mitocamdria

[mitocamdria]

Omg yes!! Why did I also take this exact screen shot yesterday cracking up about their expressions 😂

I swear us sydcarmies share one brain cell, I love us 😂❤️

Their faces are killing me when Nat calls them "fuckers" 😂.

Why is Syd's face like "bit rude!" and Carmy's face like he just got caught and personally called out?

[mitocamdria]

Sydcarmy body language analysis: Wedding scene

This scene has become one of the most popular exchange between Syd and Carmy in S4 and has yielded some of the most romantic images of Sydcarmy this season in the fandom. What makes it so captivating is not just the moment of relaxation and friendliness between them, it's the way their bodies tell a story about how they feel about each other. It feels like their bodies are always speaking a different special language regardless of the subject matter.

So, Carmy is back from the kitchen after recovering from his panic attack and meeting Donna. Syd has just left Donna and finds him by the bar nursing a half full (note the symbolism here) glass of water

You can immediately see the way he draws a deep breath upon seeing her, his body relaxes and his eyes light light up. His eyes also does a quick flicker downward at this point as he quickly takes in her face and dress.

She informs him that Donna has left the party and he says "thank God" and she laughs at his response. Pretty benign conversation her but the flirty vibes between them here is so unnecessarily heavy for what they are talking about.

He checks in on her again making sure she's okay after her encounter with Donna. She reassures him she's okay and it was all fine and you can see her leaning her body forward towards him. Notice how from the shots both ways you can see they are already very close to each other but...

He takes one more small step closer to her. It's almost like his mind was going "not close enough, not close enough" . Now that he's closer, he's even more locked in and tuned in.

Even at this point you can still see him leaning forward as he talks to her, like there's still a gap he wishes to close. I also love the way he momentarily breaks away after some intense gazing to look at nothing in particular because I imagine he could melt from staring in her eyes too long lol.

At this point, Stevie approaches them and you can see as Syd turns her focus to Stevie, Carmy has a somewhat delayed reaction to that, almost like he was captivated and reluctant to break away from her gaze. You see him follow the direction of her eyes to what she's looking and seemed a little surprised by his Stevie.

After hugging Stevie, his focus immediately turns to Syd again, he wants to introduce his "friend" immediately to him. Notice that very boyish smile. This was the happiest and most relaxed he ever looked at that wedding.

They then go on to have the most couple coded interaction with Stevie. Their whole banter was so old married couple, it's crazy. The hilarious spiel about Carmy's smell and her subtle teasing, him getting slightly defensive, even playfully annoyed at her and just the general way they moved in this scene is basically a snap shot of what their lives could look like as a couple in social settings and I really think it was done on purpose for better or worse.

[mitocamdria]

THE BEAR IS A DIRTY MOVIE:

Part 2: Everywhere for those with eyes to see.

Read Part 1 here.

So if BB represents a dramatization of Carmy's sexual energy and all it's trappings. What could represent Syd's sexual energy The Bear way?

An exploding toilet, believe it or not!!

<actually it's fire and water respectively, but that's not as dramatic so... :D>

First of all, they've named it Latriana, which automatically ascribes femininity to it. Gushing, spurting water is, and has been a classic sex joke for a while now, especially water gushing unto a person. This so happens to be the image that is used in ep 5 "Sheridan", befittingly the most Syd focused of the season.

The set up is done for Syd to take over operations for the day and showcase how adept she is in handling emergency situations and making impromptu decisions. She and Carmy are discussing menu modifications, with Carmy flaking as usual after spotlighting her idea, leaving Sydney unimpressed, when the strange noise from the toilet demands their attention (one hilarious note is how that happens just as Syd is about to do something with the towel from her crotch area).

When they go check it out, the look on Syd's face is apprehensive as if she knew what was coming. Maybe, in reality, she did flush a tampon in the loo and was just realizing. Carmy looks at the toilet, points to Syd and says "I know what this is!" before the toilet totally lets it rip and he is violently sprayed water from the toilet.

On a sidebar, notice that each time the toilet exploded, Syd somehow has to assume operative control of the restaurant? Make of that what you will.

The idea of water as a sex metaphor is both very age-old and very pop culture. Water has even been used as metaphor for sex in the Bible. In pop culture, we all know what it means when people refer to thirst and quenching thirst. Also the behavior of water is very fitting as a symbol feminine sexuality, it is necessary to sustain life, it's fluid, healing, comforting and nourishing. It can also be mysterious, dangerous and destructive.

The direct opposite of water is fire, which I would say represents the male sexual energy in this case and we can see how images with water and fire play out in the series. It's a cooking show after all. We definitely can see the pattern with the backed up grease in the stove causing a fire to break out in Braciole. We can also tie this in with firing a gun (shooting a gun, wink) and see how this motif plays out in season one.

Both fire and water need each other. Both are necessary for life while being mysterious and dangerous when they get out of control.

Other interesting scenes with water symbolism in The Bear:

- "System": When Carmy burns his hand, he goes to the sink to run his hand in water with Syd standing by the sink.

- "Hands": He's washing his hands in the sink while observing Syd who is handling expo for the day.

- "Brigade": He seeks Syd out after their tiff and is holding a deli container of water while he makes up with her.

- "Sheridan" when Richie and Fak are having their very homoerotic fight, Carmy breaks them up by throwing water on them.

- "Braciole": After he discovers Syd's notebook, the fire incident happens and he cools his face with water after.

- "Beef" Alone in his apartment, where he comes up with the idea to gift Syd a custom chef's whites of her own, there's a sound of water dripping in the background.

- "Omelette": He has a panic attack where thinking about the image and voice of Syd is the only thing that can calm him down. After that we see him rubbing water over his face as well.

- "Pasta": After they taste the failed but "almost perfect" radicchio dish, Carmy asks Syd if she has water even though they are literally in his own place.

- "Pop" At the highschool/frat party, Claire asks Carmy to go get some water. But he doesn't get any water. He comes back empty handed.

- Carmy and Syd staring out into the water at various points in the show.

