#also like who even think sydcarmy would be her fixing him??!!

[lazyspeedy]

“sydney is too good for carmy” “sydney shouldn’t have to fix him” listen listen, if sydney wants her sad little white boy, she will have him

[thoughtfulchaos773]

You don't think I can do it?

The nonnegotiables- the challenge- the tension between Sydney and Carmy. I mentioned this scene in my Season 3 Surrealist theme meta. But I still wanted to talk about it.

What stands out from the Sydcarmy arguments vs. Carmy arguing with family is the subtext. You can tell obviously what Richie and Carmy are arguing about. For Sydney and Carmy- their arguments it because there's more tension and things between the lines? I don't have to state the obvious of sexual tension. I want to point out how Carmy is starting to lose his mind here where Sydney is exasperated and rightfully so- but there's also some patience and conflicted contempt for Carmy's antics.

Richie and Carmy's argument moves quickly in this episode as they throw shots at each other. But this moment takes a noticeable pause as a thought hits Carmy—that Syd is challenging him.

When this happened, I thought- woah, what the fuck was that? The Carmy who cooks from a competitive, egotistical place? The same Carmy who went to the best restaurants as a big fuck you to Mikey? And when someone new to the kitchen came, he would smoke them? Now it's directed at Sydney? But I need to figure this out. Carmy's motivations make him want to get a star because Sydney wants one, but that motivation changes when he thinks he sees Chef David. He's not asking Richie if he doesn't think he could get this star and operate on the highest level- he's directly asking Sydney about her view, perhaps her validation beneath it? After all, she told him he was an excellent chef- so why the sudden challenge?

Sidebar: Oh, Richie! Look- if Sydney leaves, I'm sorry, but I will miss these Carmy and Sydney tension scenes with Richie looking on. He's come a long way from instigating. He's quiet and looks at Sydney, holding on to what she might say to this question. I think he's also noticing that Carmy isn't just argumentative towards him- carmy is also paranoid and unhinged with Sydney.

Ending sidebar but- a throwback to Richie looking on at Syd and Carmy:

Back to this scene:

Not sarcasm.

Snark, contempt even. Definitely, contempt from the moment he asked her you don't think I can do it? She's trying to be fair and stop the fight between Richie and Carmy, but now she has to address Carmy directly. He's exhausting at times!

As a fellow unhinged (but medicated and a lover of therapy) human being, Carmy looks so crazy here, like a wild bear. While Sydney mentions he's been yelling at Richie, he makes a pointed look toward him. Throughout this scene, as Sydney breaks up the fight (what a mental load on her part), Carmy often looks at her like he wants to stop arguing with Richie, but he can't help it- anger is more comfortable for Carmy- fear and grief are not.

I think even with Carmy defensive and angry—he knows Sydney is hitting some truth bombs—Carmy made getting the star about himself. Beat Chef David and ruminate on Claire—his purpose is to focus on the past to fix the future. It's hurting his team along the way.

Anyway, I don't have much of an ending. But I do want to know what you think about this moment. Is there something I missed? Feel free to reblog and reply!

[nyikondlovu]

Chefs Kiss (Sydcarmy) fans stay with me, Chefs!

I’m not taking anything Ayo, Jeremy and Christopher say against sydcarmy, aka Chefs Kiss, seriously.

They purposefully kept Carmen and Sydney as separate as possible this season, which is a big mistake in my opinion.

The show is about the characters and their relationships with each other. Food is a part of it, but it’s mostly the relationship each character has with one another that makes the show.

The writers trying to dispel the rumours by keeping what I would call our male and female leads apart is nuts because Jeremy and Ayo play so well off of each other but by separating them Jeremy gave his weakest acting (which is still very good) during Carmy/Claire scenes?

They keep saying The Bear doesn’t need romance then give Carmen a whole relationship that was so boring to watch for like 7 episodes and felt like watching paint dry because Claire isn’t engaging.

I’m expected to care about her, what she supposedly means to Carmen and hear about how great she is but don’t get to see it? She’s an ER resident for gods sake and she’s running around town giggling every 5 minutes without a semblance of the hard work and exhaustion that comes with being a doctor.

And for the reason stated above, I believe she’s a manic pixie dream girl. She’s there to change Carmen’s view on life, be different and quirky and the one who got away when in reality Carmy forgot who she was and had to be reminded which took him a whole 5 seconds to remember the supposed love of his life, purposefully gives her the wrong number and she says “You’re the Bear, of course I remember.”

No one was gonna take her seriously as the person to keep up with Carmy and help keep him sane.

Meanwhile Sydney does. She anchors him, she keeps up with him and she calls him out on his shit. Sydney isn’t perfect. She’s terrible at stating what she needs at that moment, she slightly short tempered and she is passive aggressive.

