#gingerpovs

That hug told their whole love story.

It contained all those words.

It spoke volumes.

The light that some of my fellow truthers call the Pride & Prejudice warm sunset light, I call it the Braciole Syd is back light, Braciole final scene light, the under the table light, the hug light. It's the same warm light. I call it the Sydcarmy endgame light now. It's actually the happy heart light, only at different intensities.

At 5x8, when they hugged, it was at its most intense since the beginning. It's not sunset light; it's sunrise and noon or right after, when the sunlight is peaking.

In S1, it started mildly when Syd came back in 1x8 and has been intensifying ever since. (it was completely gone in seasons 3 and 4, Carmy's (and Syd's) darkest hours since they met, and when the sydcarmy scenes moments happened at night).

IMO that warm sunlight not only represents happiness but also Mikey's light shining down on all of them. Mikey is finally resting in peace.

Bonus track: To be fair, C was at some points of S2 and S3 also in that light, but ONLY IN CARMY'S MIND, not in reality, not in a physical form. At the birthday party, she, just like everyone else, was also in that light because Sydney was there and Carmy was with Syd. But in reality, this blue nocturnal light was always C'S light. The warm light he saw her in, in his mind, wasn't real. Syd's light is.

And we all know who the real deal is. Canon.

IMO Richie's accident is the cathalyst that precipitates the Sydcarmy Endgame.

Yesterday, during the podcast, I was introduced to the theory that Richie's accident wasn't part of Gary's flashback TL, it happened on present day instead. When I first watched Gary I had thought it happened in the past, in 2022, shortly after Mikey died, before Carmy inherited The Beef.

BUT then I was told that he was wearing a suit undeneath his leather jacket, and BOOM!

Yes! I was wrong. So that means that the car crush happened in the "I wear suits now" era.

To be more specific, as rumor has it on X, the morning after this:

Which proves that rumor about S5 starting the day after the fight, basically picking it up where they left it off last year in 4x10, is true.

BUT: Plot twist! Or, as Richie would put it: "Yes, surprise!".

So...

My educated guess is that Richie is the game changer that will prevent Carmy from going through with his retirement plan. (directly, but indirectly it'll still be Syd, ofc).

Because he could only go through with it if Syd wasn't left alone in there, she was supposed to get the support network he had put in place for her, basically.

But with Richie in the hospital that changes completely and Carmy will not only have to stay, but also will want to stay, more precisely, FOR SYD, to be there for her and obviously for Richie too.

He's not going anywhere.

So basically Richie's accident is the perfect plot device to bring Syd and Carmy closer together in this time of crisis.

Not just Syd and Carmy, actually, but the whole family, the whole SYSTEM.

Richie will not end up like Mikey and will bring everyone together, they will all want to be there for and with him throughout his recovery.

And Sydcarmy endgame will come about in that dramatic context.

Now, we must take into account that if the rumor about S5 being in The Pitt's format has any true to it, then it will only cover 8 hours of the day. So I'm guessing the 8 hours immediately after the accident.

Not much developement in the ENDGAME department can happen in 8h UNLESS this crisis of Richie's life being in danger puts everythig into perspective for these 2 and they finally realize that it all can end in a split second. They better get to work and cut to the fucking chase.

And make it count.

Sometimes when ppl go through live/death experiences they find the courage to say and do things that they couldn't say or do in "safer" scenarios. As the saying that goes:

"There are no atheists on a plane that's going down".

I'm pretty sure Syd and Carmy are gonna go that way, maybe at the hospital. I can see them supporting each other and finally letting it rip in the waiting room, or at bedside, or something along those lines. Maybe even getting the call about winning the star, at that moment, when they are waiting for the doctors to come and tell them if Richie is dead or alive and not giving a fuck about the bullshit star at that point because what matters is the people.

MANIFEST HOSPITAL SYDCARMY ENDGAME that celebrates with a kiss that Richie is gonna make it after fearing for his life.

It is bare minimum, but I'll take it.

This meta is dedicated to all the Clairmy stands that I blocked throughout the years. It's my gift to you, lizards! Enjoy!

In this take, we can better appreciate the distance between Sugar and her, and that she was even a lil further back than Sugar, and there were kids between them, when we know that Sugar was standing RIGHT BEHIND Carmy, next to Pete, in the NEW BERZATTOS VIP AREA

When Carmy moved bc Syd started focusing on cutting the cake, as ONLY A MEMBER OF THE FAMILY WOULD for their "niece", in this case, which BTW Eva officialized and foreshadowed in S4 UNDER THE TABLE, calling her Antie Syd in front of the family, the C person could be seen behind Carmy trying to get his attention that at the time was focused on Eva, basking in the moment, because we know that man loves kids, since he held Sophie in his arms for the first time.

