Or, how I'm winning the SydCarmy War no matter what.
By Danielle Momoh
Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri as Carmy and Sydney / photo: FX
So, The Bear Season 2 dropped last week on Hulu. If you couldn't tell by the copious edits, parody TikToks, and the regrowing need to say “Yes Chef!” whenever a person is within 50 feet of a kitchen, our favorite dysfunctional restaurant is back and better than ever. The show delves into its supporting cast even more this season, slowing down a show that was known for its breakneck speed, but becoming all the better for it. We see more into the fabric of characters like Sydney, Tina, and Marcus. The food is even more mouthwatering this time around, holding both deep meaning for Carmy’s tumultuous past, as well as just being great food that you wish you could just reach through the screen to have a bite of. Yes, The Bear is back, and so are SydCarmy shippers.
If you are unfamiliar with the phrase “SydCarmy” (congratulations on not being chronically online), it is the ship name for the restaurant owners in crime, Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri) and Carmen Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White). Last season, when The Bear grassroots campaign pulled the show into fame, few people were in the Sydney and Carmy love camp. Many railed against the idea of the two having anything deeper than a platonic bond, including the writers themselves. The show is all about people pushing each other to become better chefs and more importantly, better versions of themselves. This is not the kind of thing that necessarily needs to be romantic (the conversation of whether need is the kind of word one uses when it comes to art is being pushed aside here). And with the way Season 1 shook out, it was clear The Beef had much more pressing problems than trying to craft a workplace romance. Hell, they hadn't even officially changed the restaurant to The Bear when we were quietly squabbling if it was just Jeremy Allen White’s piercing blue eyes that made us think he wanted something more from Sydney. The show shied away from any non platonic relationship, and most of the Sydcarmy lovers, or even SydMarcus enthusiasts were in it for the sport of it. Everyone on The Bear is beautiful and constantly cooks for each other. What is the harm in picturing someone's hands lingering too long over a shared pot?
Then, Season 2 dropped. The show traveled deeper into itself, bringing out a slow bitter-sweetness that was only hinted at in the first season. Episodes went from bursting through their seems with energy to being unafraid to take a pause, to simply follow Sydney around as she samples all the food Chicago has to offer or sit with Marcus on a boat in Copenhagen, the water pulling us into a calm that he then channeled into his desserts. Oh, and Carmy gets a girlfriend.
Suddenly the writer's cries about romance were falling on deaf ears. Our main character gets a meet-cute with the (literal) girl next door, Claire (Molly Gordon), all while trying to set up a restaurant that's crumbling underneath his feet. And this season, similar to the last, focuses on Sydney and Carmy's dynamic as two highly ambitious people trying to realize a shared dream. But instead of one conversation about brunch and family trauma, the two chefs spend intimate moment after moment together. Viewers puzzled on how they could do anything but see the two in a romantic light when Carmy thinks of Sydney to calm down during a panic attack. The editors must not have gotten the friendship memo– or frankly the writers. Throughout the season there's a constant push and pull for Carmy’s attention. He is split between the restaurant and Claire. Sydney (justifiably) bristles at this. In a scene that would not be out of place in a romcom, Sydney verbally slips when talking about Claire. “I’m also sorry that you're here,” after Claire apologizes for interrupting an argument about the restaurant.
Sydney and Carmy share yet another intimate moment together / photo: FX
Jealousy is not the only thing connecting Sydney and Carmy this season. In one of the best scenes the show has ever cooked up, they have a conversation under a table, shot in a 5 minute long take. The conversation shifts from an apology to a vulnerable sharing of insecurities. It's the slow-down that is characteristic of Season 2, but it feels even more special because it cements how much the two of them are in this together. The show officially places Sydney as Carmy’s mirror at this moment. And with the lingering looks and whispered confessions of connection, a purely platonic read seems off to some. Carmy shares that he couldn't run The Bear without her. “I wouldn't even want to do it without you,” he says.
