Soubise (The Bear)
2nd episode of the 4th season of The Bear
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"Soubise" is the second episode of the fourth season of the American comedy-drama television series The Bear. It is the 30th overall episode of the series and was written by Catherine Schetina and directed by series creator Christopher Storer and Duccio Fabbri. It was released on Hulu on June 25, 2025, along with the rest of the season.
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Episode 2
| "Soubise" | |
|---|---|
| The Bear episode | |
| |
| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 2 |
| Directed by | Christopher Storer & Duccio Fabbri |
| Written by | Catherine Schetina |
| Featured music | |
| Cinematography by | Andrew Wehde |
| Editing by | Joanna Naugle |
| Production code | XCBV4002 |
| Original air date | June 25, 2025 |
| Running time | 32 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
The series follows Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), an award-winning New York City chef de cuisine, who returns to his hometown of Chicago to run his late brother Michael's failing Italian beef sandwich shop. With the financial backing of his uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) and help from his cousin Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), sister Sugar (Abby Elliott), and chef Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), Carmy attempts to remodel the dingy Beef into a warm and hospitable fine-dining destination called the Bear.
"Soubise" is considered an emotional low-point episode, as Carmy and Richie grapple, separately, with the consequences of their choices.
Plot
Weeks since Cicero's ultimatum, the Bear struggles with a shortage in ingredients due to budget cuts and the staff's dwindling motivation. Carmy and Sydney begin simplifying the components of the menu. Sydney reads an article about Shapiro's (Adam Shapiro) new restaurant. Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) urges Carmy to visit Natalie's newborn daughter Sophie, which he has continued putting off. Carmy calls Natalie to apologize; Natalie tells him it is okay if he is losing his passion for cooking.
Timeline
- At the beginning of the episode, the countdown clock in the kitchen shows 970 hours left from the original 1440, meaning that 20 days have passed, and there are 40 days left until Cicero and Computer shut down the Bear.
- Just before Tina and Carmy talk about personal life stuff, the clock reads 859 hours, so there are about 35 days remaining. Natalie's baby is a little over three weeks old.
- At the end of the episode, Jess' expo tickets are dated August 30, 2023. At the time Carmy notices Sydney's pasta cook, the countdown clock shows 853 hours remaining.
Context
- Carmy says basically the same thing to Ebra ("I should have done better, and, um, I could have done better, and I'm sorry") that he said to Sydney in "Groundhogs," signing sorry and telling her, "I wasn't good enough, and I need to be better."
- While crowded into the office with the Beef guys and the front of house staff, collectively worrying about Michelin Guide inspectors and other restaurant raters, Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) says, "We don't know what he fսckin looks like?...You gotta be fսckin kidding me. He's just some fսckin bong hit walking around...?" Oliver Platt's older brother Adam Platt, who has been the restaurant reviewer for New York magazine since 2000, stopped trying to hide his identity and revealed himself with an article and photos in a 2013 issue of the magazine.[1] According to a report on how Maine homeowner Oliver Platt supports local restaurants via social media, the issue of serving reviewers differently or the same comes up in real life, too: "Sometimes the staff gets a little extra jazzed when Platt brings in his brother, Adam Platt, chief restaurant critic for New York magazine and winner of a James Beard Foundation Award for his reviews. 'The VIPs will get mentioned, but it doesn't mean we'll do more for the VIPs, we're trying hard to do the best for everyone,' said Josh Amato."[2]
- Richie's wisdom of the day comes from mathematician Jacob Bronowski: "The world can only be grasped by action, not by contemplation. The hand is more important than the eye...The hand is the cutting edge of the mind."[3][4]