Verbal, physical and dramatic depictions and metaphors

I'll start with Richie. He's the most directly expressive and outspoken in terms of sex, coming on offensively strong even to the point of sexual harassment, at least till he learns to do better. He initially displays a lot of misogynistic and homophobic behavior calling Sydney "sweetheart" and "babe" and even accuses her of giving sexual favours when their relationship becomes more antagonistic. We see him calling Carmy a "fairy" and a "gay rod", berate Carmy and Neil's supposed friendship, calling them "butt buddies", while simultaneously displaying a lot of homoerotic behaviour, especially towards Neil.

We also see a lot of sex themed verbal comebacks from him in conversations. Eg, "fuck your vibe... I will fuck anything I want to fuck" conversation with Fak; responding "69 all day, chef!" to Carmy when Carmy is calling for pers count and tells him to go fuck himself. He responds "I will" to Nat when she tells him to go fuck himself. He tells Ted to "stop thinking about pussy" while they are buffing the floors. He talks about Fak's pheromones being "weak as shit" which low-key indicates that he himself can actually smell them.

Double entendres

"Entendre" is a french word meaning "to hear". Double entendre means a certain artistic expression has another meaning under the literal meaning of the expression. The Bear, in my opinion, tries to point the audience to the idea of double or even multiple meanings to what is being shown to us. Examples are, Richie in "Pasta" saying "you need to learn how to watch stuff", indirectly scolding viewers who only stick to literal interpretations. Chichi in "Next" also says "you don't hear it like I hear it" , still indirectly invoking the idea of double/multiple entendres. Also the intro for "Apologies" talks about sleight of hand and magic, indicating things are hidden under the surface.

There are many ways in which the way that a scene on the bear is shot, the dialogue delivery or the dramatization of events could point to sexual connotations.

So let's dig in.

In System, after Carmy is rudely shut down by Richie, he sees Syd staring at him. She turns away while he looks on taking very deep breaths. On the surface he looks like he's just reacting to being embarrassed in front of his new crush employ. On a second level, you could say Syd being there is helping him calm down, ie taking deep breaths. Throw a sexual filter on that and it straight up becomes-

this man is heavy breathing!

Heavy breathing is a slang for showing strong sexual passion or being excited or aroused, so this scene could be interpreted as him getting aroused by Syd, especially when you connect it with the scene that follows;

In the next scene, Carmy is talking to Neil worried that BB is taking too long to get fixed. He starts fidgeting and acting uncomfortable and asks sweeps to open the windows at the back. In other words,

he was acting hot and bothered!

Hot and bothered is also a slang for being sexually aroused. Neil notices blood on his finger where he cut himself and BB says "cum stain", probably suggesting (he engages in or should be engaging in) self pleasure.

Later when the nerds come, they start getting rowdy and Carmy goes to try to quell them, ie, suppress/repress. He doesn't succeed though, they turn on him and start beating him up. Only when Richie comes out and shoots (get it?) a gun in the air does the rowdiness and violence die down. Interestingly, in the BB game, the top player names abbreviations are quite interesting.

Carmy had asked cousin earlier to "give him a hand" with the nerds which he initially refuses. There's a call back to this moment in "Next" with Carmy and Richie's "give you a hand" "get fucked" back and forth.

Hole in the wall:

In season 2 "Beef", the hole in wall scene can also be given a sexual interpretation. There are many hole in the wall jokes of a sexual nature like the one overlayed on the image there. They are usually jokes that depict voyeurism and also sexual jokes about orifices (mouth, vagina and anus). The way he looks so enraptured by that hole is so very sus. Also after Sydney falls through it, he puts his hand in it too. Curious.

Another thing I caught was, while encouraging Nat to consider the PM offer from Syd, he says "do me a favor keep thinking about it?" But if you look at the articulation of his lips, it sort of looks like he's saying "her" not "it", but we do assume "it" because that's the logical way he's supposed to say it.

{Now, a non-sexual layer to this scene also is a play on:

1) Hole-in-the-wall restaurants : A term for a restaurant that is not fancy or expensive. The Beef transforms from one kind to another kind of a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in the show.

2) The idea of breaking the fourth wall. Carmy is looking into the hole and straight at us (interesting since our role as viewers is voyeuristic), and it's a room so it's literally THE FOURTH WALL. We see other instances of them breaking the fourth wall later in season 2 and 3.}

Cleaning floors

Someone on here linked the image of cleaning floors with being sexually frustrated. I fully agree with them based on the timing of when this happens in show.

-Only Carmy and Sydney have been shown cleaning the floors on all fours.

- 1st time we see Carmy cleaning the floors, he goes home and dreams of the castration scene from BB while sleep walking.

- 2nd time, in Braciole , while Syd is gone, he cleans the dining room with BB going off in the background.

- 3rd time, in Tomorrow, he is shown cleaning the floors before the montage of his relationship with Claire is shown.

- In Bolognese, Syd is shown cleaning the floors in the infamous montage of Carmy and "his girlfriend", suggesting that she is now sexually frustrated herself after Carmy has found a new love interest.

Under the table

This one is famous and has been talked about to death because well, it is THE SCENE!!! The theory of this scene as a metaphor of the actual act of love-making has been explained several ways. I especially love the one by @chefkids.

One thing I want to point out is that before this scene is the hilarious "fuck me" "okay" exchange between Carmy and Syd which could be interpreted as Sydney giving him prior consent for them to screw under the table. And right before this exchange is the curious bit with Carmy pointing to Sydney's crotch- with an elongated object, no less!

Sex in Carmy's Art (tap heading)

Carmy's artistic side came to light in season 2 when he shows Sydney his drawings of the menu and since then we've seen several features of his art through seasons 2 and 3. Is he just drawing food though, or is there a deeper meaning to them?

Food and eroticism

There are many ways in which food is used to portray eroticism in every day life. We see it everywhere in media. Food and sex have a very strong connection since they pretty much produce the same chemicals in the brain. There's a reason hedonism and debauchery go hand in hand. There are terms like foodgasm, food porn, etc.

Carmy displays a lot of eroticism in his art but as I've said earlier, he doesn't want sex for the sake of sex. His art goes further than just the deed, it explores the chemistry, the biology and the magic behind it.

