The Bear (The Bear episode)
10th episode of the 2nd season of The Bear
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"The Bear" is the tenth and final episode of the second season and 18th overall of the American comedy-drama series The Bear. Alongside with the rest of the second season, it was released on June 22, 2023, on Hulu. It was directed by series creator Christopher Storer and written by Kelly Galuska.
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Episode 10
- "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" by Wilco
- "Animal" by Pearl Jam
- "Hope We Can Again" by Nine Inch Nails
- "Half a World Away" by R.E.M.
| "The Bear" | |
|---|---|
| The Bear episode | |
Chicago from the Clark Street Bridge | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 10 |
| Directed by | Christopher Storer |
| Written by | Kelly Galuska |
| Featured music |
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| Production code | XCVB2010 |
| Original release date | June 22, 2023 |
| Running time | 40 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
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Plot
On family and friends night, Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) runs the front of house while Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) runs the kitchen. Issues begin to mount: a line cook disappears, the restaurant runs out of forks, Marcus (Lionel Boyce) and Sydney run into communication issues due to her earlier rejection, the toilet once again breaks, and Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) disrupts service when he elects to serve Claire (Molly Gordon) one of the dishes himself only to nearly blow up upon his return to the kitchen when he decides some of the dishes were prepared wrong. The final straw comes when the walk-in refrigerator handle breaks, trapping Carmy inside. With tickets piling up and their head chef trapped, Richie steps in to take over expediting while Sydney jumps on the line. Despite some initial trepidation, Richie and Sydney work together to get the kitchen running smoothly.
While Natalie (Abby Elliott) helps out in the kitchen, Pete (Chris Witaske) sees Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis) outside and runs out to invite her in. She refuses, feeling she does not deserve to witness her children's success. Donna begs Pete not to tell her children she showed up to the restaurant. Pete accidentally reveals Natalie's pregnancy to Donna before she leaves. Shaken by the experience, he keeps Donna's secret while suggesting to Natalie she not hold it against her mother. Though the service finishes successfully, Carmy spirals from his lack of ability to oversee it, imagining the voice of his abusive former boss in New York criticizing him. Marcus finds the missing line cook, Josh, outside in the alley smoking meth, and obtains Sydney's permission to fire him. Richie has front of house serve Cicero a chocolate banana as a surprise, a gesture that moves Cicero (Oliver Platt).[a] Tina tries to encourage Carmy through the refrigerator door by telling him how well everything has gone, but Carmy starts to rant about how he has failed the restaurant with his lack of focus. Claire comes into the kitchen after hearing he is stuck in the walk-in and overhears the end of his rant where he declares that his relationship with her was a waste of time, causing her to leave in tears. Richie sees her leave and angrily confronts Carmy through the door, leading to a heated argument when he impulsively insults Carmy by calling him "Donna".
Sydney has a panic attack after imagining the ticket printer continuing to spit out orders and runs out of the restaurant to vomit.[b] Sydney's father (Robert Townsend) finds her in the alley and expresses his pride in her, emboldening her. Marcus receives a package from Luca (Will Poulter) as an opening-night present: a sign reading "Every Second Counts". As Marcus hangs the sign, he fails to notice several missed calls and frantic messages from his mother's nurse. Most of the staff celebrate the successful service, but Richie is left emotionally drained from his argument with Carmy. As he waits for the fridge to be cut open, Carmy plays a missed voicemail from Claire earlier in the day, in which she confesses her love for him, leaving him devastated.
