#amazing sydcarmy meta

[yannaryartside]

Hello @moodyeucalyptus thank you for such a toughtfull response!

It is true that there is something that connects this two motherfuckers (affectionate) in a deeper level. Actually, the beauty of sydcarmy for me entails precisely the connection they have despite being both so close-up and emotionally illiterate. Those moments they can reach beyond all those layers and just make each other laugh, feel and improve sometimes without even trying.

I will like to go back to something you said:

“I’m actually to the point where I think - and I’m just gonna say it - sydcarmy HAS to be romantic to make any of how he’s treated Syd and her putting up with it - make any sort of logical sense. Because why has she put up with this??”

I read another post saying this love triangle (sydcarmy vs clairecarmy) had the undertones of an affair vs the marriage. Sydcarmy obviously being the marriage. In press talks cast talked about how creating the restaurant Bear was like giving birth. So in that analogy, carmy and syd are creating this baby and Carmy goes out to have an affair. Claire is the easy girl in all senses, she doesn’t ask Carmy for accountability or even ask to define the relationship. Similar behavior of many woman sleeping with married men.

Now, the reason why for me, besides what you stated, sydcarmy needs to be romantic, is because the show decided to use romance as a narrative vehicle to talk themes about recovery from addiction and mental health problems.

You have all the ingredients there. Syd has an holistic view of the issues. She doesn’t judge. She forgives, but asks for changes. She literally symbolizes the progress. Carmy failed to get them a good review because he was looking at the past (Chef David and Claire) and Syd succeeded to get a good review back in s1 just by innovating and looking ahead. Like, God. In the meantime you have the other girl Claire who has an effect like anesthesia, thinks is cool to set fires, commits malpractice and only lives for your needs. -again, common.

And finally, and that is a point that I think I didn’t go as deep as I should in my first post, in a discussion on having a parter with the issues that Carmy has, there needs to be a discussion of meeting the emotional needs of both partners. Syd has played the patience card with all of Carmy’s issues. The way you think someone in a long term relationship with do in this scenarios, support your partner because they are going thought a bad period, and you know them beyond that.

But the other part needs to know that they can leave.

A large part of the context of this work partnership is that Syd doesn’t think she has a future in the industry outside of the bear (she told that to her father) until the Shapiro offer. When a person decides to stay in a relationship because that is all they know, or because they have already invested too much, that is were things can get toxic and even abusive. Because why would you keep reaching if the other person is not reaching back?

I think Shapiro may be bad news. But inserting him at this point of the story, while also presenting another love interest for Syd in Luca, is on purpose. For me, is the lesson to Syd that she doesn’t “need” to be with Carmy, I rather have her “want” him once he actualizes. Specially because it doesn’t seem Carmy is gonna get Claire out of his system as soon as well like. He needs to know she is not good for him. That may get another season to resolve. Giving Syd a live outside Carm may be the best for both of them in the meantime.

My most blood chilling thought regarding sydcarmy is this

From Sydney’s point of view this has been nothing but a desolation game.

Carmy has left her to her own devices to handle his shit the whole show . While he is outside chasing other stuff in s1, another ass in s2, and goes s3 screaming to everyone while thinking about another ass.

And that is the part that it pains me. She knows. She knows he is been thinking about calling Claire. Everyone in “Next” created the correlation between the breakup and Carmy’s decent into madness. She has witnessed him talking about how Claire is in his mind “are you giving me shit for not calling people back?” To the computer.

If Carmy makes the attempt to apologize to Claire next season, even if they don’t get together right away, Syd has no reason to think Claire may not me still Carmy’s endgame. Carmy and Syd have no real friends underneath at this point. Maybe, she will realize that she should cut her loses.

And even if Carmy realizes his feelings for Syd…even if he tells her. She may be to tired of being the second choice after enduring all that she did. And I won’t blame her.

If you have seen the most recent “little woman” think of this scene, spoilers ahead.

There needs to be time, time where they work together and become friends after an ultimate breakup with Claire. Syd has literally no reason to say yes.

[mswyrr]

@dizzycat2000​

Learning this just made my heart do a happy flip! 😂I love it so much. A married couple making art together that a lot of different people can enjoy. That’s gorgeous.

For anyone who’s curious, there’s an article about the married chefs and their love story here:

To hear them say it, they’re always busy and always running around, but in conversation, they’re both quite laidback. They also seem very down-to-earth. They complete each other’s sentences, and sometimes answer in unison. They look at each other lovingly, and listen intently when the other person speaks. They think highly of each other. They may be from different backgrounds but have clearly found their common ground in food.  

I could see Syd and Carmy being so happy living a life like that. And I could see, in a few years, someone writing an article like that in-storyverse about the married chefs who run The Bear 💖

[yannaryartside]

Shapiro’s angle

I don't think this guy is bad news, or a bad guy per se.

I think he is just an opportunist. And I think he is doing this mostly for himself.

I may be wrong, but for me, the most on-the-nose foreshadowing about Shapiro was Luca telling him:

"Are you getting your sticky fingers on everything again?"

This was right before he asked to talk to Sydney (about the partnership) at Ever's funeral. It was definitely a sign.

Now, it could be a warning about his bad intentions; sticky fingers could be related to wanting to trap someone and never let them go. Maybe Syd should have Pete revise that new partnership agreement.

Mostly, I have a hard time thinking Andrea Terry would have a CDC that was actually toxic or damaging; his true colors would have shown at some point, and she would have known. Maybe that's me being optimistic. Maybe he would show his actual colors when he doesn't have to answer to anybody. Luca hasn't seemed to get awful vibes from him, either.

FINGERPRINTS OF LEGACY

But I associate the sticky fingers comment more with Shapiro wanting to get a "fingerprint" on Sydney. The way a fingerprint may alter the presentation of a fine ceramic plate. Is about marking it as yours, it was in your hands.

Shapiro may think that he has gotten as good as he can get on his own merit, he said he would have stayed with Andrea forever if she hadn't closed Ever, which is a remark on his lack of ambition as a cdc. I think he may be a chef who (also, as he said) is tired of the all-day cooking job, but he still wants to get some glory under his name without all the work. Proteges are a good way to do that.

The only thing about Sydney he knows that could indicate her potential (besides her cooking, which he only tested once) is that she works for Carmen. Carmen has been awarded the best in the world, and the fact that he sees something in Sydney may be enough for Shapiro to bet on her (and a huge bet, considering how much freedom he promised her). Now, what kind of mentor would he be? I would like to think he will try to be Andrea and see where it gets him.

He may have seen the bear's kitchen's obvious lack of functionality and seen it as an opportunity to steal Carmy's best asset from him while she is still unknown by the industry. She could become more expensive to get in the future if she gets a name under Carmen. Shapiro has better chances to get her now. He may even say in the future that he was the only one capable of forming her like a chef while Carmy didn't.

So yeah, he is making a bet on an unknown asset with the hope that it will pay off later since Carmys is not looking. We don't know much about his character besides the fact that at Ever, everyone was cool with him.

I DON'T WANT SYDNEY TO FAIL OR GET SCREWED

Besides how much I care for her—I know it sounds obvious—I don't think it would be a good narrative for the show either way.

Because she has survived Carmy, that has been horrible, but in terms of women in the workplace, at least she doesn't have to worry about being exploited (or other horrible things that we know could happen in these spaces) because Carmy cares about her well-being, the same as the rest of the family.