There's a reason there was all that mentions about "going very fast" and being "anti-climatic and underwhelming" in the dialogue between Carmy and Claire. He was doing the exact opposite thing. Seeking sex for the sake of it, before knowing what you actually wanted/needed from the relationship. That's why the sex scene ends with him looking...well, underwhelmed and regretful.

Carmy wants the total package. He wants a mental, emotional and spiritual connection with the person he does these things with. You can see even with the way he interacts with nature that he's a romantic at heart.

And Carmy wants a family. That's why his knee jerk reaction to Nat announcing her pregnancy was that of dramatic fascination. He wants that too and it shows in his art. There's also procreation symbolism in his James Beard award certificate. The name of the restaurant is taken from Shakespeare's sonnet, Fairest creatures we desire increase- a poem encouraging "the beautiful ones" (🙄 kinda eugenicist, but whatever) to have children and populate the earth. Also when Richie and Carmy fought, Richie used Carmy's childlessness as an insult. That's a very specific dig to someone still so young, which means it may be something Carmy expressed in the past or Richie came to know somehow.

Ultimately, what Carmy really wants is a soulmate.

And not the platonic kind.

[mitocamdria]

for me, THE main reason I think the show is gonna go with the romantic route, is the hamachi dish.

in s1, we get to know that Sydney's best meal was what Carmy made in New York

in s3, we get to know how much abuse he took in new york, how with the fennel it wasn't his dish anymore, but was forced to make that way, and that one day, after Mikey died, he said fuck it, this plate, this one plate is gonna be mine, he rebelled against the abuse, and that one plate was the one Sydney got. The one that was life-changing, and probably was a big part of why she took the job at the Beef. (And also, it looked like a bleeding heart.) She had a taste of the best of him, that spark that was there despite all the abuse, the anxiety, the sudden grief and guilt, that spark that in s4, we know he can't draw from anymore. and that best part was the best she ever had.

in s4, Sydney tells Donna that she flew to new york, becuse she wanted to taste his food so badly, and hands down that was the best meal of her life, and that "i don't even know if he knows this"

They keep bringing this up, telling us that he doesn't even know this. Why is it important? It could be professional reasons. That they are really platonic soulmates in the kitchen, that she's gonna be his legacy - he made her best meal, now she's gonna do the same to someone else.

And it would make sense, because season 4 was all about that:

in s3, they have a talk about legacy, and if he's gonna leave something behind, he wants it to be panicless, anxiety-free, he has to filter out the bad to make it good

and in s4, we see the absolute calmest, almost sensual sequence with Sydney making the scallop dish, then he sees her plate the cavatelli under 3 minutes, without even really trying, when that's something even he couldn't do, and realizes, that this is it. Syd is the panicless, anxiety-free version of the restaurant, that he can leave behind. And to make it good, he has to filter out the bad, aka himself, and he has to leave to change, it's the best for the restaurant and him (and he believes for everyone, including Sydney).

him realizing that she's just plain better than him, and more, she's better without all that extra trauma he had to endure to get to that level

and that, well, is painful for him, and is jealous a bit (as Sydney tells TJ, he acts weird and funky with her when she's better), but the season shows us that he ends up accepting it, embracing it, welcoming it (he fully expects her to get that best chef title, with a gentle smile on his lips, absolutely no jealousy or hurt there anymore) (also, there's a big visual emphasis on when he gives her his signature spoon, like it's her turn, she's his legacy)

And the revelation of the hamachi dish would fit in this so well. It could have been like: all the best that he still had in himself, he gave it to her, only her, and she ate it, she internalized it, and now it's hers, and he doesn't have it anymore. It would fit the legacy theme so well.

But they didn't do that. Instead, the crescendo of the theme is their arguing in the finale: "Syd, you're everything I'm never gonna be. I believe in you more than I believed in myself. You're The Bear."

And it feels final. Syd accepts it. She has self-doubt, of course, but she doesn't say "You're wrong." She says "And what if you're wrong." Because she knows it's true. "I know I don't need you." Their argument isn't about the restaurant. That's done. He knows it, she knows it.

So what else is there? What else could they use that reveal of the hamachi dish?

back to the legacy conversation, he says in order to leave something anxiety-free behind, he's gonna have to be square with everyone, and that's what we're seeing he's doing

he apologizes to Claire, calls her and tells her what he should've told her many-many times before, he finds her sweatshirt to give it back to her, to open up a way to see her again

he visits Donna, he lets her apologize, cooks for her, maybe it's a start to be in each other's life

I didn't put a picture, but he calls Cicero to thank him and telling him how much he appreciates him

at the news of him leaving, Nat is just plain happy for him, she hugs him, that's all she wanted for him, to get better, to find peace and joy

even with Richie, their argument came to an end, it was the revelation that he did in fact came to the funeral, he did resent Richie because he was more a part of his family than he was, and that he was blind to the fact the Richie lost someone, too. Then Richie confessed he feels the guilt, too, because he couldn't help Mikey, and he though that's why Carmy didn't go to there funeral. Richie tells him he resented him, too, and missed him. Carmy tells him they're more than cousins. They cleared the air.

However, Sydney and Carmy's argument wasn't over, it was interrupted by Richie. By then, it was already established that she's The Bear, she's everything he's never gonna be, and that she doesn't need him.

"but that's not the point" - Syd tells him, and it tells that it's not about the restaurant and whether or not she could do this without him

"you're my partner" "i'm your friend" "you're not acting like it" "i'm your fucking friend" - they are literally arguing about what they are to each other when Richie stops them

and it's not resolved

when Richie and Carmy fights, at the end of the scene, she already accepted that Carmy leaves - the reality of it at least, and now they have a new plan. So the emotional side of the restaurant's future - it's resolved.

more than that, when Nat asks Carmy "Bear?", like "tell me, is this true?", it's cut to Sydney and Carmy having a silent conversation, nodding to each other, as if Sydney is giving him some kind of "permission" to tell Nat, making it final, making it reality, and just after that he turns to Nat.

but the thing they last argued about, what they are to each other - it's not resolved in the slightest, not like with the other characters.

