what was once Mikeys voice that regulated his emotions that helped him in his fear is now Sydney. now Sydney is the peace.

And the thing where Carmy knew the strong, stable Mikey but not the vulnerable, fragile Mikey who didn't let anyone in that he could rely on.

At the end of the episode Doors, we see Sydney. She's just as human as Carmy, equally freaked out, and in need of someone to check in.

And then that moment at the end of the season, we see Sydney again. Vulnerable. Fragile. Not letting the person in she thought she could rely on.

I think about Syd's scarves a lot in 3x03 and I love it because you can see how her thoughts are changing according to how she feels. So the first scarf, Sydney is not thinking about stars, she is thinking about constellations, being better than excellent… and his partner is Carmy.

So, we have the Cow scarf with white dots, apart from there is variation in size of the dots, it goes from big to smaller, I think that is how it makes her feel Carmy, it is the scene where he tells her that “if it is not perfect it does not come out” a bit of the style “it is difficult to keep up with you” Syd's confidence begins to go down

While helping Tina she has a scarf with diamonds and the pattern is repeated in figures of the same size and order. She is teaching Tina and could be represented as her having her thoughts in order. (Also if I'm not mistaken Chef Terry most of his scarves had orderly patterns)

The star scarf, as Carmy tries to push Tina harder. Sydney still has the stars on her mind, but this is a more “fun” pattern and ironically she is not having fun. It could represent her wondering if it is worth getting the stars by sacrificing the happiness for recognition.

(It could also be the reason why Carmy gets a little angry with her, because he warned her this would happen.)

I also love the little details on the checks “Richie’s friend” and Carmy writes in the margin Fuck Richie. On Fak’s friend or family I don’t understand what he writes “Prasi?” “Frasi?” Maybe Francie Fak already ate at The Bear.

The scarf with the human figure, the same one she uses in 2x03… They are arguing. Carmy stressed and angered Sydney and perhaps she felt the lack of communication (same as in 2x03)

One of my favorites is this one. Sydney says the menu. I think it was one of the few times she actually contributed to the creation of the menu (duck with cherry) this scarf is the same or a very similar one as the one she wears in 3x07 when Sydney tries to give Carmy suggestions for the menu (and he ignores her) creativity scarves.

Black dots on white and white dots on black. Yin and yang. Carmy and Richie. As time goes on I’m sure Sydney is wondering who she should listen to. Carmy who is “one of the best chefs” but is talking nonsense or Richie who is “Richie” but has shown improvement. Personally I’m with Richie on this scene. (And he lost me when he spit… and got me back a little when he apologized)

The swirls. We see Sydney wear a swirly shirt in 3x07 when her thoughts about Carmy are all mixed up.

Then the swirly scarf, Sydney doesn’t want to take care of Carmy, but that doesn’t mean she wants to see the guy hurt or suffer and Sydney cares for him. During the episode I was waiting for the big ending, (when the plates and glasses started breaking) I was sure Carmy would cause an accident and Sidney stops that from happening.

This scene definitely started a change in Carmy's mind.

(I also love that thinking about Claire gives him heartburn, just like when he talks to Fak and to say that he “love her a lot” he drinks pepto).

And the episode ends with Sydney thinking about her legacy. Tree Scarf. The unfilled check is Carmy's (writing in the margins and Sydney isn't at the expo), but I wonder if it was Sydney who stepped on it and she looks angrily in my guess Carmy's direction. Because this is what Sydney thinks is the beginning of her legacy.

Now the dish, I think it may have been inspired by the outfit Sydney wore to the funeral because it parallels the cherry donut Marcus made and they're talking about going to another funeral. He finds the inspiration at the beginning of the season, spends the rest of the season thinking about the dish, Carmy throws the dish away and we're not told it's inspired by Syd (just like Marcus in s1). I'm assuming the dish will be complete (perfect) in 4x09. Carmy definitely had Sydney on his mind all season.

And her scarf, on the front the dots are in order and the same size, once she turns around we can see little dots. Sydney tries to pretend she has her mind in order when… She doesn't.