So, if she hypothetically goes with Shapiro because her voice is being drowned under Carmy's madness, and then Shapiro screws her over, and Carmy has to rescue her.

I am sorry, fuck that.

Because what is the lesson on that? Women should stick around toxic behavior, being grateful that at least they are not taken advantage of? Better the devil you know than the one you don't? Sydney is very capable, and you will punish her for believing in herself?

image by @gingergofastboatsmojito

[bootlegramdomneess]

I do have things to express but i'm not willing to meta anymore. I was on a strike but now i'm officially retired. I did see this happening which is why i refused to meta after the teasers were released and with that strike helped me detach so i'm not too upset about the poor storytelling.

I also feel like i've expressed how I've felt about Sydney being used as a black character and the glaring issues with misogynoir enough times already that I saw the writiing on the wall for this season. (I am glad I got my sydney centric episode though so i'll give it up for that).

What I have learned is this fandom did so many amazingly intelligent Metas, it made the show better than what it is perhaps? Season 1 is what drew me in and i've come to realize as the show progressed the writing of this show simply leaves much to be desired.

The actors made the show amazing, but the structure of the stories; the way the connections are made simply isn't there. It's not intentional enough. I think we gave it up to storer too much by interpreting his mess in a way that made it seem more intelligent than what it really is. (I say this without arrogance. We are some incredibly intelligent folks with a wealth of knowledge and understanding of the innerworkings of the human condition).

I'll surely never do that again.

Whatever happens. If another season comes into the game i'm not sure i'll watch. I don't like shows holding my viewership hostage and keep telling the same stories and keep torturing their characters. That's just my personal preference.

i've decided overall i'm not interested. Not because I don't love the characters anymore but because I'm not viewing or giving my brainpower or intelligence to someone who can't tell a consistent story.

I'll alway be Sydcarmy because these two characters are wonderfully complex and have so much potential to have a good story. To tell a good story. I stopped being interested in whether or not they become canon months ago, but I will always ship. I will always write them. We know the truth. Even people who don't care know the truth lol.

I really love this fandom, for real. This is the 2nd fandom where I've felt, for the most part, safe and everyone is, for the mos part, on the same accord. I'm giving it up to ya'll. You guys are the true MVPs.

[chefkids]

I love your meta!!! It’s amazing that you’re still able to identify and connect new things that the rest of us overlooked. Do you have any predictions for next season? Not just with SydCarmy but also any thoughts about where the show may take us

Thank you!

I think a big focus of next season is going to be on their lives intertwining and their families coming together. Season 3 ended with Richie, Nat, Carmy, and Sydney all coming together to open the restaurant and including her in their core group like family. And like Ayo and everyone in the show has said, this is all about chosen family and real family. But I also think a lot of bad shit is going to happen, especially at the very start of the season.

After Carmy practically begging to meet Sydney's dad, I do think Emmanuel and Carmy will finally meet. I do not think he is going to like Carmy at the start. He is very sceptical of their whole arrangement, he knows Sydney quit for a minute and might have heard Sydney talk shit about him. And if he ever finds out what went down on opening night, I don't think he'll be too happy with Carmy. But I do think they will eventually bond and get to know each other, I think including that Sydney's dad was sober from alcohol is going to be a big conversation for them.

I think they were alluding for Natalie having some sort of complication maybe preeclampsia with her shoulder pain. I think she's going to give birth sooner rather than later. Natalie giving birth is going to bring Donna back and is what is going to get Carmy and his mother to finally see each other again after seemingly years apart.

I also think Donna and Sydney will meet. I think Natalie and Sydney are both going to try to get Carmy to at least try to give his mother a chance because they are both much more optimistic and forgiving people than him. I think it's going to cause a lot of tension between all of them because Carmy doesn't want Sydney seeing that side of his family.

Sydney's share/ownership of the restaurant comes back into question. I also think Carmy getting more credit/recognition than her in reviews or press will bother her. I think she will basically say that this place is not really hers. Someone tries to poach Sydney, Carmy freaks out. Sydney starts to consider if it is worth staying if another good opportunity comes along.

Marcus' mom is dead and gone. RIP to that lady. I think grief and how they all deal with it differently will be a big theme. Carmy ignored his grief for a long time and tried to use work to fix things. Sydney and her dad still keep her mom's memory alive but she still struggles with letting others know about her grief. I think Marcus will be letting others help him and be there for him and Sydney will be there for him. I think this will bring back things Carmy about his own grief and how he's still dealing with it.

Luca returns to fill in for him for a bit and emotional support for Marcus. Which I think will also bring us to see Competitive Carmy in full force as goes into Michelin Mode, for Syd's sake. No amusement or enjoyment. I also think this will kinda turn the crew against Carmy as they'll prefer Sydney, they kind of already do. Especially considering she was more involved in training them and in the build than he was. Plus she's just nicer than him.

Sydney will overwork herself and burn out, she won't trust Carmy on his own and will inevitably put a lot of pressure on herself. She's not going to want to quit or stop but Carmy and her Dad will be pressuring her to slow down because she's making herself sick. I think a large focus of Season 3 will be on their energy. In Season 1 it was all about the pressure of money, Season 2 about time pressure, and now they need to find the energy to keep going because they need to make back money in a set time frame. The focus on energy and their internal dynamics between them, rather than external issues like things in restaurant being broken.

Jealous Carmy. When he realizes Marcus likes Syd more than a friend, he's going to view everyone as competition and a threat, even though he's still to scared to do anything about it. I think Sydney will grow closer to Marcus and Richie and maybe even Luca or new guy Connor, not in any romantic way, but it is going to bother Carmy a lot that she never spends any time with him and that they know her outside of work but he doesn't.

Menu overhaul is inevitable, aside from Marcus dishes, most of the menu is not that remarkable and they really need to pull out new interesting ideas if they want a star. I'm sure we will see a lot more of Syd and Carmy actually testing recipes together. Carmy is just not as creative as Sydney when it comes to food, he struggled with the chaos menu. Mostly as Carmy's way to force proximity with Syd when she doesn't want to be around him.

I'm also still rooting for the return of the short rib risotto and the missing acid chaos ingredient. They have to bring it back.

Tina and/or Richie straight up comment on Sydcarmy. I think Tina knows and suspects a lot more than she lets on. She is very observant and protective over Sydney. She's overheard and seen a lot of what has been going down between them. She's going to put Carmy in his place and scare him a little on Sydney's behalf.

Richie on a similar note is going to put 2 and 2 together on what Carmy is feeling and basically tell him to stay away from Sydney because he doesn't want a Claire 2.0 to happen to her and he probably feels like Carmy does not even deserve Sydney in any way and he would just fuck things up for everyone at the restaurant.

Natalie finally says something to him and that's what finally gets him to do something and stop bottling everything in. She never commented on his relationship to anyone except Sydney, and that was more so to get her in the loop and protect her, because she knew Carmy was leading her on while seeing Claire and not telling her. She's going to subtly or not so subtly ask him wtf he is doing. I also think Jimmy fully thought Sydney was his girlfriend.

Fire Suppression System will tested for real with an actual fire. I have a lil theory that Sydney is going to be the one to accidentally start a fire next season. The fire suppression test was all a metaphor for Syd and Carmy suppressing their feelings and the spark/fire that they have. At the end of season 1 Carmy started a grease fire after Sydney quit, because he couldn't suppress his sadness and feelings for her. In season 2 they passed the fire suppression and Carmy decided to declare Claire his girlfriend. They managed to contain their feelings, but eventually they still came out with Carmy and his panic attack. But now I'm sure Sydney is going to be the one trying to suppress feelings because of how everything went down, and I think it will just blow up in her face literally and metaphorically. They spent so much time explaining the fire suppression system and the electrical wiring and the amperage of it all, that I think it's going to come into play again.