She also is working on her impatience and passive aggression. She eventually tells Carmy she needs his attention as her partner. She speaks up for herself to her dad and she’s not letting her ambition be treated like a bad thing anymore.

Carmen and Sydney would make sense because they are flawed. Carmy stops going to group therapy as soon as he starts dating Claire because she’s ‘fixed’ him and they don’t work because of that.

Sydney has ‘levelled up’ in her professional life, she’s more assertive and willing to listen and has just grown as a person and that type of continuous strive for self growth is what Carmen needs to see in order to do the same HIMSELF.

Sydney isn’t there to fix Carmy, she’s someone who he can grow alongside.

Claire was used as a kids bandaid to a gaping wound; the wound being Michael. Claire represents a life where Mikey was alive and Carm’s fucked up family was as whole and happy as it’s gonna be. She represents the past and everyone PUSHED him to want to date her in the past.

There is too much between our two chefs for simply business partners:

S1 shows Carmen scrubbing the floor of the restaurant when in turmoil while Sydney does the same in S2;

She’s spliced into the montage of Carmy and Claire as though she’s a silent part of their relationship;

She has the three dagger heart tattoo which typically represents romantic heartbreak and turbulence;

Carmen remembers her interest in his whites from three months prior even though she didn’t say anything and gets her her own custom whites;

The imagery from their conversation under the table? Him asking her to screw the other side and “say more, please” as he holds up the table (and Sydney) while she finally shares her fears;

“You’re not alone.” “Neither are you.”;

The memories of Sydney being what calms him from his panic attack;

During said panic attack, the song that was Claire and Carmen’s plays in reverse and any flashes of her are accompanied by memories of his dysfunctional family while the moment he thinks of Sydney? The song starts playing correctly. He calms and flashes of his family (and Claire) disappear;

Them constantly cooling an argument with the ‘I’m sorry’ gesture;

Him constantly being in tune with her emotions and body language.

Sydney represents a new beginning. The chance to build a healthy family with the staff of The Bear, Sydney, Natalie and Richie. She represents a future. She represents good change.

I’m fully convinced Ayo and Jeremy are just doing what all actors do with a ship that’s not yet canon: downplaying or dismissing it.

C’mon if you’ve been in The High School Musical The Musical The Series fandom and shipped Rina from the beginning, you know how it feels to be persecuted and gaslit by other fans and the actors for seasons.

TL:DR, Chefs Kiss is literally a super slow burn and no one of the team will confirm it until it actually happens.

Also, never let your girlfriend (Claire) stop you (Carmen) from opening a restaurant with the love of your life (Sydney)

And if you think they should “stay platonic”, ask yourself WHY every swirl ship with a white male lead and black female is hated by fandoms and the argument is “they’re best friends” or “they’re like siblings”. WHY can’t black women be desired? Because you can’t self insert? Check yourself before claiming a character who was so underwhelming I skipped so many scenes is a better match than the character who has seen him at his worst and told him he cannot and will not talk to her like that. The first person he thought to open a restaurant, that means so much to him, with

[freedelusionshere]

Sydcarmy thoughts for S4

I feel like Carmy is competitive with Syd and in S3 has been treating her the way Chef David treated him at Empire, which, the added twist of him going off-menu and doing it his way and floating Syd's boat with that hamachi blood orange dish is foreshadowing that she in turn inspired him to break from his past.

Think about Carmy confronting Chef David in the S3 finale, something he never dared would have done when he worked under him. Contrasted with Syd who was fangirling Carmy when she showed up at The Bear, and not soon after is telling him to his face that he's an excellent chef, but also a POS, LOL. Foreshadowing Carmy having the courage to confront Chef David?

The show has also hinted several times that Empire is no longer as respected/revered as it once was. Luca corrects Carmy and says it "was the best restaurant" at the Ever funeral. Syd also talks about it in past tense. Which is the restaurant game, anyway. But Carmy needs Syd to push him. He's already admitted this. His menu in S3 is a rehash of techniques he learned at Empire, without the heart (which he shut out).

The star is Syd's idea and was a compromise he made and tells her she has to be prepared to give everything, but he checks out with Claire. Carmy has never achieved a star on his own, only retained one. Even when he shuts himself in the walk-in because he was practically MIA at the restaurant, Syd (with Richie's help) finishes service without him to great success. He knows he is not needed (shades of his mother Donna in Fishes). The most positive review The Bear received was for Syd's dish that she gave away, his food in S3 is poorly reviewed. He knows time is running out for Syd to stick around and for him to have something he can give her to convince her to stay. And then Cicero pulls the financial rug out from under him. He's fucked!