I’m curious about this one. I think it’s the most casual scarf Sydney used, I think she only used it once. But the important thing is what Carmy said to provoke that reaction, (only Carmy can provoke that reaction) my theory is the partnership agreement, (Sydney reacts similarly with Jimmy and Nat) and maybe Sydney lied to him saying she was busy looking for an apartment… I don’t know, but the reaction is different than when Carmy leaves her off the menu and she’s not in the middle of the chaos of the service so… I'm very curious to know what caused her reaction. The scarf doesn't tell me much, but the fork is the opposite of Carmy (Mikey/Richie), so there's something there.

I also love that when Syd doesn't have anything in her hair, we can see what's going on in her mind 3x07 and 3x10

That was longer than I thought, this is still an opinion, I could be very wrong.

I always feel like it's pure joy when you reblog my posts with your meta!

This scarf analysis is 🔥. He noticed sydneys polka dot dress first time he's really seen her dressed up outside the restaurant and dedicated time for the perfect dish. I think it was @moodyeucalyptus that also said the polkadots represent the stars on her mind, you're onto something. The disganization- also the times she wears these really colorful scarves is when she's pressured to really think of their partnership.

What are we thinking? Did Carmy plan to ask Sydney out to dinner with him, or was it a spontaneous moment?

I'm touched by the thought that Carmy might have thought of taking her when he could hear Sydney's sadness and disappointment about Ever closing.

And Carmy says he doesn't need to provide amusement or enjoyment.

He's down bad.

I wanna say spur of the moment, as he’s been soooooo bubbled in, he hasn’t seen anyone (including Sydney) all that clearly throughout the season. He gets glimpses, of everyone, but he’s not present enough to examine them and what they mean. Easier to keep head down looking at the food (incidentally, with food being his language, the inability to complete that dish would be his writers block; the man is properly walking around in circles in his head) than to engage with anything or anyone fully -not least because in a real enough way, getting the food right is a priority. It’s “publish or perish” in a much more material way when it comes to restaurants. Whether he’s going about it the right way is a separate argument.

So anyway, to me the penny drops for him when she says “real heat” and it’s like ‘oh! 💡 💡 💡 well, yeah! So clearly you should be there, as you are also an extraordinary chef. None of this of course needs saying, because being a person with a speech impediment born out of anxiety, I fully believe in expressing myself through food, and getting you to eat the best possible food I’m capable of coming up with at the moment seems a sufficient statement of my views on the matter’

There’s this tinge of incredulity when she says no, like he’s truly baffled that she would think that it’s not her place??? To be at the best restaurant in the world??? With the best chefs he’s ever known??? He literally asks “what are you talking about?”

I don’t think he planned it, and I sincerely don’t think the character (or the show) are committed to a romantic undertone* to the invite itself - but rather put it as a statement of fact: you should come because you too are real heat.

My guy also very much should be saying this, and Sydney desperately needs to hear it, but that’s a whole other kettle of fish for another time.

Edit: oooh one more thing: he looks miserable about going. When he says “everyone” he sounds like he would so much rather not. But he still invites her. Not necessarily to share in the experience with her (he also later proceeds to spend the night absorbed in his own personal hell), but to basically induct her into this club of culinary heavyweights where she so clearly (in his mind) already belongs.

*unlike, say, the hamachi broken heart dish, which has no other plausible raison d’être than to show potential: A heart. Handed out on a plate. Blindly. In good faith. Inadvertently setting the entire narrative in motion. That’s a commitment. And yeah, they can maybe weasel their way out of it saying it wasn’t supposed to read like that but like…bffr

​

What's up with this Dish?

Frozen Concord Grapes with Beef Consomme, stand-alone with smoked bone marrow.

Carmy took his time to prepare the drawings, which is the idea Sydney started. He followed, and they collaborated. That is, until Sydney noticed she wasn't entirely included in the planning of the chaos menu- that Claire was running through the menu with Carmy even though Carmy adamantly told her that never happened.