Carmy uses Sydney for emotional support without her realizing. When he texted her because he needed her comfort and forgiveness before opening Mikey's note, she didn't know that was what was happening. When he had panic attack and thought of her to calm down he used her for comfort, but she doesn't know all that. I think he's going to tell her or show her that she is his comfort person. I also think we will also see Sydney eventually reach for him for support and comfort as well.

Sydney's catering days and UPS flashback. Please I am begging. We need more of her lore. I think next season will be a lot of seeing her as more independent and being the boss, we only just started to see her at her peak performance in the last episode. I think we'll see more of her evolution, and also her flighty nature. She went from restaurant to restaurant. I think the idea of her leaving The Bear will hang around all season, but she won't leave.

Claire apology then goodbye within the same episode. Sorry to that girl. I think Carmy was already planning to breakup with her after he had the panic attack and the talk with Uncle Jimmy, which is why he freaked out when after he saw her at dinner. I don't think there would be much place for her unless they throw her into some hospital scenes with maybe Nat or Sydney being sick. I think her work here is done. I think she might make other appearances with the Faks. They are close family friends. Maybe she's friends with the elusive Francie Fak that everyone is dying to know what happened between her and Nat.

I think Richie will try to work elsewhere for a bit. He wants to prove that he doesn't need Carmy and that he can succeed without him. I think he'll come back when Sydney asks him to. The situation with him and Tiff feels very 50/50 to me. On the one hand I think it could be him learning to move on from his ex, on the other hand I think Chris and Joanna are all about second chances and I could see Tiff seeing Richie change and wanting to give things another chance.

I also think there's opportunity to see another city like we did with Copenhagen. I'm still rooting for Carmy to take Syd to Noma before it shuts down. I could also see a New York flashback episode with Carmy working at Eleven Madison and Sydney going on her NYC food tour and their whole invisible string coming together.

Not in this season, but The Bear Cookbook will happen. Trust.

And The Psychedelic Musical Episode. A girl can dream. But I do think we'll get another karaoke scene, maybe with the whole crew going out after a shift and just letting loose for once.

[sydcarmyfan]

Thank you to everyone in the SydCarmy fandom

Before all the episodes are released tomorrow and everything goes wild on socials, I want to thank all of you. Thank you for those who wrote the fanfics. Thank you for those who wrote and shared their bear meta. Thank you for all the amazing GIFs. Thank you for the SydCarmy fanart. Thank you for this space.

Please remember to stay hydrated, and keep a napkin handy when you are watching s3. We may not get what we desire at the end of the season, but we haven’t come this far to come this far! In the words of The Bear, Keep Going Lizards!

[yannaryartside]

100% all of this.

It’s incredible that both Claire, that grew up around the Berzattos, and Stevie, that has been around for a while as well, can display such lack of emphaty while they arguably had more time absorbing the situations around them, even thought they are coded as a ‘nice guy’ and a ‘nice girl’ the show seemingly using the full meaning of the phrase. They have found away to fetishized the dysfunction around them. With is a feeling I also had for Dr Malpractice describing the beautiful young girl she almost killed for being too tired to read (for people in the fandom that work in the medical field), we know that mistake is not common at all.

Yet is Pete and Syd, that are coded as ‘outsiders’ because they don’t subscribe to the same toxic approaches to personal conflict that the berzattos grew up on, the ones that can display true empathy and give grace to the very complicated and potentially harmful situations around them. I like that theme a lot, that emphaty doesn’t require understanding fully the situation, as Syd said ‘even the little I understand is so fucked up’ she recognizes this are complicated situations and they hope everybody can be okay, never for the sake of themselves, like Claire and Stevie.

Grace and shame

Carmy and for Nat's reintroductions to their mother after years of tension, and in Carmy's case, no communication, were fraught. We saw this during 3x08 Ice Chips with Nat's labour which Donna featured heavily in, and then in 4x07 Bears at Tiff's wedding where Carmy is blindsided by his mother and rescued by Richie and Syd.

At the risk of stating the obvious, these types of relationships are hard. Growing up with an abusive parent is hard. Family violence, coercive control, emotional abuse: these things are often open secrets in the immediate and extended families where they play out. When you come from communities where large extended families are as much your family as your immediate family (like Carmy's, like Syd's like many non-white, non-WASP communities), the open secret can range to a huge network. Folks you don't even know might know about your parent's fucked behaviour. So for children who are caught up in the middle of it all, there can be immense trauma both from being subjected to their family's abuse but also from navigating a whole ass community that has views and thoughts on the situation. And of course, folks in the family who are struggling with mental health issues and/or addiction like Mikey, like Donna, like Papa Berzatto wherever the hell he is, also have their own shit to navigate in these larger networks - particularly if they are trying to make up for the harm they may have perpetrated. There is more than enough shame to go around in these situations.

So with this context, I wanted to look at how three particular characters - Pete, Syd and Claire - respond to Donna Berzatto and her attempts to reengage with her family and what their responses tell us about relationships on this show.

Pete

In 2x10 The Bear, Pete spots Donna smoking a cigarette outside of the restaurant during Friends and Family (FNF) night. She has not come inside and is reluctant to do so, despite my beloved trying his best to convince her, knowing that his love, Donna's daughter Nat, was hoping to see her.

Donna tells Pete,

Donna: I don't deserve to see how good this is. I want them to have this good thing. And I don't wanna hurt it.

Pete tries a bit more to get Donna inside the restaurant but she begs him to let her go and tell her that its okay that she leaves. He reluctantly obliges and then goes back inside. We next see him talking to Nat while holding back tears BECAUSE HE IS A LOVING ANGEL OF A MAN.

When Nat concedes that the odds were right and Donna didn't show for FNF, she and Pete have the following conversation:

Pete: I mean, you...you know, this isn't easy.

Nat: What isn't easy?

Pete: You know, its a lot of people, a lot of history. Its just a lot.

Nat: Yeah. Yeah, its...

Pete: I wouldn't hold it against her.

Nat: No?

Pete: Not this one.

In the convo above, Pete gives both Nat and Donna grace.

When I first saw this episode of The Bear, I teared up at this scene. Pete has seen up close how the ravages of Donna's poor mental health and alcohol abuse have impacted all three of the Berzatto children, particularly his partner. As an outsider who hasn't been subjected to her abuse in the same way as her kids or extended family who have been around longer, he also has the distance to objectively see that Donna's abuse hasn't sprung up out of a vacuum. That she too, is harbouring her own ghosts. But Pete is not preachy about the latter with Nat. He doesn't tell Nat to forgive her mother for all of her sins. I mean, how could he? He's in no position to.

What Pete does tell Nat is that he wouldn't hold Donna's absence on FNF against her - "not this one" he says. And that's because of the insight he's gotten from Donna in their conversation outside the restaurant as well as the fact that Donna's absence is comparatively low stakes when it comes to the spectrum of impact that her abuse has had in the past (i.e. no one's getting their walls knocked down by a car or having Donna threatening self harm in their face). Pete also gives his advice to Nat as a recommendation - something he would do. He's not telling Nat what she should do. Thats a call for her to make. Pete gives Nat the grace to feel however which way she needs to while saying his piece.

