Whenever The Bear introduces a new female character, I pray she doesn't become a love interest for one of the male leads. Not because I hate romance, but because I specifically hate the way The Bear does romance. The clearest offender is Carmy's (Jeremy Allen White) relationship with Claire (Molly Gordon). A childhood friend who re-enters Carmy's life, Claire is less a real human character than she is a walking self-help book for Carmy. She spends almost every moment she's on screen talking about him: her memories of him, his mental health struggles, his relationship with his family. In theory, she has a life apart from Carmy — her defining character trait outside of being his girlfriend is vaguely "nurse" — but in watching The Bear , you wouldn't know it. Usually a great performer (see: Shiva Baby , Oh, Hi! , and more), Gordon is reduced to two modes here: luminous love interest hanging onto Carmy's every word, or calming therapist. She's not the only Bear character to meet this fate.…