#give me this energy with sydney and carmy in season 2!!

[skylessknights]

Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri 74th Emmy Awards Presenterview [x]

For context, Jeremy got asked what dish he loves to cook, and he said that there’s a restaurant in New York that does a really amazing Steak au poivre with peppercorn sauce, and he tries to cook that for him and his wife every once a week 🥰️.

[chefkids]

Spoon Theory

This is arguably the single most important The Bear meta post I will ever make so please bear with me.

The first spoon we see in the entire series is when Carmy takes Sydney's spoon to try her stew. This is right after he cut his hand from not being able to find his sharp knife, and before he has to meet with Natalie to get Mikey's jacket, which was stressing him out. She "gave him a spoon" and a bit of positivity when he needed to calm down and get some energy by knowing at the very least Sydney can cook well.

Needing a spoon is needing help. When he hands over the brigade to Sydney he is waving around spoons the entire episode, when she really needed his help and his "spoons". Later on Sydney is not afraid to just ask him for his help.

With the risotto she gave him a "spoon" that would help the restaurant, that brought in a good review and customers, but he didn't have enough of his own "spoons" to deal with it as he was stressing out over the window that just got shot through and the IRS needing the missing tax returns. Right before trying the risotto Carmy had told Richie he is afraid of something good happening. He is afraid of Sydney and him doing well, because the better it gets the more it will hurt him when something goes wrong. That is why he keeps self sabotaging the restaurant and doubting Sydney.

After Sydney quit, she is still using her spoons for mental energy to make sure Marcus is okay and to try and figure out her next steps career wise. Carmy grabbed a spoon to open the tomato can lid, which he really didn't need because he could've just used the can opener, and then found the money. When he finds the money they both know they would be fine on their own, she could find another job, he could fix up The Beef. But they still need each others emotional spoons to achieve their passions, so he reaches out and she comes back.

In Season 2 she did need his "spoons" to help create the menu and decide on the details for the restaurant, but he barely gave her any because he was still so caught up in his past trauma and the literal and metaphorical forks in his life.

Fixing the table really didn't physically need more than one "spoon"/person. But he needed her there to work through his mental block. With the inspiration food tour, she did it on her own and she didn't physically need him for it, she needed his emotional spoons.

When they are not communicating well with each other and Carmy is trying to reach back and be involved again, he gets as close as he can to her spoon without actually using it.

And now the dark side of spoons.

The originator of spoon theory has lupus and first came up with this theory at a restaurant to explain what it was like living with the condition to a friend. They could've easily said Sydney's mom died of cancer or an accident or anything else. But this is all so intentional, out of all the things it is Lupus. I don't want Sydney to be sick as much as the next person, but Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that has higher likelihood of developing when you have a family member with it, and can be triggered by environmental factors such as stress. It is an invisible illness and Christine's own handle is butyoudontlooksick, which could really explain Sydney and what she has going on behind her walls that people can't see. She has been a rock to so many people and over exerting herself, but there might come a time soon when Sydney will genuinely need other peoples "spoons", especially Carmy's, because she's all out.

Now that Carmy said he is choosing to give Syd his focus aka his "spoons", will he actually be able to follow through?

Read The Fork Theory next

Read The Knife Theory

[thoughtfulchaos773]

When will I be done posting? NEVER! Haha, I told everyone I'm aiming to go to season 3 premiere.

Okay, what's the ultimate twinflame energy between Sydney and Carmy? The shoulder tattoos! I've written a few theories on these tattoos, but I have another one, particularly for season 3.

We need to see the orgin episode of the creation of the shoulder tattoo. Because revealing sydney's tattoo episode 9 and the yet to be revealed carmy's? Oh, there's something here that needs to be explored!

This could give so much opportunity for flashback episodes so we can see how they belong together.

