Can The Bear — the fictional Chicago restaurant, not FX‘s acclaimed Hulu series — survive a bad review?

That’s the dilemma haunting the compelling fourth season of the Emmy-winning dramedy The Bear, with the embattled staff of the work-in-progress fine-dining establishment facing a two-month deadline to get their affairs in order or risk running out of money and going dark. A literal ticking digital clock (starting at 1,440 hours) adds urgency through all 10 episodes as moody master chef Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) and his fellow chefs struggle to digest a decidedly mixed verdict from the Chicago Tribune.

“It’s f**king hard, and that’s what makes it special,” Carmy says in what amounts to a mission statement about his passionate vocation. In an opening soliloquy addressed to his late brother Mikey (Jon Bernthal) about why people love going to restaurants, he adds, “It’s gnarly and it’s brutal and it’s specific, and not everybody can do it.” But, he concludes, “We could make people happy.” And yet, does it still make Carmy happy? The dichotomy between doing what you love and loving what you do is the most bearish of paradoxes.

With so much on the line, this becomes a season of amends, with a humbled Carmy in full apology mode to anyone who’ll listen, and he’s hardly the only one. They’ve lowered the temperature on this dysfunctional workplace, which is a blessing, as everyone seeks to do and be better and reduce the dissonance. “Just try to be less miserable,” Carmy’s talented sous chef Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) cautions her mentor, even as she spends much of the season debating whether to stay with Carmy and sign a partnership agreement or branch off with rival Adam Shapiro‘s new venture.

Much like in the unsurpassed second season, the joy of The Bear comes in watching these dedicated co-workers set challenges, find their passion and grow in their jobs as artistes. For “cousin” Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), who blossomed as The Bear’s maître d’, that means sweating over the perfect pre-service pep-talk speech. Line cook Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas, who like White, Edebiri, and Moss-Bachrach, is an Emmy winner) obsesses over beating a relentless timer that clocks her pasta service. For Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson), who manages the thriving beef sandwich window that reflects the restaurant’s past, it’s all about “creating opportunity” as he brings in a consultant (Rob Reiner, a welcome addition to this splendid ensemble).

I used to think of The Bear as a great place to visit but I sure wouldn’t want to work there. After this season, I’m not so sure. Even this year’s major set piece, a double-sized episode set at the wedding of Richie’s ex, Tiffany (a luminous Gillian Jacobs), is less explosive than healing, with a gathering of the Berzattos’ extended family ending in the photo equivalent of a group hug and not a screaming match.

Dare I say The Bear, pitched at a low simmer instead of a full boil, is almost becoming comfort-food TV?

The Bear, Season 4, Streaming Now, Hulu