Carmy said in order to leave, he's gonna have to be square with everyone - and that leaves Syd in S5. It has to be some kind of change in their dynamic, some kind of turnover, and I think that the reveal of the hamachi dish will be the catalyst, like, the realization of love. (He literally gave her his one and only bleeding heart.)

Because they shouted "partner" and "friend" at each other - it would be really disappointing if the resolution of their conflict would be - yeah, we ARE partners and friends. I think it should be a third thing, one that they are both blind to at this point. Like, from a storytelling perspective.

So how I think will turn out? Well, we were given:

we were shown Sydney taking a picture of the hamachi dish

in s4, we were shown Sydney taking a picture of the lamb dish, inspired by her dress she wore at the wedding, where

Sydney's and Donna's conversation took place - Donna now knows how inspired Sydney is by her son, and that he cooked the best meal of her life, she says "wow", because yeah, that's a wild little coincident, and a good story

Carmy mentions the photos at his place, then Donna eventually got him to bring them to her, which leads to this:

"when I saw you at the wedding, and you're all grown, and you're this guy and so handsome, and I'm happy for you" and "people say such nice things about you and tell me how wonderful you are, and I hear about what you do" (that was all Sydney btw) "I hear about your life from other people, I don't know you and you don't know me and i did that, and I know that me saying this doesn't mean anything except that i'm trying, i'm trying to be responsible and accountable and apologize and trying to make things better" "and i'm here asking if i can be part of your life again"

she wants to know her son, because he lived a whole life she wasn't part of

So I can see her trying gather as much knowledge as she can about her kids, Carmy, looking and collecting articles, photos, then maybe reaching out to Sydney (maybe through Nat), asking if she has a photo of his dish, because it was so good to hear how her son did that, inspired someone so much. So maybe Sydney gives her a photo, and maybe Donna one day shows him an album she made about her kids, to show him that she's trying to get to know him. And he's turning the pages, smiling, then bam. He's facing a photo of the blood orange hamachi, and it's like he's hit by a train. It shouldn't be possible. How the fuck is this possible? So he asks Donna, and she tells him this cute story that his coworker told her at the wedding, and that she just had to ask for a photo... and the world is upside down, things clicking into place.

I think it would be such a satisfying revelation, and such a strong resolution to Carmy's and Sydney's interpersonal conflict of "what are we?", and I think with this route, it has to be romantic, bc what other resolution is there? "omg, she's INDEED my friend?" come on.

(btw, I'm literally writing a novel-length fic with this theory right now, bc i'm feeling feral about this idea)

what do you guys think?

[mitocamdria]

I’m happy more people are talking about the genocide in Gaza. Keep doing that. Keep supporting Palestinian families and challenging Zionist talking points.

But also don’t forget about Sudan. Don’t forget about the DRC. Do not abandon the millions of people suffering from what some are considering the worst humanitarian crises in the world. They deserve your unwavering support, too. Anything less than that is just racism.

[mitocamdria]

Oh fuck off

[mitocamdria]

Syd isn’t opening up to Carm until he shows her he can collaborate.

He is still not doing that in S4. He’s just not resisting her like he had been in past seasons.

He’s making his little solo lamb dish and she’s taking a picture and not commenting on it at all. She’s perfecting his scallop dish and telling him she doesn’t need him in the kitchen but that he’s supposed to be there.

(It would be funny if she has a Pinterest board of all the times Carmy makes that dish based on her, though, and she’s saving that evidence for when he finally figures his shit out.)

Based on her dream in S4, I think Syd knows Carmy has been trying to pursue her and she’s still running. The red light sweaty part of the dream (snow + fire = steam) with the bear growl is about that. Syd isn’t the only Bear, the restaurant isn’t the only Bear, the show made that plain this season.

She knows, she’s not even signing partnership agreements with him until he collaborates with her. Richie collaborated with her on Friends & Family. He’s in, Carmy is out. Carmy doesn’t like this at all, that Richie has her trust and not him.

Now, I also think Carmy thinks he is trying to still fix things outside of the kitchen. But he’s still not collaborating. He’s still making plans and not cluing her in. Maybe he thinks this is what friendship looks like? Syd does not think so.

I do think he’s trying to figure himself out probably with the hope of trying to impress her by being less miserable, because I do think he’s that far gone.

However, by not opening up to him, she’s pushing him away and he’s left trying to figure her out indirectly. She was going to leave and he smoked Shapiro’s offer. Here, have the restaurant without what was in your way: me. But he also heard her say she wants him there and she considers him her partner and I don’t think he thinks she’s talking about the restaurant at that point.

He knows she wants him, too, but she won’t let him in, so they’re at an impasse.

I doubt Carmy will be able to stay away from Syd, he never has since the moment they met. He wasn’t even able to when he tried to date someone else.

[mitocamdria]

I agree, I definitely think smoking is tied to the “joy and amusement” Carmy was denying himself after getting stuck in the walk in. Also, at Ever he tells Chef Terry he quit smoking and she says she’s just started smoking and she’s also going to have fun and go to parties, sleep in, aka have more “joy and amusement.” So I think Sydney giving him the cigarette is symbolic of Sydney giving him permission to engage in joy and amusement, permission to stop punishing himself. Permission to fully indulge in Sydney.

A quick revision on the smoking element

Many people have commented on the subtext of Sydney and Carmen smoking together, and the fact that Sydney is taking on this unhealthy coping mechanism (for the anguish of both Richie and Carmen), but there is something else I have been thinking on.

Sydney knew Carmen was trying to stop smoking, so why did she offer him a cigar?

Since the moment Carmy quit cigarettes in S3, I didn't think for a second he was doing it for health reasons, because that shit didn't matter to him before. It could be because he wanted to take his new job as EC seriously (ECs take care that nobody sees them smoke, even if most of them are smokers, because it's their palate that guarantees the quality of the food more than anybody else). But more than anything, I thought he was using this as another way to punish himself. Smoking is a coping mechanism at the end of the day; he learned to smoke with his siblings, it's a relief, it's familiarity, it's confidentiality.