Here's my ultimate wish for a sydcarmy episode. Also, a spoiler on filming locations:

Since some of the filming locations are in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand, there's going to be a flashback episode of Carmy traveling throughout those places, experiencing his own food tour and he gets the tattoo in Thailand. Remember, the tattoo 'certain of nothing' is dedicated to Bourdain, a zen philosphy Bourdain embrace, and who is Carmy's big inspiration. Anthony also had a home in thailand and in parts unknown. He recommended the buddhist practice of giving merits to the monks.

There has to be some philosophy here, this word 'Submit' reminds me of what they say in al-anon. That one must submit to a higher power as part of the healing. He could have possibly already submitted to a higher power before Al anon in the past and somehow reverted back to anxiousness once he took the job in New york, and it's gotten worse since Mikey's death.

Ultimately, my theory is that the travel East is a flashback for Carmy.

My theory with Sydney's tattoo:

She got it during her food tour in New York 2 years ago. There could be a flashback episode of Sydney touring New York and trying Carmy's dish. Unfortunately, there was a situation that led her to get the 3 sword tattoos in NYC. The tattoo serves as a reminder of grief and loss. She also embraces them as a part of life. In a way, she submits to it.

How cool would it be to see a flashback episode around 2-3 years ago where the two of them get shoulder tattoos relating to their own experience in life. Both separate experiences, but like twinflames- they're united through their souls.

[yangsharperavery]

my non carmy/sydney thoughts on season 2

it's very different than the first which is interesting bc the structure they had in the kitchen last season worked so seamlessly.

i think this season was lacking that frequency and flare. i think because of that it suffered a bit. i think the viewership did too for that reason.

it was nearly impossible to recreate the magic of the first season without the constant buzz and intensity and immediacy of food service.

i do think that they still could have retained some of that energy by incorporating more demo/planning/training via the familiar staccato, regimented and frenetic pacing of the scenes WHILE also showing the more slowed down exploration of each character being pulled away to get the skills needed to advance the team and its mission.

but it's like they slowed the story telling all the way down immediately.

even opening with marcus and his ailing mother felt like such a specific and poignant choice in that vein.

almost like the theme of the season was going to be all types of grief, preemptive and reactive.

i think they dropped the ball having everyone so spread out over the course of the ENTIRE season and not making the ones that were together exist in the heightened energy we're used to from this show.

here are some things i loved about it:

•  richie's growth. i love an asshole character that is held to account, actually takes correction and impact and works to evolve and improve.

• marcus in copenhagen. he's so sweet and demure. i loved him getting the one on one attention. him exploring the city and staying on the boat. i was worried he'd be forgotten about in the story so its nice to see that someone bts fought for that not to happen.

• sydney's chicago food tour. the cinematography was STUNNING during these sequences. i read someone say that those moments felt like such a deliberate love letter to the culinary industry and i wholeheartedly agree like it made me SO happy to see.

•  the christmas bottle episode. listen. LISTEN. if you have ever lived in or been subjected to a nuclear family/household that operated like that, i know you watched that entire episode with a pit in your stomach. it was devastating and poetic and maddening and SO deeply fucking impactful. it painted the perfect picture of exactly why michael, natalie and carmy are the way they are. i SOBBED. and i lightweight think that's the episode that's giving this season such critical acclaim and the 100% on rotten tomatoes. it was SO strong and sooooo deeply harrowing.

• natalie's presence. i love her. just her being around was so comforting to to me. i enjoyed how sweet she was to fak.

• tina singing. they still underused her but i loved seeing her shine outside of her element and having the full support of her classmates. i love confidence baring moments for characters who've struggled, felt second or been ignored. that moment and sydney asking her to be sous were so special!

• the “bears are aggressive but sensitive, compassionate, deeply empathic” line. i've thought about it several times since finishing the season. because wow. also richie's dialogue about purpose. olivia coleman's character's conversation with richie about rebirth and timing. there are so many gorgeous lines that speak to the ingrained grief, brevity, import, ability and power of this human experience and all its many facets. the writer's really do SUCH a wondrous job highlighting the humanity of it's characters and their struggles, obstacles and heartache.