Context
- Marcus thinks Syd is ignoring him because she never responds to his requests for an "all day" for cannoli or bread. Sydney seems to be solely tuned into communication from Carmy and inadvertently tunes out Marcus' calling for her. An "all day" is a count of the total number of current orders for a particular dish, including those pending for prep and those underway for service.[1][2]
- Claire and Kelly are seated at a four-top the kitchen calls "PX table 31". According to the New York Times, PX is restaurant jargon for "a persone extraordinaire. PX used to be VIP but most restaurants stopped using that label years ago because it was so widely recognized and offended non-VIP customers who heard it being used. Some PXs are also flagged NR, for never refuse."[3] According to one jargon guide, there are tiers to these notes, from VIP to PX to PPX (particulièrement extraordinaire) to WTW ("whatever they want").[4] Syd's dad Emmanuel Adamu and his plus one sit at table 40, a four-top right next to the kitchen door.[5] The three booths along the back wall seem to be sequentially numbered 50, 51, 52.[5]
- According to culinary producer Courtney Storer, when Carmy freaks out that the fish "is dead," he means "she's not expo-ing it fast enough, so it's getting cold. That throws the line cooks behind even more, because now they have to remake stuff. Anytime you have to replate and refire, it complicates things." The order to refire means "starting all over from scratch," not just reheating.[1]
- Carmy, Sydney, and Tina all do the "I'm sorry" ASL sign in the midst of the chaotic service; according to one examination of the show in the journal Organization Studies, "They start using this gesture to address conflicts efficiently. These cultural elements—new artifacts, words and signs—become integral to the team's dynamics, signalling a shift towards professionalization in the restaurant's operations. They also reflect chef Carm's efforts to move away from authoritarian practices often associated with high-end kitchens, instead aiming to instill a sense of ownership and to seek team input. Critical to elevate an organization's industry standing is the leader's focus on familiarizing the team with the standards of excellence in their field."[6]
- Carmy's retreat to the walk-in fridge is both a tactical and strategic failure, according to Coco Storer. He went to get some "grated parmesan—one of the cooks ran out," but chefs "should be prepared, in that level of kitchen, to not be running back and forth to the walk-in...it means chefs are not preparing before service."[1]
- Syd's season of being coached by Mike Krzyzewski pays off. In the words of the Raleigh News Observer: "While the camera fixes on Sydney's face, a series of images quickly flash across the screen, including Sydney's be-stickered photo of Coach K. She keeps her composure, makes some decisions, and gets the kitchen team back in action. They go on—dare we say it—an exhilarating five-minute run as the kitchen clock ticks down to zero. Victory."[7]
- Marcus's scripted line says Josh is smoking crack in the alley behind the restaurant, but actor Alex Moffat thought his character was smoking meth.[8]
- When the Faks tell Claire that "Jabba got his ass...he's in there solo—Han Solo" to explain that Carmy got stuck in the walk-in fridge, Claire does not immediately understand the reference to the original Star Wars trilogy in the context of the restaurant. At the end of The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader freezes Han Solo in carbonite. At the beginning of Return of the Jedi, the gang raids Jabba the Hutt's lair, and Princess Leia finds captive Han Solo and frees him from icy stasis; he wakes up blind and asks his rescuer "Who are you?" and she responds "Someone who loves you."[9]
- The note that accompanies Luca's gift to Marcus (the new "Every Second Counts" sign for the kitchen) is signed "Luca #33", which is a reference to Scottie Pippen's Chicago Bulls jersey number. When they were in Copenhagen together, they decided Luca was Pippen to Carmy's championship-era Michael Jordan.[10]
- The Stella Artois billboard visible near the end of the episode (while Sweeps drinks the same brand of beer, and he and Fak celebrate the restaurant's soft launch) was a paid product placement.[11]
Production
Development
The episode was directed by series creator Christopher Storer and written by Kelly Galuska. It was Galuska's first writing credit, and Storer's twelfth directing credit.[12]
Writing
Jeremy Allen White told Deadline Hollywood about Carmy's collapse: "I do think that that [signed] apology [to Sydney] is, of course, for his behavior in that moment that but I think that apology as well was for, you know, maybe he wasn't ready for this. Maybe he's incapable of this. Maybe he cannot lead you tonight. When he gets locked in the freezer, it's his show and it's a complete loss of control. Control is so important to Carmy and to lose control just in one fell swoop of that door closing is just agonizing—and then not being able to be there. And then, of course, I feel like Carmy's mother is kind of off limits in arguments and that's like an understanding that Richie and Carmy have. That's a place that you don't go. When Richie slips and calls Carmy 'Donna,' I think that's a real trigger and the beginning of the end."[13] Moss-Bachrach found Richie's reversion to opponent appropriate to the irregular nature of character growth: "[I'm] glad that the portrayal of this character is not so basic and TV-like that he spends four and a half days at a Michelin-star restaurant and all of a sudden he gets like the Cinderella makeover and he's somebody else...I don't buy that shit."[14]
