#as well as sydney and marcus after braciole

[let-it-rip-bear]

it's finals season so i dunno how much i'll be able to write...but i have a moment stuck in my mind right now and i need to get it out. this takes place in the final scene of "Braciole".

he's here, he's with me, he never left.

Everyone's gathered at the table. There's plenty of conversation going on, people catching up and getting to know each other, people digging in. Carmy almost refuses a plate out of pure habit, but before he can, Sugar passes a plate full of spaghetti to him. He accepts it gratefully and finds that, for the first time in a while, he actually wants to eat the food he cooked. He wants to taste it—he wants this food to fill his stomach and make him warm. He hasn't felt like that in a long time.

Carmy's a bit hesitant to dig in, afraid that the food might make his stomach do flips until he has to puke. It smells really, really good. But his biggest meal in the past several few months was been a double peanut butter and jelly sandwich paired with a bag of chips and a soda. This food is rich, filling, and it's Michael's recipe. He's afraid his stomach has shrunk and learned to run solely on shitty food. What if this is too much? What if he fucked it up?

(He's so fucking scared that he's ruining Michael's legacy; ruining the Beef, the spaghetti, his recipes, and failing the people that lost Michael, too. The first and only time that Carmy tried to make the pasta, someone said It's not like Mikey's and it launched him head-first into a panic attack. He didn't try again after that. Except for that day, with the tournament, he almost made it—he almost accepted that his execution of the family meal spaghetti would be disappointing, subpar, and a disrespect of Mikey's legacy. He didn't know what else to do, so he was going to make the spaghetti, and then Marcus called him Chef for the first time in nearly 6 months, and he felt grounded in his own body. Less like someone trying to walk in somebody else's skin. He remembered what it was like to take risks and the impossible feeling of creation. He remembered why he became a chef in the first place. In the end, he threw the can in the trash. He made sure everyone stretched the gravy, beef, and bread, because his sandwiches would be enough.)

Richie cackles, louder than everyone else, and it snaps him back to the present. He hasn't heard that full-belly laugh since high school. Then everyone seems to feed off the energy, and everyone is cackling. It's not quiet. He likes it. It's so loud, but no one's yelling at each other, no one's yelling at Carmy. They're laughing and grinning and it fills the room to the brim. It's chaotic but it doesn't make him feel trapped or overwhelmed. The feeling is not entirely foreign, but it's so very different from what his life was for a very long time that he doesn't recognize it at first.

It takes him a long moment to realize that he feels safe.

So Carmy takes a deep breath and twirls some spaghetti onto his fork. Carefully, reverently, he brings it to his lips. It's a good mouthful, not the tiny bites he takes for tasting, and—

Carmy has to close his eyes against the rush of emotions.

It tastes like Michael’s cooking. It tastes like Tuesdays, like watching Mikey work, like learning to chop vegetables. It tastes familiar and safe and it’s good. He finally understands why it was the best seller.

It's almost too much, the realization that this is Michael's recipe and Carmy's execution, and that it tastes good. Really good. He almost can't breathe around the love and grief (but aren't they one in the same?) in his throat. He thinks of years past, of trying new recipes with Michael and tasting their work, realizing it's incredible, and feeling whole. For just a moment, he can imagine he's sitting in their kitchen in their home, gathered around the island and urging Sugar to try it, too.

Someone gently taps his hand, then covers it with their own. It's Sydney. He opens his eyes and sees that she's holding a clean napkin out to him. He blinks, feels tears already rolling down his face; he blinks again and feels another wave overflow. Carmy takes the napkin and mouths thanks, drying his cheeks. It's a pointless effort because he's crying in earnest now. She smiles softly, bittersweet. Marcus, who sits to his left, carefully puts his arm around Carmy's shoulder. He leans in, turning his hand so that he's holding Sydney's.

Everyone seems to realize at the same time that he's crying and, after a quiet moment, they continue with their conversations. Just as boisterous as before.

His eyes land on Sugar and sees that her eyes are wet, too, and Pete's rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. The tide of emotions comes back, nearly as strong as the first, and he covers his eyes with one hand. It feels like there's space for him, for his grief. He finds that he couldn't stop smiling even if he tried.

