History Series / TheBear2022

* CallBack: In ''System'' Richie complains about Carmey not making spaghetti. Later in ''Braciole'', [[spoiler: the last note Mikey left for Carmey turns out to contain a spaghetti recipe. When Carmey tries out the recipe, he discovers that Mikey hid stacks of cash in the tomato sauce]].

* HisOwnWorstEnemy: Everyone on staff, it seems. Carmey spends all his time at the restaurant so he doesn't have to deal with processing his grief (Richie has shades of this as well), which eats him alive. Sydney is impatient to the point she starts making costly mistakes. Marcus fixates on his desserts, trashing the brigade system. And so on.
* InheritanceBacklash: Carmey inherited the Beef from Mikey, so he left his job at one of the best restaurants in the country to run a failing sandwich shop with mountains of debt.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Carmey completely goes off on Sydney and Marcus in ''Review'' [[spoiler: even going so far as to throw the doughnut Marcus had been trying to perfect for weeks at that point]], and he definitely went too far in berating them, but he's not wrong to be angry considering that the kitchen has suddenly been put in a severe time crunch and they're focusing on things other than what they're supposed to be doing.
* LoanShark: Cicero's position isn't made clear, but implied to be this. Unlike most loan sharks, he's rather friendly and doesn't seem to be in any hurry--at worst, using it as pressure to get Carmey to sell him the property to make it square. [[spoiler: He loaned Mikey over $300,000, but it doesn't seem like a dime of it was poured into the business. Given Mikey was an addict...the ending leaves some unanswered questions, however, as to exactly what he was up to.]]
* LonelyAtTheTop: Carmey had an extremely successful fine dining career, but at the time he was semi-estranged from his family, had no friends or girlfriends, and would throw up every morning before work. The only flashback to that part of his life consists of him getting verbally abused by his boss.

* MeaningfulRename: [[spoiler: At the end of ''Braciole'', Carmey decides to rename the Beef to [[TitleDrop the Bear]]]].
* MessyHair: Carmey's hair is often messy to reflect how stressed he is. During a flashback to when he worked at a high class restaurant, his hair is neatly slicked back.

* NeverAcceptedInHisHometown: Carmey has gained national recognition for his skills and won prestigious culinary awards. Back in Chicagoland, the only person impressed by his fine dining career is Sydney. The rest are content to call him a snob and make fun of him for it.

* PayingInCoins: To demonstrate the Beef's dire financial situation, the beginning of ''System'' has Carmey using a sack of quarters from one of the arcade games to pay for a shipment of beef.
* PlotTriggeringDeath: Mikey's suicide causes Carmey to return and start running the Beef.
* PosthumousCharacter: Carmey's brother, Mikey, died, leaving him the restaurant. Everyone in the cast--from the restaurant workers to their friends and family--are ''still'' working through their grief, heartbreakingly so. [[spoiler: Almost classifies as TheGhost, although we end up seeing him in some flashbacks.]]

* SlobsVersusSnobs: A major point of conflict in the first half of the season is Carmey's ''haute cuisine'' background clashing with his staffs more humble line cook origins. In an interesting turn for the trope, the narrative leans towards Carmen's side of the argument, with the kitchen becoming much smoother and the chefs starting to flourish in their respective roles once he implements a brigade system.

* TakeThisJobAndShoveIt: At the end of ''Review'', [[spoiler: Sydney, after arguing with Richie, getting yelled at by Carmey, and accidently stabbing Richie, has a momentary freak-out and abruptly quits. She returns the following episode, after some convincing from Carmey]].
* WellDoneSonGuy: Sibling example. Carmey was hurt that Mikey never let him work at the Beef when he was younger, so he became an executive chef to impress him. Tragically, they never reconciled before Mikey's death. This is why Carmey is so devoted to fixing the Beef.

* CallBack: In ''Pilot'' Richie complains about Carmey not making spaghetti. Later in ''Braciole'', [[spoiler: the last note Mikey left for Carmey turns out to contain a spaghetti recipe. When Carmey tries out the recipe, he discovers that Mikey hid stacks of cash in the tomato sauce]].

