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So what made Carmy's 'Sydney is upset with me' alarm ring? Did he get close to her, the way they only do with each other and she stepped away?

Did he brush against her arm and she didn't brush back? Didn't linger?

the way carmy is talking about another woman and says "she's so great it scares me" and syd just...takes that blow. she stops, stares at him, breaks out of it to then say she shouldn't have asked for his attention that it came out wrong, was weird, and a mistake. i'd be so heartbroken if i were syd. they go on to have an incredibly intimate tete-a-tete, but i'd be filing myself under 'he sees me like a sister'. to speak so well of the woman you're dating, it wouldn't matter that he then gave lots of affirmation to another woman he admires- the signals are too muddled to be anything but a no for syd, really.

i don't think he's actually meant to be with c, obviously, but if i were in syd's position, that 'so great she scares me' paired with the way he ran off constantly to spend time with her would make me put the crush firmly away, filed under unrequited. i'd be nursing my own broken heart and avoiding him in my own right.

I like how when you listen to it the interviewer had to remind her that the original question was about Syd and Luca and she's just like whatever about them with nothing to say but has her list of a million excuses for sydcarmy ready to go lmao like the other interview she did where she unprompted brought sydcarmy getting married and then referred to her endgame (not related to the restaurant) as open ended... girl i see right through you.

like okay clearly you think about it a lot and i can think of another girl that was also thinking way to hard about him and how he blows up and it could be a disaster but also making excuses as to why it's okay cause he's worth it and then ending the episode with a song about being "so in love".

I had this thought catch in my head that there are parallels between The Bear and Beauty & The Beast. There are two gorgeous metas that have already been written about this: @sydcarmyfan wrote this one and @myloveismineallmine wrote this one .

@whenmemorydies was kind enough to encourage me to write out my beauty and the beast x the bear meta, so I just wanted to touch on a couple points of similarity that I saw between the original fairytale and the popular version that we know and love from disney.

First, glaringly, Sydney is intelligent. We see her present Carmy with a report in season 1, and she leans on them again in season 2 as they're building The Bear.

Syd lives with her dad unti season 4. Belle also lives with her dad, takes care of him to a point. Syd does her best to be a caretaker. Belle's dad is an inventor- works with machines. Syd's dad works with airplanes, I'm not sure to what capacity, but, I think there's a commonality there.

But the meat of the story, the bulk of it-

Carmy as the beast: cursed by a maternal figure, lives out his days in isolation because of that influence. Has heard from this figure that he needs to learn lessons. The lessons are accumulated first, in pain, then in isolation and we see the effects of this character abandoning themselves and living in a liminal state.

Belle is a breath of fresh air, and is a very sudden disruption in the beast's castle. Three points here: first, @sonoranbumblebee has made the excellent point and an excellent meta to talk about Carmy being invested in where Sydney lives. We see Belle begin to live with this stranger, and I think there's a throughline here about the point of Syd's personal living space, Carmy providing a workplace that becomes her home, running parallel to belle moving into the castle. I'd like to point out two subpoints or branches of this: 1) the castle is neglected and in disrepair from its glory days. the beef is similarly something that needs renovation. but also, in terms of personal living space, we've had it discussed in metas that syd's apartment is probably not so great, and that carmy's, even if it isn't a luxury high rise, has stronger bones. (let's look at another of @sonoranbumblebee's metas) so just like the castle that belle is in, but also, i'd like to extend this out further and say sheridan road, her catering company, wasn't super stable and it wasn't a home, a permanent well built fixture for her. and we see her leave that for the rundown, but intact structure of the beef and then the bear, and we see her build a house there.

(i may be spiraling, if you're still reading this, ily)

the third point is that the castle belle moves into is full of these characters who know the beast from his former life and are still loyally serving, even though they've turned into these servants that are stuck in, again, one liminal space. In the fairytale as in the disney animated and live action versions, the servants are seen as inaimate objects, fun fact, but, their fates are tied to the beast's fate. if the beast doesn't evolve and excel, neither do they.

there's an obvious parallel between the curse being permanent- the servants and the beast never becoming more if they run out of time. how many clocks and how many deadlines do we see on the bear? the rose and the digital clock are one in the same.

the beast and belle fight constantly. (too many examples to count)

there's a point where he has to bring her back to the castle after she tries to escape. read: end of season 1, beginning of season 2.

gaston- I think that's Shapiro. A toxic man that has lots going for him on paper, but in execution and especially against the backdrop of belle who he's actively pursuing, it just, doesn't mesh. shapiro is offering a shiny restaurant that looks great on paper, but, it just doesn't mesh with syd's needs or wants. gaston has plenty of people thirsting after him and it makes me think of shapiro's parting words to syd over the phone about her making a mistake.

the hospitality element- be our guest

I think that's about it, really, it's so late and i'm like trying to hash this out. sincerely, if you read all of this, i thank you.

i will say, in parting, i wonder if we can bend the bear into the lens of almost any disney princess canon?

