If you’re a fan of the Hulu showThe Bear,then you know how the showrunners seemed to change their minds when it comes toromance being involved in the plot.In the first season, the show seemed to pride itself in the fact that there wasn’t a single romantic side plot that would distract from what was more important; food and grief. They soared on the fact that all we cared about was Carmy’s involvement in The Beefand learning more about the workers than anything else, but in the sophomore season, they changed their tune and introduced the audience to Claire.
If you watched the entirety of season two, the reason for Claire’s involvement is a bit more obvious now than it was at the beginning of the season. At first, you’re confused as to why Carmy suddenly has a girlfriend, and he’s being a bit uncharacteristic, such as blowing off his fellow chef to hang out with Claire in the third episode. In the finale, it all came to a head as Carmy blew up his relationship without even meaning to, followed by a monologue about how he doesn’t deserve happiness and how he thrives on being alone.
That being said, that doesn’t stop fans of the show from noticing some obvious chemistry between thetwo main characters, Sydney and Carmy. From episode one, it seems that they enter into their own bubble whenever they talk to each other, creating these moments that are so obvious to the audience and yet so subtle when it comes to how their relationship could possibly turn out. Many people on social media platforms are rooting for some type of romantic relationship to come out of the pair, but is it really a good idea for them to become involved? Let’s take a look at some positive points and some negative points that would come from this pairing.
Starting off on a positive note, let’s take a look at the pros that center around Carmy and Sydney. The first is that they share a love for the same thing;cooking and hospitality. The two thrive on being chefs and sharing that profession means that they share an understanding; they know about deadlines, they know about forming chaotic menus, and how incredibly reckless it is to open up a new restaurant.
In the ninth episode of the second season, entitled, “Omelette” the two share an incredibly tender moment as they make sure one of the tables is sturdy enough for people to dine on. They’re there, under the table, supporting it together as they talk about how they wouldn’t want to do this with anyone else but each other, and the audience realizes, maybe for the first time,that there’s a tether between them. Another pro would be the obvious chemistry between them. Through each scene, each episode, and season, fans of the show have noticed that Carmy doesn’t really care about personal space when it comes to Sydney.
He’s always close to her, in her bubble, sharing the space, and it doesn’t seem like Carmy shows affection like that with anyone else. Plus, there’s the scene in which Carmy is having a panic attack and when he thinks of Claire, his girlfriend at the time, it seems to make it worse. However, when he thinks of Sydney, everything seems to slow down and Carmy’s able to pull himself out of the panic attack, even smiling to himself as he pictures her face! If you’re not a fan of this pairing, you could brush this off and say that they’re just bonded through trauma and cooking, but when it comes down to it, Carmy and Sydney have the most chemistry than anyone else on this show.
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When it comes to the cons, one of the most obvious ones has to be the fact that if things go wrong, like it did when Carmy blew it with Claire, the dynamic between Sydney and Carmy would never be the same. If they were to become involved romantically, they would jeopardize just about everything they worked toward in opening The Beef and pouring an incredible amount of money into the restaurant; if things were to go wrong. Not saying that the pair wouldn’t be good together, but one of the main things that’s incredibly obvious about these two, is how alike they are. Carmy’s quicker to anger, but Sydney shares that characteristic, leaving the mess that she created in season one, episode seven.
In season two, they bickered and fought more than ever but managed to fix it each time, apologizing in their own way through sign language and growing closer as the opening day of The Bear got closer and closer. Another con to this relationship, would be that it would have to be a slow burn; meaning that in season three they couldn’t just immediately be together, but instead, waiting for an even later season to finally admit that they both have feelings for each other. It would have to be natural and not rushed, and many fans of the show have agreed that if it’s not a slow-burn romance, then they shouldn’t try at all.
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Richie and Sydney’s Possible Slow Burn
Before you scoff at this reasoning and maybe shudder out of pure lack of agreement, just hear us out. It’s no secret that these two characters have had some major bumps in the road when it comes to working together; verbally sparring, and, of course, the infamous scene in which Sydney stabs Richie in the buttocks with her knife. Fans of the show on Reddit often comment about how this would be the perfect set-up for an enemies-to-lovers relationship, and it might seem very farfetched, but could it happen? Quite possibly.
As we saw in the last few episodes of thesecond season, Richie reinvented himselfand started to actively try his role of being a better person, friend, and father. There’s never a spoken apology between Sydney and Richie for what happened and went down in the past, but in “Bolognese” things seem to shift for the pair. Richie shows up in a suit and Sydney, uncharacteristically, compliments him not only on what he’s wearing, but also on his smell. Richie’s taken aback, but accepts the compliment before confirming with Sydney that her dad is going to be well-taken care of throughout the night, and as we see in the last episode, Richie makes good on his promise.
The pairing of Richie and Sydney would be unexpected for a lot of people, and quite possibly hated and rejected, but there is a group of fans that are rooting for the connection to evolve more than it already has. When the two work diligently together when Carmy gets himself locked in the freezer,one can see how well they gel, and how it wouldn’t be the worst thing if they got together in a later season.
Does The Bear Need Romance?
The basis around this show, which was obvious from episode one, is grief and food. In the pilot of this series, we’reimmediately thrown into the mix of thingsas Carmy tries to run his late brother’s restaurant with a crew who doesn’t respect him at all. As time goes on, he earns respect and the restaurant is able to thrive as new dishes are introduced, and the family is locked tighter. Romance wasn’t needed in the first season because too much was going on to even focus on such a thing, but when it was introduced in season two, not everyone hated it.
To have romance in a show like this, you have to do it right, and since the writers ofThe Bearare so great at making things work out and end on a satisfying note, if they were to add more relationships as the seasons progress, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.The Bearmightnotneed romance, but it’s not a bad thing to consider, especially when thinking about how plot lines can run dry if it’s all about food, all the time.