can you shut the fuck up and get me the fuck out of here please yeah ill get you the fuck out of there donna the fuck did you just say i what the fuck did you just say nothing richie what the fuck did you say yo you cousin dont understand why you cant just let something good happen to you for once in your life are you fuckin kidding me right now what the fuck is the matter with you no im not fuckin kidding you right now someones gotta tell you this shit fuck you fuck you yeah fuck me here we go yeah fuck you you wouldnt have shit without me yeah yeah alright tough carmen you wouldnt be able to pay for your fuckin life yeah yeah or your fuckin kid you want to talk to me about my fuckin kid you fuckin loser you fuckin loser at least i got a kid you you don't have shit fuck you you dont have fuckin shit fuck you where were you when we put your fuckin brother in the ground you selfish piece of shit youre not my fuckin family youre obsessed with my family fuck you thats what you are yeah im obsessed with you you fuckin leech youre a fuckin leech yeah im a fuckin leech you fuckin leech i fuckin love you i shouldve cut you the fuck out i fuckin love you i shouldve cut you the fuck out you fuckin need me i fuckin love you you fuckin need me yeah you need me fuck you you fuckin need me you motherfucker fuck you fuck you you dont have shit you piece of fuckin shit fuck you fuck you i hope you fuckin freeze to death
Casting
The guy who cuts Carmy out of the fridge is Steve Hull, construction coordinator of The Bear.[15]
Production design
According to production designer Merje Veski, the look of the newly unveiled Bear restaurant was influenced by the style of Napa Valley's French Laundry and Chicago's Ever.[16] The restaurant kitchen is a fully functional working kitchen, not just a dead set.[17] Similarly, the kitchen was designed with "practical lighting" so that "the lighting crew actually never had to light it....we worked with the lighting designer...very closely where to put exactly what lights and light temperature."[18][16] The asymmetric globe-light chandelier in the dining room drew positive comment from professional interior designers because such light fixtures cast extensive, but relatively dim, light that minimizes shadows and glare on the tables generally, and the food in particular, inducing a feeling of secure intimacy.[19]
A restaurant builder interviewed by The New York Times thought the Bear crew had hit on the right array of details to make the dining room appealing, including "the brick wall painted white...exposed ceiling joists, Scandinavian color scheme, clean lines and 'pops of nature' like the light wooden furniture," all of which served to focus the attention of guests and staff on "the service, the food, the delivery."[20] The wood is painted plywood and maple, "modest" and affordable materials in line with the "Danish design" Syd pitched in "Braciole."[19] According to Veski, the production team created the "linear window between the kitchen and the dining room, so you can see through and see the action. But at the same time, Chris [Storer] wanted to keep the kitchen action completely separate from the dining room, so the sounds wouldn't go through. It's not open concept, but you can still see the background."[16] One restaurant designer, Jon de la Cruz, told Architectural Digest that the frosted glass for the exterior-facing front window "felt like a deliberate choice in a rougher area of the city. '[It's] creating a sense of mystery and exclusivity, teasing the energy inside without giving away any sense of the people or the food. It also completely hides the interior, telling us that the quality level inside is much higher than what is typical of the neighborhood."[19]
Costume design and hair
- Sydney's red mushroom-print headscarf, previously seen in "Dogs, and carried forward from "Omelette," was made by a Japanese brand called One Ear; the style is "Sincerity," and the color is "Tomato Soup."[21][22]
- Natalie Berzatto's silk dress is the Riviera style from Hatch.[23][24] Her hairstyle was inspired by Brigitte Bardot and Goldie Hawn updos.[25]
Set decoration
The Franklin dining-room chairs and the chairs at the bar were built by Chicago-based Navillus Woodworks.[26] The plates and bowls selected for the new restaurant are earthenware made by American ceramacist Jono Pandolfi in "toasted clay."[26] Pandolfi and hospitality-group owner and season three co-producer Will Guidara were in a band together in high school.[27] In the 2000s, Pandolfi created the plates and bowls for Guidara's NoMad and Eleven Madison Park.[27] Pandolfi aspires to create restaurant ceramics that "should not be striking. It should not grab your attention before the food."[27] The restaurant's bucatini gricia is being prepared in an All-Clad D3 frying pan, used for rendering the fat of the diced guanciale.[28][29] Marcus' Copenhagen sundae and the frozen grapes for the welcome broth are served in vintage bone china, specifically the Royal Albert American Beauty pattern.[30]
Filming
The episode opens with a single continuous long take, a device also used in the season one episode "Review". (The sequence also reuses Wilco's "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" from "Review".) Screen Rant described the 12-minute shot as "impressively choreographed," crediting it with achieving "the same dazzling effect" as "Review."[31] Jeremy Allen White indicated that the filming of the episode mainly occurred in one sitting, with the exception of the dining scenes,[13] typical of the production style that Storer liked to use while filming to create a hectic atmosphere familiar throughout the show. The episode makes frequent use of the split screen camera angle effect during the period where Carmy is locked in the broken walk-in refrigerator, a plot point that was frequently referenced throughout the second season.[32]
Molly Gordon revealed that certain aspects of the script were changed during filming. The voicemail message that Carmy plays near the episode was not originally written but was later included on Gordon's suggestion.[33] Storer decided that White, playing Carmy, would only hear the voicemail during the shooting of the scene while alone in the refrigerator.[34]
The scene between Pete (Chris Witaske) and Donna (Jaime Lee Curtis) was filmed on one of The Bear soundstages, in about five takes.[35]
Music
Diagetic dining-room tunes
The songs that play somewhat tinnily on the speakers in the restaurant dining room are "Supernova" by Liz Phair" (during the first and second loops through the dining room),[c] the 2004 Brian Wilson Presents Smile version of "Vega-Tables" by Brian Wilson, and "I Think I Need a New Heart" by the Magnetic Fields (when Emmanuel Adamu is in bliss about the seven fishes dish at his daughter's new restaurant.)[36][37][d]
🎶 I tried to kick the ball but my tennie flew right off
I'm red as a beet 'cause I'm so embarrassed (mom and daddy say)
🎶 Sleep a lot
Eat a lot
Brush 'em like crazy
🎶 Run a lot
Do a lot
Never be lazy
Non-diagetic soundtrack and score
According to the show's composer Jeffrey Qaiyum, the score for the soft open "was the first piece I made. It's not even really music, it's more of a surging rumble. Like something from science fiction."[39] Other soundtrack music includes "Velouria" by the Pixies, "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" by Wilco reprising from season one (as tickets pour out of the order in a callback to Sydney's kitchen collapse of "Review"), "Animal" by Pearl Jam (back from the pilot episode, playing when they have five minutes to get the food out), "Hope We Can Again" by Nine Inch Nails, "Leaving Missouri" by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and "Half a World Away" by R.E.M.[37][36][40] "Hope We Can Again" from Ghosts V by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross plays three separate times.[41] The final song selection of season two is another R.E.M. song, to accompany "Carmy alone and in torment. The song? 'Half A World Away.' The lyrics? 'This could be the saddest dusk I've ever seen.' Followed later by: 'My mind is racing, as it always will / My hands tired, my heart aches.' Again, a perfect circle of scene and song."[42]
Food
Compared to Mikey's spaghetti, which was the main dish served in the season-one finale, "The food in the restaurant has become lighter and more delicate. The shift is not only emphasized by the menu choices but also by the way the food is handled and presented. Rather than just serving food to the customers, the restaurant now meticulously prepares and presents the food, using tweezers to craft several courses. As the final dishes show, the food in The Bear represents the changes taking place concurrently in both the restaurant and the neighborhood, highlighting the underlying relationship between food and gentrification."[43]
- Carmy personally serves Claire and Kelly the welcome broth, poured tableside into teacups.[44][45] When Syd and Carmy workshopped this dish together, it was described as "frozen Concord grapes with beef consommé and smoked bone marrow".[46][47][45]
- The focaccia was baked by Mindy Segal.[48][49]
- Under the supervision of culinary producer Coco Storer, the simplified seven fishes dish was designed by Tim Flores and Genie Kwon of Chicago's Kasama, with a "beautiful fumé with saffron" to accompany prawns, octopus calamari, mussels, scallops, little clams, and amberjack.[50][45][51] The Carabinero prawns (Aristaeopsis edwardsiana) were chosen because they are "red and really vibrant and kind of looked like the lobster in Seven Fishes."[51]
- The T-bone steak is "cooked to what looks like a perfect medium rare and sliced off the bone, which sticks up vertically".[45]
- A savory reframing of the traditional dessert cannoli was Christopher Storer's idea, and culinary producer Courtney Storer designed the dish, named in honor of Mikey Berzatto, which was made of a Parmesan tuile shell stuffed with mostarda and onion jam and coated in pistachios.[50] Richie also tells Marcus to "86 the mostarda" for Syd's dad, because "Emmanuel doesn't do cherries."[5]
- The idea for Mom's honeybun came from Lionel Boyce.[52]
- "Syd's donut" was made with zeppole dough with a fermented cherry glaze.[52][53] The donut is an "extremely personal and heartfelt dish".[45] Its official (but temporary) name is "Sydney's Donut (after Carm destroyed it like a little bitch)".[45] The name is a callback to "Review," a bad day in the kitchen when Marcus was fixated on doughnuts, Carmy flew into a tyrannical rage, and Syd and Marcus quit simultaneously.[44]