• the fucking chocolate banana. i absolutely CRIED. they need to stop playing around and calling this show a comedy because c'mon. that was such a good callback for cisero and richie.

•  pete crying. when i tell you that shit was so deeply powerful. to see him hurting so acutely for natalie. knowing how much he loves her and how much her mother's conditions impacted her entire life. so much so that she hadn't even known nat was pregnant. like that scene GUTTED me. the actor only had .3 scenes this season but that one was an absolute stand out.

• ayo's performance. this girl is an ACTOR. like i know she's a writer and a comedian but she is SO exquisite in the role of sydney. i'm endlessly enamored.

what i didn't like:

• them completely dropping the ball on ebra's storyline. so he disappears for WEEKS from fear and then returns and has a 3 second convo with tina? and then is all of a sudden back in an apron in the kitchen. please don't piss me off. wasteful.

• lack of gary screentime. he should have had as much screentime as fak minus the christmas episode. sidelining two of the black men was foolish and wholly unnecessary.

• the AMOUNT of claire/carmy scenes. like i totally get it. i get why it had to happen, i get the point they were trying to make and the consequences they were driving home but the sheer enormity of the claire/carmy scenes and how LONG they were was dumb. we could have been shown carmy was distracted/absent without having to see those two together for these elongated ass scenes. and them kissing in front of the fireworks? like GAG me. PLEASE BE SERIOUS RN.

• i need to see my babies breaking bread and having found family dinner at least once per season, if not more. thx.

this is just part 1, part 2 will be carmy/sydney focused.

[cloveroctobers]

My thoughts for S3 of the Bear after my first watch 😮‍💨 *CONTAINS SPOILERS!*

I think I get what they were trying to do with this season although I still said, “what the hell was that?” After I finished the finale last night. Binged tf out of it and it’s Saturday! I picked it up when they mentioned, “subtract,” in that one episode. I’ll have to give it a rewatch and WILL once I start writing for this season. This season was heavily past focused and how that led all these characters to their current states. That works in some senses when it comes to the kitchen and the drive to be the best of the best.

However it did fall short in some moments where characters should have had more of a story or say in situations (thankful we got to see how Tina got to the bear, which is a great episode! Relatable even.) and it feels like the progression they made in season 2 feels diminished almost. Idk if they changed writers this season or not but I don’t like how they made Sydney feel small to Carmy’s false promises in S2.

I guess that was their way of creating a parallel to Carmy’s experience coming up in high end restaurants but it completely erases what they worked for. A partnership. Don’t get me wrong, Carmy is clearly not well (who is?) but I wouldn’t be mad if Syd dipped again atp—yet I’m sure that’s what some want anyway. Although S2 ofc ended rough and had to bleed into S3 it still left a frustrating view for the audience. You can argue this or that but clearly things are missing.

Carmy doesn’t even mention or acknowledge that he now has a niece? Sugar’s pregnancy symbolizes new life, new beginnings which was what S2’s message was mixed with purpose. I didn’t expect S3 to be all sunshine’s and rainbows considering its title but damn! No pictures sent to him either? Guess that was just a moment for Sugar and Donna—which is fine! We get to hear how each sibling came into this world and how that’s a metaphor for how they live(d). We got to see Donna attempting to actually be a mother, listening to her child and stating that she’s trying to be better even though it’s hard and that Sugar won’t be like her towards her own nameless daughter. But not even a phone call to his sister? Nothing. Perhaps that was deliberate because Carmy’s “focus,” is always on the kitchen instead of his own empathy when it’s time for service. It makes him dissociated, mean, and only his decisions/voice matters.

It was powerful to actually see Carmy shed a tear. It’s evident that the man is going through pain, he’s grieving for everything, not just his upbringing and Mikey, but for who he once was; someone who has the talent and is willing to learn how to be the best but even better than that. He’s got that trauma that’s going to last forever, just like Donna said, Carmy took forever to come into this world and by then the Berzatto’s were already damaged.