It's a matter of perspective created by camera placement, but they were not together; he was with Syd and the New Berzattos, celebrating his niece's birthday at his wife's restaurant, their restaurant, the family business. C was with her friend and her BF, third wheeling and trying to get her ex's attention when Syd was RIGHT THERE, faithful to her narcissistic style. But Sydney didn't even register her, FAMILY COMES FIRST for Syd.

Bonus track 1: He put a ring on it? Syd is clearly wearing a ring on her left hand, now bc of the camera perspective, we can't see whether it is a diamond ring or not, but it might be.

Bonus track 2: Storer used a similar method to the one used at weddings to place couples that are together, or as Hulu called it, PERFECT PAIRINGS. It stems from Classical French etiquette, and it's called "Alignement". It's also used at restaurants, for new couples or newlywed couples, or when it is desired to just optimize the closeness of any particular pairing. It's also commonly utilized at corporate events.

This can be seen in Cicero-Donna-Lee's case as well. We know Cicero wanted to ask Donna out in 5x8, and I will quote JAW directly here: When Carmy "thought he wanted to retire", but then, like IMO a couple of years later, at Eva's Bday party, Donna is in the back with Lee, and Cicero is UNALIGNED, alone, more to the front of the room, third wheeling with Tiff + Frank.

Meanwhile, DD is lurking in the background with Lee:

Away from Cicero, who seems to be flying solo, actually, unless we count his "Kelly", AKA: Computer. (so it didn't work out or he didn't even ask her out, we don't know, but we know they're not together)

This proves that C being where she was represents Carmy and her didn't end up together, were never endgame, and that Storer is a sadist who wanted to make a last DICK MOVE with this POS Schrödinger's Bday party.

IMO yes, as long as it has equivalent or even more meaningful scenes that prove they ended up together in a romantic capacity, and happily ever after.

It's hard to pull, I give you that.

But it's also baffling to me that some ppl are still doubting Sydcarmy was canonized by Storer in S5.

I mean, we have his heart eyes when he looks at her as part of his family, cutting the cake for his "niece", figuratively taking the cake, btw.

We have him literally saying she's the real deal, and we all know he's not just talking about her cooking skills because he loves her, believes more in her than in himself, would jump in front of a fucking train for her, etc.

We have him literally hating sundays bc the restaurant was closed, even though he was already burnt out with the whole cheffing thing by then, or in the process of being burnt out. Yes, that could have also been his workaholism talking because we know that at that point he was already in a very dark place mentally and emotionally. Still, we also have him canonically being unable to move his cutting board away from her, constantly staring at her, doubting his own decision about retiring over and over, and postponing it as well, so he could continue helping her, not to mention he couldn't even bring himself to tell her about it, so she learned it through someone else. We have him literally giving her his most valued possession and emotional asset, the restaurant he inherited from his idol, which is the equivalent of ripping his own bleeding heart off his chest and giving it to her:

We have the multiple panic attacks, the mere thought of her helped him overcome.

I mean, it's a lot, but OK, SURE, sex is not on the list, a wedding is not on the list either, and YKW? A 💋 may or may not be on the list; truth is we don't know for sure, because Storer chose not to show us what they did after this embrace:

Source: livelovecaliforniadreams

It very well may have been on the list and it wouldn’t be a reach to assume so... considering the 😍 he ONLY had for Syd during Eva's birthday, and of course, this:

And this: <*I no longer think Eva turned like 10. Upon further consideration, I changed my mind about the flashforward, and now I think it's still 2024 on the show's TL, just a few days/weeks after the 🌟 🌟, maybe shortly after Richie came back from Japan, which was gonna take approx a week.>

Now, I do understand the frustration of not being served a "conventionally apparent" endgame. God knows I wanted Sydcarmy sex scenes that were banned in some states, but you can't tell me it wasn't romantic anyway, you can't tell me it wasn't painfully obvious they love each other, and trust each other, which was indeed explicit, and that they would walk through fire for one another, you can't tell me that now they are Bears, because they are family-family, they won't be FOREVER, as Cicero told Tiff at her wedding on the dance floor, where Carmy was dancing with C but eating Syd alive with his eyes, also canon:

You can't tell me any of this.

Plus, he probably did not retire, because the happiest he's ever been was during that service with HER and with those ppl that he woulda driven crazy but that were lifting each other up because of HER and the love that she brought in and kept in that place, it certainly wasn't because of how he used to ran the place, he admitted and we all saw it.

Again, canon:

So, it's a puzzle, but all the pieces are there. It's canon. The kiss, sex and maybe upcoming wedding, or engagement could be there too, we don't know. Richie and Jess are together without any explicit romantic cliche other than looks and finger light touches. Storer wanted to convey that that was the way in which he was gonna be sending the endgame message, since S4, actually.

I heard it and saw it loud and clear. Because it was clearly mutual.

You do you, chefs, but we won.

Bonus track: