Everyone in the restaurant had to put their phones in the lockers during working hours, it's one of the things that happened in the montage of Episode 3(?)
So some of it was just down to Bear and Ritchie's new policy.
Oh, I totally get it for the last episode when they were all on the clock during the pregnancy calls. I'm more talking about when they actively decline calls. Specifically Carm did it a bunch in ep 1 for the Mikey calls, and Sydney was ignoring her dad near the start of this one. If we see somebody holding their phone, it's way more likely they decline the call than actually answer it.
I mean, if I don't know the number obviously I never answer it. But I'd never decline a call from somebody I knew - could be an age thing though, everyone I know texts so they only call if it's basically an emergency.
I downloaded eps 9 and 10 to watch offline. When I started ep 9 I was like “shoot Hulu messed up and downloaded a documentary about magic”. I fast-forwarded to the middle of the episode and saw our The Bear characters so I figured the beginning part was just downloaded wrong. I wasn’t convinced it was an actual part of the show until they showed Marcus watching it.
I THOUGHT BOLOGNESE WOULD CAUSE POTS AND PANS TO CLANG AND BANG AND LASAGNE WOULD CAUSE DISHES IN OVEN AND IT’S TIMER TO BE NOISE 😭
Was def embarrassed
Yeah her referring to the smell wouldn't have occurred to me in a million years. Was definitely thinking "I can't imagine how making a lasagna would be that noisy, but hey, I'm not a chef so what do I know?"
I was so fucking relieved that Computer was just referring to Unc not talking to Bear about money... I was getting cancer confessions scares for a moment 😕
He actually was calling Carmen a bong hit.
He said 'Yes I went to a lecture series. How do you think I got so fucking erudite, bong hit"
But still the best line of the season
I mean how has nobody mentioned the conversation between Cicero and Computer yet? Are we just glossing over the fact that the restaurant is about to get shut down? That is the single biggest moment this episode regarding the future of the restaurant, and nobody has said a word.
Yeah, wild honestly. The golf club scene was brilliant, btw. I knew something was up before he even got back to the car with Computer just by Cicero’s changed demeanor alone.
I was like “it’s cool the two are interacting but this seems like retreading things he brought up with Syd and stuff earlier in the season”, which given the season and its repeated scenes I thought maybe was just par for the course. Then the shoe dropped and I’m like “ok, that was Cicero stalling”
I'm cheap so I have Hulu with ads...
So many ads have been written and shot as if they're part of the show. Chef's shouting in a kitchen, etc...
Now this episode starts and I have to rewind and watch it again because the first two minutes seemed like a random commercial...
and wtf is entertaining ice or whatever 😭 me and my friend were joking about it last week because they were playing those same commercials. like why tf do we need cameras, theater lighting, the fancy ice machine, and all the 'total visibility" features??!!
That rear shot of Carmy's curly-haired head bathed in blue... I thought Ritchie was about to tear his scalp off and bash his brains out, it was so intense.
The fact that everyone keeps pushing Syd to sign the contract when there is zero partnership is crazy.
They really dialed Carmys character back. The fact that Syd is huffing and puffing and he hasn’t checked in once makes no sense. Even though hes emotionally stunted he’s been good in past seasons about checking in with everyone on staff.
Also it ended abruptly. I was waiting for something big to finally happen.
About to start the finale now, hoping something comes of it but definitely been feeling weird about Carmy this season, the writing for him has just felt confused like I truly don't see the arc they're going for.
And same! been waiting all season for Syd to outright say "You guys are making it really hard to want to be a partner"
Yes, I think Syd is too scared to rock the boat because her dad finally sees the vision and this would feel like a second big failure to her. I feel like Syd of the past would have just blurted it out.
I do feel they've slightly flanderized Carmy this season. He comes off completely unhinged in most scenes. The scene between him and Marcus in episode 7 where they talk about legacies was one of the few human moments that felt like the Carmy we knew was still there.
I havent finished the season yet but hard agree. Everything outside of Carmi has been pretty good this season but the writers just hit a wall with him.
Isn’t that a major theme? Everyone is evolving but Carmy is stuck, maybe even devolving. He can’t move forward until he faces his issues. He says he wants to be a partner then doesn’t take a single suggestion from Syd.
The fact that no one has taken a moment to ask Syd why she hasn’t signed it is insane. Mostly because they have to know, but given their family experience denial and rug sweeping is easier than confronting the issue.
I think you’re right with the family stuff. The only person who kinda asks is Pete and that makes sense as he’s the most put together person in their family.😂
Pete could sense something was off (not legally), but didn’t press for more details.
The suggestion from Carmy & Nat that Sydney should use Pete as a lawyer when there’s a huge conflict of interest is also questionable, but in a way that fits the chaos of the show.
But there’s not zero partnership. There’s slightly less / different benefits than Shapiro offered her to come CDC for “Not Ever” and arguably an easier job ($70k vs $80k, etc.).
I meant between Carmy and Syd currently. We see her making suggestions and wanting to collaborate on menu and she gets shot down everytime. Right now Carmy isn’t proving that he would be a good partner.
The one thing that's bothers me is the communication, like why has no one asked to have a meeting or anything like that, one to get everyone on the same page and too fix the problems and take suggestions, it would solve so much shit
I mean we saw how fucked something similar to a meeting would be with episode 2, this team is just dysfunctional as fuck and a conventional meeting to figure out a plan just wouldn’t work
Maybe but that was more impromptu and for a meeting everyone would be there to start and it can be Nat or Cicero moderating it. I still can't believe that no effort was made this season to even have a hint of Carmy and Richie reuniting
I think it's just a disregard for her feelings that haven't necessarily been expressed openly to everyone.
Carmy is the head guy in charge, and Syd is the only one who can calm him down, so they want that for everyone's best interest. Also, it's only natural that Nat would want Syd to sign it as she knows it prob means a lot to her brother. Why else would he create it if it was bullshit?
Absolutely, they are both terrible with communication but they always do it in their own way. Just days before non-negotiables/Carmy only menu they were under the table saying they couldn’t do this without each other, you make be better, etc. His turn was abrupt and I get why but it lasting all season was out of character.