Syd as Snow White (all these boys she's surrounded with are the dwarves and their house has been messy before she arrives)

Syd as Ariel (i wanna be where the people are...antagonist in a mean witch who steals from her (hi claire) and she has to learn to use her voice)

Syd as Cinderella (cleaning, humble, support person in her own home. eventually shines through some interference of a fairy godmother (honestly? Richie) and the prince realizes she's who he's been looking for)

Syd as Megara (Carmy, Hercules, is a living legend and battles almost anything he can throw his strength against, but has to learn to love)

Syd as Tiana (the princess and the frog highlight a cook who works hard, is trying to make things happen for herself, gets a little lost attached to this weird dude, but they learn and grow together and hello open a restaurant)

Sydney's 5 Levels of Anger

She's my favorite character on the Bear and she plays her cards so close to her chest that you really have to work to figure her out in between the loud Bearzatto clan. When she shows up, the Ballbreaker theme plays faintly in the background (auditory cue).

Level 1: She can't hear you, doesn't have much to say to you, won't look you in the eyes and is cooly professional if you confront her about this. You better fix it immediately because her walls go up fast. Marcus learns this in Season 2's finale after he asks her out and then yells at her for ignoring him. He realizes he needs to get back in her good graces as soon as possible by telling on meth-head Josh to regain her approval. Carmy notices and catches her on it as soon as possible.

Level 2: The sarcasm. Watch it when Syd makes caustic jabs verbally to you cause soon you're going to be stabbed, either literally (as Richie was) or psychically (as Carm was in Season 4's opener when she sarcastically tells him to sound less miserable).

Level 3: That angry smile means you. have. messed. up. Richie says "oooooh" in the back as he observes it and Carmy already knows it is bad because that was the smile he received in Season 1's Review Episode right before she delivered her devastating judgment (the real review of the episode) of his talent vs his shortcomings that lives in a loop among his Worst Memories of all time. He's terrified to see it again even though he does not understand why telling her the walls needed to come down before they were torn down is causing her to be angry at him.

Level 4: She's out the door and will break off all ties without looking back. That means even if she is still forced to be in your presence because you work together day in and day out, she's effectively shut certain doors in your face. She won't be tempted as the Bearzattos are by a verbal fighting match, a tussle or any long drawn out back and forth that keeps her enmeshed in playing the game with you. She doesn't have time for you any more. That's why we don't hear about past bosses, competitive cohorts from the Culinary Institute, former boyfriends, messy members of her extended family--when Syd is done, she's done.

There may be tears at this point and you should definitely worry if you see them because Syd does not cry much and (unlike Claire) is not a woman who uses her tears to manipulate the men around her. Carmy instinctively knows he is reaching a dangerous level in Season 1 Brigade. She is more than likely scrolling for other job openings on her phone before he comes to tempt her with Ebra's chicken suqaar. He watches her force back her tears and this memory shows up in his nightmare from Braciole. He doesn't even know her that well yet and somehow his dreaming self is fully aware that he reached a dangerous point in making Syd cry in the alley.

Richie does not step in to referee the back alley fight until Syd reaches the crying point and then he knows he must intervene for everyone's sakes cause he (rightly) doesn't trust Carmy's ability to avert disaster.

Carmy has breached this level before and only his dead brother's bequest of secret money was able to win her back.

I think in some ways her evaluation of Carmy as a romantic partner after the whole Claire mess is still at this level. That's why at the wedding when Carmy dances with Claire, he can't seem to keep his eyes off Syd (first dancing with Richie and then Uncle Jimmy) to the extent that even Claire is craning her head in their direction. Yet Syd never even spares them a glance. In Carmy's mind, dating Claire is tied to being obsessed with Sydney. I don't think he can grasp that she does not operate through jealousy and one-upmanship so in Season Four Goodbye when he is referencing Claire (without saying her name) and Syd tells him "I think that's great" he responds with an angrily astounded "You do?!" and has to bring up Shapiro because he is very jealous of any perceived professional infidelity. When Syd doesn't bother with jealousy, you have officially reached Level 4 and that door has closed on your face. You're locked out now. As Syd says on her way out the door, "Good luck!"