But Carmy also serves The Beef Consomme and Bone broth dish to Claire before he thinks he spots Chef David and reverts to his old ways.

The idea reappears in 3x09 when Carmy is searching for more ideas in a montage with flashes of his past and Sydney in the present with the song Blowing Kisses.

It may speak to the need for Carmy to collaborate, or this may be Sydney's signature dish. Maybe it speaks to Carmy, who is always thinking of Syd and striving to please her- so many meanings, and I wonder if the dish will make a comeback in season 4.

There is something about that dish being served to Claire and how Sydney and Claire should not be intertwined—that there's an issue in Carmy personally serving something that he and Sydney shared a meeting of the minds of—their own world.

Something about that dish that makes Carmy pause in his frantic need to find inspiration.

Something about it being the most thoughtful dish of the chaos menu.

Something something about the broth symbolizing warmth and grapes symbolizing abundance and prosperity and Sydney being the path to all of those things once she and carmy stop messing around and embrace each other.

And him serving it to Claire was a big no no which is why his ass ended up stuck in the walk in.

But in 3x09 I think he was there sitting trying to reconnect with food in a healthy way FOR Sydney because she said she’s not his baby sitter and so he’s trying to go back and reflect on times he was truly peaceful without relying on anyone else. But I think it’s safe to say he was pining and thinking of her while looking at his drawing of the dish, he’s so down bad he can’t help it.

a few thoughts on the different types of romantic love in the bear

One thing facet of the show that I feel like is incredibly poignant is the emotional realism. I think I read another post or podcast about "emotional realism" in the bear so I will be borrowing that to talk about emotional realism when it comes to romantic partnerships in the show.

I feel like a lot of people wanted Sydney and Carmy to be this magical soulmate pairing that faced no opposition, trials, or tribulations on their journey to love and let me be the one to tell you right now. That's just not realistic. So in order to showcase how the show portrays different versions of romantic love, I wanted to focus on some couples that are not so triggering when it comes to the idea of romantic partnership within the context of the show.

Natalie x Pete: Natalie and Pete are the epitome and pinnacle of romantic love in the show. BUT, and STRONG BUT, they are not without their challenges. Natalie's family for the most part do not like Pete. They tolerate him, now, but for the longest time and to this day, they talk shit about him, because he's not like them. He's an outsider who has a different way of loving, and they don't understand it. Should Pete have left Natalie because her family didn't accept him?

Natalie's traumatic childhood still makes her feel insecure about her relationship. Plus she has a lot of generational trauma that she is working through to not pass down these things to her daughter. Should Pete leave her because she's insecure and traumatized?

You would answer no.

Richie x Tiff:

Richie and Tiff are divorced but they are still deeply interconnected because of Eva. You know that there is still a deep love between them because of the conversation on the bench. Tiffany wants Richie at her wedding because that's her family. Not to embarrass him or make him feel bad, but because she still has a deep love for him as a person. I get the sense that they didn't work out because it took him well into his adult life to figure out what he really wanted to do. Sometimes love isn't enough, especially when a child is involved. Tiffany and Eva deserve stability and at the time Richie wasn't able to provide it for YEARS. So I don't blame Tiff for leaving, but if Richie was in a better place, I know she would've stayed.

Just because you aren't with someone anymore doesn't mean that their importance to your life and the love you have for them just goes away.

Tina x Mr. Marrero

We don't get to spend a lot of time with them but we get to see such a beautiful dynamic between Tina and her husband. Now that they've been given it to me I need more. Tina and her husband are doing their very best to take care of their son and live a content life. They aren't rich but they've created a warm and comforting environment that is built on the foundation of their love. When Tina loses her job, it shakes up everything. Mr. Marrero is focused on his duty to take care of the household on his modest income. And Tina is so independent and knows that they need her income in order to survive. Her husband supports her through this transition even if it's stress on him and her. They work as team to get through this life change. Should he have left Tina the moment she became frustrated with finding employment? Should Tina have left him because his income alone wasn't enough to sustain them?

