Comedy
The Bear
FX’s The Bear shows a restaurant business behind closed doors–filled with high-level dysfunction and piles of profanity.
Becoming a knight in a magical land is tricky business. That’s why anyone who’s really interested must first be a not-so-knight. It doesn’t sound glamorous, but it sure is necessary.
A not-so-knight, in case you’re wondering, is someone who seeks to become a knight but needs a lot of practice before they’re dubbed a chevalier. They need to practice things like saving damsels in distress, warding off wily witches and destroying dangerous dragons.
Sir Cedric completed all those tasks ages ago. He grew up as a young pumpkin farmer with big dreams—dreams that couldn’t be contained by a pumpkin field. So he pursued the path of a “not-so-knight” and eventually, with hard work and determination, he entered the ranks of nobility
But all that action was years ago. Now, Cedric is married to Prince Andrew, and together, they are raising their adopted 10-year-old daughter, Nia.
Full of spunk and spice, Nia is actually the bravest member of her little family, and she has her sights set on becoming a knight, just like her dad. Of course, she too must start from the beginning. And with the help of her dads Cedric and Andrew, their troll friend, Grunt, and their raven friend, Saylor, Nia learns what it means to be brave by listening to Cedric’s childhood stories.
Based on Daniel Errico’s children’s book The Bravest Knight Who Ever Lived, this Hulu original animated series offers strong lessons in what it means to be brave and honorable—but obviously, it comes with some problems.
Each 12-minute episode typically begins with fearless Nia, eager to learn something new, and dad, Cedric, teaching Nia the dos and don’ts of knighthood by sharing his personal tales (which are played out as flashbacks). Through them, Nia learns that it’s wrong to stereotype and best to love others. She also learns how to solve problems, to have patience and to always try her best.
But while Nia learns a great deal of positive lessons from her parents—especially from Sir Cedric—they’re, of course, both men. One episode even features a character who takes a few seconds to teach young Cedric about the various pronouns someone could have. And these elements will be deeply problematic for parents who are uncomfortable with that worldview.
Viewers also hear the occasional use of the word “heck,” are exposed to the occasional lie (though lying is not condoned) and deal with some bad attitudes.
So while Nia—and the show’s young viewers—could certainly learn positive qualities from Cedric’s courageous childhood, The Bravest Knight includes underlying messages that most Plugged In families may want to avoid.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at [email protected], or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
Cedric tells Nia of a time when he met his troll friend, Grunt, and together they outsmarted a witch.
Young Cedric and Nia learn how to make wise judgement calls and to not use stereotypes. A few villagers run around in chaos when they learn that villains have escaped from fairy jail. A large, scary troll intimidates a young troll. A scary witch laughs victoriously as she holds a young not-so-knight captive.
Cedric tells Nia of a time he nearly won in a jousting tournament.
Cedric teaches Nia that she doesn’t have to put up with bullies and to never underestimate an opponent while jousting. A few people fall and get hurt during a jousting tournament. A troll says that stealing, for his kind, is a gray area. A few kids lie.
Nia learns that she can choose her own destiny after Sir Cedric tells her about the time he and his spider friend, Sharon, convinced the Prince of Frogs to stop destroying the forest’s spider webs.
A character briefly mentions a battle with a sorceress. The episode’s opening sequence includes a montage of fight scenes in which scary villains attack young Cedric.
The Prince of Frogs and his goons make loud slurping sounds when they use their tongues to destroy the spider webs. Later, a character ties the frogs to a tree using the frogs’ own tongues.
Cedric teaches Nia that being a knight requires her to be a good steward of nature. He tells Nia the story of when he and his friends met a merperson named Venus in Pirate Cove. Venus laments that the pirates’ pollution of the cove is causing the coral to die. So, Cedric and his friends construct a plan to get the pirates to leave for good.
The pirates play a mean prank on Cedric’s gnome friend, which causes the gnome to fall off the ship’s plank. The episode’s opening sequence includes a montage of fight scenes in which scary villains attack young Cedric.
While sitting in a meditative position, Grunt suggests that everyone must “become one” with fireflies. Later, Venus appears to use magic to repair the coral reef.
Venus wears a pair of seashells as a top. Cedric and his friends meet a character named Admiral Akers who goes by “they/them” pronouns. Admiral Akers tells Cedric’s group, “Some are he and some are she, but neither one will do for me.” And Venus also corrects Cedric after he and his friends label Venus a “mermaid,” preferring to be called a “merperson.”
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
FX’s The Bear shows a restaurant business behind closed doors–filled with high-level dysfunction and piles of profanity.
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