I'll say it before and I'll say again: I LOVE THIS EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT, KIND MAN.

Also notably, the harshest words I've ever heard Pete use about Donna to Nat - or anyone else - were about the timing of her phone calls in 4x08 Green lol.

Sydney

Sydney meets the Berzatto matriarch for the first time in 4x07 Bears. But prior to this, she'd already heard from multiple sources about how difficult life in the Berzatto house was for Carmy. Sydney knows, through Richie, that Carmy's eldest brother shot himself in the head (recall the hardware store convo between them in 1x02 Hands). She knows, through Carmy, that Mikey was an addict and that Carmy is attending Al-Anon meetings to navigate his emotions following the loss of his brother (recall their alley chat at the end of 1x03 Brigade). She knows, through Carmy, that his mother drove a car through the family house and that he perceives his family as "weird" and "fucked-up" (recall her, Marcus and Carmy discussing cannolis in 2x08 Bolognese).

Its with the above context that Syd goes into her chat with Donna in 4x07. Syd also witnesses the affect that Donna has on Carmy earlier at the wedding (recall Syd and Richie swooping in to save Carmy who is already in the throes of a panic attack when his mother finds him):

Note: Syd's unbroken eye contact with Carmy to ground him in place, out of the panic attack. Richie's hand on Carmy's shoulder and his gentle pat to Carmy's face to do the same. PHEW some days, the Big Three have my whole heart.

Sydney then has that work-family/family-family heart to heart with Donna. The convo, while full of smiling faces, complements, and Syd gushing about Carmy, was tense. You could see Donna's struggle to sit through it, to sit through hearing how wonderful her son is. We find out later in 4x09 Tonnato that this is because Donna is now coming to terms with the consequences that her abuse has had on her relationships with her kids. There is so much about Carmen, her youngest, that Donna does not know. There is so much that she has missed because of their estrangement and in her convo with Syd, she's now having some of the reality of her abuse mirrored back at her.

Syd was also visibly stressed in that conversation. Her smiles throughout were strained. You could also tell that she was making a concerted effort to keep Donna as regulated as possible (I know because I've pulled many of those smiles in my time, have spoken octaves above my usual register to keep things sweet and calm). Donna then leaves the conversation when it seems like hearing about Carmy from a stranger gets too much, and, like her interaction with Pete in 2x10, she asks Syd to cover for her. Syd then takes a long swig of her champagne because, well, she deserves it LOL.

Later, following wild scenes with that fucking table, Frank, Claire, Evie, Richie and the Faks, Sydney finds Carmy. As @yangsharperavery points out here, you can visibly see Carmy's body relax as Sydney draws near to him in this scene. Syd and Carmy then have the following convo:

Syd: She left.

Carmy: Thank God.

Syd: Okay.

Carmy: Was that...Its...It was okay?

Syd: Yeah. It was totally fine.

Carmy: Yeah?

Syd: Really. Yes, yes.

Carmy: Good.

Syd: Yeah. Um...I think it was hard or weird for her too, you know. Just everything, everybody.

Carmy: Yeah. No, I know. I'm trying to, you know, make some room for that. I'm trying to think about that.

Syd: Are you?

Carmy: I'm trying to, yeah.

We can see how Sydney's discussion with Carmy in 4x07 Bears mirrors that of Pete with Nat in 2x10 The Bear. Like Pete, Syd gives grace to Donna by acknowledging her struggle to be at another large family gathering ("I think it was hard or weird for her too [...] Just everything, everybody").

After cutting to and back from Claire, Frank and Richie trying to get Evie out from under a table (/gag me with this stupid ass stunt), we rejoin Carmy and Syd's convo:

Syd: Was it nice seeing her, or...

Carmy: I think so, I mean, I'm...I'm glad she seems okay, you know?

Syd: Yeah.

Carmy: Um...And thank you for...for talking to her.

Syd: No, its totally fine. I don't care. I think she just wanted to know how you were, you know.

In their brief dialogue, its evident that Carmy is concerned about how the conversation between Donna and Sydney went. This could be fuelled by one or both of two things:

Carmy's concern for Syd's wellbeing (given that he knows how caustic Donna can be, and how casually sexist and racist too - recall his mother's "so you...work for Carmy?" at Syd earlier in the ep); and/or

Carmy's shame and concern about how Syd might perceive him in light of his mother's behaviour.

Regardless of which of these is behind Carmy's anxiety over Donna, Syd gives him grace by acknowledging and respecting the existence of his fear ("She left" = 'she's gone, you can breathe now'). She also doesn't misrepresent her encounter with Donna to be something nefarious (which is what a few of the other guests at this wedding seem to be hanging out for - more on this soon) and reassures Carmy that his mother seemed to just want to know how he was doing. This appears to put Carmy at ease.

Later, Stevie joins the conversation and brings up Donna with Syd:

Stevie: I saw you met Donna.

Syd: Oh. Yes.

Stevie: Donna rules, right?

Carmy: *awkwardly smiles at the floor*

Syd: Uh, y-yeah, it was, you know...It was...it was an experience. *looks at Carmy* It was nice. It was fine. It was fine.

This "banter" from Stevie and others like Uncle Lee (recall his drivel in 2x06 Fishes) is what instils shame in domestic violence survivors and children of addicts. It does nothing to support the child who has gone through the violence or survived the chaos of their parent's addiction and who very likely has a complex relationship with the perpetrator by virtue of them being their primary caregiver. Stevie's sarcastic dig was small, petty bullshit. Carmy feels it too which is why his demeanour shifts to self-conscious in an instant.

Syd catches on and quickly cuts Stevie's baiting off as diplomatically as possible. I can only imagine what a relief this would have been for Carmy. I don't think we have met anyone in his circle do what Syd did when it comes to the spectre of Donna. She gave both Carmy and Donna grace and did not fall into the toxicity that the other Bears seem to regularly revel in.

Claire

Which brings us to Claire.

I know there's uproar in the fandom about how Dr Malpractice has been thrust into the plot this season and the concern around how she's been pitted against Syd. I get it, particularly in relation to the fucked racial optics of the whole exercise. But I think, as others have said on here, that her character is a narrative tool and a foil to Sydney's (which is why she's written so flatly - and I'd argue sinisterly - we're not supposed to be rooting for her). There are lots of examples of how this character has been written and acted that support what I and others are saying, including what I'm going to get into below...so humour me for a little while longer.

Recall early in 4x07, Claire and Stevie are supporting an anxious Frank who is worried about the number of Berzattos at his wedding:

Frank: What does this usually end up like?

Stevie and Claire: *obnoxiously chuckle*

Frank: What? Oh no.

Stevie: No, no, no. Sorry, sorry, sorry. It's...here's one way to look at it, its really fun.

Frank: Okay. Got it.

Stevie: Genuinely.

[...]

Claire: Its a lot of people with very specific and unique personalities that feel things very strongly. Feel things deeply, and experience life intensely.

Stevie: Intensely. Yeah.

Frank: So everything's gonna be just fine?

Stevie: It is gonna be fine.

Frank: You've been to these before, right?

Stevie: *enthusiastically* Every chance I get. Every chance I get.

In the above bit of dialogue, Claire and Stevie give no grace to the Berzattos. They actually laugh in relish of the disaster - the Fishes 2.0 - that they anticipate will happen at Tiff's wedding. Stevie talks about wanting to attend every Berzatto event he can, presumably so he can continue his morbid spectatorship.