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- Richie watches part of the 1957 black-and-white Western 3:10 to Yuma, a classic film that layers film noir-influenced visuals on a 1953 Elmore Leonard short story.[5] His companion for the viewing is an "Original Brew," probably a trademark-free TV-show knockoff version of the beer brand Old Style.[6][7] He then sings the movie's theme song to himself as he shuffles home.[8] Collider wrote about the significance of the use of this particular film, which touches on many of recurring narrative motifs of The Bear, including time, trains, and American beef: "The film follows Dan (Van Heflin), a farmer whose cattle are dying from drought, as he risks his life on a job to transport the outlaw Ben Wade (Glenn Ford) to a train to Yuma so that the criminal can be tried, and Dan can get the money he needs to save his farm. Already, from this description, we can see a parallel between Richie and Dan, as both men are fighting to save their businesses, which are deeply tied to their identity. Furthermore, there is a sense of doom throughout the film once Dan takes on his mission, as we constantly get references to how long it is until 3:10, when the train will arrive, and with every minute we know that Ben's posse is getting closer to finding their leader and killing Dan."[9]
- Richie sings unaccompanied and drunk in this episode, but Moss-Bachrach is an accomplished singer and guitarist who performed in character onscreen in Girls and NOS4A2.[10][11]
- After coming home from the bar, Richie indulges in his Ridley Scott obsession and watches a 2019 BAFTA interview with the director.[12][13]
- Before crawling alone, and a little drunk, into "his sad little twin-size bed," he knocks over a photo of six people (including himself) that sits on a book shelf full of Robert A. Heinlein, Philip K. Dick, Haruki Murakami, and a copy of The Silmarillion.[7]
- The audience does not know Richie to be particularly religiously observant, but he throws up a prayer for the restaurant, which is the "last thing keeping him attached to anything."[14][15]
- Sydney reads a news story entitled "Adam Shapiro, Former CDC at Ever, Opening New Restaurant in Avondale—Shapiro is working with the same backers to pick up where the beloved Michelin Star restaurant left off." The article was published on the "Chomp Chicago" news site, probably meant to mimic Eater Chicago.[6] Chomp Chicago headlines were previously featured in the season two episode "Sundae."[16]
Production
Writing
"Soubise" was written by Catherine Schetina.[17]
Carmy's ongoing struggles with basic arithmetic resurface in this episode. As one pop-culture podcast host commented, "The math stuff just kills me...He's like, we don't even need apples. What about fennel?...What about six fennel? And you can tell he's like, 'oh yeah, no, I get it.' And he totally doesn't. It's so funny."[18]
Costuming
- Sydney wears a blue printed headscarf printed with what looks like three cherries surrounded by a circular mandala. This "Double RL" indigo scarf was sold by MyTheresa.[19] While rocking Carmy's world with her pasta cook, she wears a multicolored tasseled-woven-rug patterned Scandia scarf sold by Eloi.[20]
- When Pete tells Nat he saw Francie at the gym, he's wearing a T-shirt from Nectar's in Burlington, Vermont, which is the bar where the band Phish got its start.[21]
Filming
The scenes at Alpana were filmed in February 2025.[22] The Bear crew filmed an hour of Alpana Singh and Corey Hendrix (in character) talking about wine and the inner world of sommeliers.[23] The bar that Richie visits is J&M Tap on Leavitt Street, which is an "under-the-radar Ukrainian Village gem with a jukebox, cheap drinks, and a laidback vibe."[6][24]
Cinematography
The colored light in the scene between Richie and Carmy, who is contemplating "mistakes," was intended to highlight the emotions.[25] Andrew Wehde told British Cinematographer magazine, "If there's a colour wash you know something is going on because we never do them except in very specific moments and that's a fun adjustment to make."[25]
Music
The songs used in this episode are "Life's What You Make It" by Talk Talk, "The Chosen One" by Bryan Ferry, "Most of the Time" by Bob Dylan, and "Mystery Achievement" by the Pretenders.[26][27][28]
- The Talk Talk song has been described as a "synth-laced reminder that Carmy's life is one he's still failing to consciously shape," while the Bob Dylan track "mirrors Carmy's internal denial when 'most of the time' he's okay, except when he's not."[29]
- The "Rocco and His Brothers" music from Mi Loco Tango's 2010 Il Cinema: Il Paradiso! that follows Richie from the restaurant to the bar was previously used in the second episode of the series, "Hands," as Carmy walked home alone in the summer dark, the lights and sirens of police cars speeding past him and a full moon hanging behind the skyscrapers.[30] Rocco and His Brothers is a 1960 Italian film about five brothers (in order, Vincenzo, Simone, Rocco, Ciro, and Luca) who share the burden of a self-pitying, narcissistic mother. Following the death of the father, they move together from rural southern to urbanized northern Italy, collectively seeking their fortunes. Psychological and economic horrors await the family, even as they go their own ways in work and love. However, the fourth of the five brothers, Ciro "could indeed be viewed as a model of integration. In the course of the film, he takes evening classes to become a skilled worker, finds a job in the automobile industry [at an Alfa Romeo factory], and is engaged to a young woman of Northern origin." When the culminating tragedies strike, he takes responsibility for the sins of his older brothers, for the long-term benefit of still-upcoming fifth and youngest, Luca, and all in, "Ciro's proletarian consciousness is shown to be instrumental to the future development of Southern Italy."