Again the answer is no.

The emotional realism of the bear shows that relationships of any kind are never perfect and never without challenges. Familial, platonic, or romantic. Sydney and Carmen are no different. While I support whatever decision Sydney makes, I do believe that what they are going through is their biggest trial yet. Syd and Carmy have failed to communicate in a healthy way for 3 seasons. And once these miscommunications finally bubble over it's going to be catastrophic. In one way or another. Who knows? At the end of the day what's important is that they do learn how to communicate because whether they stay business partners or become more or less, there will be obstacles that they will need to work through and grow from together.

"What grows together goes together."

thank you @thoughtfulchaos773 for encouraging me to expand on this

This moment will always be IT for me. This scene was probably more significant for me than the table scene, and that says a lot because that scene was extremely significant! I remember when i first saw this scene and was genuinely so taken back by the editing, the song, the expressions. And the fact that it's STILL on my mind almost a year later and i end up finding something new about it every time??

Then people want to pretend that this moment was strictly platonic and that Syd only equaled the restaurant... I knew in this moment that they were showing us Carmy realized how much he loved Syd and that she meant so much more to him. She's his peace. She was not a product of his trauma through his childhood and family. He was uncertain about Claire, but certain about Syd. I don't care. I am not budging.

I even tried to one time just so i could stop talking about sydcarmy to my friend who wants them to only be platonic. But oh well! The editors and Mr. Storer shouldn't have shown me this scene!

The first time I learned about The Bear was through a random tweet kind of complaining how people had spent the previous summer hyping up a show about “two white boys screaming at each other in the kitchen” or something like that. I thought it was my type of show, looked at the replies, found out the name and sat down to watch through the night. I think I watched two or three episodes, before finally allowing sleep to win. I thought the show was solid, but I absolutely forgot to go back to finish.

Months passed, season two came out and I saw this clip making its round around Twitter. Initially I thought it was a fanedit or something, so I asked a friend of mine who had recently binge-watched the show if it was real, the moment they confirmed it was indeed real I went to binge-watch too. I honestly couldn’t believe what I was missing out on… so imagine my surprise – soon after I finished watching the show – when I found out about them being only Platonic™ and everything else that Ayo, JAW and Storer had said in interviews about Syd and Carmy as a couple.

I’m sorry, but they’re gaslighting us in real time. There’s no fucking way they didn’t realize what they were doing with these two and the potential they have together. Sure, it wasn’t their initial idea, but to deny the potential? Please. I feel like we’ve been stuck far too long in this era in which cynicism, hating the audience and trying to outsmart us has become the norm. I can’t see any other explanation.

Call me delusional, but I still have a little bit of hope that Storer and everybody else involved in the show will come to their senses. Working on Syd and Carmy’s relationship through romantic lens wouldn’t take anything from the show, quite the opposite; it could be a very beautiful story of them struggling, healing and finding themselves and, along the way, just so happening to find each other.

The Bear’s Blue Period Is Coming

After his close friend committed suicide in 1901, Picasso was overwhelmed with grief, so using the colors blue and blue-green, his paintings mostly portrayed “a deep sense of loss and mourning”, from 1901 to 1904. This time is known as Picasso’s Blue Period.

In the s3 teaser and the above poster, the color blue tells us that s3 will be The Bear’s Blue Period. Carmy and the rest of the team will go through loss and mourning, but a question remains: Picasso was able to push through and produce great art in his Blue Period, but will The Bear be able to push through and produce great work during a time of loss and mourning? I think they will.

After his Blue Period, Picasso’s Rose Period began. In 1904, Picasso met and began a relationship with Fernande Oliver, who inspired him to use “cheerful orange and pink colors” in his paintings. As you can see, after rain comes sunshine, so with The Bear, I believe that they will go through their Blue Period in the first episodes of season 3, but at the end, they will start their Rose Period.