Even Claire's attempt at trying to diplomatically rephrase Stevie's sarcastic characterisation falls short. She effectively just describes a group of people with pulses, (The Berzattos are people "who feel things deeply"? what's the alternative? oh wait...I know: replicants) but her particular phrasing (with its focus on big feelings, as opposed to rational thoughts) is how I suspect many WASPs (White Anglo-Saxon Protestants, for those who aren't familiar) view non-WASPs. We know how repressed and culturally bereft white folks who are part of the former group can be. Historically its this group that drove the British Empire and associated assimilationist policies in former colonies like Australia, Canada and America, including those that subsumed the Italian-American community into the category of "white" in America. Given this, its no surprise that WASPy Claire and Stevie get off on consuming The Berzattos, their complex history and trauma, to help fill their own personal and cultural voids.

Back to the wedding though...after Frank leaves the conversation, Claire and Stevie continue:

Stevie: I mean, what? *laughs* What other way...what other way is there to say it?

Claire: I think maybe we should've told him, like, the direct truth.

Stevie: That he's fucked?

Claire: I mean, maybe.

Stevie: There's no warning that can sum up what this is gonna be.

Claire: I know, but he's just, like, such a sweet soul.

Stevie: So was I.

Can we talk about how the WASPs in this scenario are self-describing themselves as "sweet" (read: "innocent") as compared to the "corrupted" Berzattos? The covert racism here is fucking gross.

And then Claire says about Stevie (but also about herself because its established that she is an adrenaline junkie):

Claire: But you're still here. You, like, want it.

Stevie: I do.

Claire: You get a high off of it.

Stevie: If they didn't bring it, I'd be a little heartbroken.

So we have more evidence of how Claire and Stevie treat The Berzatto family as entertainment. Trauma is to be consumed like so many cannolis. No grace is given to anyone here.

This pattern of behaviour continues with Claire's treatment of Carmy throughout the wedding, most pointedly when she mocks Carmy's anxiety associated with his family which she knows about and has witnessed (recall her telling him not to apologise for having a panic attack about the Christmas dinner in Fishes in 2x08 Bolognese). She does this in that scene under the table where all the adults share their fears. While Claire tries to convince Evie that everyone is scared, the following dialogue occurs:

Claire: I mean I'm scared all the time. So is Uncle Carmy. Right Carm?

Carmy: Oh yeah, I get scared.

Evie: You get scared, Carmy?

Carmy: Big time. I get really scared sometimes, yeah.

Claire: *in a mock serious voice* Yeah, honey, Carmy is very scared.

Carmy: Okay. [sighs in resignation]

Notice the difference in conjugation of "to be scared" between Carmy and Claire. Carmy says he gets scared which describes particular instances of fear and that he admits to experiencing. Claire says Carmy is scared - is very scared, actually - which describes Carmy as currently being in a perpetual state of extreme fear. This subtle difference and Molly Gordon's delivery of her line, reeks of mockery. Claire again, gives no grace to Carmy in this moment when its established she, of all people, should know how confronting being at the wedding was going to be for him. She also shames him for his anxiety. This was fucking gross and made it incredibly clear to me that the woman is not endgame for anyone (other than maybe Stevie? One of the Faks? Who cares). I mean she's also wearing a red dress like a walking red flag to drive the point home (notably, Syd and Pete have been sartorially signalled as equals as deliciously noted in @fairestbeard's meta and reblogs here).

Supportive partners

So...in summary: Pete and Syd are shown in 2x10 and 4x07 to do the quiet, consistent work of supporting each of the surviving Berzatto children through very stressful moments involving their mother, Donna. They do not shame children who have already gone through so much of it in their lifetimes. They give grace instead.

One might argue that Pete and Syd provide elevated comfort to both Nat and Carmy - a comfort that was subtextually described by Syd in 1x06 Ceres. This is in direct contrast to Claire who plainly tells us in 4x07 that she enjoys consuming the vibes down in the chaos:

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

"After stuckness comes unstuckness"

Reasons why we won

Been working on this meta for 3 days now, but it's worth it.

This confirms what I have been saying in my #Gingerpovs all along. Remember to follow that tag if you want to have a more comprehensive and historical perspective about my meta (and Sydcarmy predictions that have checked out so far), here's what I curated so far in preparation for S4, or as I always called it: The Sydcarmy ENDGAME season.

But first: Let's not forget that Landgraf is a Disney employee and so is Storer.

Here we go, please watch:

Source: Ringer Movies

“You’re at the point now where if you want more than one season of pickup, we can do it. And it may help you because you have actors that are movie stars now; they’re going to want to go do other things, and you can figure out when you’re going to make the shows and when to release them.” And they said, “No, we can’t work that way. We only want one season.” So we picked up one.

What Landgraf is not saying is that this convo he's referring to happened right after S2's amazing numbers started coming in, back in 2023.

Before the Grand Slam happened in Q1 2024:

So this "change of heart" that Storer had when he called Landgraf back once he already got to work on S3 to accept the 4th season that had previously been offered and turned down, took place right after DISNEY FX offered him an obscenely higher amount of money to reconsider, right AFTER THE GRAND SLAM. So Storer had material for a 4th season but ONLY IF he made S3 the LEGERDEMAIN season it ended up being, meaning if he saved for later THE MEAT THE SYDCARMY ENDGAME. And even then Storer said: "I can split the material I have in 2 seasons but only if I have total creative freedom for S3 and can make of it what I please", which BTW was never off the table, but he specifically agreed under that condition because he wanted to deliver a season that he knew was gonna be heavy on the 'stuckness' and mental health breakdown and how the road to recovery from trauma is not linear and it affects everyone else around, like in his real life, aka: an unpopular season.

So instead of delivering a final 3rd season that was 50%/50% (50% blue period / 50% rosé and ending on a happy note), he went for the 3rd season we all watched (100% blue) and a 4th and final season where all that "Stuckness" is gonna get unstuck, as Landgraf is SPOILING (The rosé period where they are gonna win the Star, which I think will be the scenario where Sydcarmy will blossom, because by the time they rotate to the SPRING MENU, the star will be announced, seeing as the spring menus are typically the Masterpieces of all Michelin starred restaurants, so they will most likely win it with it)

But the scripts for S4's last lap (THE SERIES FINALE) are still in the WR as we speak, the reason being that by the time that "double season pickup" was agreed upon (when Storer was offered more money) and that's why he changed his mind, HE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH MATERIAL FOR A 4TH SEASON, HE HAD TO YET COME UP WITH IT:

He may have had a 4th season in mind like I have at least 4 more FF I wanna write and have already been thinking about, some of which I have already plotted, sure! But no, I don't have them yet. So that was a white lie or a literary license Landgraf took when telling this story, TIMING MATTERS.

How will Storer go about that "unstuckness"?

Like this:

Please note that Screenrant used to be a C person stand when Storer was still trying to make that character happen. Now they don't seem to remember her name :)

It all points to Syd, as I always anticipated:

Moreover, it all points to Sydcarmy:

Check the Bonus Track please:

And there is more that Screenrant article is spoiling with complete and total greenlight of Disney and Storer themselves because if you think that Bear S4 INFOMERTIAL was published on the same day as the 2025 Disney promo, S4 teaser and just a couple of weeks after Landgraf said, and I quote:

"THOSE THAT HAVE STAYED WITH IT, THEY'RE GOING TO BE REALLY WELL REWARDED."

think again.