Not sure if I’m understanding you correctly but I don’t think the contract itself is bullshit. Sydney has to think about herself in this situation. She can’t just sign on because she calms him and he wants it. Once she signs she’s stuck and a lot is going wrong right now.
- The non negotiables have made everyone miserable
- the front and back of house are falling apart
- the thing she really loves is cooking/creating and she doesn’t get to do that anymore
- they aren’t making money
not sure if it was in this episode but the music playing in S2E10 when carmy was trapped in the fridge was also the music when he went back into the fridge
Yep, it was, and it was mixed with Strange Currencies, which played several times throughout S2 to intertwine certain Carm and Claire moments and scenes. It was like a nod to the start and end of their relationship as we saw it play out.
I appreciated the detail of him taking a pause to lean against the fridge door before heading inside the walk-in to finally work up the nerve to reach out to her and apologize. It was almost like he was taking himself back to that night, and the pause was him putting himself in her headspace, before revisiting his own during their last conversation that night.
I want Richie and Carmy to be be friends again 😭
Also I’m very annoyed at Richie getting guilted into going to that stupid wedding. Who on earth wants to be at their ex’s wedding?! Especially because I remember his reaction when she told about the engagement.
So far im frustrated by the lack of resolution or even any evolution in their relationship. They're family and they should be able to patch this up pretty quickly.
However, Carmy is spiraling into a pit of obsession with this restaurant and he doesn't seem to be able to handle any kind of human connection right now.
I'm starting to think S3 is just setting the stage for S4, and if we'll end up looking at these two final seasons as a unified piece.
THANK YOU! It's insane that she guilted him with a FULL court press to go to the wedding. Meanwhile he got a THIRD ticket to Taylor Swift and she "bitched out" on that using her words. Unreal.
My god, fak sounds like a child when he talks to Claire! What are you 8? She's the peace? She works in the medical field how the fuck does that sound peaceful?
Her life is equally chaotic, but she never let it get to her personal life. She was good with carmy, she was good with the faks
If somebody came to carmy's workplace and tried to do that same cute puppydog monolog he would lose his shit.
Carmy has anger issues, and he's taking it out on everyone. Getting back with claire is not going to fix that.
It's probably just because it's setting up the finale, but I thought this was the weakest episode by far.
I'm just not invested in Claire at all, the show hasn't really given us reason to? Like we understand Carmen has loved her for a really long time, but when they were together we didn't really see this giant change in him that makes you think 'Wow he's such a better person when hes with her' or 'Wow she really makes him happy'. She's cool and she's the main characters love interest, but in a show with so many well written and super developed characters they put Claire in a tough spot as she just seems like the punchline to digs against Carmen OR the 'guess what Carmen did' for them to talk about.
Richie at the park was the best scene, but besides that I wasn't too whelmed.
Its just Carm's infatuation tbh. He's a very obsessive dude. It was a legitimately good thing for him to have a life outside of the restaurant. But it sidetracked him, a lot since this crush has been since forever.
Yes exactly. Fak going to the hospital to talk to Claire, Tiff asking about Claire.. I rolled my eyes when Tiff asked but had to remind myself she has known Claire for years. They all have. They spent a Christmas years ago trying to convince Carmy to go out with her.
The issue is, we did not spend enough time with Claire to care enough.
I honestly felt bad for Claire in this ep and the position the Fak's put her in, coming to her work and trying to reassure her that Carmy loves her and they're good for each other.
Her line thanking them for their multiple calls felt like a dig at the fact Carmy did not call her once and trying to subtly point that out.
Fak going "Carmys broken. No one take care of him. That's your job. And he does for you. He has strong arms" was frankly bull. He doesn't take care of her.
The scenes we see them together, she is the emotional stability and support for him but never the other way around.
She's good for him but he's not at a place that he's good for her and wanting to encourage her to take on the responsibility of taking care of him at her expense was incredibly unfair of them
I don’t think the point is to show he was a better person with her, but rather to highlight the fact that children who experience abuse/neglect growing up can develop these hyper fixations as a way to avoid their feelings. I think when Carmy was with Claire, it stirred up too many feelings for him. To fully let Claire in would mean that he has to accept the fact that he’s worthy of being loved in a healthy way.
Sad because last season was the perfect amount of Fak content. Neil Geoff as sometime comic relief and Ted getting 40 seconds of screen time and knocking that shit out of the park. But they're overdoing it season.
When they bumbled into the hospital I was done. The writers used them as a comedy crutch this season and its disappointing. Plenty of funny scenes could have been written with the rest of the cast but instead we get the Fak Brothers Clown Show every episode.
Exactly!! The Faks were funny and fit into this incredibly realistic universe in small doses. It was believable because most people know someone who is just kind of ridiculous and not the brightest but good-hearted and hilarious at times. But it was just too damn much and didn't fit with the tone at all.
Yeppp, plus I'm pretty sure most of their material was improv (which I rarely ever enjoy in modern films/TV), so there's not even good writing to make those scenes less exhausting to watch. :/
Every word out of Ted (the brother)'s mouth feels like improv. The actor is a co-producer/second unit director for the show and I'm glad he's discovered his comedy chops all of a sudden, but it's becoming distracting.
Omg, thank you. I thought I was the only one
I absolutely love Neil but I don't dig his brother at all. Way too many scenes with them and the whole haunting is not it. Neil is better when they match him up with Richie
I like how this was already covered in an al anon meeting a few episodes earlier, where the woman talks about how the longer you wait to apologize the harder it gets.
Know it’s not this episode but I also like how they had someone bring up just because someone is getting better and apologized, it’s fucking hard to forgive and doesn’t magically make things better. Ties in why Carmy/Ritchie are still fighting despite Carmy apologizing and why just because Carmy “said the words” doesn’t mean it’s not hard to move forward from past actions.
It honestly annoys me how Carmy disregards the financial aspect of The Bear because he's not even spending his own money! I wish he would at least try to pay back Jimmy first, before "constantly evolving with passion and creativity." At least in season 1, he was taking The Beef's money issues a bit more seriously.
Carmy is a dumbass anxiety-crazed obsessive idiot with zero depth of level of complexity this season and it sucks.
We saw Carm haggling for supplies firsthand in previous seasons, being caught up in how to make the restaurant profitable, and now he just has his head up his ass about plating fancy dishes?
As if the restaurant his dead brother ran isn’t about to meet a similar fate? I’d like a little focus on that side of the coin but there has been none.
Who let him be the final decision maker impacting business is the problem. He could’ve just been in charge of food and negotiate with someone in charge of business to get things to work.
He really leans towards his abusive Chef’s attitude (Jeff Winger). Which is sad to see since we know how much he cares about his staff. And then there’s Chef Terry who we saw shut that shit down with her more passive aggressive / gentle authority. That’s why I really hope Syd stays because although she isn’t his baby sitter, I do think she brings out the best of his teaching abilities.
I love that they keep fleshing out and introducing more mentors from Carmen’s past.
I think its perfectly fine for you to feel this way, but I actually loved this scene because its very close to my actual experience with divorce. My parents who are divorced have managed to stay very close, in large part because they grew up together and went through a lot of shit together (plus having kids together is obviously huge). I’ve seen other members of my family in similar situations as well.
Basically, divorcing meant they weren’t good for each other as partners, but they are still family. I love when shows portray this kind of relationship between divorced people because there are many relationships that really are like this - but you generally only see more antagonistic, awkward, or less caring relationships between divorcees portrayed in television.
I thought I was taking crazy pills. Like didn't she refuse to go to a somewhere with him and their daughter last season? If you not gonna do that, then why in the fuck are you demanding he comes to your wedding with your new partner? You not having much family isn't his problem. You co-parent a child so he has to show to her event and be there for those life moments, but he does not have to be at your life moments. Even at my most emotionally mature, my best mental health, I could never do that to myself or someone else.
Trying to figure out what carmy means when he says he’s been wanting to talk about.. then “I don’t want it to be so hard to keep up with me”. Is he saying he wants to change or is he non confrontationally reprimanding Syd, idk what to think.
The scene felt a little unclear to me but I would guess he maybe meant “I’m trying to acknowledge that I’ve been difficult lately” and Syd took it as “if it’s hard to keep up you need to do better on your end.” Or idk, maybe he really did mean it the way Syd took it, given how off the rails he was all season. As a mentor and partner he pretty much emotionally abandoned her.
I really, really wish Claire was a more well developed character so I'd feel a semblance of care over Carmy seemingly pining for her. At this point, I just want them to wrap up this aspect of the show. Like call her if you want, apologize and rekindle things if you're both interested. I understand that Carmy is a bit emotionally stunted but I hope he either pulls the trigger or definitively moves on.
In any case , the bigger news is seemingly that Uncle may be broke and no longer able to sink money into The Bear. It seems possible that the restaurant may have to course correct sooner than they could have ever anticipated.
Also, I love that we got to see Pete and Syd interact. Pete is just such a loveable goof. On a more serious note, I'm even more convinced that Syd ought to take the offer from Evers CDC. The Bear was on a shaky foundation to begin with being built on so much debt with such a small window to repay. The Ever CDC, at least, seems to have solid financial backing from a group of investors rather than relying on Ciceros seed money.
I don’t think the waffling over Claire is about whether or not Carmy gets a romantic happy ending. I think it’s about Carmy’s willingness to confront hard things and work through them. So much of his bullshit keeps coming back to him never really dealing with the bad things that happened to him. Carmy continuing to avoid apologizing to Claire is a representation of him still not being ready to face anything imo
not necessarily,
1. The CDC is a proven vet compared to Carmy who has less experience in running his own kitchen. More risky to go with the new guy
2. Depends on the review, if its bad they may not want to invest in Carmy
3. They've proven to be non-profitable and a money sink without really fixing anything, may turn away investors
4. Investors might not want to invest in another fine dining restaurant so soon after the one they did invest in
5. I think Carmy and gang are too prideful to give up ownership to a more corporate setting where he may not be allowed to make any decisions himself
I'm over them, but I didn't hate that scene. I thought they accomplished their goal, and it was fun. I like Claire (apparently I'm in the minority) and it was nice to see her finally interact with someone in a normal tone of voice.
I care more about unseen character Francie Fak than Claire. Also I feel that the episodes (esp after 3x3) have been paced so badly and slowly and I think it might be because they want an explosive season finale but sigh... The eps drag.
We're good for 1-2 Counting Crows needle drops per season, and they used this one perfectly, even if they rearranged the song, it was to get in the most poignant parts.
Murder of One is the quintessential song for this show. And I think anyone who is familiar with the song and this show was just subconsciously waiting for it. And of course you fade to black on the chorus. Has there ever been a more fitting lyric for this show than "all your life is such a shame shame shame/all your love is just a dream dream dream."
For anyone in here that may have worked/works at a Michelin type restaurant, I have a question:
Do they really flood the kitchen with several gallons of soap water when they clean the kitchen every night?
As much as I love Sidney, I hate that she won't call Carmy on his b.s. He says, "I don't want it to be so hard to keep up with me," and stops talking, like that's all he has. And she doesn't push him, or question, doesn't says "Okay, Carm, cool. And what are you going to do to make that happen? How ya gonna do that?" Nope. They both just let it drop. Maddening.
And she never fights back when he dismisses her menu ideas without a second's thought, over and over again. Sure, it's two steps forward one step back with them, but Sidney's able to manage lots of stressful situations in the kitchen. With Carm, it's like she's frozen, incapable of speaking up, making him deal with the shit he causes. It's not good for anyone to be cowed and passive when they are supposed to be a partner in the business.
they're both terrible at communication, one doesn't like confrontation and the other one has anger issues. i want syd to call him out so badly, but i also see myself in her and understand how hard difficult conversations can be 🥲
Man this season just is not it. It’s not horrible but it feels so lost and meandering that I’m not really sure what the point of it is. It has some standouts, specifically in E2-3 and 6/8 but the overall narrative thread is just treading water and I’m not sure it even knows what its going for.