Isn’t it interesting that some of Sydney’s clothes are cheerful orange and pink? Her bedroom literally has items that are cheerful orange and pink. Syd is The Bear’s Fernande Oliver.

Beautiful! yes you’re exactly right, the blue tints have been used throughout the show & it usually does reflect a Mood. Picasso’s Blue Period is such a good parallel to the grief that’s been bubbling in this show since the beginning. I also agree the season will probably be emotionally trying in the starting epis, and then move into joyful towards the emd. I hope so, since s2 ended on a Big Bummer. Their Rose period? I Can’t Wait. Syd arrived in a Thom Browne blouse & orange & red on her head. Like a crown or a halo. No wonder Carm looked gobsmacked at first sight

It’s going to get worse before it gets better! Everything points to Sydney being The Bear’s Fernande Olivier and I love it.

I also think Nat’s baby will play a big part in the Rose Period. I find it interesting that Nat’s full name is Natalie Rose Berzatto. This show is so full of greatness, it’s insane.

JUNE 27TH!!! JUNE 27TH!!! JUNE 27TH!!!

i wouldn’t even wanna do it without you. you know, you make me better at this.

Will Carmy leave the culinary world?

I know based on Carmy's current disillusionment with the restaurant world that this is a question that us fans have been asking ourselves, but here are some reasons why I think that Carmy will stay in the food service industry in some capacity, or at least why I'm hoping that he will.

First and foremost, Carmy does have a love for his family's business and for cooking, despite the burnout that he has been experiencing he defends the restaurant against his sister's scorn for The Beef and Uncle Jimmy's desire to purchase it in season one. Also, note that in his first onscreen face to face conversation with his sister, Via Chicago by Wilco plays in the background, and the tortured lyrics ultimately end by speaking of searching for home,

Friends and folks, students and scholars, I present to you this most excellent post! Thank you @currymanganese (and @thoughtfulchaos773) for continuing the analysis!

My small notes. The writers absolutely want us to wonder about Carmy’s position on staying or leaving the restaurant world, on whether how he’s done it so far truly fills his purpose, and what exactly will make it worth it for him to stay: what kind of restaurant and menu will express his passion, and with WHOM he wants and needs to do that with. The Bear is a homecoming story, a back to roots story, a healing and transforming your story story, and a finding your people story…all within the restaurant world. Love it.

Been thinking about the inordinate amount of time spent filming the Faks' trying to solicit money from the Berzatto family to fund their ridiculous baseball card business scheme in Fishes. The writers devoted not one but two pretty lengthy scenes in this chaotic episode for this plotline that essentially is laughed off as stupid during both conversations. Jimmy actually slaps them and Stevie says he'll give them the $500 just so he can see their reaction to the supposed "legit" cards. Knowing this show and the importance it places on the smallest of details, I wanted to try and decipher what the purpose of the plotline is and why it was given so much time on screen.

This isn't the first time we've seen Fak advocating for something he wanted. Most times, people don't take him seriously unless it's actually handyman jobs for the restaurant. We've seen him try to convince Richie to let him work at The Beef in season 1, which led to two grown men tussling on the floor and Fak ratting out Richie for selling coke. But eventually, they accept him as part of the staff. He now works FOH, which is a huge upgrade from handyman.

But that was what Fak wanted in season 1. What Fak seems to want most in season 2, what he's been shown to advocate the most for, is Carmy being with Claire. Fak was instrumental in giving Claire access to Carmy (giving her Carmy's cellphone number), and said on multiple occasions that Claire is great (even says "we love her" in s2 ep9). Out of all the people who seem to want Carmy with Claire, Fak is the biggest supporter.

The show makes a huge point to show in Fishes that what Fak wanted then, the baseball card scheme, didn't have a hope of succeeding. Jimmy didn't entertain the idea and Stevie only did so for his personal amusement. It could be that the writers were hinting at the inevitable downfall of Carmy and Claire's short-lived relationship via the silly scheme. The only reason Fak's advocation for their relationship wasn't laughed off was because others wanted this relationship for Carmy as well.