Season 2 of "The Bear" features a carefully considered progression of flavors that
will leave viewers hungry for more. But if you're looking to deconstruct the dramedy,
well, right this way — your table awaits.
Season 1 of "The Bear" concluded with a deus ex machina in the form of canned tomatoes. Richie
finally gives Carmy the letter that Mikey left behind, which leads to the discovery
of the roughly $300,000 in cash that Jimmy lent the previous and late executive chef.
Carmy decides to use the money to re-open The Beef as The Bear,
the family-style fine dining establishment that's been his dream since at least high school.
Season 2 quickly comes to a boil when Carmy, Sydney, and new project manager Sugar realize
they've underestimated how expensive and involved that process will be.
They decide to come clean to Jimmy about the money in hopes he'll be willing to
invest even more. Carmy boldly bets that if the restaurant isn't turning a profit in 18 months,
he'll sign over the deed. Sugar and Sydney are stunned because it should take at least six months
to get a new restaurant off the ground. To get in the black, the gang will have to do it in three.
"That's a CP."
"What's a CP?"
"A Carmy Problem."
Throughout Season 2, Carmy and his staff struggle to schedule and pass inspections,
as nearly every step forward results in two steps back. Sugar,
who reluctantly reveals that she's pregnant, plays the damsel in distress
to manipulate Jimmy into twisting some arms so that they can make their launch date.
Season 2 of "The Bear" is an illustration of the adage that things often look worse
before they look better. That applies to construction projects,
menu development, career prospects, finances, recovery, love, and life.
Through a combination of flashbacks and present-day conversations about the past,
we learn that Carmy was considerably less cool in high school than we might have imagined.
Not only did he speak with a stutter, it seems he never had a girlfriend or went to a party,
spending most of his free time doodling in notebooks. The sketches that weren't of pants
or food were of a girl who Carmy had a crush on, a spectacled cutie affectionately referred to as
Claire Bear. In the show's main timeline, Carmy and Claire have a meet-cute at a convenience
store refrigerator in which he pretends not to remember her name and gives her a fake number.
Confident Claire gets his real digits off of Fak, and the two begin to hang out on a regular
basis. It becomes clear that Carmy really likes Claire Bear and has since childhood,
and she'll eventually confess that she's had a major crush on him this whole time,
too. Nevertheless, the prospect of having a girlfriend stresses him out.
In the Christmas episode, "Fishes," Carmy gets upset almost to the point of having a
panic attack when Mikey and Richie try to set him up with Claire Bear. Later,
Richie suggests he won't let good things happen to him.
But what's probably going on is that — in the same way Sugar's worried about
becoming a mother — he's worried about getting into a relationship because of
his family's mental health history and dysfunction. He also realizes that a
serious girlfriend could represent an obstacle to his ambitions as a chef.
When Carmy offended both Sydney and Marcus near the end of Season 1,
the sous chef and the pastry chef bonded in a way that hinted at a future romance. But,
when Season 2 begins, Sydney is noticeably awkward around Marcus and,
in an entirely different way, around her business partner Carmy.
The implication is that Sydney's not interested in Marcus, but might be
interested in her culinary idol. There's still conflict between them — she wants a Michelin star;
he doesn't care — but also palpable chemistry. Then Carmy bumps into Claire just when he and
Syd were about to embark on a restaurant tour to reset their palates. Instead,
Sydney has to go it alone, setting up a subtle and well-balanced love triangle.
"At least he's hanging out with Claire. I mean, that seems moderately healthy, right?"
"Who's Claire?"
Sydney's able to table her complicated feelings for Carmy,
but she can't ignore the fact that his budding relationship with Claire is getting in the way
of their working relationship. Her father and her contacts within the industry warn her that
she shouldn't make this leap with someone she doesn't trust. Carmy's divided attention puts
more weight on her shoulders, which makes her question whether she's doing the right thing.