He is in other words saying, all those things you have been bitching about, aka: LACK OF SYDCARMY, LESS CALO, STUCKNESS, and more stuff I went over here, WILL BE TAKEN CARE OF and it's NOT GONNA BE ANOTHER "UNPOPULAR" SEASON. JUST BE PATIENT.

So, that means that we, truthers, may end up having to thank Donna for being THE plot device who brings Syd & Carmy together. Let's not fall into the red herring's trap Storer set for us in that teaser. She's not a DANGER as we all first thought, this new Donna, is a bridge that will connect her son, once he buries the hatchet with her and Syd together. If we think about it, one of the main reasons why Carmy and Syd are not together yet is his trauma, and Donna and his troubled relationship with her are the root cause of it, so once Carmy heals that trauma, having a healthy and loving relationship with a woman, any woman, will be attainable. AKA: BYE C / HI HELLO SYD (which would finally make the edition of the scene below make total sense).

Scratch the "could" because we already know she stayed and signed the agreement as I have been announcing since FOREVER and not just because I'm a truther but because it makes sense plot-wise in terms of Carmy's redemption arc.

Bonus track: UNDER THE TABLE SYDCARMY PODCAST 20TH EP For more details about S4 and more predictions and theories, etc, please listen to our podcast on Mixcloud.

Shoutout to @unladyboss for the YT vid.

Remember to follow my tag #Gingerpovs 💋

[yannaryartside]

I have been so gaslighted by the show, so obsessed with finding details and reading all the amazing metas in this fandom. Crawling to fanfiction to get a glimpse of the beauty in this ship.

Maybe is because the show is close to ending now, but I find myself hopeful that sydcarmy may happen and yet when it happens I would pass the fuck out. My heart would doubt my eyes because God it has been a journey.

Because for real, Carmy said “I like this” and we all are freaking out. Like, who let the fanfic author in the shows writers room? Are we finally in the right timeline?

[doubleappled]

Just posted part 3 of the Endgame series, whew!

We’ve got Syd’s NYC meal, we’ve got Nat’s baby, we’ve got food and eating and restaurants — and, at last, these two earn their E rating.

And once again, writing this has been faster and more fun and more compelling than anything I’ve ever done before, thanks in part to the AMAZING sydcarmy meta writers here. All of you astonish me with your insight and curiosity every day.

[freedelusionshere]

Fully agree. This season is full of revelations about why both Syd and Carmy have been acting the way they do towards each other.

This makes perfect sense. The walk-in puts out the fire/chaos. The way you’d try to contain a fire by trapping it.

He definitely tried to tell himself he had no chance with Syd and he still thinks that, but he held onto the idea that at least she wants the restaurant and so he could give her something good and she has been good and the best part of everything that is what he’s saying.

It’s very fraught and messy, but I think they do really love each other, and their fears are intertwined.

They lack balance there and Syd brings up him competing with her in her video game story to TJ, his chaos and unpredictable behavior which is caused by his inability to be honest with her about his feelings.

Tearing walls down, changing up partnership agreements, and now she has Richie as a buffer? Which she needed?

Claire just fed the chaos/fire, and Syd does the opposite. Claire is like pouring gasoline on an uncontrolled fire.

Maybe Syd wants to put the fire out at this point but that’s not what that finale hinted to me, and maybe even the opposite.

Carmy wasn't talking to Claire

I've always believed that Carmy is very aware of his feelings about Syd. I have had various theories about what was going on in Carmy's mind in season 2 with his whole affair with Claire and what that freezer means to Carmy. One of those theories (and I think I mentioned this theory to @freedelusionshere sometime) just got reinforced for me studying the Carmy/Claire fight.

Carmy starts to apologize to Claire by saying

I really hate what I did

And that he said what he said in the fridge because it was easy to say (but the way he feels around her was really hard). Which, if course we know, it's classic Carmy's path of least resistance to bottle up and then crash out.

He says to her,

"What I said in the fridge, I wasn't even saying that to you."

Well, no shît, Carmen! Of course you weren't talking to her. She wasn't supposed to be there! Everybody knew he wasn't speaking to her. He was speaking to Tina. Claire knew he wasn't talking to her. That's why she had to stay quiet the whole time to hear everything he had to say. So why did he have to phrase it like that?

Because the truth is not that he wasn't talking to her, but that he wasn't talking about her.

He was talking about Syd.

Remember him crashing out in the fridge literally screaming asking for Syd and she had to ignore him so that she could do her job? He knew his girlfriend was out there. Why was he screaming for Syd? And how do you think ever-sulky-Carmy-never-good-enough felt when she didn't come? ("I don't like how this feels" in 4x10)

The fridge monologue doesn't make all that much sense in the context of Claire if you really think about it, it's just vague enough that it makes sense to assume he was talking about Claire. He was seemingly a good boyfriend to her. He spent time with her and seemed sweet with her. He had amusement and enjoyment with her, whatever that meant. But he still talked about it in a forlorn way like something he was chasing but never got and didn't think he could get and so was giving up on it?

"What the f_ck was I thinking? That I was going to be in a relationship? I'm a f_cking psycho!"

But he was already in a relationship. He didn't need to refer to the relationship like it was a hypothetical. He could have easily said "I shouldn't have entered this relationship at this time" because said relationship was already happening.

Unless...

He was talking about another relationship! One that he actually thought about having. Even planned for, perhaps! And what's more demented than setting out to be in a relationship with one person and ending up with a different person?

I'm a f_cking... I'm a f_cking psycho!

The incredulity with which he delivered this line is that of a man who cannot believe the situation he found himself.

Carmy goes further to tell Claire

I don't even know if that was real.

At face value, it sounds like he was talking about the feelings he expressed in the fridge. But again , why the vague language? Why didn't he just say "I didn't mean what I said"? like he said to Richie, Or "I don't believe that anymore"?

Yep! That's right!!

Because it was not about Claire.

It was about this other relationship (or delusionship) he was having in his head. That one-sided relationship he was making secret plans for but not talking about with the person he was making them with like I explained in my lacto-ferment meta. That's why he was so tongue tied when Claire asked if he had plans that day.

He could have easily said "I have this thing I wanted to do for work with my coworker, but I can cancel bla bla" but in his head, it was a date and the reality of that smacked him in the face. Because how do you put that into words? He couldn't tell the (ridiculous) truth and he didn't want to lie. That's why he bolted in an act of self sabotage.

When he was in that fridge, he wasn't accidentally breaking up with Claire. He was breaking up with Syd or the imaginary Syd that was his emotional lover. The coworker that's a girl that somehow got entangled in his mind to the point he has to impress bits of her image on his girlfriend to go through it.

"I think I did this to myself"

My interpretation of this is that he felt the whole fallout happened because he wanted Syd outside of the restaurant. That he desired more than just their professional relationship. He should have been content with the routine and being able to concentrate, which supposedly made him the best at what he did. When he didn't have time "for all this bullshit". He should have been content with her admiration and not desire her love. Because he was incapable of even following through to know what was possible in the first place. If it could be real.

"No amount of good is worth how terrible this feels"

-being alone in the fridge, separated both professionally and personally from her. He could have at least had a better professional relationship if he wasn't looking for more. That's why he cranked the psycho chef up in S3. He was holding unbearably tightly to the one thing he knew for a fact was real. Their professional relationship and her their dream of a star.

So circling back to that scene, when he says

I hate what I did

He's talking about cheating on her. Technically, at least. He's talking about using her to escape facing his feelings, getting into a relationship for the wrong reasons. She made him feel like he was on fire and he self harms with fire to not think about stuff.

