‘The Bear’ Season 4 Episode 2 Recap: “Soubise”

The Bear Season 4 Episode 2 perfectly encapsulates what many people found frustrating about last season. These airless and artless meditations do nothing besides reassure us that the characters do still exist on a TV show. 

Nothing happened in this episode. Seriously. Well, they’re short on vegetables because they’re short on cash. Oh, and Carmy’s frustrated. So is Syd. So is everyone. Well, except Ebraheim, who is killing it at the Original Beef takeout window as everyone else sits and frets about how they’ll feel once The Bear gets shut down after two months. But overall, it’s a total dud. 

Here’s a great example of how this episode plays out: At the end of the shift, Richie sees Carmy sitting disconcerted and worn down, staring off into the wall. Against his better judgment, Richie goes over to see what’s wrong. 

I don’t get this show’s insistence on silent interactions between characters. Every Second (of not talking) Counts (as dialogue), I guess. 

Here is a summary from that scene I just GIF’d. 

CARMY: “I’m just thinking.”

COUSIN RICHIE: “What about?”

CARMY: “Mistakes.” 

Thanks. Noted. 

I’m not expecting Aaron Sorkin-style rat-a-tat walk-and-talk dialogue here, but this dead-end conversation is on par with what I submitted to a one-act play contest in college when I went through a brief, absurdist literary phase and tried to imitate Ionesco. (I came in second.) 

Now, let’s get back to the action!

Everybody okay? Is your hair resettled on your head again after being blown back?

Meanwhile, Sydney is still struggling to make an informed decision about the next stage in her career. Should she stick with the emotional abuse that comes along with working at The Bear or test the waters elsewhere and take the $80k to work at Shapiro’s new venture? 

The central plot point so far this season is the emergence of Ebraheim’s enterprising spirit – his desire to “create an opportunity” – to both The Bear and the world. The sandwich shop is booming, selling out Chicago Beef sandwiches even before the lunch rush is over.  (The exciting upside so far is the reappearance of Chi-chi (The real Mr. Beef’s Christopher Zucherro) and Chuckie (Paulie James from Uncle Paulie’s deli), the two real-life sandwich kings tasked with being believable Chicago Beef flingers, which they are.

Then, the show takes a break from the fun stuff and returns to a pointless subplot. Sweeps (Corey Hendrix) is learning how to be a proper sommelier and receives lessons from world-famous Master Sommelier Alpana Singha to absorb as much knowledge as possible about tannins and which wines pair well with various dishes, including mushrooms, fish, boredom, death, and other culinary options offered at The Bear. The whole sequence plays out like a short interstitial spon-con running on a loop at a Hyatt Regency when you skim through the TV’s main homepage menu. 

Other notable plot points: Sugar is in a fight with a person named Francine, who has not been introduced to the show yet, so we have no idea what the stakes are. Let’s assume the whole subplot is a way to tee up a celebrity cameo. Sydney tries to explain basic restaurant economics to a beleaguered Carmy, who comes off like a total rockhead. The front-of-house crew and Uncle Cicero huddle in the office to figure out who the newspaper’s restaurant reviewer is. Tina tries to reduce her cavatelli cooking time. Richie works on his pre-dinner motivational speeches to the staff. Carmy apologizes to Sug for not meeting his baby niece. Sydney and Carmy seem cool for a minute because he agrees to help her cut carrots. 

Finally, the episode ends with a typical Bear dinner rush montage, giving that classic Requiem for a Dream energy the show loves so much. 

THE BEAR SEASON 4 EPISODE 2: LEFTOVERS

QUESTIONS I STILL HAVE: I have both a million questions and also zero questions but the one on top of everyone’s mind right now is: why is the fourth season’s quality and continuity more like the third season and not like the first season? Which executive at FX sent Chris Storer a note that made him want to tank his own show?

MIDDLE-AGED DAD NEEDLE DROP: Man, even the tunes on this episode were weak. 

CARMY ARM PORN: Bulk at rest.

A.J. Daulerio is a Los Angeles-based writer and editor. He is also the founder of The Small Bow, a recovery newsletter.