* PayingInCoins: To demonstrate the Beef's dire financial situation, the beginning of ''Pilot'' has Carmey using a sack of quarters from one of the arcade games to pay for a shipment of beef.

* FoodPorn: You get to see all levels from world class chefs to sandwich shop workers making the most exquisite dishes from cakes to consomme's to corndogs, each one with closeups of each masterful, artistic step that goes into the creations of the cooking craftsmen. You can practically sense the steamy aromas coming off the screen. Exceptionally well-done (no pun intended) as many of the staff working on this show real-life kitchen experience.

* AngryChef: Just about every one at the Beef, except for Marcus, is incredibly hot tempered and are constantly clashing with eachother.

* IntoxicationEnsues: While catering a child's birthday party for Cicero, Ritchie accidently drops his Xanax bottle into the punch bowl, causing the kids to all fall asleep.

* SlobsVersusSnobs: A major point of conflict in the first half of the season is Carmey's ''haute cuisine'' background clashing with his staffs more humble line cook origins. In an interesting turn for the trope, the narrative leans towards Carmen's side of the arguement, with the kitchen becoming much smoother and the chefs starting to flourish in their respective roles once he implements a brigade system.

* Flashback: Carmen regularly experiences these due to his trauma and heavily implied PTSD. We see his time in a toxic workplace while a world-renowned chef, him and his brother cooking together, as well as other scenes.

* Sleepwalking: Carmen neatly sets his apartment on fire due to his trauma-induced sleepwalking and it’s implied this has happened before.

* SlobsVersusSnobs: A major point of conflict in the first have of the season is Carmey's ''haute cuisine'' background clashing with his staffs more humble line cook origins. In an interesting turn for the trope, the narrative leans towards Carmen's side of the arguement, with the kitchen becoming much smoother and the chefs starting to flourish in their respective roles once he implements a brigade system.

* LoanShark: Cicero's position isn't made clear, but implied to be this. Unlike most loan sharks, he's rather friendly and doesn't seem to be in any hurry--at worst, using it as pressure to get Carmey to sell him the property to make it square. [[spoiler: He loaned Mikey over $300,000, but it doesn't seem like a dime of it was poured into the business. Given Mikey was an addict...]]

* TheUn-Favorite: ''No one'' likes Pete, not even his wife. It could just be the stressful family vibes, but he is a bore and a bit of a dullard. Some of the others' reactions to him, however, border on ridiculousness.

* PosthumousCharacter: Carmey's brother, Mikey, died, leaving him the restaurant. Everyone in the cast--from the restaurant workers to their friends and family--are ''still'' working through their grief, heartbreakingly so.

* LoanShark: Cicero's position isn't made clear, but implied to be this. Unlike most loan sharks, he doesn't seem to be in any hurry--at worst, using it as pressure to get Carmey to sell him the property to make it square. [[spoiler: He loaned Mikey over $300,000, but it doesn't seem like a dime of it was poured into the business. Given Mikey was an addict...]]

* LoanShark: Cicero's position isn't made clear, but implied to be this. Unlike most loan sharks, he doesn't seem to be in any hurry--at worst, using it as pressure to get Carmey to sell him the property to make it square. [[He loaned Mikey over $300,000, but it doesn't seem like a dime of it was poured into the business. Given Mikey was an addict...]]

* MeanBoss: In a flashback, Carmen recalls being ruthlessly berated by an executive chef over a ''commis'' chef's struggles in the middle of an otherwise smooth-running service.

* TheInspectorIsComing: In ''Hands'', it's too late--the inspector is already there. Richie is out of his mind but Carmy, having just had the staff clean the place, isn't as worried...until a pack of cigarettes are found by an oven.

* TheOner: Aside from a few brief scenes at the start, the episode ''Review'' is one long shot. According to star Jeremy Allen White, it was done with "no cheating".

[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]

* MeanBoss: In a flashback, Carmen recalls being berated by an executive chef over a ''commis'' chef's struggles in the middle of an otherwise smooth-running service.