Not to mention, there have been instances of Carmen positively sharing tobacco with Syd. Someone else brought up this parallel, but after dropping Claire off at the hospital, he is smoking (maybe to calm himself from the fire feeling she gave him) and looks kinda annoyed when Claire comes back to take a hint of his cigarette. In contrast, when Sydney takes a bite of his nicotine gum without permission, Carmy smiles and they have a very comfortable exchange about it.

It's funny how she doesn't like the taste of nicotine, but she likes cigarettes later. Most people learn to smoke in social situations, so was Sydney ever part of a club enough to take part in this vice that is very common in the culinary world? It's not a coincidence she started smoking when she was totally relaxed at the party af her house, surrounded by her friends and her hero Chef Terry. Another instance of the show using smoking to show relaxation and confidentiality.

Is this also another way for her to distance herself from her father, "I'm not alone in your house" (anymore)? For Sydney, smoking was likely forbidden fruit. Her father has a machine to help him breathe while he sleeps, which was seen in their house. So, he has both respiratory and heart issues.

This show is never black and white with its symbols; smoking may not necessarily be the equivalent of any vice. I think it's mostly there to represent things that are only viable in the short term but that are understandable (and preferable) as coping mechanisms in the environment they work in.

Health implications aside, I think it's kinda beautiful that they now have a shared coping mechanism. Not to mention, if Carmen was indeed punishing himself by not having the relief of smoking, it wouldn't make sense for Sydney (his actual peace) to be the one who lets him know that it is okay to give himself space to decompress?

Another symbol here is that Sydney smokes for the first time in front of Carmen in the same scene he "crowns her" as the bear. So Sydney has become entirely the uncaged beast, the altruistic chef with unhealthy coping mechanisms he used to be (and still is, as she remembers who he is). Both Sydney and Carmen eat poorly, barely exercise, and have sleep issues. Now they are both completely the same, the only difference between them is "the good" in Sydney that Carmy keeps referencing, which he is actually terrified of. But they are now very comfortable inhabiting each other's skin, which I think helps reduce the resistance they both have towards each other. Carmy cannot see it yet, but that goodness is still in him, and it's one of the reasons the show creates so many parallels between Syd and Carmen. Twin flames.

[mitocamdria]

Why does Sydney feel like such a burden?

Because what is this?

I've wanted to discuss this for a while, but I've been struggling to choose an approach, so I'll explore the different hypotheses I have. These lines of dialogue shocked me, even though it hasn't been adequately explored by the show. If you'd like to chime in, please do.

To begin with, this internalized belief of "being a waste of space" seems to me like a smaller version of Carmy's schema; these two individuals really share the same fear of not being worthy of love. Syd appears more adjusted and capable of emotional connection, possibly because she had a secure attachment with her primary caregiver. Carmy was rejected by his mother. What was Sydney's wound, and why does it manifest this way?

The most plausible option is that she doesn't want to give people any reason to worry about her, which is evident since S1, when she refused to let Marcus help her move stuff in Brigade, not until it got overwhelming. She really doesn't want people to see her fail. She doesn't want to need anybody, "it's scary to rely on someone." Which is interesting, because she wanted to form a partnership with Carmen from the start. Did she assume that her work would be the thing that would make her a worthy partner? That Carmen, because of his reputation, would value her work over her other "flaws.' Or was working for the best DCD in America just something Sydney wanted to achieve so she could finally tell herself that she was talented, that she deserved a place in this industry?

We don't have a scene explaining what childhood wound could have instilled this belief of "being a waste of space" in her, but I assume it has to do with her mother. Even if she was very young when her mother died, children are very intuitive and can feel when things are wrong. The only memory she describes of her mother is her being surrounded by her actor friends in costume, which may indicate that her mother's death was really unexpected, and that her mother maintained a positive attitude until the very end, wanting to enjoy life with her daughter as much as possible. People can have everyday lives with lupus, maybe neither of her parents suspected she was at actual risk. Does she feel the need to keep smiling through it all because that's how her mother was? She described her to Marcus, "If she were stopped, she felt like she would get back up." Sydney also says she carries this philosophy with her.

Is this about feeling guilty for the sacrifices his father had to make to keep her? Did he have to settle for a job he wasn't exactly passionate about just because it was safe? Is that what makes Sydney so determined to make her dreams happen? So she can give her father the comfortable living they didn't have growing up? There is even the possibility of Sydney's mother dying because they could not afford the care she needed, which, of course, instills a negative feeling about money and survival instincts.

Is this why she was so convinced he caused her father's heart attack? because she feels guilty of all the efforts he has made in her name, to the point of dying? Kids sometimes pick up beliefs that have no logic, just because they felt that way in a moment of crisis.

She said she wanted to make him proud, which reminded me of Carmy saying he just wanted a "good job" from Michael. Sydney wants to be the reason her father is okay. She has found a calling in food, but it's an unconventional path, which's why she is so stressed about being in a bad financial situation. Her calling is also something she perceives to be a burden, which is very common for young artists.

The other possibility is that Syd was somehow a difficult child. The early trauma of losing her mother could have installed fears in her that manifested academically or socially. Even though she is very successful socially, her rejection by the Beef crew could be a parallel of her being treated similarly in other spaces, and she sometimes is very insecure socially (racism and misogyny included). Honestly, that headcanon of her being autistic could very much fit here. Autistic children who end up being high-masking individuals tend to feel like a burden, because it took time and care from their caregivers to help them remotely achieve things that were easier for other kids. That "being a waste of time and energy" feling is very much in tune with having a disability.

[mitocamdria]

By Season 4, Carmy's Syd Obsession has become a 7days out of 7, 24/7 Compulsion

Gif credit: https://www.tumblr.com/thoughtfulchaos773

Over four seasons it has only intensified and I really don't know how Carmy is planning to extricate himself with any hope of retaining a shred of sanity that would get him on the road to actual healing at this point. Frankly, if he is able to function without having a full-on breakdown without seeing Syd for more than 24 hours, my credulity will be strained because that's not computing with what we've seen of his character the past four seasons. Let's review the evidence:

Gif credit: https://www.tumblr.com/thoughtfulchaos773

Hours spent at work together: 12-14 hour days working side by side. By season four, you rarely see him let her out of his line of sight even before service begins. So, if she slips out the back door he follows her and if she is talking to someone, he is watching and overhearing. How convenient that he was distracted (by Chef Fields) and his set menu locking to observe the fireworks between Syd and Luca after he left the party and when she saw him again downstairs, Shapiro approaching her, or Richie dancing with her in her apartment (the first time).