It feels okay. He feels okay. Carmy takes another bite, savoring the flavors.

It's been a very long time since he's felt this close to his brother.

[noangeleither]

yin and yang: carmy and sydney's creative processes + menu planning

what i love about analyzing carmy and sydney is the way they mirror each other. their similarities and differences, and how they have the potential to complement each other well. truly make each other better at this.

this is most evident with the way they approach creating a dish.

sydney's creative process

evidenced by sheridan (s01e05) and sundae (s02e03), sydney is very imaginative when it comes to creating a dish. the editing in these episodes gives us an intimate view of her creative process. recipes often come to her in dreams/daydreams.

sydney gets inspired by her passion for cooking, her family history and her city/world around her (architecture, nature, other restaurants in Chicago). this really fits into sydney's motivations as a chef.

Sydney uses food to make people happy. She likes to take care of people. someone on here explained the significance of sydney wanting exactly one michelin star, which would signify affordable high quality food that normal everyday people have access to. in braciole she mentions to marcus that her dad and her didn't really go out to eat so when they did, they made it count and it was special. she wants to create an experience like that with her own spot (the Bear).

so naturally that is reflected in her food. its not simply a great meal, but a fabric/archive of her culture, history, worldview and entire character.

while sydney has a very imaginative creative process, she often just jots down her ideas in her little notebook(s), for later reflection.

carmy's creative process

carmy has a more tense relationship with cooking. while sydney and carmy are both amazing chefs, carmy seems to be more jaded and detached from his work.

for carmy he grew up in a household where food was a big part of his family. his mom, mikey, and nat can all cook well. he is naturally very great at it. he uses food to be closer to the people he loves. thats why in the face of rejection from his brother, he goes off and becomes one of the best chefs in the country out of spite. why he uses the beef to try and fix his relationship with mikey. why he was so devasted when syd quit and why he started his dream restaurant with her after she came back.

because we dont get an intimate look into carmys psyche when creating a dish, its harder to say but based off his monolouge in braciole (s01e8) and the way he uses food to connect with people he loves rather than having passion for it independently i can surmise that carmy isn't imaginative as sydney. food is more like a math equation (ironic)/a science.

“he’s the best bc he didn’t have any of the bullshit”, emotional ties/relationships of any kind. his career esp at EMP were isolating, rigid and cold. he was the best bc he was calculating, precise and competitive. which breeds excellence in his field while straying him further away from love and true passion.

i imagine carmy to be more pragmatic with creating a dish.

but carmy is a creative person at his core and while creating a dish might not be as colorful as when sydney does it. we do know that carmy can draw and visualize his ideas onto paper. "Sistine Chapel" level drawings according to syd.

sydney + carmy - potential true partnership

on my 3rd rewatch, i couldn't help but feel so dissatisfied with their partnership. granted this is on purpose since the show is only 2 seasons in and they are trying to do a slow burn in all aspects, not just romantic.

it really hit me that carmy and sydney have never - at least on screen - created a meal together. in s1, we never see the risotto come to fruition, we just get carmys input but never the finished product. in s2 finally, carmy and Sydney work together now that their dynamic has changed from boss and employee to partners. we get like what? 4 scenes of them creating the menu, and having this amazing professional chemistry but ultimately leads to two failed dishes, which would be ok if they worked together after that. but they dont...

instead for the rest of the season, we see them (mainly Syd) working on the menu separately. the menu is....alright. mainly has carmy written all over it (he has a the seven fishes + cannolis, weird homage to one of the worst nights of his life).

