‘The Bear’ S3, E9 Makes Me Want to Grab Carmy’s Shoulders and Shake Him
Chefs, The Bear is firing on high heat. As Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) & Co. await their first big review, tensions are reaching a fever pitch. The restaurant is Carm’s chance to showcase everything he’s ever wanted in the culinary world, but the vibes are off. For all we know, the Chicago Tribune loved their time at The Bear. Something tells me they didn’t—and it might just have to do with how little we’ve seen of what The Bear looks like outside of the kitchen. Inside? It’s chaos. There’s no magic.
Marcus (Lionel Boyce) was inspired to take a photo of a flower five episodes ago—and he doesn’t know what to do with it. All of Mr. Non-negotiables’s vague and completely ignored rules, like vibrant collaboration, are suddenly feeling important.
We kick off episode 9 with Marcus watching Deceptive Practices: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay, set to Nine Inch Nails’ “13 Ghosts II.” We hear from movie legend Martin Scorsese and see some of the greatest silent-film stars do wondrous things onscreen. “Magic, at its best, has to be spontaneous,” magician Ricky Jay says. One could view spontaneity as Carmy’s change menu every day and no repeat ingredients approach. But if you really think about it, the repetitiveness of that change basically cancels out the spontaneity entirely.
Not only is the magic lost in The Bear’s kitchen, but there’s also no peace. Remember when I said back in episode 4 that Claire (Molly Gordon) has become an ethereal, ghostly presence in Carmy’s life? Well, he confirms that exactly—almost verbatim—in episode 9. While breaking down boxes, he tells the Faks (Matty Matheson and Ricky Staffieri) that Claire is peace incarnate. When Carmy admits that he thinks about her “every day,” the Faks tell him that she’s “haunting your ass, dude.” Still, he maintains that it’s too hard to apologize. Aside from the trauma burned into his brain from chef David Fields (Joel McHale), understanding another human being’s wants and needs is not a natural go-to in Carmy’s playbook. Neither is apologizing.
The Faks visit Claire at the hospital themselves, but it’s not the right time. They mean well. The Faks want the best for Carmy and Claire. They’re just two fools with soup for brains. “The fridge was good for him, by the way,” Theodore says. I’m not so sure about that!
As Carmy screams to The Bear’s crew about “waiting on wagyu all day,” his brain has flashes of memories of mentors who were actually nice to him. Terry (Olivia Colman) politely tells him, “Faster and cleaner, Chef” with a calming tone. Daniel Boulud calls the sound of food sizzling on the pan “music” to his ears. Carm’s chosen a dark path. “The cook is fucked,” he yells. “Faster!” It’s agnolotti, man. Calm down.
Late one night, Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) tries to talk to our troubled chef. She’s contemplating leaving The Bear to start her own restaurant with Ever’s Adam Shapiro, but she hasn’t talked to Carm about it yet. There are multiple profiles in the press already about The Bear, but they’re solely focused on Carmy. She’s not in the picture, or even the words. Another thing he doesn’t know: Cicero is hemorrhaging money on this restaurant. “It’s hard to keep up with you sometimes,” she says, clarifying that it’s “not on a skill level.” He apologizes, but it’s tough to say if he’s aware that an apology is only words if you don’t follow through with your promises. “I don’t want it to be so hard to keep up with me,” he says, and only that.
Later, Carmy walks into the fridge as a blend of Nine Inch Nails and R.E.M. swirls together into one chaotic song. This is where he made his devil’s bargain. He traded his soul—happiness, friendship, Claire—to become the kind of chef he hates most in this world. He says, “I’m sorry” to his phone contact of Claire (which is photo-less, by the way?!?), unable to hit the call button. As he’s losing his mind over ravioli, she’s reinserting a kid’s shoulder back into its socket in the hospital. Just apologize, Berzatto!
Want to keep reading, chef? Here's our recap of the season 3 finale.
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