Carmy knows he can create and put that into his cooking. He’s been trained to put his all into his craft but I don’t think it’s anything he’s passionate or even joyous about anymore. He’s doing what he thought everybody thought he couldn’t do—at least that’s what he says in S1? In reference to Mikey. He initially wanted to do this with Mikey but then we learn that Mikey isn’t into it really. He just took over because their old man was a deadbeat and left it to be their problem. That’s typical oldest sibling energy, taking on the role to be who everyone looks up to and has all the answers but they take on the load of everyone’s shit as well. It all became too much for Mikey in the end. Which is significant to the Berzatto’s, its problems on problems without anybody knowing how to effectively communicate as a family. They’re used to being loud and that’s how Carmy moved through his time at that New York restaurant— was that the one named, “The French Laundry?” There’s a lot to unpack so I forget some details sorry. Chef Asshole was basically a trigger to how Carmy was raised and apparently that made Carmy “better,” and he should be thankful that chef asshole basically beat the shit out of him physically, mentally, and emotionally but that just added another fucked up scar to him.

So Carmy subtracts.

Subtracts from the fact that he apologizes to Richie over voicemail once they’re back face to face but clearly Richie isn’t ready to forgive. They’re just coworkers at this time, that love is buried in that freezer. Richie doesn’t care about any personal shit that Carmy has going on (Cl*re), he subtracts from his own version of love he tries to give to Carmy. He sets Carmy off with anything he disagrees with and it’s pettiness because he also doesn’t know how to talk to Carmy which again gets erased once we get to the end of S2. Richie also once told Carmy that he’s all he has. It’s automatically an attack when Richie has no problem being vocal and Carmy constantly explodes and Richie is the easiest target since the way they normally communicate is screaming at each other.

Carmy has a chance to connect with Marcus and he does during the “legacy,” episode and Carmy takes his words about taking the bear to great heights as a way to honor Marcus’ mother in a previous episode. They all show up at the memorial more than a funeral because a black funeral isn’t like this tbh! That’s another conversation though! Yet once it’s time to call it to start service, Carmy turns it all off and begins screaming at Marcus again when he’s running expo.

He does this to Tina too, ready to stand over her when she’s making the pasta dish but thankfully Sydney takes over because we know he would have turned into chef asshole 2.0 if Sydney let that slide. And we don’t even need to get started on how he’s treated Sydney so poorly this season since he’s going through shit and doesn’t know how to handle it.

Sure it’s a bit of an excuse but I loved Sydney telling him that she’s not his babysitter. He needed to hear that. They also erased them having more one on one time and made it more subtle which hasn’t gone unnoticed 🍅!!! But we love that Carmy’s dish was Syd’s best meal imo!

The conversation with Chef Andrea Terry about her telling him what she would have told the younger version of herself, that it’s okay to not know WTF you’re doing but that also makes you invincible is probably a set up for season 4 but that can also send everyone further spiraling as well depending on how the writers decide to spin it.

Then we end with the review being up. It’s anything but good based on Carmy’s reaction, at first I thought it was Syd’s decline of the contract but it’s been the review they’ve all been dreading. Mostly Carmy and actually Uncle Jimmy, since he’s also not communicating or being honest that the bear might actually be over too.

So that does leave the debate of: does everything that you’ve worked extremely hard for have to be lost in the end because you’re simply lost yourself in this world but at least you’ve tried? Like Chef Terry once said.

Carmy constantly feels like what he’s doing lately is a waste of time (throwing out dishes that visually look nice, not reaching out to cl*ire—although personally I’m not a fan of that ship but he fucked up regardless because you don’t treat people like that, not staying in budget, the break down of the boxes, all these things he’s set up on his own and his team that are trying to follow his lead but it’s not turning out the way he wants it to, etc) even with everything he’s given to be such an excellent chef. Is he finding cooking to be a waste of time to true or is that just everyone being in his head? Yet again. Can things always be figured out or is subtracting ultimately the solution?

Guess we’ll have to see.