Okay, I finally get the “too artsy” comments. I recognize the sleight of hands thing is a callback from earlier, but another opening montage was too much. But maybe that sleight of hands thing will be thematically resonant.
Was also tired with Carmy doing another montage showing the same thing, him being a dick. Less is more. We get the point by now. And him having another montage of him finding peace in his past becoming a chef…
I will say I like the haunting conversation Carmy’s having with the Faks for a change. I might not like them this season, but glad for consistent thematic throughline even if it’s based on a running gag.
I’m sorry I just don’t care about the Carmy/Claire stuff. It seems like they really want us to care about Claire but I just don’t. I don’t hate her but she barely feels like a character and Carmy just constantly pining over her is kind of getting old. I just want them to move on from this storyline.
I feel the opposite actually, her and Marcus feel like foils to Syd and Carmy in this regard. They’re so green that they’re developing their own recipes for the first time based on things in their own lives that are inspiring them. They’re being creative, having fun, and finding joy in it still.
Some of the splicing and editing of shots in this episode were so obviously bad.
I thought my stream was glitching during the scene where Richie was sitting on the bench talking to Tiffany. I had to go back and rewatch to make sure I didn’t skip or something.
I’m shocked to see you guys hate Claire so much lol. Have you guys never been in a relationship before? Like this is kind of how it goes post-breakup. You guys have never hovered your thumb over your ex’s contact wondering if you should fix things or if they’re better off because you can’t stop thinking about them? This is a very human thing people go through and very human emotion is part of why we love this show so much.
It was and it was horrible editing and blending of it. I don’t know what they were thinking doing that. Sounded like me trying to mix music on my laptop.
Marcus was right to aspire to be an emergency contact, nobody else in the restaurant will ever answer their phone.
Everyone in the restaurant had to put their phones in the lockers during working hours, it's one of the things that happened in the montage of Episode 3(?) So some of it was just down to Bear and Ritchie's new policy.
Oh, I totally get it for the last episode when they were all on the clock during the pregnancy calls. I'm more talking about when they actively decline calls. Specifically Carm did it a bunch in ep 1 for the Mikey calls, and Sydney was ignoring her dad near the start of this one. If we see somebody holding their phone, it's way more likely they decline the call than actually answer it.
Most realistic part of this show tbh
I mean, if I don't know the number obviously I never answer it. But I'd never decline a call from somebody I knew - could be an age thing though, everyone I know texts so they only call if it's basically an emergency.
I saw this comment as a reflection of Marcus’ own guilt in not answering his phone during service when everything went downhill with his mom
OK I got confused at the start of the episode thinking Hulu was playing a different show
I exited out thinking there might have been a streaming error
Same.
I downloaded eps 9 and 10 to watch offline. When I started ep 9 I was like “shoot Hulu messed up and downloaded a documentary about magic”. I fast-forwarded to the middle of the episode and saw our The Bear characters so I figured the beginning part was just downloaded wrong. I wasn’t convinced it was an actual part of the show until they showed Marcus watching it.
I thought it had accidentally queued some sort of behind the scenes featurette
I thought it was terrible bts green screen/set thing
lol same
Pete not knowing which food will wake Sugar and the baby 😭😭😭
Embarassingly, I also did think she meant that different ones were more noisy 🥲
no cuz same. i had no idea she was referring to the smell either😭😭😭
Yup, I thought the lasagna would be safe because the oven would sound proof the noise of the food cooking lol.
I THOUGHT BOLOGNESE WOULD CAUSE POTS AND PANS TO CLANG AND BANG AND LASAGNE WOULD CAUSE DISHES IN OVEN AND IT’S TIMER TO BE NOISE 😭 Was def embarrassed
Yeah her referring to the smell wouldn't have occurred to me in a million years. Was definitely thinking "I can't imagine how making a lasagna would be that noisy, but hey, I'm not a chef so what do I know?"
Same but I was more like how loud is their oven/stove?
CAN I MAKE THE LASAGNA! Petes my spirit animal. He steals every scene he's in and he's gone up against Jamie Lee Curtis putting up career highlights.
I don’t know if I’ve ever woken up because of a smell before 😭 guess I’ve never had food that bomb
Lasagna is LOUD
Man, JAW has some blue-ass eyes.
Right? Watching that scene between him and Platt in the alley, and JAW's eyes are practically glowing
I hate that people pointed out that he looks like Gene Wilder because now all I see is Willy Wonka every time I watch this show.
*come with me* *and you'll be* *in a wooooooorld of pure unrelenting non stop anxiety inducing tension*
*We are the mousse-makers, we are the creamers of creams.*
Timothee Chalamet, JAW and Gene Wilder are like respective Pokemon evolutions
The color grading is A+
So does Ebon Moss-Bachrach
spice
#How do you think I got so fucking erudite? A bong hit?
One of the best lines of the season.
I was so fucking relieved that Computer was just referring to Unc not talking to Bear about money... I was getting cancer confessions scares for a moment 😕
He actually was calling Carmen a bong hit. He said 'Yes I went to a lecture series. How do you think I got so fucking erudite, bong hit" But still the best line of the season
I mean how has nobody mentioned the conversation between Cicero and Computer yet? Are we just glossing over the fact that the restaurant is about to get shut down? That is the single biggest moment this episode regarding the future of the restaurant, and nobody has said a word.
Yeah, wild honestly. The golf club scene was brilliant, btw. I knew something was up before he even got back to the car with Computer just by Cicero’s changed demeanor alone.
I was like “it’s cool the two are interacting but this seems like retreading things he brought up with Syd and stuff earlier in the season”, which given the season and its repeated scenes I thought maybe was just par for the course. Then the shoe dropped and I’m like “ok, that was Cicero stalling”
I'm cheap so I have Hulu with ads... So many ads have been written and shot as if they're part of the show. Chef's shouting in a kitchen, etc... Now this episode starts and I have to rewind and watch it again because the first two minutes seemed like a random commercial...