- Marcus' Copenhagen sundae is gelato al fior di latte with a "melon reduction on the bottom and fresh caviar."[51] This dessert is served in American Beauty floral-pattern china.[45]
- Chester complains about the wine, and Richie barks back, "That's a Cru Beaujolais!"[54]
- Emmanuel Adamu does not drink alcohol and gets a special delivery of the "Bear Pop Service."[5]
- Richie sent a chocolate-covered banana to Jimmy for dessert, recalling a conversation they had five years ago at Seven Fishes when Tiff could only eat a banana because of morning sickness and Jimmy reminisced about getting chocolate-covered bananas with his dad at a roadside stand.[55]
Reception
Critical reviews
The season two finale was released to generally positive reviews and praised for its typical style of high pressure and intensity. Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone said, "The Bear...is already at a level of artistry few of its competitors can touch. It continues to make every second count."[56] Marah Eakin of Vulture praised the show and its continuous intensity.[57] Salon.com critic Melanie McFarland praised the episode, saying: "'The Bear' deserves all the hype poured over it for the usual reasons—its atmospheric directing, writing, awareness of place, and performances collaborate to grant its consumption a sense of urgency and necessity."[58]
Josh Rosenberg of Esquire praised the show while contrasting it with the first season, noting that this season showed more background and displayed more emotion from the characters.[59] James Poniewozik of The New York Times also praised it while noting differences between the first and second season: "'The Bear' is no longer a war story that takes place in a kitchen. It is now a sports story that takes place in a kitchen."[60]
Vanity Fair's Rebecca Ford and David Canfield praised Jamie Lee Curtis's acting for her guest appearances throughout the season as Donna, including the season finale, suggesting she should be in consideration for an Emmy for her work on the show.[61]
Accolades
| Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series | Jeremy Allen White | Won | [62][63] |
| American Society of Cinematographers Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Episode of a Half Hour Series for Television | Andrew Wehde | Nominated | [64] |
Retrospective reviews
In 2024, Variety listed "The Bear" at number nine on a list of top 10 episodes of The Bear, commenting, "The episode accomplishes a lot, proving that there's reason to be optimistic about the restaurant's success while also finally levying consequences for Carmy's actions in a way that's legible to him."[65] Screen Rant ranked "The Bear" 6th-best out of the 28 episodes of The Bear produced through the end of season three.[31]
Also in 2024, The Hollywood Reporter placed "The Bear" at 17 on a ranked list of 28 episodes produced to that point, commenting that "The Bear expertly weaves its sonic palette all through the episode, with Wilco's song 'Spiders' (first seen in 'Review') coming back to haunt the kitchen as things spiral out of control—only for 'Animal' by Pearl Jam to kick in once Richie takes the wheel and saves the day."[66]
In 2025, Vulture ranked "The Bear" as 4th-best out of 38 episodes of The Bear, commenting, "Carmy essentially turn[s] into a caged bull, screaming and thrashing around the refrigerator while also spiraling dangerously down toward his absolute rock bottom...White's performance as Carmy alone would be enough to make 'The Bear' great...but really, 'The Bear' works because everyone works this episode."[67]
Collider placed "The Bear" at number 10 on its 2025 list of top 10 episodes of The Bear, describing it as "an excellent season finale, and the perfect pay-off for Carmy's emotional conflict," culminating in his heartbreaking monologue about his supposed inability to connect authentically with the people in his life.[68]
See also
- Food of The Bear (TV series)
- Characters of The Bear (TV series)
- Bibliography of The Bear (TV series)
- List of The Bear episodes
- The Bear season two
- Previous episode: "Omelette"
- Next episode: "Tomorrow"
Notes
- The scene, a callback to season one's "Review", is explicitly in Sydney's head: the printer would not continue to print orders once service is completed, as front of house would stop sending orders to back of house. In the words of culinary producer Courtney Storer, "She was losing her mind, and that happens."[1]
- "You walk in clouds of glitter / And the sun reflects your eyes / And every time the wind blows / I can smell you in the sky / Your kisses are as wicked as an M-16 / And you fuck like a volcano / And you're everything to me"
- "You've lied too / But it's a sin that I can't tell the truth / 'Cause it all comes out wrong / Unless I put it in a song / So the radio plays / I think I need a new heart, just for you / I think I need a new heart"
- "Vega-tables" is a "guilty pleasure" track originally written for Smile, an abortive late 1960s Beach Boys album that never quite came together, but was released in truncated form as Smiley Smile. The original effort lived on in bootlegs for decades, was re-recorded and released in the early 2000s as Brian Wilson Presents Smile, and was eventually released raw as The Smile Sessions.[38]