I also suspect that Claire knows or recognized what was happening that day which is why she left instead of trying to talk him down from whatever spiral he was having. Their argument here gets very confusing and devolves rapidly at the end, so it's hard to decipher everything they're talking about. Even her facial expressions are hard to follow. She seemed to reject the notion that he loves her but seemed pleased when he apologized. I can't make up my mind what that was all about 😂.

The interaction, eye rolling as it was, was a bit coherent until she went "what the f_ck, Carm?" and he went "what the f_ck?" and I'm thinking what the f_ck? and it's all just whydidyoudoitijustcouldntdoitdidyoudoitididntdoiticantdoityesyoucandoitiwasntdoingitpleasejustdoitnoiwontdoitnikejustdoit I'm sorry. I'm so f_cking sorry!

I'm kind of fixated on that "do it" part, though. What couldn't he do? I know the optics show that they don't understand each other. But there's always something left unsaid on this show. I also wonder if at this point they were deliberately shutting out the audience by sounding as incoherent as possible because whatever they were arguing about at that point is to be saved for later? Just a fringe thought.

At this point, though, is he running into or away from? The episode starts with him watching Syd make a better than perfect scallop dish bathed in glorious colors from his point of view. The episode ends with him making a run for Claire where they have their conversation bathed in a reddish hue. After this he updates the partnership agreement.

It's left to be seen if this was him beginning to break a cycle or repeating one. It's not even clear with subsequent scenes where he stands with Claire or what he's made up his mind to do. If he's given up hope of ever having Syd's love or if he's just starting to get square so that he can be ready.

[persephonelovesbooks]

"About the Blogger" meme

It's been ages since I've done one of these. Thanks a lot, Curry! @currymanganese for the shout-out!! here we go 🤠

Star Signs: Cancer Sun, Aquarius moon, Libra rising

Favourite Holiday : Christmas is my no .1 fav. There are so many great memories associated with the Holiday season. The lights, the presents,and of course, the FOOD!! Onam is a close second with its vibrancy and the spirit of togetherness !

Last meal: PB&J

Current favourite musician: I'm a Hoe for Hozier. Always playing him on loop. Also recently I've been obsessed with Mitski also. She's divine!!!! Other Favs include Florence Welsh, Paris Paloma, Pink Floyd, Lana Del Rey, Arctic Monkeys, Phoebe Bridgers, Radiohead and also been listening to songs by REM( thanks to The Bear)

Last music listened to : Chemtrails over the country club by Lana. Her voice! 😫♥️

Last movie watched : May December . Brilliant!!! Natalie Portman knocked it out of the park!

Last TV watched : Derry Girls . Excellent writing and performance. Watching also Abbott Elementary cuz I heard Ayo is in it! That too is a laugh fest.

Last book finished : Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. Clarke is a gifted wordsmith.

Last book abandoned : oh lawwdd there's so many. I've been an ardent practitioner of tsundoku lately.

Currently reading: A lot of The Bear fanfics, hell yeah!! Absolutely a fan of Curry's fic Why Can't We Be Friends . Yo when's the next update tho!!

Last thing researched for art/writing : The Scream by Edvard Munch to take a class on it.

Fav online fandom memory: oh gosh, I've been here on Tumblr since 2012 or so and I've been pretty seriously involved in fandom stuff. I guess my fav memory would be the bonding we all had ,the really interesting convos, the delectable meta and ultimately the joy of sharing a common interest and making a bunch of amazing friends ❤️

My case with fandoms is that I've got seasonal obsessions. Right now it's Sydcarmy from The Bear. I wasn't part of any fandoms for a long time because of academics , job hunting and everything. So SydCarmy feels pretty special. It just brought me straight back to my old glory days. I'm constantly blown away by the fire ass meta and the analyses here . Cannot wait for S3.

Woohoooo, this was fun ✨️🥳

I'm tagging everyone who wants to do this

Thanks for reading, lovelies 💖

[thoughtfulchaos773]

The Bear Is a Love Story: Told by Richie, Directed by Storer

Also told through pasta

This is just me piggybacking off @outmakingmoonshine's amazing meta add on of sydcarmy romance being planned since the beginning and goddamn do I see it during my rewatch.

From the outside, The Bear is about grief and food and Carmy trying to keep The Berzatto Family restaurant going. But underneath, it’s a love story, and the person telling it?

Richie.

Richie is the surrogate observer, and in many ways, Chris Storer’s emotional stand-in (Currymungese genius brain was the first to theorize it—R.I.P. to the blog). Also shoutout to @whenmemorydies.

If Storer was influenced by Alfred Hitchcock’s romantic irony, then Richie would be both an emotional witness and a narrative guide. He doesn't know everything, but he feels everything—and we, the audience, experience the love story through his point of view.

A Quick Note: Romantic Irony & the Director Surrogate

An Alfred Hitchcock Film cameo in 3x09 Apologies, which seals the deal of Storer's inspiration.

(Romantic irony is inspired by insights from Offscreen and CineVerse)

Romantic irony is when the audience sees the emotional truth of the love story before the characters do. Romantic Irony is also a way for a director put in their own view on rkmance in the story through the surrogate character

With Romantic Irony, the audience and director are in on it, but the characters involved haven’t caught up yet.

A director surrogate is a character who reflects the creator’s emotional voice. Think Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby. In The Bear, that’s Richie. He’s not the lead, but he emotionally frames what we see. Richie is Storer’s way of telling the real story—not just how to run a restaurant, but how to live.

"This is your brother's house, remember?"

The Beef belonged to Mikey. He ran it with chaos and love, and Richie was there for all of it. Carmy was pushed away—working in fine dining, so when he comes back, he brings restaurant experience to the table, but Richie remembers the soul of the place.

That’s why in Season 3, we get this subtle but essential detail: The Bear was Carmy’s idea, not Mikey’s. Mikey didn’t want Carmy to take on pressure. He wanted him to experience love. That’s why he was so excited about Claire. He wanted Carmy to live. But now that Mikey’s gone, Richie tries to carry that forward through food, family, and more specifically, by wanting Carmy to "make the pasta".

Pasta is Romance

More on what @outmakingmoonshine explained-

In 2x02, we get that apartment scene. Just Carmy and Syd. She opens up. He’s making pasta. There’s no touching, no flirting but intimacy is building and Carmy is loosened up and he’s kneading dough while she talks about her past. And as Carmy told Marcus—maybe he does know how to make a fucking pasta.

But here’s the thing: the pasta doesn’t turn out right. Because it’s not time yet.

Later, he reconnects with Claire, and yeah—he tells Richie she’s his girlfriend in the bolognese episode. But let’s be real, I’m pretty sure he’s using store-bought pasta when making Claire dinner. It’s convenient. It’s not handmade. The metaphor couldn’t be louder.

Sydney is who Carmy should be making pasta with—and Richie is (subconsciously) aware of that as early as Season 1.

Which brings us back to the ending of Season 1.

In 1x08, Sydney comes back. Carmy is lovestruck while Richie director—invites her to open the cans. That’s huge. It’s a symbolic gesture: she’s welcomed into the kitchen, family, and story.

Carmy, meanwhile, tries a different approach. He brings in fine dining. The world he knows (tabletops? booths?) and he hopes it’s enough to keep Sydney there.

But fast-forward to Season 2 and especially Season 3: is that way of “wining the girl” working? Absolutely not.