Getting in the way of practical matters like finalizing the menu and fixing broken
refrigerator handles is the uncomfortable idea that maybe she's jealous of Claire. Even so,
it's Syd who encourages Carmy to admit she's his girlfriend. With only days left to open,
Syd wonders where she stands with Carmy, personally and professionally.
Season 2 opens with Marcus sitting next to someone in a hospital bed,
lovingly rubbing their hands. We learn his mother is terminally ill,
and caring for her has taken a toll on him. A once-promising football prospect,
Marcus worked his way up from fast food to Carmy's kitchen to support her and remain close by. While
the restaurant is being deep cleaned, he's given the opportunity to stage for a chef in
Copenhagen. As once-in-a-lifetime as the trip is, he frets about leaving his mother behind.
Marcus comes alive once abroad, studying under Chef Luca. At first, he's so intimidated,
he can't operate a pair of tweezers. Without mentioning Carmy by name, Luca tells Marcus
that one chef made him realize he wasn't the best in the world, and he didn't have to be,
which took off some pressure. Luca used the kitchen to better himself and make the most of
his life. He suggests that Marcus do the same, and teaches him to be confident, open, and inspired.
While walking home one night, Marcus happens upon a local who's been in a terrible bicycle
accident. He rescues the man, who thanks him and rides away. The incident is a symbolic lesson in
the selflessness of service that parallels his experience with his mother and as a chef. When
Marcus returns to Chicago, he's not only written recipes for three new desserts,
he has a new outlook on life and an improved perspective of his own self-worth.
Line cook Tina wasn't a particularly likable character in Season 1,
but started to come around by the final episode, and at the very start of Season 2,
it's clear that she's all in on The Bear. While Carmy, Sydney, and Sugar try to put out little
fires everywhere, Tina sucks up to the chef she once resented, clearly angling for a promotion.
It isn't long at all before she gets her wish. The new chef de cuisine offers her the job
almost apologetically. She assumes the longtime employee who was so set in her ways won't want
to put in the time to do what it'll take. But Tina enthusiastically accepts her invitation to attend
culinary school while the restaurant is being renovated. Carmy lends (and ultimately gifts) her
his chef's knife, and Tina learns to see herself in a new light when she excels in the program.
We can deduce that Tina's thorny personality was a result of her insecurities.
Deep down, her lack of a formal education made her feel defensive, and the way she perks up when
asked to join other students at a bar indicates that she may not have had many friends. Though
she dreaded it, all the change that's happening at the sandwich shop has worked out in Tina's favor.
Let's be honest: This is Richie's season. The once problem-causing
cousin of the Berzattos is a changed man, and it's all thanks to some streaky forks.
But before Carmy sends Richie to work at his old world-renowned restaurant,
we learn a little about the brash sandwich wrapper's backstory during episode 6.
"Natalie, I'm not like this because I'm in Van Halen, I'm in Van Halen because I'm like this."
Not so long ago, Richie was a doting husband with a kid on the way. His wife, Tiffany,
wanted more out of life, including a nice house in a good school district,
so he lied to her about already having secured a job with Jimmy. The years
between this uncomfortable moment at Christmas dinner and the present are still a mystery,
so we don't know exactly what went down with the job or their marriage.
Back to those forks. His bad attitude results in a stern talking-to by Garrett,
who orders him to respect himself and the restaurant. A switch flips in Richie's
brain. He begins to embrace the commitment that's required to execute high-end service,
and by the time he hand-delivers a deep-dish pizza, he's completely intoxicated with the idea.
After a full-throated Taylor Swift jam session in his car,
Richie returns to The Bear ready to run "front of house" like a rock star. But first,
he apologizes to Sugar and comes to terms with the fact that Tiffany is getting remarried.
Richie's new threads are a metaphor. He realizes Carmy didn't send him away
to get him out of his hair. He gave him the chance to become who he's always wanted to be.
With a sure-to-be legendary Episode 6, "The Bear" shows us what life was like for Carmy,
Sugar, and the other characters in the Berzatto family's orbit. It's Christmas Eve,
and Carmy is home to celebrate with his mother's traditional Italian "seven fishes."
