Season 2 ofThe Bearis one of those rare cases in which everything is so great, it’s difficult trying to single out just one aspect of it as the best thing about it. There aregreat character arcsandfunny moments, sure, but something that’s consistent throughout the whole season ishow it manages to portray masculinity and relationships among men in such a healthy light. This doesn’t mean that the men inThe Bearare perfect, far from it. They scream, fight, and do childish things. They all have their fair share of problematic traits and issues, but they do their best to grow, and we can see how that works for them from multiple angles.
Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto, a young chef from the fine dining world, returns to Chicago to run his family’s sandwich shop after a tragedy. As he navigates the chaotic environment of the small kitchen, Carmy must manage the struggles of turning around the failing business while dealing with his own grief and personal demons. The series dives deep into the intense world of culinary arts, highlighting the challenges of running a restaurant, the bonds formed among staff, and the relentless pursuit of perfection.
Season 2 of ‘The Bear’ Provides Great Insight Into Fatherhood
One of the more interesting aspects ofThe Bearandits portrayal of masculinity is the fatherhood angle. Given thatthe three Berzatto siblingsgrew up mostly without a dad of their own, it’s great to see that they ultimately got their role models one way or another, either because they chose one, or because someone else stepped up.
The latter, for example, is the case of Uncle Jimmy “Cicero” (Oliver Platt). While he started off as a possible threat, with the risk of The Beef going into bankruptcy growing by the episode in Season 1, we now see him as a father figure to the kids, someone they turn to for all kinds of advice (but mostly financial). He may be harsh and even insensitive sometimes, but someone has to do it because Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) andSugar (Abby Elliott)are making it up as they go and have no experience whatsoever. A touching moment is when Sugar asks Cicero about how he would approach fatherhood nowadays. He does drop the ball, saying he just wouldn’t have kids, but fixes it by giving her important insight on the matter. Another important moment is his conversation with Tiffany (Gillian Jacobs) about the banana stand and his own father.
Sydney’s Tattoo in ‘The Bear’ Season 2 Means More Than You Think
Nice symbolism, chef!
Someone who’s not a father yet, but will be shortly is Pete (Chris Witaske). He’s a beacon of politeness and positivity in the middle of the Berzatto chaos, and he’s well aware that everyone thinks he’s a drag, but he doesn’t feel bad at all for the way he is and doesn’t apologize for it either. He sees them for the good, but troubled people they are, and that’s enough for him. He tries his best for them, even if he’s not successful in convincingDonna (Jamie Lee Curtis)to attend the launch of the new restaurant. His crying right after (and not telling Sugar it was about her mother) isproof of his maturity and not being afraid of showing emotion. Boysdocry, and future baby Berzatto is going to have a great dad who’s the most emotionally mature member of the family.
Finally, someone who’s an actual father — and not a Berzatto, by the way — is Emmanuel Adamu (Robert Townsend), Sydney’s (Ayo Edebiri) dad.He’s a serious candidate for Father of the Year: supportive, available, cautious, and proud of his child. This season, we learn Sydney lost her mother at a very young age, so Emmanuel raised his daughter almost by himself and still did a great job, as Sydney is a young woman who’s well aware of who she is and her place in the world. He may seem a little too worried about her, especiallythe trust she puts in Carmy, but he supports whatever path she decides to take — so much so that, as proof of his incentive, he gifts herCoach K’s book about leadership.
‘The Bear’ Continues To Show That Boys Will Eventually Have To Become Men
Growing up is never easy, and it happens at different paces depending on who we’re talking about. Carmy and Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), for example, were never on the same page. Richie is actually older than Carmy but has always been childish and difficult to deal with, as if he were a boy insisting on “playing” the part of an adult as he did in the past.
Richie spent the better part of his adulthood so far just following his friends around, which is how he ended up at The Beef whenMikey Berzatto (Jon Bernthal)took over. When he lost Mikey, though, he lost his biggest safety net. As much of a drifter as Mikey was himself, Richie always had a sense of safety with him. Atthe end of Season 1, we see him admitting something similar to Carmy, telling him “You’re all I’ve got.” For Richie, this really is the truth because, up until then, Richie had already lost Tiffany, their daughter, and his best friend, and could quickly lose his spot at the restaurant, too. We know Carmy would never do that to him, but it doesn’t take awayRichie’s merit ingrowing the way he didthis season after staging with Chef Terry (Olivia Colman).
Carmy himself is a work in progress in many aspects, and while he may already have achieved some degree of professional success, he still has much to learn about himself. He has always been at odds with his family, and the Christmas episode shows how he has always been afraid of committing to his personal life the way he committed to his professional one. What’s surprising to see is how open he was towhat Claire (Molly Gordon) brought into their relationship. Despitehow Season 2 ends, for a moment there, it seemed that Carmy was open to personal improvement, which was great to see in a man as successful as himself.
‘The Bear’ Portrays Healthy Working Relationships Between Men
Some ofCarmy’s most important relationships are with Sydneyand Sugar at work, and there’s always unfortunately the risk of a man in a leadership role abusing the power dynamics with female employees. For some men, it’s easy to confuse this with a matter of dominance, establishing vertical relationships with them to “show who’s boss” just because. Were Carmy not as mature as he is about his relationship with Sydney, it would have been easy for him toget romantically involvedwith her, for example, because she admired him before landing a job at The Beef, and unfortunately, men often do see this kind of thing as an opening (especially with the age difference between them, too).
When men are working with other men, though, things can get difficult, too. However,The Beargives us a great example of how positive it can be when two mature men work together, and that’sMarcus (Lionel Boyce)and Chef Luca (Will Poulter). When Marcus begins his apprenticeship in Denmark, we’re prepared to see him go through hell, and we get the impression this is about to happen when he gets the first dessert wrong and Luca keeps telling him to try again. Their relationship is super respectful, though, based on horizontal and equal exchange instead of vertical learning (where one speaks and the other listens). It’s a huge difference from Carmy’s own apprenticeship in New York with his boss (Joel McHale), for example. For Luca, cooking is a way of personal expression, a way to show all the care and love he couldn’t express before. Luca understands he can learn from Marcus as much as the other way around, instead of abusing and trying to subdue someone who’s there to learn from him just because he can.
Constant reflection on masculinity nowadays is essential for every man, and it’s great to see how a man,series creatorChristopher Storer, managed to get all these different aspects of the male experience represented on screen in such a positive and accessible way. We don’t need to be perfect, as no one really is, but we do have to try and be better than we were, and that’s the main lesson Season 2 leaves us.