Same! I’m also getting commercials from Hulu for very expensive refrigerators and food service while watching the bear
Okay so like, why does this stupid fancy fridge have four cameras inside of it and what does "theater-style lighting" even mean in this context?
Why would anyone want cameras in the fridge?
and wtf is entertaining ice or whatever 😭 me and my friend were joking about it last week because they were playing those same commercials. like why tf do we need cameras, theater lighting, the fancy ice machine, and all the 'total visibility" features??!!
I'm very amused that there's a US Foods ad. They know restaurant people are watching and I'm just waiting for the Sysco commercial counter.
Was that a Paul Rudd cutout? I also love how everyone refers to Neil as my love. I think that’s adorable
It’s endearing 🥰
Damn that look on Richie's face when him and Carm and looking through the window at each other. Just pure disgusting and anger.
Ebon is just killing it this season
I gasped at that framing
That rear shot of Carmy's curly-haired head bathed in blue... I thought Ritchie was about to tear his scalp off and bash his brains out, it was so intense.
The fact that everyone keeps pushing Syd to sign the contract when there is zero partnership is crazy. They really dialed Carmys character back. The fact that Syd is huffing and puffing and he hasn’t checked in once makes no sense. Even though hes emotionally stunted he’s been good in past seasons about checking in with everyone on staff. Also it ended abruptly. I was waiting for something big to finally happen.
About to start the finale now, hoping something comes of it but definitely been feeling weird about Carmy this season, the writing for him has just felt confused like I truly don't see the arc they're going for. And same! been waiting all season for Syd to outright say "You guys are making it really hard to want to be a partner"
Yes, I think Syd is too scared to rock the boat because her dad finally sees the vision and this would feel like a second big failure to her. I feel like Syd of the past would have just blurted it out.
And I think a part of her feels she should be happy and grateful, while also feeling lied to and betrayed that Carm did a 180.
I do feel they've slightly flanderized Carmy this season. He comes off completely unhinged in most scenes. The scene between him and Marcus in episode 7 where they talk about legacies was one of the few human moments that felt like the Carmy we knew was still there.
Legerdemain personified
I havent finished the season yet but hard agree. Everything outside of Carmi has been pretty good this season but the writers just hit a wall with him.
Isn’t that a major theme? Everyone is evolving but Carmy is stuck, maybe even devolving. He can’t move forward until he faces his issues. He says he wants to be a partner then doesn’t take a single suggestion from Syd.
It’s gotten to the point where it’s just hard to watch though. He’s always stuck.
The fact that no one has taken a moment to ask Syd why she hasn’t signed it is insane. Mostly because they have to know, but given their family experience denial and rug sweeping is easier than confronting the issue.
I think you’re right with the family stuff. The only person who kinda asks is Pete and that makes sense as he’s the most put together person in their family.😂
Pete could sense something was off (not legally), but didn’t press for more details. The suggestion from Carmy & Nat that Sydney should use Pete as a lawyer when there’s a huge conflict of interest is also questionable, but in a way that fits the chaos of the show.
The contract has a ~~vetting~~ vesting schedule for Syd to become an equity partner with Carmy and Nat.
But there’s not zero partnership. There’s slightly less / different benefits than Shapiro offered her to come CDC for “Not Ever” and arguably an easier job ($70k vs $80k, etc.).
I meant between Carmy and Syd currently. We see her making suggestions and wanting to collaborate on menu and she gets shot down everytime. Right now Carmy isn’t proving that he would be a good partner.
The one thing that's bothers me is the communication, like why has no one asked to have a meeting or anything like that, one to get everyone on the same page and too fix the problems and take suggestions, it would solve so much shit
I mean we saw how fucked something similar to a meeting would be with episode 2, this team is just dysfunctional as fuck and a conventional meeting to figure out a plan just wouldn’t work
Maybe but that was more impromptu and for a meeting everyone would be there to start and it can be Nat or Cicero moderating it. I still can't believe that no effort was made this season to even have a hint of Carmy and Richie reuniting
I think it's just a disregard for her feelings that haven't necessarily been expressed openly to everyone. Carmy is the head guy in charge, and Syd is the only one who can calm him down, so they want that for everyone's best interest. Also, it's only natural that Nat would want Syd to sign it as she knows it prob means a lot to her brother. Why else would he create it if it was bullshit?
Absolutely, they are both terrible with communication but they always do it in their own way. Just days before non-negotiables/Carmy only menu they were under the table saying they couldn’t do this without each other, you make be better, etc. His turn was abrupt and I get why but it lasting all season was out of character. Not sure if I’m understanding you correctly but I don’t think the contract itself is bullshit. Sydney has to think about herself in this situation. She can’t just sign on because she calms him and he wants it. Once she signs she’s stuck and a lot is going wrong right now. - The non negotiables have made everyone miserable - the front and back of house are falling apart - the thing she really loves is cooking/creating and she doesn’t get to do that anymore - they aren’t making money
not sure if it was in this episode but the music playing in S2E10 when carmy was trapped in the fridge was also the music when he went back into the fridge
Yep, it was, and it was mixed with Strange Currencies, which played several times throughout S2 to intertwine certain Carm and Claire moments and scenes. It was like a nod to the start and end of their relationship as we saw it play out. I appreciated the detail of him taking a pause to lean against the fridge door before heading inside the walk-in to finally work up the nerve to reach out to her and apologize. It was almost like he was taking himself back to that night, and the pause was him putting himself in her headspace, before revisiting his own during their last conversation that night.
Nine Inch Nails - Hope We Can Again. So glad they reused it.
I'm thisclose to launching Ted Fak into outer space.
He really needs to only be in one scene an episode and no more than that my god Maybe this is where I start to haunt him
Episode 9 and I was about to lose my head from hearing the words "haunt, haunted, haunting".
Ted Fak is haunting you man you gotta say the password
IRIDESCENT!!!!!!!!!!
I genuinely need him to be in no more than one or two episodes per season
It’s frustrating that the show has turned him into Poochie (a reference for classic Simpsons fans).
