#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

[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!

[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 💋

[freedelusionshere]

Love it! Here all day/every day for this kind of analysis.

And Neil distracting Tim by saying:

Hey, Tim. Do you wanna see some magic?

Ledgerdemain and sleight of hand. Neil is the one who makes the distraction happen, he tells Carmy “I did that” and takes credit for it. (Neil in my mind does this frequently enough to suggest he is used in the narrative to get in the way of Syd and Carmy, projecting his own desires onto Carmy).

Neil foreshadows as well how this will distract Carmy with an illusion. Which he willingly participates in. Substituting Claire for his very real feelings for Syd. A “prison of his own design”.

It’s amazing how rewatchable this show is, they do an astounding amount of foreshadowing.

A tale of two sex scenes

Following on from @fairestbeard's stunning meta series on sex in The Bear and the discussions on those posts (if you haven't already checked them out, see here, here, here and here), I was thinking about the under-the-table scene in 2x09 Omelette and how this is presented as a foil to Carmy and Claire's mailbox sex scene in 2x05 Pop. We are even explicitly told that the sex scene in 2x05 is a replacement, a stand-in for something else. What am I on about? Come, join me on this subtextual bender...

You got mail?

What sex scene was in 2x05?, you ask. I referred to it on a reblog of @fairestbeard's meta but for ease of reference, I'll break it down below.

The scene involves Carmy and Claire driving out to a PO box to deliver a liquor, beer and wine permit application for The Bear. In other words, its where Carmy gets Claire to help him insert a package into a mail slot. The subtext here is that 'package' = slang for a guy's genitalia and 'slot' = slang for vagina...and the act of inserting one into the other is slang for bow-chicka-bow-bow.

Lets look closer at the scene:

In the still above, Claire and Carmy arrive at the location of their delivery. Its cold, sterile and full of artificial lighting. I dunno about you, but the ambience here was definitely screaming sexytimes to me. /snort

What's notable here is Carmy's admission:

I was expecting like a dark alleyway or something.

Carmy says this right after getting out of a car with Claire who spent almost the entire ride talking about:

getting an adrenaline hit from resetting a patient's tibia; and

enjoying the risk associated with her own horrible driving.

The script choices here are purposeful (as always with this show) and highlight for us that the idea of a relationship and sex with Claire is a thrilling (and maybe even, scary) prospect for Carmy.

Note: post-2x05 mail delivery, Carmy and Claire will continue talking about her adrenaline addiction: how she enjoys the thrill of shoplifting, how being cool = setting things on fire. Carmy, you're in danger boy. Get out.

Claire then describes what they're doing with that package and that slot:

Well, bureaucracy, baby.

Bureaucracy is a term for describing government decision-making. It also refers to a system or standard of administrative procedure. In the context of delivering a liquor, beer and wine permit application, it makes total sense to describe the delivery that way.

But this is The Bear, so there's always subtext in the writing. And in this case, that means Claire is actually saying that the mail delivery sex act that she and Carmy are about to partake in is standard procedure. Womp. Is this saucy foreplay getting anyone else flustered? I didn't think so lmao.

Well Storer and Calo don't care about our arousal (or lack thereof) because here's Carmy coming in hot with his package:

...And Claire could not look more disinterested. Carmy even says "Phew!" in relief once he's done.

And then we get this literal summary of the whole affair:

Claire: That was so anticlimactic.

Carmy: Yes, very, uh, underwhelming.

So yes, we do have a sex scene in 2x05 Pop and it was cold, sterile and perfunctory. This will later be mirrored in Carmy and Claire's only actual sex scene in the show, at the start of 2x09 Omelette (right down to the same cold, blue lighting).

Tim, the drywall guy: patron saint of Sydcarmies everywhere

What is striking to me is how the above sex scene in 2x05 Pop is set up earlier in the same episode.

Recall Syd contemplating plates and bowls in 2x05:

Syd is not alone in the room while she's comparing tableware. In the background are Fak and Tim, the drywall guy. Fak has been tasked by Natalie to prevent Tim from leaving (on the only day that he's available) so that Tim can install drywall after the electricity and plumbing are installed at The Bear. Fak's stalling attempt involves trapping Tim in a conversation about the former's favourite albums by 80s punk rock/alt-rock band The Replacements:

Fak: My first favourite album is "Pleased to Meet Me" which has the greatest, like, high school song ever written "Can't Hardly Wait."

At this point, Carmy enters the room and Sydney asks him,

Can I get your eyes on this?

...which is an unnecessarily suggestive way of saying, "look at this". Sydney, you flirt. I see you.