*putting on another pair of shipper goggles to say this makes the whole "you make me better at this" confession, even more mind-boggling bc better at what? you guys haven't even worked together all season. this = life , i rest my case*

in s3 and beyond, im excited for them to truly start working together as partners and actually see them create a dish together.

i want to see how their approaches to creating a dish can help the other.

how sydneys creative process can help carmy

besides the obvious romantic implications of the palette cleanser outing, the potential for them to understand each other on a deeper level in regards to food is something i mourn everyday.

after sydney goes on her trip solo, we see her ride the ferry and just take a look at her surroundings. shes thinking about the food she ate, shes looking at buildings, windows, looking at the snow. all inspiration for a dish.

imagine if carmy was there with her. he would be curious about what she's thinking about, get insight on how she creates and maybe want to learn to see food in a less practical way.

i mean he hadn't drawn in years it seems until he was inspired by sydney and the chaos menu to draw again....now imagine if he didn't ruin the moment by bringing up claire (LMFAO). the point is, sydney naturally sparks creativity and passion in him, even when they aren't together.

i know many people are theorizing that carmy will leave the culinary industry (and i agree most of the time) but i also think sydney is slowly but surely helping him discover/re-discover a passion for cooking. i think that carmy likes that sydney likes to take care of people because subconsciously he knows he does the same thing or has the potential for it (i.e making tiff sprite from scratch when she was experiencing morning sickness). evidenced by fishes (s02e6), care often feels like an obligation (he takes care of drunk donna when shes going through an episode) but it doesnt have to be this way. and now carmy wants to get a star for her....their interests are slowly aligning.

how carmys creative process can help sydney

this isn't as concrete as the one above but i found it interesting thinking about how carmys more pragmatic approach and sydneys idealistic approach can work in tandem.

first scene in pop (s02e5) shows sydney and tina late at night working on the tasting menu. later in the episode we find out that carmy has been pushing back menu planning leaving sydney on her own. she trying an elements concept which is extremly creative and impressive but even tina says, which sydney later agrees, that its a lot for a tasting menu.

im stretching maybe....but based on carmys comment on her risotto from the season before (needs acid) + his practical approach, it seems like he acts like a buffer when sydneys ideas get "a lot".

*in chemistry buffers are solutions added to resist pH changes when acidic and basic components are added*

so if carmy needs to be more creative and sometimes sydneys ambitions gets ahead of her....

sydney is the heart, while carmy is the brain (???)

one cannot work without the other. when they truly come together to create the menu, they both need to learn from one another to elevate the restaurant. not to mention with carmy's italian american roots and syd's Nigerian-Caribbean/southern roots, they have the potential for amazing fusion dishes and real partnership. i and others want the menu to physically reflect both of them.

conclusion

i literally dont know where im going with this. sorta kinda meta but its more like hopes and dreams for next season and me wanting to type my ideas down.

they complement each other well ok? and have potential for a great partnership once they communicate better. i like this part of the definition of yin and yang:  Their interaction is thought to maintain the harmony of the universe and to influence everything within it.

carmy and Sydney are the leaders of the bear, their relationship is foundational to the success of their restauarnt and team, once they work together truly, play to their strengths and weaknesses, then will come true harmony in their universe.

bonus

more sydcarm parallels/similaries/differences/yin yang moments:

carmys gold chain, syds silver earrings

carmys white t-shirts, syds white button ups

carmy is bad at math, syds great with numbers

carmy wasn't really great at school, this is sorta fanon but i can imagine syd excelled in school

both wear birkenstocks (more a chef thing but i still think its cute)

sunshine x grumpy trope but like better...usually the sunshine (syd) is more emotionally vulnerable making a space for grumpy (Carm), but they switch positions. carmy allows sydney to be more emotionally vulnerable often initiating deep conversations, while syd is more closed up/guarded

overall tho i think its cute that they are both shy/emotionally stunted but i do think purely aesthetic wise, sydney has a softer exterior ( doe eyes, colourful scarves, awkward) while carmy is more intimidating (tats, smokes, looks angry all the time)

both fight dirty - i.e their individual fights with richie (review, the bear)

carmy tho is more prone to outbrusts of anger/violence while sydney lets that shit shimmer until she explodes on you

both their passcode being 11111

carmy having dark mode on his phone, syd having light mode in s2

their matching clothes moments earlier in the second season and in bolognese

if theres more, pls comment/reblog, bc i always think of this shit and need more to cry about

fin!

credits: gif 1&2 , gif 3 and gif 4

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

Yeah, re-watching now, so BEAR with me. The whole scene of Marcus and Sydney FaceTiming while he was in Copenhagen was Storer’s lame attempt to ship Syd with someone else to know how it went. It didn’t go as well as SydCarmy, obviously. Otherwise S2EP9 would have been totally different. [And S3].