Photo credit: https://www.tumblr.com/thoughtfulchaos773

2. The problem with Sundays. He says it is his least favorite day of the week. Carmy solves the Syd-less Sunday problem by inviting her to the Ever funeral (Season 3 Forever) and Richie helpfully invites her to the Sunday wedding (Season 4 The Bears). The Sunday in between (Season 4 Worms) Carmy blows up her phone with text messages about a spurious issue with the restaurant and then gets Pete to harass her about the partnership agreement. There's no way sweet, busy, new father Pete Katinsky would have texted Syd on a Sunday without Carmy prompting him.

Gif credit: https://www.tumblr.com/themisconceptions

3. Each time we see Syd open her email the DocuSign is refreshed which I don't know if DocuSign does that on their own or if Carmy is continually punting it to be at the top of her inbox.

4. When he sleeps, he dreams about her or about a memory of the idea of the restaurant which is also, by implication, about her.

Photo credit: https://www.tumblr.com/boardchairman-blog

5. While he is dating whatsherface, he spends time sketching the chaos menu--for Syd which shows how Syd is once again on his mind even when he is with another woman. The Sunday of the Ever funeral evening dinner, we see him spend time sketching a menu and researching ideas from his cookbook collection for her (auditory cue from the song Blowing Kisses: "My dedication's a star") while she delivers food to his sister who has just had a baby. We know he hasn't even visited the baby by Season 4 Soubise. He's completely preoccuppied with his Syd obsession.

6. His Personal bubble overlaps with Syd's. It wasn't always the case as in Season 1 Review, her touching him on the arm led to his instinctive attempt to ward her off with his Chef Terry-gifted emotional support spoon.

Gif credit: https://www.tumblr.com/sonoranbumblebee

His own mother makes him physically recoil as a grown man. But by the end of Season Four, Carmy's personal bubble overlaps so closely with Syd's that there is a good foot of space between them and everyone else as the camera pans past them.

Photo credit: https://www.tumblr.com/boardchairman-blog

7. Separation Anxiety. If she has to leave (like when her dad is in the hospital), he looks physically unwell. His hair in the scene talking to the crew is sticking up (almost similar to the finale of Season 1 when he wakes from his nightmare and rushes to Al-Anon) and as he is in the back alley awaiting her call, he looks like he has a headache which sonoranbumblee points out is his "connection with soulmate has been disrupted headache." After Shapiro's call we see him tapping his pen on the menu, a deep red flush along the back of his neck, and a kind of brittle energy that prevents him from noticing Sugar and the baby when she first comes up to him. Holding the baby seems to calm him down and in a very fraught Freudian slip he seems to be reassuring the baby as well as himself that "She'll come back." Who is she? Oh, right.

Photo credit: https://www.tumblr.com/boardchairman-blog

8. Arguably his discomfort in public social settings has gotten worse not better. He needs her by his side at the Ever dinner even if he should be comfortable among his peers who all hold him in high regard; he remains silent during the dinner-table conversation but Syd's conviviality provides a good cover for him. At the wedding he is spiralling out and previous social events (like the birthday party where that old man called him a loser) are contributing to his current panic attack even before his dreaded encounter with Donna. It's only after he chats with Syd that he can regain enough composure to have friendly chats with Stevie, Red Flag (seriously, what are you doing, man?) and help comfort scared Evie under the table.

9. His apartment is quite bare bones for someone who has an artistic bent. However, Syd's scrunchie has a prominent spot on his bedroom dresser. It is next to a box of Kleenex. Are these objects together because he is crying or because he needs a tissue after....?

10. We've seen plenty of suggestions that the soundtrack of his mind is cacophony (the alarms in Season 2 don't bother him) and that Syd's special voice for him is sweet (whenmemorydies has a meta about the violin resembling Syd's voice in his mind according to the auditory cues of the Doris Day lyrics) and it penetrates the noise (in Season 2 we witness his ability to recall what Syd just said while he forgets what he was discussing with Sugar); it is Syd's voice that calms him down and grounds him back. Aside from that deep auditory respite that she provides, there is the aspect of his confessing that he had a stutter as child (likely due to the abuse Donna inflicted). Often even his closest family (like Richie) don't know what he is saying, the fine dining lingo or the way he is apt to being inarticulate. But Syd is on the same wavelength and we see her engage in wordless communication with him, translate him for others and prompt him when he is at a verbal loss. What a comfort that must be to someone like Carmy who has been so lonely, so misunderstood and so friendless that he flounders in personal and professional spaces.

Photo credit: https://www.tumblr.com/whenmemorydies

Burnout is a serious condition and a lot of people are facing it in the past few years after the pandemic. I get that Carmy needs to step away to mourn his brother and finally treat his mental trauma. Yet I also don't understand, given the above, how Carmy as a character will do this away from Syd without being a complete and utter wreck. She calls herself his "accomplice" so are we meant to take that as this being a codependent relationship that is preventing him from doing the work of healing on his own? But then again, healing is not an individual effort necessarily.

Even if leaving the workplace is something I can appreciate for Carmy to manage his burnout, there is an interesting tension here. We live in an economic system that devours every scrap of our lives. That workplace is his community or "found family" as the show keeps showing us, those are his people who are constantly looking out for him in a way no new imagined community/nuclear family with Claire outside the restaurant will be able to match.

All that these four seasons have convinced me of are that "Any chance of any kind of good" in Carmy's life "started when Syd walked in" and any chance of Carmy "surviving" (and thriving) "is with Syd." Which means if he is not reduced to insane Syd-less pieces in Season 5, I'm not going to be convinced that is Carmy.

[mitocamdria]

The Restaurant as a Window into Chef Carmy's Mind

When Neil serves for the first time he tells the guests, "Mirepoix broth...this is a broth from Chef Carmy's mind." It's a joke but like all great jokes, there is something true wrapped up inside it. Even though the restaurant is a place and an idea that is occupied by other characters, as viewers we are tethered to Carmy and how he sees the world. So, the restaurant and its various spaces and lighting conditions reflect his innermost feelings.