Then Tim pipes up, and this is where things get more interesting. Because as is often the case on this show, the next section of dialogue is in reference to two different things at the same time.

Tim: Hey, if this isn't happening today, I really should get going.

Carmy: This is happening today, Tim. Right, Fak?

Fak: Yes, it is gonna happen.

What is the "it" that Tim is asking about and that Carmy wants to happen today? On the surface, its the drywall getting installed. In the subtext, its sex/love/a relationship for our boy Carmy. Stick with me and I'll explain how I got to this conclusion.

So now, Nat joins the crew and gives Carmy the liquor, beer and wine permit application to deliver. Recall that that application has actually been fast-tracked for the Berzattos by Uncle Jimmy (after Nat hilariously butters him up for help earlier in the episode). Its a shortcut and Syd clocks this right away:

Sydney: Oh, great. Doesn't look shady at all.

Now also recall, that piece of mail/package is a stand-in for Claire and Carmy's first sexual escapade which is soon to follow. And here we have Sydney, telling Carmy that that idea - a superficial hook up because you can't hardly wait and want instant gratification - is shady.

So what's Carmy's response? Well, it sounds very familiar:

Carmy: I think its standard procedure these days.

Roflmao. Carmy and Claire both clock that what they're both about to do is average, ordinary, bureaucratic even. In the subtextual world, this means run-of-the-mill sex that maybe a lot of other folks are having and probably not getting a whole lot of satisfaction out of. Shady, indeed.

This immediately brought me back to 1x01 System and Carmy wanting to ditch spaghetti from the menu because,

I hate to break your hearts motherfuckers but that gooey, mushy bullshit is not bailing us out this time.

Of course, as is so brilliantly explained by @outmakingmoonshine in their May 2024 reblog meta, spaghetti here is a stand-in for the easy romance that is usually a television show's "biggest seller" for shippers but that showrunners Storer and Calo clearly state, "doesn't make any sense on" this show.

In season 1, Carmy may have been after something other than easy spaghetti but by 2x05 Pop, he wants easy, he wants what everyone else is having.

Still, Sydcarmies know that in his heart of hearts, Carmy needs passion, he needs fire, he needs electricity. You know who else knows this? Tim, the drywall guy.

Jumping back to 2x05 Pop, as Carmy is about to call Claire and get some instant gratification, Fak and Tim continue their convo about music. Fak, crucially, says the following:

I'm saying stuff and you're thinking about electrical...its Replacements, right? This is where we are right now.

Fak is telling Tim to stop thinking about the electricity or rather, the passionate love and relationship that Carmy needs. This is because where we are right now - where Carmy's head is at right now - is on a replacement for that long-game, good stuff. Carmy's replacement is rooted in what Fak described earlier: the greatest high school song ever written which is all about impatience. The fact that Carmy, can't hardly wait (which is also the song that is heard playing over the end of 2x05 when Claire and Carmy finally kiss).

And then Tim, hilariously, says:

I mean, I'm more into, like, kinda like Chingy, you know.

And what's Chingy's most popular song? His claim to fame?

Right Thurr.

And who was right thurr before Carmy decided to go find a replacement for his package?

Name a greater fumble. Not even 2x01's locker-gate comes close lmao.

And just in case it wasn't clear by now how average, asinine and standard the Claire/Carmy plot was going to be, later in 2x05, those two ding dongs end up at what looks like a high school house party where they share a stereotypical, teen romcom moment next to a whole ass tub of literal cheeseballs:

Chris Storer and Joanna Calo absolutely know what the fuck they're doing here. For them, Claire and Carmy are a phase. And a cheesy, predictable one at that.

The real deal, the electricity

So what is the 2x05 Pop sex scene a replacement for? What do we have to contrast it with? At first I thought we hadn't gotten that comparison yet but then I re-read @outmakingmoonshine's reblog meta on 1x01 System and changed my mind. In that meta, the contrast is made between Carmy and Claire's actual sex scene in 2x09 with Carmy and Syd's under-the-table-scene in that same episode. I think that comparison still stands. But I reckon, given the subtext in Sydney and Carmy's time under the table in 2x09, its illuminating to compare it to the subtextual sex happening in 2x05.

The under-the-table-scene in 2x09 has been broken down as a sex scene by lots of folks on this platform but I'll highlight the below meta which are the earliest analyses about it that I've found on Tumblr:

@sydcarmyfan's August 2023 meta clocking Syd and Carmy's scenes in 2x09 as foreplay and sex scenes; and

@thoughtfulchaos773's August 2023 meta comparing the under-the-table scene to a Renaissance painting (complete with post-coital exhaustion).