So needless to say, there are arguments that could be made for the SydCarmy agenda. But the pushback to their possible non-platonic love was… a little more than people expected. For an app that has seen some of the strangest and most off putting media pairs, the thought of two similarly aged coworkers sharing a kiss sent a lot of Twitter around the bend. SydCarmys were being pathologized as people who had no friends thus couldn't tell that all the tension the two shared was simply how true friends interact. And then came a barrage of “there's no need for romance in television shows” tweets that honestly rubbed me the wrong way. When did it become a crime punishable by ratio of wanting to see hot people fall in love with each other? It even had some comparing it to the Netflix “swirl” romances that have cropped up in the last few months. In a post-Bridgeton world, it is understandable that people are tired of seeing a couple that contains a white person, but it's no excuse to disparage the possibility of a good slow-burn romance.
Look, I'm not here to tell you that SydCarmy are endgame, and that you need to get on the ship or get stranded on the platonic shores. A lot of this is simply for the fun of it, another way of appreciating just how much of an excellent show The Bear is. There's zero harm in people enjoying a deep and in my opinion not just platonic relationship between two characters, in whatever way they want to. But I think the issue lies in the way people view friendship and love as two distinctly separate things.
Ayo Edebiri, Corey Hendrix, Edwin Gibson, Matty Matheson, and Liza Colón-Zayas in season 2 of the Bear / photo: FX
To me, romantic love is not a graduation of friendship and neither is friendship a devaluation of romantic love. Railing against SydCarmy shippers does nothing to diminish the connection that is there between the two. There is romance in that friendship. The Bear is one of the few shows that expresses how love is never just either platonic or romantic. The very act of choosing to be there with someone else, to run a chaotic and debilitating kitchen together is an act of immense love. Trusting someone to take a chance on you after you've screamed in their face, being open enough to actually accepting their apology? That is the ultimate romance to me. And The Bear is full of these moments. They make up this show. Richie tying Fak’s tie for him before the friends and family service. Sydney making Sugar an omelet in the middle of her day because she was craving one. Marcus naming a dessert after Michael and presenting it as an edible representation of the bond between everyone at The Bear. All of these moments are full of a love that goes beyond labeling it romantic or platonic.
Everyone who has ever worked a high stress job can attest that you form a special bond with the people fighting beside you, especially if you're working in the food service industry. When it means more than a paycheck every week, like it is for Carmy and Sydney, you start to do more than rely on the people in it with you. Carmy and Sydney have the same dreams (window on the side– for sandwiches), but even more they share the same drive. The need to make this work, to prove themselves, whether it be to dead brothers or skeptical fathers. Viewers recognize that no matter how the chips fall, they are destined to find each other. They are twin flames in every sense, their insane work ethic and urge to make sure the people they love are okay reflecting each other in every episode. Particularly in this season, their dynamic shifted from Sydney dazzled by Carmy’s Michelin stars to a more frank and equal relationship. He's able to talk to her about things that trouble him more than anyone else on the show outside his AI-Anon Meetings. In turn Sydney knows that she can laugh about serious things with him, while being vulnerable in a way that she isn't as much with other people.
Sydney is equally upset that Claire is taking attention away from their dream, but also their partnership. She, like any good friend, pushes Carmy to realize that calling Claire just a friend is not right. But, when he responds that he doesn't want to be an asshole, it looks like Claire is far from his mind. It's about the two of them. And Sydney is always more than gracious to Carmy. Gracious to what they share. She just shyly smiles and says “Well don't be.” Their nervous giggles after this exchange can't just be signed off as the relief of traveling a difficult conversation with a friend. Or as simply the blushes of a burgeoning love. It’s an even sweeter and vulnerable middle. It's what makes every scene with the two of them electric.
It obviously helps that the cast of The Bear are enormously talented and have great chemistry with every person they come across on screen. It's not Ayo Edebiri’s fault that she is so lovable and adorable that the audience picture her with everyone. Because Sydney is a lot of things, as well as a good friend. One that sends her friends to Copenhagen to discover new recipes. That sees the potential in others and asks them to become her sous chef. Carmy said it best: Sydney likes taking care of people. And the soft look in his eyes when he says that isn't just songbird romance or cut and dry acquaintance. It's a heady mix of both. It's seeing another person more clearly than they do themselves. A promise to stick around if it gets tough, when it gets tough. It's friendship, it's true love, it's everything.
Comments