Remember that Fridge and Headscratchers pages do not conceal spoilers.
Fridge Brilliance
- Carmy's phone code is 1111111. So he can just keep one finger of his left hand on one number without looking to unlock his phone while he does other things with his right hand.
- The kitchen is getting lit better and better as the show goes on. It is dark in the beginning when everything was chaotic, dirty, broken, and nobody knew their place. Then, episode by episode, the light goes on as everybody is working to make it a better place. In Episode 5, when Richie, Carmy, and Fak have a fight, a fuse blows and the light goes out. It turns back on once the fight is resolved.
- Compare this to Carmy's flashbacks to the Noma kitchen in episode 2, which he remembers as overly bright and washed out in cold white light. It was a perfectly professional and orderly kitchen, run like clockwork, but that bright light reflected every tiny mistake and detail. By the end of the season, the Beef's kitchen is brightly lit, but with a warmer and more friendly light. A functional kitchen that still has some warmth and humanity in it, not like Noma.
- There are several references to Goldilocks and the Three Bears in The Bear, the most blatant example is Carmy telling the story of a gelée that was either too hard or too soft. Now, what color and texture does Carmy's hair have?
- Richie states since Carmy works at The Beef, it is the first time they are making a deficit. This isn't Carmy's fault, though, Michael was using the loaned money to break even every week, keeping the rest to put away.
- In a flashback, Michael is telling a story whilst cooking. The scene is reflecting the whole premise: Michael starts the Brasciole, then moving out of the way, leaving Carmy to finish it. Carmy is now in the middle of the screen, Michael stands in the corner of the screen, Sugar is assisting out of focus in the background, Richie is in focus, sitting closely behind Carmy. Michael is still telling the story, getting all the attention.
- There is more:
- Sugar asks to put raisins in the Brasciole, and the others tell her no, reflecting her wanting to sell the restaurant, but Carmy and Richie don't let her.
- Bonus added because she wants to add raisins since their mother did it that way, reflecting that Carmy changes the way of his predecessor to get a better result.
- Carmy is cooking quietly, only sometimes shaking his head at Michael's story, reflecting on taking over Michael's work at the restaurant without criticizing him, only thinking it.
- Richie is sitting in the back, helping Michael telling his story by occasionally adding a detail, without taking attention from Mikey, reflecting how he jumps from station to station in the restaurant without having a position himself, just helping where and when he is needed.
- There is more:
- Carmy telling Sydney that her risotto and braised beef weren't ready yet comes off as him being perfectionist at first, especially considering everyone liked it. However, the scene also illustrates Sydney's impatience and wanting to move ahead before she's ready vs the more experienced chef Carmy who knows the value of being cautious and getting things right first. It proves to be subtle foreshadowing for the restaurant's disastrous attempt to switch to a to-go model, which Carmy had been reluctant to do but caved in due to pressure from Sydney, the latter of whom's inexperience with the ordering system led them to be flooded with hundreds of orders right at opening.
- Natalie's choice to have Pete as a spouse makes a lot more sense in light of episode 206. He may be unable to take a hint and a bit of a bore, but he's always kind and supportive. Seeing how unjustly nasty Donna could be at Natalie, and how volatile the Berzatto household could get, Pete is a source of stability and support that Natalie can depend on.
- Carmie sending Richie to stage as a waiter at a high-class restaurant instead of sending him to culinary school was a stroke of genius. Richie is an incredibly sociable, charismatic person who's big on mutual respect and connecting with his customers, with an underlying need for things to be just right - Traits that make him perfect for the job of being the Bear's maître d'.
- In the first season, Natalie said that she wished Carmy would ask if she's okay more often. Contrast that with her mother's reaction to being asked if she's okay in the second season: Natalie sees it as a pure expression of love and interest in someone's well-being, while Donna sees it as an unhelpful and condescending question that only tells her she's acting "not okay."
- Carmy's neglect getting himself stuck in the walk-in in the season two finale is a dark reflection of his mother locking herself in her car that fateful Christmas night - Richie even picks up on this, sarcastically calling Carmy "Donna" which infuriates him. Both characters, despite making things "beautiful" and working for their families, have also totally alienated them and established martyr complexes, locking themselves away so that no one can help them even if they wanted to.
- Another parallel between Carmy and his mother in this finale is how both of them remove themselves (willingly or not) from all the good things happening in The Bear: Carmy's neglect gets him trapped screaming while Richie and Sydney showcase The Bear's incredible progress, while Donna's guilt keeps her from sharing the beautiful things her family has going on such as The Bear and Natalie's pregnancy.
Fridge Horror
- Carmy threw out a can of tomato sauce in the first episode. It all works out in the end for the restaurant, but considering what we find out was in the cans in the season finale...
- Jeremy Allen White later confirmed
that canonically, the can contained around $5,000.
- Jeremy Allen White later confirmed
- Carmy's nightmare in episode 2 ends with him starting a massive fire on his stove, apparently trying to cook even in his sleep, and admits to Natalie on the phone that this isn't the first time he's done that. He woke up in time to put it out before doing any serious damage...this time.