Contrasting these two sex scenes, where we had this in 2x05:

We got this in 2x09:

Carmy and Sydney's full focus on each other, flowers, warm natural lighting and a whole lot of wood,

professions of love and loyalty,

giggles and so much fucking sighing,

dirty talk,

and then eye contact and longing so overwhelming, Carmy needed to break it.

In other words, we finally got some of the electricity that Fak was trying to distract Tim/Carmy/the viewers from in 2x05 Pop.

Now the fandom just has to wait for season 4 where we will hopefully get a literal sex scene between these two star-crossed lovers. Because honestly, while I froth for subtext and critical analysis, my brain is starting to fucking hurt LOL. Please Storer and Calo, put me out of my misery.

[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.

[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.

[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 💖

[yannaryartside]

I think you are pretty on the spot here.

I think Stprer said s3 represented being trapped in the freeze response, which is one of the subconscious methods of reacting to danger. Fight and flight are the other two. Most of our reactions to danger are created in early childhood. If you run away from conflict, you probably associate conflict with danger, and you are inclined to the flight response.

So Carmy is trapped in the freeze response, and that has caused the regression.

It is interesting how ending his relationship with Claire was not only the event for Carmy entering the freeze response but also his memories of her, which seem to keep him stuck. The show played it like all romantic, like "Oh, he needs her", but at the same time, it was interesting how the more he thought of her, the worse his mental state became. The closest he was to call her this season, he literally had to lock himself in the freezer again.

Claire is the freezer and the regression. Many other blogs mentioned this association with ice and Claire. They met in the cold section in a supermarket. The blue tints in the memories.

Has anybody also wondered if some of Claire and Carmy's "memories" could have been the product of his imagination? I remember someone pointed out that Claire being present at Donna's car accident was odd because Carmy said he told her that story last season, so why would he tell her that if she was there? Did he not remember she was there?

Anyhow, fantastic meta. Looking forward to your future posts.

Carmy: Regression

This might be the craziest/stupidest take for s3 of The Bear but whatever. I had talked about how s3 was about isolation and guilt before. What if it was also about regression (at least for Carmy’s character)?

Sydney is (re)meeting a award-winning chef of fine dining. Sydney thought about leaving the bear (officially) but still came back in s1/thought about leaving the bear which lead to the panic attack in s3.

Carmy and Richie are back to fighting like in s1 with Marcus and Sydney between them.

I need more time to think about this but I think the whole purpose was about life going full circle and s4 is (hopefully) about fully breaking the cycle.

I’m basically implying this season was a giant defense mechanism. Don’t take my word for it! I’m just getting back into writing metas after a hiatus.

Carmy was always used to the routine and being stressed in fine dining. He still talked about how that experience was “everything” even when he discussed having stomach problems. He also says that he lost track of time then mikey passed away.

In s3, I’m fairly certain Carmy says that he’s tired or sick of it. That could mean that he’s been trying to get back into that state/routine and it’s not working this time.

“an attempt to achieve something important.” Like getting a star for a restaurant perhaps? “a sense of security, reciprocated love, and trust.” hmm…

I have also discussed how Carmy and Claire are basically reminiscing on their “high school” days in their relationship. Couldn’t that fit for the “feeling of childhood innocence” that’s stated in the article?

I feel like I’m not making any sense but also think i’m beginning to crack the code at the same time so I’ll just leave this here for now.

Authors Note: I wrote this yesterday on Twitter before the promo that just recently came out. This is not a complete meta but I thought I’d put it here so I could see if anyone agrees or disagrees with these thoughts! I’m glad to be sort of back after a fairly long hiatus! @thoughtfulchaos773 made a video with Carl Jung coincidentally enough. I might be closer to the truth than I thought lol.

[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. 👀)

[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 💋

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

The Pacino Variant

Since I found out that JAW got inspiration from Al Pacino to play some of Carmy's layers I immediately started thinking about Frankie and Johnny's dynamic and how it was all so messy in their relationship before it got to the good part. Granted, JAW was not inspired by Johnny, but by a different role Al Pacino played, but still. It got me thinking about how this very Austenian love story, of course, very realistic and bittersweet had certain points in common with Sydcarmy and once I started I just couldn't stop drawing parallels between the sydcarmy dynamic and the frankjohnny one because F&J was a very atypical comedy, just like The Bear and that's why many viewers now don't even understand how The Bear is a comedy, which it is, of course: A noir one. Back then, something similar kinda happened with Frankie & Johnny, it flopped as a rom-com but it became a cult movie and was critically acclaimed.

Here's a clip:

Context: they met while working together at a diner.

The main characters were described as: "lonely little people struggling to find love."

