Technically not a fourth season, but an extended movie, “Working”  (“Wagnaria!!”) tries to wrap it all up and give people that dramatic push they need to move ahead with their lives. I mean, you can’t work as the wait staff in a family restaurant for the rest of your life, right? It’s just that it tries so hard to make it right, you can see the mechanics operating and everyone gets to sing their aria.

It is a rather capacious cast and each have their own imbroglios that cross over into other people’s lives to the point you wonder what is the quality of food here. We have the two chefs (far left) who spend more time sniping at each other, the store manager (guy in regular tie) who spends all his time trying to find his runaway wife and our ‘hero’ (for wont of a better term) who tries to be a regular Joe, but ends up a punching bag of sorts, both physically and emotionally.

Look, I’ve reviewed this show three previous times, so you can figure out who is who. Perhaps it was on me, as I really forced this series along, but by the time I got to the ‘movie’, I really didn’t care about the problems and situations any more. But I also feel that even if you parceled it out for more sober viewing, you could potentially reach the same conclusion that I did: everyone is afraid.

The world is a scary place (hey, THIS restaurant is a scary place as well, OK?) and there is a degree of security in the safe and familiar. But life doesn’t work that way and you have to move on from where you are to honestly grow and mature. We do see, in some, the ability for growth, but not a real desire for it. I have a feeling that if I came back here in five years, I’d see the same people doing the same thing. Yes, the movie ends on a hopeful note, but I look at the reality of the characters and see that they have trapped themselves in their own comfy nest.

In the end, it is not a bad series, overall, but the movie tends to reinforce that which we already have come to learn. It’s kind of like the menu itself: you see the same things here at any other place, but nothing fabulous or daring enough to make it break out from the standard. I guess that’s why it’s called ‘comfort food’.

On a scale of 1 to 10:

Artwork           8 (Solid and serviceable)
Plot                  7 (Getting tired)
Pacing              7 (Too many arias)
Effectiveness   7 (Failed promises)
Conclusion       6 (It reaches a ‘coupler point’, but hasn’t ended)
Fan Service      2 (A similar show would be “Okamisan”)

Overall            7 (Got too non-committal for me)

And remember, it’s first run until you’ve seen it. We’ll always be friends.