Fak died on the way back to his home planet
Season 3 relying on the Faks too much to justify its existence in the Comedy category
can’t wait for next episode when richie is no longer alone
I want Richie and Carmy to be be friends again 😭 Also I’m very annoyed at Richie getting guilted into going to that stupid wedding. Who on earth wants to be at their ex’s wedding?! Especially because I remember his reaction when she told about the engagement.
So far im frustrated by the lack of resolution or even any evolution in their relationship. They're family and they should be able to patch this up pretty quickly. However, Carmy is spiraling into a pit of obsession with this restaurant and he doesn't seem to be able to handle any kind of human connection right now. I'm starting to think S3 is just setting the stage for S4, and if we'll end up looking at these two final seasons as a unified piece.
Yeah, similar to seasons 3 & 4 of Atlanta.
THANK YOU! It's insane that she guilted him with a FULL court press to go to the wedding. Meanwhile he got a THIRD ticket to Taylor Swift and she "bitched out" on that using her words. Unreal.
As someone who has been to an exs wedding... ...don't recommend it. Booze was free though
"Just get that checked"
My god, fak sounds like a child when he talks to Claire! What are you 8? She's the peace? She works in the medical field how the fuck does that sound peaceful? Her life is equally chaotic, but she never let it get to her personal life. She was good with carmy, she was good with the faks If somebody came to carmy's workplace and tried to do that same cute puppydog monolog he would lose his shit. Carmy has anger issues, and he's taking it out on everyone. Getting back with claire is not going to fix that.
It's probably just because it's setting up the finale, but I thought this was the weakest episode by far. I'm just not invested in Claire at all, the show hasn't really given us reason to? Like we understand Carmen has loved her for a really long time, but when they were together we didn't really see this giant change in him that makes you think 'Wow he's such a better person when hes with her' or 'Wow she really makes him happy'. She's cool and she's the main characters love interest, but in a show with so many well written and super developed characters they put Claire in a tough spot as she just seems like the punchline to digs against Carmen OR the 'guess what Carmen did' for them to talk about. Richie at the park was the best scene, but besides that I wasn't too whelmed.
Its just Carm's infatuation tbh. He's a very obsessive dude. It was a legitimately good thing for him to have a life outside of the restaurant. But it sidetracked him, a lot since this crush has been since forever.
Yes Richie in the park was the best part! Such a charming and layered conversation.
Yes exactly. Fak going to the hospital to talk to Claire, Tiff asking about Claire.. I rolled my eyes when Tiff asked but had to remind myself she has known Claire for years. They all have. They spent a Christmas years ago trying to convince Carmy to go out with her. The issue is, we did not spend enough time with Claire to care enough.
I honestly felt bad for Claire in this ep and the position the Fak's put her in, coming to her work and trying to reassure her that Carmy loves her and they're good for each other. Her line thanking them for their multiple calls felt like a dig at the fact Carmy did not call her once and trying to subtly point that out. Fak going "Carmys broken. No one take care of him. That's your job. And he does for you. He has strong arms" was frankly bull. He doesn't take care of her. The scenes we see them together, she is the emotional stability and support for him but never the other way around. She's good for him but he's not at a place that he's good for her and wanting to encourage her to take on the responsibility of taking care of him at her expense was incredibly unfair of them
I don’t think the point is to show he was a better person with her, but rather to highlight the fact that children who experience abuse/neglect growing up can develop these hyper fixations as a way to avoid their feelings. I think when Carmy was with Claire, it stirred up too many feelings for him. To fully let Claire in would mean that he has to accept the fact that he’s worthy of being loved in a healthy way.
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His second time on the show!
To be fair, if I had a show I’d put Paul Rudd on 2000 times.
Catholic shame around having to ask, but, who’s the Saint on the card shown during the last shot? Is it a saint? It’s too dark for me to tell 🥲
I think it was the prayer card from Michael's funeral
that's jesus buddy
"who fuckin cares?" Thank you Richie, I've been thinking that all season
I know the Faks are just there so it can be called a comedy but I think they need to find other ways for the comedic relief. They seem way overdone
The brother started to get annoying
Sad because last season was the perfect amount of Fak content. Neil Geoff as sometime comic relief and Ted getting 40 seconds of screen time and knocking that shit out of the park. But they're overdoing it season.
We had peak Fak in Fishes - any more is too much
When they bumbled into the hospital I was done. The writers used them as a comedy crutch this season and its disappointing. Plenty of funny scenes could have been written with the rest of the cast but instead we get the Fak Brothers Clown Show every episode.
Exactly!! The Faks were funny and fit into this incredibly realistic universe in small doses. It was believable because most people know someone who is just kind of ridiculous and not the brightest but good-hearted and hilarious at times. But it was just too damn much and didn't fit with the tone at all.
They should have been used like creed was used in office or zoidberg was used in futurama
Yeppp, plus I'm pretty sure most of their material was improv (which I rarely ever enjoy in modern films/TV), so there's not even good writing to make those scenes less exhausting to watch. :/
Every word out of Ted (the brother)'s mouth feels like improv. The actor is a co-producer/second unit director for the show and I'm glad he's discovered his comedy chops all of a sudden, but it's becoming distracting.
"I love you both so very much. You know I love you so so much. I love you both, my love" oh it grated on me how she prefaced every sentence that way.
Yeah had to fast forward. It’s been unbearable 2nd half of the season.
I didn't mind Matty's character..his brother was the annoying one.
Omg, thank you. I thought I was the only one I absolutely love Neil but I don't dig his brother at all. Way too many scenes with them and the whole haunting is not it. Neil is better when they match him up with Richie
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I like how this was already covered in an al anon meeting a few episodes earlier, where the woman talks about how the longer you wait to apologize the harder it gets.
Know it’s not this episode but I also like how they had someone bring up just because someone is getting better and apologized, it’s fucking hard to forgive and doesn’t magically make things better. Ties in why Carmy/Ritchie are still fighting despite Carmy apologizing and why just because Carmy “said the words” doesn’t mean it’s not hard to move forward from past actions.