"I make things beautiful for them, and no one makes things beautiful for me."
The customary seafood dishes (and bears) become loaded metaphors.
Stevie gives a blessing about love demonstrated through service and sacrifice,
and the guests debate whether bears are empathetic, aggressive, or both.
For the Berzattos, it's both. An unstable Donna loses her cool more than once. She
melts down as she violently grabs Sugar by the chin, then again at dinner when
she doesn't feel properly appreciated and her daughter dares to ask if she's okay.
Finally, Donna drives her car into the house as Sugar watches in horrified disbelief.
It's clear that she and Sugar have a toxic relationship in which the child feels more
responsibility for the well-being of the parent, rather than the other way around.
Carmy, meanwhile, is more focused on Mikey. Though he won't fully realize
the seriousness of his brother's illness until after his death,
it's becoming apparent to Carmy that Mikey — and his family — are plagued by generational trauma.
His cousin, Michelle, sees it, too, and offers him refuge. He's left to decide
whether he should stay and try to fix his family or whether he's better off
alone and away. It's a question he's still wrestling with leading into the finale.
In Episode 10, titled "The Bear," the new restaurant soft opens for friends and family.
Marcus has perfected four new desserts, including a savory take on cannoli that
he's dubbed "The Michael" in honor of the madness and genius that was their former
boss. Tina is seamlessly executing more refined dishes. Richie is thriving as the
maître d'. Sydney proudly dons the monogrammed chef's coat that her partner's gifted her.
But Carmy's feeling the heat and can't be bothered to visit Claire in the dining room.
The walk-in door handle, which had been loose all season, breaks off, trapping the executive chef
inside just as orders begin to come in rapid fire and one of the new hires goes missing.
"That's okay. Maybe that just is."
"He's stuck in the walk-in?"
"Yeah."
With Carmy literally on ice, the staff rises to the challenge. We can see that Carmy has
helped to improve everyone else's station but his own. The crew are all more functional than
they were when the series started, but Carmy's having an existential crisis in a refrigerator.
Besides Carmy's predicament, Pete spots a still-unwell Donna outside. She can't
bring herself to come in, and Sugar's left assuming her mom wasn't proud enough to
show. Though the night is a success from the patrons' perspective, it's still full
of stress behind the scenes, most of which is brought on by Carmy's unresolved issues.
Season 2 of "The Bear" is mainly about whether the new restaurant will open on schedule,
and that question is more or less answered by the finale. But on a character level,
there's still plenty of unfinished business to be addressed in Season 3.
It's possible that a reformed Richie could try to reconcile with Tiffany before the wedding.
Sugar is still pregnant, which means next season will almost certainly see the birth
of her child. But the bigger looming questions have to do with Carmy, Sydney, and Marcus.
While Carmy's fridged, he has a panic attack during which his memories of Claire
are intercut with his memories of Sydney. He's been in love with Claire all his life,
but the thought of Sydney is what pulls him out of his spiral.
In the previous episode, the two supported each other as they repaired a table. And with Claire
standing just outside the walk-in, Carmy delivers a monologue she definitely wasn't
supposed to hear. We'll find out whether he can juggle his love life and his work life in Part 3.
Similarly, Sydney flubs acting normally around Marcus,
who asks her out just before the dinner rush begins. When she rebuffs him,
he's hurt and takes it out on her for most of the night. Regardless of whether Claire returns,
the next love triangle looks to be between Carmy, Sydney, and Marcus.
Finally, Season 2 ends how it began, with Marcus' mom. In the pandemonium of opening,
his worst fear comes true as he misses multiple calls from her nurse, signaling tragic news.
As of the making of this video, "The Bear" has neither been renewed or canceled,
but all signs point to an eventual renewal announcement. If the show does get another
green light, expect the series to return no earlier than June 2024,
as Seasons 1 and 2 dropped in June 2022 and 2023, respectively.