Zoe Terakes was so damn good in this role, they have such a confident commanding presence that made them impossible to hate. It means SO MUCH to me as a trans non-binary person to see that representation 😭💕💘
I’ve been thinking about how a lot of us are pretty convinced Syd lied about going to The Beef with her dad every Sunday as a kid. To me, it felt like when Carm asked why she was there, she just didn’t want to admit that she came there for him. Then after we met her dad this season, he just didn’t seem to give a kick about that place, honestly.
But also, didn’t we get a scene, I think in S1, where Carmy tells someone - maybe in group therapy - how every Sunday Michael would make braciole for the family? It was one of Carmy’s favorite memories and it’s one of the reasons cooking meant so much to him. He and Mikey connected through cooking together when they were younger. So looking at their meet scene, he does this nod/smile after her story about going to The Beef every Sunday, but then does a double take with a beat of silence, like - he knew she was lying, assessed her briefly, but decided not to push it. Because why, really? It was a harmless lie, but I think Carmy clocked it as a lie immediately.
I like to think The Beef wasn’t even open on Sundays, because that was family braciole day, and that took up Mikey’s time every Sunday, before things changed between the Berzattos.
Also, I personally think JAW actually does just a wonderful job of playing this as flattered, but slightly confused, but also jovially humoring her since he can’t figure out why she’d lie. But, then right after this, she admits she knows who he is, and I think he figured it out right then. She was hoping to learn from him, and that was fine with him, even if he wasn’t quite ready to look at her position in that way just yet. They’d just met, after all, and he still needed to see if she could hack it. But also, I just think he finds her really pretty, which she is, so there’s that in the moment too.
Just look at them. When I was making that gif, his double take is so loaded to me.
Rewatching The Bear 2x03 is actually crazy and feels so clarifying because like…
The ep starts with Carmy speaking at Al-Anon about fun, and how maybe he needs to have more of it. He acknowledges that fun is complicated for him because as a kid his family tended to ruin things for him, even though this was often unintentionally done. He says that he thinks if he had more amusement or enjoyment in his own life then it would be easier to provide that for other people. (Big note here that part of the purpose OF a restaurant is to provide amusement and enjoyment for people. Then add in Luca’s conversation with Marcus in 2x04 about how the best food comes from being open and inspired, and spending time in the world. So Carmy having fun could theoretically make him better at his job.)
Anyway, Carmy gives that spiel at Al-Anon. Then we get a brief interlude of Syd looking at articles about recent restaurant closings and being stressed.
And then we’re immediately back with Syd and Carmy cooking together in his kitchen. She fucks up a dish again, and he suggests they stop cooking and do a palate reset.
Like… this all happens within the first five minutes of the ep. This man has been musing about how he needs to have more fun…. and then he suggests spending the day eating in the city with Syd….. ergo that’s his definition of fun. This is literally him making an attempt at doing something for amusement or enjoyment!! He planned this!! I fully believe he had this idea even before Sydney fucked up the dish. This man said I need to have more fun and you know what would be fun? Spending the day with my business partner eating delicious food. So he sends her home with plans to meet in an hour.
And then. AND THEN. Claire calls. First of all when she asks if he’s busy, he looks at the white board and the very first thing on the To Do list is “call fridge guy” so like. lmao. I love foreshadowing. And he literally is busy!!! Not with unpleasant tasks to do but with something FUN. Something fun that he planned FOR himself.
And what is it that Claire asks him to do? Is it something fun? No. She asks him to HELP HER MOVE her mom. Like, the least fun task in the history of anything, the thing that people historically HATE being asked to help with. And he doesn’t look excited about it! He looks torn. He looks…weird idk. Like ohhhh it’s actually so crazy that Carmy bails on a truly fun day with Sydney in order to do a manual labor favor for Claire.
This is so ripe for analysis you simply cannot tell me it doesn’t mean anything.
Carmy thinks about how he needs more fun, plans a fun day for himself, and then, when someone he tried to avoid asks him to do a not fun favor, he says yeah, I’ll do that instead.