Rolling Stone's review back then read the following:

"Somehow Mr. Marshall, Mr. McNally, and their superb leading actors are able to retain the intimacy of their material. They also retain the story's fundamental wariness about romance, even when everything about Ms. Pfeiffer and Mr. Pacino has the audience wondering why they don't simply fall into each other's arms."

See? Sounds very Sydcarmy to me, building intimacy while NOT dating, Frankie (Michelle Pfeiffer) is all business-no love, a tough cookie, she's been burnt before so she doesn't let any new guy into her life

and Johnny has to do the hard work to convince her (which Carm is not doing bc he rather denies his own feelings and deflects onto Claire as both this amazing meta by @Chefkids and my own humble opinion point out). In Johnny's case, there's no Claire but there is a rather complicated past that also conditions his choices and Frankie doesn't make it any easier on him, etc.

So my point is that the whole Sydcarmy back and forth before it actually happens, which I already mentioned here I think is gonna be more of a cliffhanger kinda thing bc before we get to that part they need to be at each other's throats, Carmy's relationship with C has to crash and burn, The Bear needs to win a bunch of awards and hopefully get out of debt, which will be S3's main focus, along with Nat's baby that's gonna be a total game changer in terms of the Berzatto family's dynamic, etc... when all of those boxes are checked ✅✅✅ then we will venture into Sydcarmy territory on Storer's terms. And I can't help but wonder if that transition from friends to lovers is gonna be kinda like F&J's, I think it might, because it sounds Storer-friendly. I'm not talking about the endgame per se, just the transition.

Would love to know what you all think about this theory.

If you haven't seen the movie and now feel curious about it, here's a playlist, and those short clips pretty much sum it all up.

❤️‍🔥

[doubleappled]

Yessss I love these thoughts.

I am rewatching Fishes too, slowly and with subtitles to try not to get so caught up in the flood of emotion, and this part about Claire really stands out when you read the dialogue:

The manic rapid-fire pace — there’s almost never a moment when there aren’t multiple lines of multiple people talking over each other on the screen

The way Richie and Mikey feed off each other and the desperation in it

The positioning of the scene so that Carmy’s back is literally against the wall

How even Stevie — coded as “gay,” “citified,” “different” — gets a little caught up in their bro-y bullshit and participates in the dogpile (until Donna throws the spoon at him… foreshadowing?)

Also the way Storer and co aren’t afraid to make Richie a really gross bully in this scene, moments before they’re showing us the softest and most desperate version of him in the scenes with Tiff and Cicero. Carmy REALLY calls him out for objectifying Claire — “homie, you’re having a child” — even in the midst of the onslaught.

I also love the way that scene lays the subtle groundwork for Carmy to want to build something different with Syd — a kitchen where ECs aren’t cruel, and also where women aren’t objectified because it’s just not part of the culture. Carmy isn’t afraid to call out Richie’s behavior when he’s being a sexist dick toward Syd in the kitchen either, even at the very beginning when he’s banging his head against the brick wall of the Beef’s existing culture.

In conclusion, this episode and this show are so good let’s talk about them forever

Just thoughts...

I'm on a claire/syd journey again. It's because the scene where Mikey and Richie try to hook up Claire with Carmy captivates me; Claire had to be written on purpose as the manic pixie dream girl, as a way for Carmy to explore damaging masculine traits by objectifying Claire like his brother, Richie, and Fak.

As the story progresses, Carmy empathizes and relates to Pete and Steven. Watching scene 2x06, Carmy calms down and attempts to listen when Richie and Mikey bring Steven in and explain that they saw Claire.

Besides Claire's looks showing up in the dialogue, Carmy is also known to call out behavior where women are objectified.

Why make objectification a part of the story? Does it analyze masculinity? Does it show us the only way men can connect and find solace is by objectifying women?

We're analyzing Carmy finding himself. It's an adult coming-of-age story as Carmy finds independence and decides what he wants. Family can mean well, but it comes to a point where Carmy has to mean well for himself. He has to move on from Mikey and make his own decisions.

This is where Syd comes in; it's mentioned here that Sydney was Carmy's choice/ There's a heavy dose of emotional attraction to match the physical between them. He hears her needs and wants, and he's trying to learn about her, for Sydney's character objectification is absent.

Carmy is on a journey of self-discovery of what masculinity means to him.

I don't have an ending, really just thoughts...

[chefkids]

Hello! I love your posts about sydcarmy and the bear in general! You had any indication for more blogs about these amazing series? (ps: as a meeta lover, your blog is chief kiss indeed)

thank you ❤️❤️❤️ I just keep up the bear meta tag