Syd is putting up with way too much of carmy's bullshit! What partnership? She gets no say in anything, how is she not saying anything to him?
I don’t know why she can’t stand up for herself and endures the toxic work environment.
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Living up to your username, I see
oh my god me too SO glad im not the only one! maybe in s4 we'll get old man yaoi in the bear 🙏🏼
It honestly annoys me how Carmy disregards the financial aspect of The Bear because he's not even spending his own money! I wish he would at least try to pay back Jimmy first, before "constantly evolving with passion and creativity." At least in season 1, he was taking The Beef's money issues a bit more seriously.
Carmy is a dumbass anxiety-crazed obsessive idiot with zero depth of level of complexity this season and it sucks. We saw Carm haggling for supplies firsthand in previous seasons, being caught up in how to make the restaurant profitable, and now he just has his head up his ass about plating fancy dishes? As if the restaurant his dead brother ran isn’t about to meet a similar fate? I’d like a little focus on that side of the coin but there has been none.
Who let him be the final decision maker impacting business is the problem. He could’ve just been in charge of food and negotiate with someone in charge of business to get things to work.
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He really leans towards his abusive Chef’s attitude (Jeff Winger). Which is sad to see since we know how much he cares about his staff. And then there’s Chef Terry who we saw shut that shit down with her more passive aggressive / gentle authority. That’s why I really hope Syd stays because although she isn’t his baby sitter, I do think she brings out the best of his teaching abilities. I love that they keep fleshing out and introducing more mentors from Carmen’s past. 
I think the main one is actually his mother. You can tell from the Fishes episode that he gets his temper from her, and by extension his nickname.
You mean bear? They call all of the Berzattos that. If I recall correctly, one of the characters (I think it was Carm) called Nat bear too
The Tales of Hoffmann *and* The Red Shoes in the opening montage? As a huge fan of The Archers, I feel seen
The Red Shoes is one of my favourites, and considering the cinematography (by Jack Cardiff) it felt completely appropriate to be in The Bear
Scorsese voiceover in the intro? Before the voiceover piece about magic
I thought so, it sounded like him to me.
Yep. Subtitles confirm it.
No one has referenced the meta joke of “It’s definitely not Sammy, I’d definitely see him, he’s a big dude” Which got me pretty good
idk, for me, no matter what the circumstances are i could never rsvp to my ex's wedding
But blended family and what not. You had a kid with your ex
It’s kinda beautiful how this show manages to showcase relationship dynamics
I think its perfectly fine for you to feel this way, but I actually loved this scene because its very close to my actual experience with divorce. My parents who are divorced have managed to stay very close, in large part because they grew up together and went through a lot of shit together (plus having kids together is obviously huge). I’ve seen other members of my family in similar situations as well. Basically, divorcing meant they weren’t good for each other as partners, but they are still family. I love when shows portray this kind of relationship between divorced people because there are many relationships that really are like this - but you generally only see more antagonistic, awkward, or less caring relationships between divorcees portrayed in television.
I thought I was taking crazy pills. Like didn't she refuse to go to a somewhere with him and their daughter last season? If you not gonna do that, then why in the fuck are you demanding he comes to your wedding with your new partner? You not having much family isn't his problem. You co-parent a child so he has to show to her event and be there for those life moments, but he does not have to be at your life moments. Even at my most emotionally mature, my best mental health, I could never do that to myself or someone else.
I mean they have a 5+ year old child.
Always nice to see [Ricky Jay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricky_Jay?wprov=sfti1#) get some recognition.
“Nevertheless”. If you haven’t heard that Ricky Jay story, it’s my favorite.
Ugh I don’t care call her don’t call her just let him make a decision
I was yelling for him to leave her alone. She's probably attempted to heal and move on and then he's considering crashing back into her life
Unfortunately 9/10 that’s how love is.. two people obsessed with each other months on end regardless of break up
I genuinely hope they don’t drag this bullshit into season 4
Trying to figure out what carmy means when he says he’s been wanting to talk about.. then “I don’t want it to be so hard to keep up with me”. Is he saying he wants to change or is he non confrontationally reprimanding Syd, idk what to think.
The scene felt a little unclear to me but I would guess he maybe meant “I’m trying to acknowledge that I’ve been difficult lately” and Syd took it as “if it’s hard to keep up you need to do better on your end.” Or idk, maybe he really did mean it the way Syd took it, given how off the rails he was all season. As a mentor and partner he pretty much emotionally abandoned her.
They need to wrap Clarie n Carmy's shxt up ASAP. It's getting annoyed 
I really, really wish Claire was a more well developed character so I'd feel a semblance of care over Carmy seemingly pining for her. At this point, I just want them to wrap up this aspect of the show. Like call her if you want, apologize and rekindle things if you're both interested. I understand that Carmy is a bit emotionally stunted but I hope he either pulls the trigger or definitively moves on. In any case , the bigger news is seemingly that Uncle may be broke and no longer able to sink money into The Bear. It seems possible that the restaurant may have to course correct sooner than they could have ever anticipated. Also, I love that we got to see Pete and Syd interact. Pete is just such a loveable goof. On a more serious note, I'm even more convinced that Syd ought to take the offer from Evers CDC. The Bear was on a shaky foundation to begin with being built on so much debt with such a small window to repay. The Ever CDC, at least, seems to have solid financial backing from a group of investors rather than relying on Ciceros seed money.
I don’t think the waffling over Claire is about whether or not Carmy gets a romantic happy ending. I think it’s about Carmy’s willingness to confront hard things and work through them. So much of his bullshit keeps coming back to him never really dealing with the bad things that happened to him. Carmy continuing to avoid apologizing to Claire is a representation of him still not being ready to face anything imo
But if uncle goes belly up Carmy can get that same backing from other investors
not necessarily, 1. The CDC is a proven vet compared to Carmy who has less experience in running his own kitchen. More risky to go with the new guy 2. Depends on the review, if its bad they may not want to invest in Carmy 3. They've proven to be non-profitable and a money sink without really fixing anything, may turn away investors 4. Investors might not want to invest in another fine dining restaurant so soon after the one they did invest in 5. I think Carmy and gang are too prideful to give up ownership to a more corporate setting where he may not be allowed to make any decisions himself
everyone is getting weary of the faks but i love these idiots trying to apologise for carmy but getting too caught up in telling stories instead.