That's why when the desire for Syd manifests in a failed attempt to ask her out by the lockers (after picking imaginary lint off his jacket and wearing it in slowest motion to wait out his sister's departure), there is a pink light at the top right, see:

We don't see that pink light again for most of the season and well into the next (Season 3 but for the most part he is in his blue fridge mode). Hints of that pink light reappear when Carmy notices Syd dressed up in the bottom image top right corner:

It's subtle. You would not notice it. But repressing that attraction means it returns with renewed vigor in Season 4 after Carmy observes Syd's athletic cavatelli plating time (btw, in some parts of Italy a bride's skills at cooking cavatelli were associated with her suitability for marriage).

So that, before he even tastes her scallop, she is depicted in some lurid 1980s music video colours of pink, purple and blue while cooking it:

This sexual repression is delicious to watch.

[mitocamdria]

I’ve fallen victim to the walking dead, it’s been all I can think about for the past two weeks, these two in particular 😔

[mitocamdria]

Was inspired to post by @notthebear after discussing carmy, and how his headspace in each season influences the tone and feel of the show. I think the cinematography is used to convey Carmy's inner emotions, since we know how little he actually talks about them.

Season 1: Blue/green/ beige = How Carmy sees Chicago since returning under terrible circumstances + him seeing the griminess of the beef everywhere he looks. He’s under immense stress and refuses to slow down and allow himself to process anything, and this is reflected in how he sees his surroundings. His world is reduced to his dead brother's moldy old restaurant, and that's how he sees everything and everyone.

In season 2, everything is sharp, and all colors sort of enhanced = Carmy happy (as much as he is capable) and optimistic about his future restaurant and growing relationship with Syd, (and others). His dreams are staring to become realized. The colors this season are extremely vibrant, and make everything look sharp, new, and exciting. Even "boring" colors get this treatment. This is Carmy, realizing that he can “build something new”, and “start from a good place”. Carmy wasn’t all smiles all the time this season, but there was much more room for happiness than the first season, and it is shown in the color grading.

Season 3 is overwhelmingly saturated in blue. This is not a happy season. Carmy spends the entire season reserved, unstable, and noticeably unhappy. Mentally, he is still in the freezer, and believes the only way to come out of it, is to devolve into who he was while he worked under Chef Fields. This gives most shots of the restaurant have a cold, sterile, feel to them.This feeling looms over the staff as well. Almost all subplots have a negative tone to them, and very little happiness is felt from the characters. Everyone is in their own, personal refrigerator. The only real exceptions to this, are flashback scenes (3x06) (3x07) that are shown with a sepia filter.

Season 4 was a mesh of all seasons before it. It was brighter, but not quite ultra sharp like season 2. It retains the blues seen in season 3, but they don't overwhelm the brighter tones. As Carmy opens himself up to change and communication, his world becomes brighter. The soft, white, light found in most scenes is almost unnatural at first; showing Carmy at first has to actively force himself to think positively, which is something he isn't used to. Later on, this soft white light feels more organic, and blends naturally with scenes as Carmy starts to feel contentment and warmth more often. This, is mixed in with the vibrancy of season 2, the slight dinginess and greens from season 1, mix to show Carmy is both working through his issues, and making an effort to be present and aware. The blue of season 3 is still present, but contained. It no longer overwhelms his mind.

The tone of "Goodbye" however is an exception. The episode keeps the visual themes from season 4, but sucks the light out of them. The entire episode is visually dark, but not unhappy, and blue, which is unprecedented. This shows how absolutely devastated Carmy feels about hurting people he loves. He is actively in pain, and allowing himself to feel it, AND allowing himself to express it. It shows him not completely drowning in unhappiness, or trying to bottle it either. It's difficult, and it hurts, but he sticks to his new, healthier mindset. He's trying.

I think the music is also used to show Carmy's inner world as well, a literal soundtrack to his life. That's why we hear lots of R.E.M, Raidohead, etc. Music he most likely listened to as a teen growing up or picked up from Mikey.

Also! Slowly, as we learn more about Sydney's inner world and subconscious, her view of things is being integrated into the tone like Carmy. Most likely, the more Carmy learns about her, the more her worldview will meld with his. Here's hoping next seasons visual journey is as good as all the others!

[mitocamdria]

i'm thinking a lot about the foil (?) between marcus and carmy. i think marcus embodies who carmy could have been if he grew up in a much healthier and safer environment, had the opportunity to nurture his community before pursuing fine dining, and was able to directly communicate his feelings in a healthier way.

marcus got to work with mikey where carmy did not. though marcus/mikey isn't explored much, marcus talks about how grateful he is that he started working at the beef, and how that helped him get out of groundhog day. because marcus is so receptive to the help others give him (and subsequently having many, many mentors), i think he chose to nurture the community curated by mikey at the beef and allowed himself to become an integral part of it, instead of feeling guilty that he could not create one entirely on his own.

i think marcus takes a lot of pride in doing things, like, not on his own at all. he embraces being a mosaic of everyone he loves, while carmy, for a long time, was obsessed with being The Best and forgot to say thank you to people like chef terry in the process. (that's so white of him but that's not the point right now.)

marcus (healthily) uses food to cope with his grief, and just like carmy did for mikey's death, he learned about his mom's death while he was at work. he is just as driven, determined, and curious, but because marcus' mom was so loving, he never did anything to prove himself to anyone. his worth was never a question to himself or his mom, so his relationship with being a pastry chef is fueled by love only, really.

marcus adores sydney, so instead of plotting and beating around the bush and all that madness, he literally just asks her. "hey, what are you doing later?" he directly tells her that he misses her, too, when he's in copenhangen. he literally names a donut after her. just straight up. meanwhile carmy is literally getting lost in the sauce.

while rejection is carmy's mother wound inhibiting him from seeing how much sydney loves him, marcus is romantically rejected by the very person carmy is most afraid of after doing what carmy just cannot do. they tussle during service (it's spooky, guys please stop yelling at my babygirl!), he says sorry out loud multiple times over, never does that shit again, and later, they connect over their own mother wounds.

because of how similar marcus and carmy are in a lot of ways, down to their earnesty and big eyed stare, i think marcus' healthier disposition makes it so much easier for him to do all the things carmy spends the show trying to do. no wonder why their relationship flips from carmy being marcus' mentor to marcus being carmy's.

not to mention the whole, like, marcus cooking up the key to sydcarmy canon thing. idk guys. i love marcus...

