i said i wouldn't do it but i fucking restarted the whole show LMAO and it's so frustrating seeing syd pretty much get thrown to the wolves in season 1 bc carmy is such a shit boss who won't keep his people in line with a new hire. and, yes, we see that he's dealing with a LOT between grieving mikey, attending al-anon, possibly being burnt out from his last gigs, and drowning in debt. i'm not saying that he's not human and doesn't have reasons to be overwhelmed, but sydney just walked into hell and took disrespect from left to right AND STAYED solely bc she believed in carmy, respected carmy's reputation as a chef (THE BLEEDING HEART!!!!), and saw carmy's vision without him even really trying to explain it to her? like she stepped into hell for this man and was just automatically by his side PERIOD, prepared to come up with ways to try and make his life and business better.
which is why the whole 'oh carmy's just her mentor' bullshit excuse to keep them platonic is just that, bullshit. they are equals from the jump, making up for each other's weaknesses and communicating how to get better off rip. my boi could not WAIT to dump some of the extra weight of his life into the hands of a lovely woman who would not fail him; he pretty much automatically trusts in sydney like she automatically believes in him! and yes sydney admires his skill as a chef----- how the fuck does admiration count against any budding romance? she wants to learn from him but then sees he's a fucked up mess surrounded by other fucking messes on day one, and then fits into his life and eases so much of the pain so well that he eventually has to start thinking of her when he's having panic attacks.
like be so fucking serious. even if they don't go canon, his other romantic alternative does NOT have the build up or personality to so much as compare to this lol.