He was testing the waters and the viewers (us) were his focus group. The result of this shipper experiment: Team SydCarmy beats all the other teams, it’s still the largest and true driving force of the whole fandom. Even though there is a small shipper team that actually roots for Syd + Marcus, they exist. OK. Good for them.

So my point: I’m totally fine with Storer not spoon-feeding us. Cool! But try to force a whole bunch of Bolony into our mouths?! Fuck no! So… like I said, my theory is that not only Storer is slow-burning Syd and Carmy since S1, but also, business-wise, and marketing-wise, he wants to keep several exit points open to keep the viewers guessing. AND most importantly: he started out as a platonic and then after seeing the chemistry between J & A and the viewers' response, he read the room, and BOOM! He turned into a shipper, hence: Braciole and Omelette. He’s playing the long game here and diverting us a lot along the way. He’s into twists and turns to make the plot plot. I can get behind that writing style. Sure. Now, am I patient enough for this?

Ask me later, after S3.

[currymanganese]

No problem! Since you mentioned series bookends though, I do think the show could end with another character's death, I just hope it wouldn't be Carmy"s, maybe Jimmy, maybe Donna, maybe Mr. Berzatto himself if he is in fact still alive and resurfaces at some point? I'd just hope it isn't Ebra's or Mr. Adamu (if they grow closer to Carmy as fatherly figures over the course or something), I'd riot if they killed Ebra or Mr. Adamu (or Tina, wildcard) off. But I do think they may be setting up Jimmy, Ebra and Mr. Adamu to be father surrogates for Carmy even if they aren't his bio Dad, so perhaps one of them may pass away? And Syd and Carmy will have to support each other/ carry on their (whichever father figure that passes) legacy after their death?

Edwin Lee Gibson was apparently C Storer's fave actor growing up, I think either you or @thoughtfulchaos773 shared that before and Robert Townsend is an iconic TV Dad as well, so from a casting perspective they were very deliberate picks and their characters may have more emotional significance for Carmy in the future, especially if Carmy ever becomes a Dad himself and they help him to prepare for it emotionally/ or show him the ropes. Edwin also seems to have a high regard for JAW personally (and this is just wild speculation here) I saw him and JAW whispering to each other during some of their ensemble award show interviews, so there is a level of mutual respect and familiarity that the actors share that hasn't been represented onscreen so far between their characters. Carmy and Ebra may be sharing a lot more scenes together in the future.

Also, in Season 1 Ebra shown to commend Sydney for encouraging Marcus/ tell her where to find the family shelf in the walk in, and seems to be a very observant (still waters run deep) type of man, with a lot of implied emotional and traumatic baggage of his own (as an immigrant/refugee from war-torn Somalia & a former military veteran). This may make him sympathize/empathize with Carmy's mental health struggles (and possible CPTSD). In the season 2 finale Ebra was also one of the first crew members to pause what he was doing and show concern for Carmy when he got trapped in the walk in. He also is the first to verbalize explicitly that Carmy has a mental problem when Carmy caused the grease fire and dissociated in Braciole, "Carmen, what the fuck, are you crazy?" which is something that took Carmy until the season 2 finale to be able to do for himself, "I'm a psycho".

