely making their way through the soft-launch of their new restaurant, The Bear, the third season starts up on the next day. Alone, the head chef and lead character, Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), busies himself with place-settings and flower arrangements for the tables. What follows as he writes down a list of standards for the staff (and himself) and experiments with new dishes is an extended montage sequence that takes up the entire first episode.

Moments in Carmy’s past flow in and out, re-orienting viewers with what we’ve seen before and what we know of his previous life. It basically plays like an “In previous episodes” type of introduction that’s extended to episode-length. We see Carmy when he worked at a real New York restaurant, Daniel, with its renowned chef, Daniel Boulud, making an appearance. We see Carmy in sunny California working at French Laundry and the time when he was taught by Chef Terry (Olivia Colman). Copenhagen gets another visit after pastry chef Marcus (Lionel Boyce) apprenticed in the Danish city last season, though this time clips focus on when Carmy was there. 

Flashes of dramatic points in his life get blended into this stew of prior restaurant experiences. These include flashbacks and references to last season’s already-iconic “Fishes” episode, which recounted the time when Carmy’s mother Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis) drove her car into the family house during a raucous and rancorous Christmas dinner. Also thrown into the pot is his apology to second-in-command Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) for inadvertently locking himself in the walk-in freezer the night of the opening, as well as “b-roll footage” of him organizing the freezer and, of course, prepping and cleaning in kitchens past and present.

If this all sounds a bit slow and ponderous, it both is and isn’t: For every repeated, tiring shot of chopping and slicing, there’s a nibble of psychological truth in the way the editing — itself chopping and slicing, of course — ties manual labor to moments of clarity and realization. 

This stream-of-consciousness storytelling culminates in two scenes — though they’re barely fleshed-out scenes in the traditional sense — that epitomize Carmy’s past and future: the funeral of brother Mikey after he committed suicide, which brought the chef back to Chicago, and the time when Sydney ate one of his dishes years prior to their meeting. Both occasions signify Carmy’s struggles and progress in dealing with his demons, and the episode as a whole works as an incisive character study.

Those viewers who miss the program’s humor will be more pleased with the season’s second episode. As if to make up for the first episode’s multiple shots of peas, lack of conversation, and general inaction, the creator/writer/director, Christopher Storer, beefs up the snappy dialogue, inter-character hostility, and inanity, all factors for which the show is known. After all, “The Bear” is considered a comedy and won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series.

In this episode, the ragtag restaurant crew meet up in the kitchen. In addition to Carmy and Sydney, there’s the wise-ass manager, Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), who had a huge blowout with Carmy during last season’s finale. Carmy’s sister and the restaurant co-owner, Sugar (Abby Elliott), is there, too. Also present are Fak (Matty Matheson), the handyman turned front-of-house staff member, and Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas), the sarcastic cook, among others. 

As they all discuss/argue over Carmy’s “non-negotiables” list, his desire to create a new menu daily, and his break-up with girlfriend Claire, the editing composes each snarky aside, reaction shot, shout, ultra-close up, medium shot, and more into a symphony of laughter and tension. 

Although not immediately obvious, the second episode is just as formally audacious as the season’s first. Nearly the entirety of its action and discourse occurs around the main prep table, creating an atmosphere akin to a one-act play or a social experiment. As in prior seasons, Mr. Storer, his crew, and the fantastic actors prove their ability to entertain while also pushing the medium of television beyond what’s expected or how it’s normally crafted. It’s this ambitious, unconventional element, mirroring Carmy’s hopes for the restaurant, that continues to make “The Bear” not just a good show, but one of the best series out there.