[31] For his part, Rocco is "increasingly preoccupied with memories of their southern homeland, memories angrily consecrated and intensified by secretly knowing that they are sentimentalised and that they have no real intention of ever going back. Coppola and Scorsese were later to show how the Italian-American experience of migrant longing was built on something very complex; they were already homesick. Like Fellini and Antonioni, Visconti also shows the strange new urban-pastoral landscape of the modern postwar housing projects rising up on the city's margins."[32] Simone collapses and lashes in turn, and alongside Rocco, he lives in a composition played with "minor notes of unspoken homoeroticism."[32] The film is based on the writing of Giovanni Testori, compiled in I segreti di Milano, which examines suburban Milan in the aftermath of World War II, namely "the prostitutes and proletarians who work in auto-repair shops and small workshops; and it does so with a style that still relies considerably on realism."[33] The musical composer for Rocco e i suoi fratelli, Nino Rota, also did the music for The Godfather cycle.[32][34]
- "Mystery Achievement" by The Pretenders plays as Sydney prepares a dish of pasta, and over the closing credits; "Mystery Achievement" is a song that comes with backstory: "Every time I look at that first Pretenders album or hear each song played in order—it's a no-skips album—[I realize] it's [Chrissy] Hynde who will have to replace the whole band in a decade because of the effects of drug addiction. Do you know how damn tough you have to be to do that? Tough. That's exactly what Chrissie Hynde embodies—grit and determination amid chaos. When 'Mystery Achievement' bursts up and into the teleplay, quick intercuts of fast kitchen preparations, locked into the powerful heartbeat drum hits, it marks the arrival of a newly revitalized Bear restaurant team, fully prepared to confront every challenge, both new and old, that they must overcome to achieve their true potential. They know they can soar to new heights. Storer recognizes that Chrissie is a force to be reckoned with."[35]
Food (and wine)
- Sydney sends Sweeps (Corey Hendrix) to train on food and wine pairings at Alpana on State Street with real-world master sommelier Alpana Singh.[6] Singh echoes what Froggy Meadow's Jerry Boone" told Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) at the farmer's market in season three: "What grows together goes together."[6] Singh teaches about Pinot noir, which Singh calls "the somm's best friend" and pairs well with mushrooms, and she says it is fine to pair red wine with fish, just watch the tannin content.[36] Singh had previously participated in a Chicago culinary conference hosted by The Bear creator Christopher Storer.[37] The scene at Alpana was filmed on location at the restaurant over the course of one day in February 2025.[6][37]
Critical reviews
The A.V. Club gave "Soubise" a B+, commending the comedy in the episode (Tina versus Carmy, Carmy versus math), and the character growth, as "Carmy is finally emerging from a season-long fugue state. For the first time in a long time, he has escaped the prison of his own brain and noticed the hard work of the people around him, who have grown and evolved while he was stuck in a holding pattern."[7] Vulture rated "Soubise" three out of five stars, commenting "Over the course of four seasons, we've seen some really terrible stuff happen at the Bear...But nothing has seemed quite as sad as what's happening in the second episode of this season, because what's happening is absolute resignation," highlighting Richie's despondency as particularly painful: "...and as he falls asleep, in a stammering prayer, he asks God to please help him out with the Bear, because 'if it's fucked, then I'm fucked, and it's the last thing that's keeping me attached to anything.' Talk about awful."[15]
Decider called it a "total dud," questioned the wisdom of face-acting-only, virtually dialogue-free interactions between main characters, and criticized the Sweeps somm-training about parings with "boredom, death, and other culinary options offered at The Bear" as playing out like sponsored content "running on a loop at a Hyatt Regency when you skim through the TV's main homepage menu."[39]
Substream magazine also noted the episode's "low point" tone, "The vibes are...terrible, and the building has been stripped of any excitability whatsoever. There are no fights, no calling out plates, no extreme amount of orders coming through—it's just...melancholy."[40]
Retrospective reviews
In 2025, Vulture ranked "Soubise" as 22nd-best out of 38 episodes of The Bear.[41]
See also
- List of The Bear episodes
- The Bear season four
- Previous episode: "Groundhogs"
- Next episode: "Scallop"