He's also the only member of the Bear crew to be shown waiting outside of the walk-in for the handyman to cut Carmy out, (like an expectant Dad waiting on a baby's delivery almost), so I wouldn't be surprised if, later on in the series or maybe as early as Season 3, Ebra develops an overtly fatherly relationship with Carmy - if so, and he dies later on, it'd make for emotionally devastating/bittersweet TV (it would even if he and Carmy don't become like father like son, but it'd hurt even more / be more bittersweet if they do), but IDK I am a massive pansy, and I'm way too attached to this cast so I hope not. 😭

Anyway, this is getting away from me a little bit, and all of this is just speculating as well, but I think another major life event that the show could end the series with is a birth, specifically, Syd and Carmy's first child, if they do become a canon couple. But something like that wouldn't necessarily preclude them killing off another character (or God forbid, Carmy) either since the juxtaposition of life and death is a theme that writers also commonly utilize, and will be happening in a way in Season 3 as a given as well, with Marcus's mom's (likely) death and Natalie's baby's birth. They also referenced fairest creatures/the need to have children to pass on a legacy in the pilot episode attached to Carmy's name.

P.S. But imagine if the person they kill off towards the end is Carmy off as a young father though? I'd be so fucking pissed, because why would they want Sydney to have to struggle that damn much if he dies an untimely death and she becomes a single mom/ and the one to have to actually do the work of bringing up a family or passing on Carmy's legacy to a younger generation by herself or something? 😵‍💫😫

Does Carmy die in the end? Don't hate me.

Ok @thoughtfulchaos773, here's the post.

I've been thinking for a while that Carmy may die in the finale. I may not be able to write this post as intelligently as it deserves but here it go.

You know how shows tend to end how they begin? The pilot begins with Carmy on a bridge with the bear in a cage. This is a dream and seems like a final showdown with his nemesis/alter ego. They are about to battle and then a car horn and swerving sound breaks the dream state and Carmy wakes up in his reality. We also get a scene of a body in a morgue. We assume it's Mikey but what if it's Carmy. We also hear voices from Micheal as if him and Carmy are in the same realm.

All throughout the show driving is a theme. It always seemed noteworthy to me because it's a show themed around cooking. Why is driving so important?

In "Hands" there is a lot of emphasis on who can drive and who can't. In "Dogs", there is confusion on where Cicero lives. Cicero later discusses a dream about Carmy's dad driving and what seems to imply Carmy is the little boy flying forever in the air. Sounds ominous. Syd names her catering company Sheridan Road. In season two Carmy and Claire make random trips out to the suburbs and needing a ride is central. Why do either of them really need a ride to do these errands? Donna crashes her car into the family home. Syd tells Richie to drive friends and family night.

Now back to it all coming full circle. There has been a lot of speculation of Carmy leaving for a different career or not. If we fully accept that he doesn't leave by choice, he could leave due to death. Why does everyone from the health inspector to Mr. Sirsky (sp?) confuse Carmy as the dead brother?

Carmy seems to be gradually handing the place over and disappearing but it doesn't seem to be conscious. That would make him seem suicidal like Mikey. But it's not that, he has no idea he's setting up his departure. He gives Tina the knife. His new whites have his initials in san serif white font, not the pronounced blue cursive, like he's a ghost. Syd's scenes parallel his as if she is meant to take over. He tells her it's her ship and I'll dial business you are everything else. Syd and Carmy are often shown in ethereal light, like Mikey looking back at Carmy in 1.8. Do they both pass on and Syd is the new hope/destiny?

And then, again there is the reference back to the pilot if this all comes true and full circle. Anybody who watched Six Feet Under gets it. I always found these two stories very similar. In the pilot Nate (Carmy) has an aneurysm. We kind of forget about it because the story shifts to him coming back home as the prodigal son and the whole family dealing with the death of the patriarch and the passing over of the family business. The brother who stayed (Richie) is resentful. He stayed. He didn't really want to be a mortician but it was how he stayed close to the family and tried to bond with the dad. The business is in shambles and they have to "change the chemistry" to make it work. A new talent (Sydney) comes in that makes it all better and offers a different perspective. I won't go into the entire plot but in the end what happens? Nate dies. Aneurysm. Full circle. This is often how shows end. There are often clues.

My theory is that somehow Cicero and his dad tie into some sort of trip to the suburbs. I honestly think Cicero is Carmy's real dad. I feel somehow this will come to light and he makes a trip to see one of them. Why was Carmy confused about where Cicero lives? I don't think that was a throwaway line.

Does Carmy die in a car accident in the suburbs?

I may have left out a few things but I dunno, thoughts?