Meanwhile, in the background this entire time, you have Syd's trust issues, her stuff with Sheridan Road, her protective father questioning if HE can be trusted in S2 Pasta (before Carmy gives her an agreement to sign. So, who is the he? Is it Carmy? Because she mentions Nat and Carmy to her dad in that convo). Does her dad know about her feelings about Carmen? He even tells a story earlier in same episode about how when he liked her mom, but it wasn't serious yet, and they were out driving, he got a flat tire and then did a bunch of posturing because he didn't want to admit he didn't know how to fix it, when her mom just finally got out of the car and fixed the damn tire herself. Sound familiar? Sydney has been questioning if Carmy is trustworthy since S1 and it all comes to a head in S3 and started to pull back from their friendship.

Obviously, the way for Carmy to help her break from her past is by proving that he can be a good partner, which I think S4 will focus on, but put the emphasis on Syd and what she is really after. Carmy learning to be the peace, not expect someone else to be that for him (like yes, please, he needs to be Syd's peace for a change LOL). And hopefully finally getting some more fucking Syd backstory about Sheridan Road, her relationship with her mother, about her having to come up with her own menu for Chef Adam's whatever, having to decide if she still loves this, if cooking matters for her, where she is going to get her inspiration from. Will Syd, in a potential role at a new restaurant with strangers, be tempted to use the lessons Dark Sided Carmy from Empire taught her in order to feel in control and believe that is how you get that star?

It would be so rewarding to see Carmy finally humble himself and take the path Luca did and realize he has so much to learn from Syd and to stop trying to be whatever fucked-up version of "the best" is that exists in his head from his time at Empire.

[yannaryartside]

MY S3 PREDICTIONS

quite simple

Seriously, my prediction is quite grim. I think this season, Carmy is going to be hearing the voice of his former boss in his head constantly while he tries to run the Bear like his restaurant in NYC and dive deep into depression because that is obviously going to destroy him.

I think Carmy is gonna start the season heartbroken and shit, then Richie (our man) will compel him to seek Claire because obviously Claire can fix him 🤮 Claire will come back because she has no self-respect and is an over giver who wants with an overtaker.

They are gonna date for a while and Carmy is gonna try to make it work and be happy.

Then, the trauma is gonna hit him hard, a manic episode or really bad depressive episode, maybe the pressure of the restaurant and critics (he hates that feeling). Still, because he is supposed to feel good (he has everything he has ever wanted, Claire, his brother's restaurant), he will not ask for help.

Springle here. Sydney may be dating Luca, and Carmy feels bad for having feelings for her or being jealous. His relationship with Claire never had a solid base, and he is starting to feel it. He doesn’t think he can talk to her about his depression. Also, considering Claire never advised Carmy on therapy when she witnessed his previous panic attacks, I am curious how she will manage being with him at his actual lowest.

And then, he is gonna have a dark moment. Maybe even setting the bear on fire (it was foreshadowed real hard) or even have a suicide attempt. Maybe is something people have to save him from.

And then, he is gonna think of Mickey, ask himself what his brother would tell him (there is a flashback episode with Mickey put it here).

Either way, Mickey, Sydney, something else, may want to make him see the light. Find the strength to fight back.

The rest I don’t know. I wonder if he is gonna cut people off through the season because he is back mentally at nyc suffering under his horrible boss (you should be dead”) and that is gonna hurt like shit. His friendship with Sydney may get closer, since she convinces herself that Carmy should be with Claire (Carmy said she was great, and so does everyone else). She may want to keep him as a mentor and partner, while Carmy realizes he wants more than that (hell yeah)

For Sydney, I want to see her being the leader that she is and finding her unique culinary voice. She should find a real mentor, propel herself (maybe in another restaurant to learn), and realize she can do this without Carmy. Give her a good love story and tell me the one that broke her heart. There should be a Syd-centered episode.

other things, not in order of importance:

I want Marcus to grieve and heal.

More about Luca's storyAngel and Sweeps more screentime.

I want the Bearzatto family to see Carmy's struggle/actual date preferences

Claire realizing how she chases men will hurt her.

I want our man Richie to become the greatest SydCarmy stan, but mostly Syd stan, because they may get close that season.

I think Richie may try to get Tiff back.

Also, justice for Nat, with Francine Fack and others. I want her to stand up to Donna.

Syd and Luca going on dates/sleeping together

Tina being like a mom to Syd

Nat and Syd being sisters to each other

Carmy meeting Emmanuel

Emmanuel being Carmy's and Richie's father figure

A little bit of Cicero mafia

Cicero a Syd stan

Nat's baby and Syd supporting her and encouraging her as a mother

Auntie Syd!

Syd and Donna meeting