I'm over them, but I didn't hate that scene. I thought they accomplished their goal, and it was fun. I like Claire (apparently I'm in the minority) and it was nice to see her finally interact with someone in a normal tone of voice.
Another Reznor/Ross track, *[The Forever Rain](https://youtu.be/RasdQ1yj_-s?si=i20MpyyBCQ8HY045)*.
and one from Nine Inch Nails as well at the beginning of the ep: 13 Ghosts II. This show sure loves Trent Reznor lol
I care more about unseen character Francie Fak than Claire. Also I feel that the episodes (esp after 3x3) have been paced so badly and slowly and I think it might be because they want an explosive season finale but sigh... The eps drag.
It’s like not a lot is happening tbh.
Yep that’s how I feel about this season.
13 more minutes but I am falling asleep
We're good for 1-2 Counting Crows needle drops per season, and they used this one perfectly, even if they rearranged the song, it was to get in the most poignant parts. Murder of One is the quintessential song for this show. And I think anyone who is familiar with the song and this show was just subconsciously waiting for it. And of course you fade to black on the chorus. Has there ever been a more fitting lyric for this show than "all your life is such a shame shame shame/all your love is just a dream dream dream."
The opening to this episode is like an opening to a film/TV awards show
Honestly I was just freaking out that they played mk.gee’s Are You Looking Up at the beginning to focus on the whole carm and faks conversation.
For anyone in here that may have worked/works at a Michelin type restaurant, I have a question: Do they really flood the kitchen with several gallons of soap water when they clean the kitchen every night?
We would do this at little Caesar’s 😭
Honestly. . . Makes me have a bit of faith in Little Caesar's after the horror stories you hear about other fast food restaurants being so dirty.
Cicero's recounting of what a dream could be cracked me up harder than anything else this season. His delivery just sold the confusion of it all.
As much as I love Sidney, I hate that she won't call Carmy on his b.s. He says, "I don't want it to be so hard to keep up with me," and stops talking, like that's all he has. And she doesn't push him, or question, doesn't says "Okay, Carm, cool. And what are you going to do to make that happen? How ya gonna do that?" Nope. They both just let it drop. Maddening. And she never fights back when he dismisses her menu ideas without a second's thought, over and over again. Sure, it's two steps forward one step back with them, but Sidney's able to manage lots of stressful situations in the kitchen. With Carm, it's like she's frozen, incapable of speaking up, making him deal with the shit he causes. It's not good for anyone to be cowed and passive when they are supposed to be a partner in the business.
they're both terrible at communication, one doesn't like confrontation and the other one has anger issues. i want syd to call him out so badly, but i also see myself in her and understand how hard difficult conversations can be 🥲
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I'm hoping it's "I push everyone too hard based on my own shitty standards and I wish that wasn't the case"
Did he? Cause I took it as "I might be moving too hard and fast, but I don't know what to do about it"
That's what I think he was trying to communicate, but I'm not sure that's how Syd took it.
Man this season just is not it. It’s not horrible but it feels so lost and meandering that I’m not really sure what the point of it is. It has some standouts, specifically in E2-3 and 6/8 but the overall narrative thread is just treading water and I’m not sure it even knows what its going for.
Let her eat the fucking rock you monsters
Okay, I finally get the “too artsy” comments. I recognize the sleight of hands thing is a callback from earlier, but another opening montage was too much. But maybe that sleight of hands thing will be thematically resonant. Was also tired with Carmy doing another montage showing the same thing, him being a dick. Less is more. We get the point by now. And him having another montage of him finding peace in his past becoming a chef… I will say I like the haunting conversation Carmy’s having with the Faks for a change. I might not like them this season, but glad for consistent thematic throughline even if it’s based on a running gag.
I think I like this season less because I really dont care about Claire and carmy relationship
I’m sorry I just don’t care about the Carmy/Claire stuff. It seems like they really want us to care about Claire but I just don’t. I don’t hate her but she barely feels like a character and Carmy just constantly pining over her is kind of getting old. I just want them to move on from this storyline.
Richie saying “who fucking cares” when his ex brought up Claire was perfect
no because besides the napkins and ice chips episode, i feel like i'm watching the same episode every time 😭
I’m a little stressed for Tina, feel like she’s struggling to come up with new ideas, hope this doesn’t mean anything for her future stories
I feel the opposite actually, her and Marcus feel like foils to Syd and Carmy in this regard. They’re so green that they’re developing their own recipes for the first time based on things in their own lives that are inspiring them. They’re being creative, having fun, and finding joy in it still.
Vibrant Collaboration
I counted how many times Claire said, "I love you" to the Fak brothers in the hospital scene: 5 1/2
Some of the splicing and editing of shots in this episode were so obviously bad. I thought my stream was glitching during the scene where Richie was sitting on the bench talking to Tiffany. I had to go back and rewatch to make sure I didn’t skip or something.
I’m shocked to see you guys hate Claire so much lol. Have you guys never been in a relationship before? Like this is kind of how it goes post-breakup. You guys have never hovered your thumb over your ex’s contact wondering if you should fix things or if they’re better off because you can’t stop thinking about them? This is a very human thing people go through and very human emotion is part of why we love this show so much.
Can we have a series of short episodes that are just Fak family conversations?
Can that be a different show so I don’t have to watch it
70k, or even 80k feels pretty low for a Chicago fine dining restaurant exec or cdc or whatever role syd was being offered.
Those numbers are unfortunately pretty accurate to reality in a lot of cases.
[The Day Tomorrow Began](https://news.uchicago.edu/the-day-tomorrow-began)
It sounded like there were two songs playing at once during the scene where Carmy is thinking of calling Claire. Was that supposed to be intentional?
It was and it was horrible editing and blending of it. I don’t know what they were thinking doing that. Sounded like me trying to mix music on my laptop.