Because it’s not fun anymore. The joy is gone. The soul is missing. Richie sees it. And the magic? It disappeared when Carmy stopped trying to make the right pasta with Sydney. It also left when he pushed Richie away at the end of season 2, and continued in season 3. But Richie still plays director, writing notes, character analyzing Carmy, getting closer with Sydney (I believe if Mikey were still alive, the dynamic would have been Carmy-Claire-Mikey, but now that Mikey is gone, the family is repurposing- it's Carmy-Sydney-Richie dynamic).

Which is why Richie will be there when Carmy and Claire fall apart—and why he’ll be there when Carmy and Sydney figure it out. Because he’s the director, after all.

TL;DR:

The Bear is a love story.

Richie is telling it—even if he doesn’t realize it.

Pasta = love.

Claire was fine and convient. Sydney is the real connection.

Richie’s arc is about helping Carmy love—and live.

This fandom is honestly genius. The layers being pulled from this show? Insane. I love it here.

By the way, for Season 4: do you think they’ll finally make the perfect pasta dish in Carmy and Sydney’s vibrant collaboration? (In the Network Sunday script, Sydney thinks of a short rib pasta. 👀)

[whenmemorydies]

Highly recommend folks who might be new to The Bear tumblr fandom to check out the #sydcarmy or #the bear hashtags and character name hashtags for fantastic meta, art, fanfic, and convos on this most excellent show.

I’m relatively new to the fandom (joined around March 2024) and I regularly come across amazing work on here from all the way back in 2022 when the show first aired.

Engaging with the archive of a fandom helps maintain institutional memory, making sure the creative labour and love of folks in the community isn’t forgotten or buried under the crap that is tumblr’s search function lol. And it’s a great opportunity to be in conversation with different creatives each with different takes on the show, some of whom you might completely agree with, some you flat out can’t get behind, or my favourite: those who provide an insight you hadn’t previously thought of.

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

Can we all talk to her and get her to ask Chris Storer and Joanna Calo and maybe even Landgraf these questions above?

She did this, and it´s probably THE BEST promo interview for a show ever published in a magazine. This is how it´s done! They used to do it like this for previous seasons (S2, the best season so far in terms of numbers and awards BTW, coincidence?). And they are not doing it anymore for S4. Why?

I want the press to cover this topic and engage all wings of this fandom, even casual viewers, in this open conversation

Storer looooves romance unless it is Sydcarmy´s.

Let´s face it.

If Richjess happens before Sydcarmy, imma riot.

It´s like Storer has no problem pairing characters up as long as they are not Syd & Carmy.

Even Donna and Cicero are getting more action than SydCarmy!!!

Give me a fucking break!

I want Screenrant to run an article about this double standard that this show is upholding since S1.

We are entering S4, and according to the POS trailers and promo, or lack thereof, this trend doesn´t look like it is changing. IK it will, but they are not showing it and using that as a reason for fans to tune in, and after 4 years and a weak link, last year, a lot of fans have found greener pastures. The creative direction the show takes is directly linked to what the showrunner allows or not and he´s clearly allowing, and has allowed all along romance on the screen, as long as the characters who play it out are not Syd and Carmy together, which wouldn´t be a problem if when people like Cam Wolf or the Subreddit crowd or the Clairmy stands argument their preferences saying the show is not about romance and why can´t a show be about 2 platonic business partners that work together to save a restaurant and surface level BS like that, Storer doesn't make sure that everyone knows exactly what his show is about, nor does he set the record straight and stand them corrected.

We, the truthers, know, but no one believes us. And Storer, who should have our backs, is always doing something else, like hiding behind a cast who can´t even walk a red carpet together at events he rarely ever attends himself.

Enough! S4 should change this and be loud and clear about how things are different. We can´t continue being stuck in the "this show is not about romance" narrative or in the "this show is about a restaurant", because it´s not. It´s a character-driven show, and the characters have love lives, and so far, the ones we know about are coincidentally all SAME RACE relationships, but that´s another elephant in the room Storer has been hiding from for years, I say S4 is the last time we allow him to do so, especially if he plans to continue stringing us along to then deliver the Sydcarmy endgame anyway, last minute and minimalistcally, just to cross it off the list and fade to black, whether that´s this year or next. Enough fumbling, let´s ask the press to cover this topic in outlets like Screenrant, Vulture, THR, TV Guide, Fandomwire, Dateline, Deadline, Rolling Stones, Vogue, Variety (where they have historically promoted the show BTW), GQ, which apparently now is into show business, not just fashion, etc. THAT IS THE CONVERSATION WE ALL NEED TO BE HAVING BEFORE S4 PREMIERES, not whose wedding is it? The point is that we already know for sure whose it is not and why, and it´s Storer´s fault. Let´s hear HIM out, he should have a lot to say about why his show, after 3 years, is stuck in these type of "romances" and Sydcarmy is nowhere to be found even though more than half his audience has been ordering that dish since HE AND HIS BUSINESS PARTNER wrote scenes that were begging to be solved romantically not to strain the plot in a forced unnatural direction, which he fully did.

I mean it. I want the press to talk about this, atp it´s serious. It´s no longer a fan request, it´s a conversation only some fans are having, when it should be across the board and it requires Storer´s input, it shouldn´t be a dialogue between different portions of the fandom only, it should trascend it and get an official response, because it´s almost been 3 fucking years and considering S4 may not be the last one, it may not even end here unless we have this conversation PRONTO.

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

This is the price Carmy had to pay to become the man he has to be for Syd

That is why this song was the soundtrack of such a "breaking point" kinda scene.

Lyrics

I've been missing you for so many days I keep wanting you, Lord, in so many ways I can't get you off of my mind But true love is so hard to find

I want yet another day Ooh, I need another day Darling, let me have another more day And I can be anything that you want me to be, now

The sweet things you used to do to me Sometimes, Lord, you used to say them to me I can't forget those lovely days But this is the price I'm about to pay

Ooh, I want another day You can let me have just one more day Ooh, I need one more day And I will do anything that you want me to do, now

I will do anything that you want me to do, now Say anything that you want me to say Buy you anything you want me to buy And I can cherish you till the day I die

If you let me have another day Please let me have one more day Ooh, I want just one more day, Lord And it could be anything that you want it to be

Ooh no, ooh Just one more day now You can let me have just another day, now Please I want to stay and the day after and the day after And I want all the days I want all the days I want you here I want you here by my side And I don't want you to leave me And I can love you long for the rest of my life I cry and cry and cry and cry and cry, oh my Lord

Please, let me have just one more day, oh my Just another day, just another day I want all the days Let me have, let me have all my days, my days I need 'em, I gotta, I gotta, I gotta I gotta have just all the days, I need 'em

I don't reckon those lyrics gotta be meta-explained, they are pretty self-explanatory. Especially this part:

"But true love is so hard to find

I want yet another day Ooh, I need another day Darling, let me have another more day And I can be anything that you want me to be, now"

That song choice only makes sense in this context of foreshadowing that Carmy was "almost there" and after that scene, he's finally ready.

The song in this context was actually about Carmy needing to pass this final confrontational test and react like the NEW CARMY would not like his old dysfunctional self would have. He passed it with flying colors.

S4 is gonna be amazing, he has pretty much no more excuses and Syd also got to her breaking point that night, so she doesn't have excuses either.

Yes, it's gonna be messy, but it's also gonna be quick, Sydcarmy is ready to be served.

We just need HANDS! at this point (Storer's and Calo's).

Remember to follow my tag #Gingerpovs 💋