Level 5: Arctic Chill. In Goodbye, we witness Syd move through all four levels of anger and reach a tired, broken place past tears even. We (and Carmy) are about to discover what happens when Sydney Adamu reaches Level Five.

i'm sorry but we as a society do not speak enough of this scene i know alley fight stole the show and obviously i get it but this is PEAK sydcarmyism like . it starts with them reading each other's minds which. ugh and sydney's annoyed at him and wants him to stop being a fucking menace in general but still gives him space to talk and process and find common ground and carmy's just sorry sign sad wet dog like PEAK. SYDCARMY. and i can feel you shutting down? i have no idea where you are? because they were once so in tune with each other???? i don't like dysfunction CUE THE FUCKING MUSIC???? BECAUSE THIS IS VERY MUCH A MOMENT. and then i like THIS???? this being JUST THE TWO OF US and SYDNEY. because this shit was already so CHARGED cracks a joke and carmy's that hurt. okay. that's flirty. why is that literally so flirty. and he TURNSSSS HIS ENTIRE BODY TO HER WHAT WAS HE TRYING TO DO?? GET EVEN CLOSER TO HER FACE ??!?!!!?!?!?

In that fight, Carmy makes a clear distinction between “need” and “love.”

Recall: Carmy after having just had Richie call him by his mother's name ("Yeah I'll get you the fuck out of there, Donna.") unleashes on Cousin. He calls Richie a leech, tells him he wouldn't have the money to pay for his life or his kid without Carmy or the Berzattos, tells his brother from another mother that he should have "cut [him] the fuck out".

Richie told him he was loved, and Carmy threw it back in his face:

Richie: I fuckin' love you!

Carmy: You fuckin’ need me!

From the fight in 2x10, we see that for Carmy, "need" is tied to financial or economic need/support. Need is practical, tied to survival but without the warmth of care, passion. Carmy cannot conceptualise need for another in any other way. He makes a clear distinction between "need" and what it is to love someone.

Carmy doesn't want to be needed. He wants to be wanted.

This brings us to the fight between Sydney and Carmy in 4x10 Goodbye, where Carmy raises "need" again:

Carmy: Syd, you don’t need me.

Sydney: I know I don’t need you but that’s not the point. You’re supposed to fucking be here.

Sydney confirms for Carmy (and us) that she doesn't need him in a practical/economic/professional sense. She wants him with her ("You're supposed to fucking be here").

So if Sydney doesn't need Carmy, why would she want him?

And its this moment I'd like to reframe, more than any other in the fight between Carmy and Syd. Because given the above, this is the moment where I believe Carmy has realised that Sydney doesn’t need him, she loves him.

I am already sat for what he does with this knowledge in 5x01.

I suspect that, knowing Carmy, he may not do a whole lot with this information at the start of S5. I suspect, he is likely to self sabotage (Claire still looms large and that plotline still hasn't been resolved). It will take a lot for Carmy to accept that Sydney wants him. But the thing that will clinch it for him is still waiting in the wings: the revelation that Sydney tasted the only dish he had full creative control over at Empire, the paupiette of hamachi with blood orange - a dish borne out of his love and grief and all the moments that had led him to that point - and it moved her so much so that she sought him out. Its then that Carmy will know for sure: Sydney doesn't need him, she wants him.

Yes, I agree because Sydney came into the shift this episode. She has pretty much chosen Carmy; she knew from the wedding that she loves him.

Carmy has known for some time that he loves Sydney. But his insecurities get the best of him.

I'm just going to bask in the emotional overfill of the " you don't need me moment.

The moment hits him that Sydney Adamu loves him, and he is so frozen by that- he's ready to burst into tears because he is making her cry, and that she loves him, and he's ruining it.

At least he knows she thinks he's ruining it and reassures her - I know what we have here is good. I know I fuck up.

This is the first time I have really witnessed an argument between Sydney and Carmy, particularly through these close-up shots. For instance, the close-up with Claire reveals the anxiety Carmy experiences with Claire, but here it's that both Sydney and Carmy are experiencing that anxiety. There's a tension where he loves her, she loves him, he's running away (seemingly), and she's staying behind.

Sydney breaks my heart when she pleads with him btw.

Oh, and the I'm your friend part- so much frustration from Carmy, but it's not panic! There's so much misunderstanding, but also understanding, because Carmy is so settled that he must leave the restaurant to have a relationship with Sydney - I'm not your partner, I don't want to be that. -I want to be your friend. I love you too, can't see why I'm doing this. I'm doing this because I love you.

And he has yet to understand that he doesn't have to be perfect to be wanted or completely healed to be wanted, and he doesn't need to have co-dependency to be loved.

He really didn't expect this to hit Sydney as hard as it did. The shots for this episode are interesting; they're creating a lot of rack focus, but Carmy is blurred, although he's the front subject at certain parts. IMO, it's so that as an audience and Carmy himself feel that his feelings are becoming foggy or a blur as he watches Sydney unexpectedly fall and that she loves him.

I don't think he or the camera comes into focus until he has to face Richie. I think he's still in the moment, and what he and Sydney have just unlocked.