[mitocamdria]

Sydney's 5 Levels of Anger

She's my favorite character on the Bear and she plays her cards so close to her chest that you really have to work to figure her out in between the loud Bearzatto clan. When she shows up, the Ballbreaker theme plays faintly in the background (auditory cue).

Level 1: She can't hear you, doesn't have much to say to you, won't look you in the eyes and is cooly professional if you confront her about this. You better fix it immediately because her walls go up fast. Marcus learns this in Season 2's finale after he asks her out and then yells at her for ignoring him. He realizes he needs to get back in her good graces as soon as possible by telling on meth-head Josh to regain her approval. Carmy notices and catches her on it as soon as possible.

Level 2: The sarcasm. Watch it when Syd makes caustic jabs verbally to you cause soon you're going to be stabbed, either literally (as Richie was) or psychically (as Carm was in Season 4's opener when she sarcastically tells him to sound less miserable).

Level 3: That angry smile means you. have. messed. up. Richie says "oooooh" in the back as he observes it and Carmy already knows it is bad because that was the smile he received in Season 1's Review Episode right before she delivered her devastating judgment (the real review of the episode) of his talent vs his shortcomings that lives in a loop among his Worst Memories of all time. He's terrified to see it again even though he does not understand why telling her the walls needed to come down before they were torn down is causing her to be angry at him.

Level 4: She's out the door and will break off all ties without looking back. That means even if she is still forced to be in your presence because you work together day in and day out, she's effectively shut certain doors in your face. She won't be tempted as the Bearzattos are by a verbal fighting match, a tussle or any long drawn out back and forth that keeps her enmeshed in playing the game with you. She doesn't have time for you any more. That's why we don't hear about past bosses, competitive cohorts from the Culinary Institute, former boyfriends, messy members of her extended family--when Syd is done, she's done.

There may be tears at this point and you should definitely worry if you see them because Syd does not cry much and (unlike Claire) is not a woman who uses her tears to manipulate the men around her. Carmy instinctively knows he is reaching a dangerous level in Season 1 Brigade. She is more than likely scrolling for other job openings on her phone before he comes to tempt her with Ebra's chicken suqaar. He watches her force back her tears and this memory shows up in his nightmare from Braciole. He doesn't even know her that well yet and somehow his dreaming self is fully aware that he reached a dangerous point in making Syd cry in the alley.

Richie does not step in to referee the back alley fight until Syd reaches the crying point and then he knows he must intervene for everyone's sakes cause he (rightly) doesn't trust Carmy's ability to avert disaster.

Carmy has breached this level before and only his dead brother's bequest of secret money was able to win her back.

I think in some ways her evaluation of Carmy as a romantic partner after the whole Claire mess is still at this level. That's why at the wedding when Carmy dances with Claire, he can't seem to keep his eyes off Syd (first dancing with Richie and then Uncle Jimmy) to the extent that even Claire is craning her head in their direction. Yet Syd never even spares them a glance. In Carmy's mind, dating Claire is tied to being obsessed with Sydney. I don't think he can grasp that she does not operate through jealousy and one-upmanship so in Season Four Goodbye when he is referencing Claire (without saying her name) and Syd tells him "I think that's great" he responds with an angrily astounded "You do?!" and has to bring up Shapiro because he is very jealous of any perceived professional infidelity. When Syd doesn't bother with jealousy, you have officially reached Level 4 and that door has closed on your face. You're locked out now. As Syd says on her way out the door, "Good luck!"

Level 5: Arctic Chill. In Goodbye, we witness Syd move through all four levels of anger and reach a tired, broken place past tears even. We (and Carmy) are about to discover what happens when Sydney Adamu reaches Level Five.

[mitocamdria]

Carmy dreamed of Sydney the day he met her, as if he had a vision.

He dreams of her on the bridge where Mikey took his own life, a message from the universe or Mikey himself, that there is good after this, he just has to unlock it so it can consume him, no matter the fear.

If we analyze this dream, he’s walking on a bridge that carries the weight of loss. He should be focused on this bridge and what it symbolizes, but instead, he’s focused on this creature being here where his brother died. He’s drawn to setting it free. It’s as if he understands that he has locked the bear away for some time, and now he has no choice but to set it free into his life and psyche.

He has another dream about her, when Sydney walks away after the Review, and Carmy is performing in this dream, feeling overwhelmed. Suddenly, he freezes in fear, unable to perform once the bear is watching him from behind the script.

He can no longer hide behind his cooking career or Mikey to avoid the bear, Sydney, the good..

She's so great it scares the shit out of me. This is the biggest show, don't tell that Syd is the one he's been scared of all along.

[mitocamdria]

I think this scene was supposed to take place right before Jimmy and uncle computer come in:

Cuz they are facing each other in both and Syd is wearing the same scarf. So maybe they shot that scene first but then decided to have her say it during the finale instead? I wonder what else was said in this cut scene 😫

I'm wondering if this will be part of the 5th season?

Syd is wearing the same outfit as the Season 4 premiere, but the dialogue matches the realization she has at the end of the 4th season, not at the beginning.

The same earring and scarf could be related to the plot of Groundhog Day. They have yet to resolve the recurring Groundhog Day scenario that Syd and Carmy are living in. So, what if Season 5, Episode 1 is a redo or has some similarities to the reset we saw in Season 4?

Season 4 premiere begins with Syd's words to Carmy. He doesn't need dysfunction or chaos; that's a black and white statement that even drives Carmy to remove himself so he doesn't add to or have chaos in general.

Had Syd said, "You know, chaos and turmoil—I get it," wouldn't that have changed the trajectory of the story?