Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for The Bear Season 4.
When The Bear first premiered, it appeared to be centered on Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) dealing with his brother’s death and the restaurant that had consequently been left to him. However, with the show now in its fourth season, there has been a clear shift in narrative as the ensemble cast steps more into the limelight. As Carmy has fallen out of love with cooking, his place at the show’s center is fading, and the true star of the show is stepping out of the shadows.
Now with more confidence, Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) has proven herself to be an exceptional chef and a valuable team member, helping guide the less experienced members of The Bear through their training. Season 4 really focuses on her, giving the character her own standalone episode with more time devoted to her life outside of the kitchen. Edebiri has also coincidentally taken a more active role in the production side of The Bear, having now directed and written episodes. With the Season 4 finale seeing Carmy handing over ownership of the restaurant to Syd, it is evident she was always meant to be The Bear’s true lead.
‘The Bear’ Season 4 Gives Sydney an Important Solo Episode
Unlike previous installments of The Bear, Season 4 devotes much less focus to flashbacks and characters’ backstories. Instead, almost everything that happens is related to the present-day narrative, which offers more freedom to varied standalone episodes. “Worms” is the best example of this, focused solely on Syd’s mental state and her major decision regarding whether to stay at The Bear or join Shapiro’s (Adam Shapiro) new restaurant. “Filler” may be a strong word to use here because the episode is actually one of the season’s best, likely due to Edebiri and Lionel Boyce (who plays Marcus) penning it.
“Worms” sees Sydney visiting her cousin Chantel (Danielle Deadwyler) on her day off to get her hair rebraided, and the pair share a mutual understanding of busy schedules, with Chantel also off work but doing Syd’s hair as a favor. However, the true magic of the episode comes when Chantel has to leave to track down more hair extensions, and Syd strikes up a conversation with Chantel’s daughter TJ (Arion King). It’s refreshing to see Syd free of the pressures of the kitchen, which allows her to speak more freely and let the audience into her internal conflict about her professional dilemma by extension.
Sydney’s Big Decision Is the Central Plot Point of ‘The Bear’ Season 4
Over the course of “Worms,” TJ explains that she is struggling with the thought of going to a new school, believing her friends have already started excluding her. The show uses this situation as a parallel to Syd’s fears about leaving The Bear, which serves as the central dilemma of the season. Shapiro is offering Syd a blank check to set up the restaurant of her dreams, but some of his language is condescending towards her, such as the suggestion that he doesn’t want a kitchen where every chef looks like him. Syd explains to TJ that she doesn’t want to go to a sleepover with whatever she desires if her friends aren’t there, an analogy for not wanting to go to a new restaurant without her colleagues at The Bear.
TJ’s frankness allows Sydney to play over the situation in her head, but The Bear dedicating a whole episode to the difficulty of this decision evidences its importance and consequently, Syd’s overall significance. The barriers Sydney has faced as a chef become more prominent through her Season 4 plotline, showing she is just as capable as Carmy. This is supported by the importance of her scallop dish, which is easily the most applauded and praised dish of the season — even getting a whole episode named after it. With Season 4, The Bear makes a conscious effort to highlight Sydney’s skills and star power.
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Boyce also talks about the bromance between Marcus and Luca, and the fun he had working with Will Poulter.
The shift in focus from Carmy to Sydney also serves as foreshadowing for the season finale, which sees Carmy handing the metaphorical baton over to Syd. This is most obvious during the opening of Episode 8, which sees Sydney hallucinating herself as the host of a cooking show, complete with Edebiri giving an exaggerated and jovial performance that slowly unravels. Sydney’s high-pitched tone and perfect diction are interrupted by disaster as the whole studio is flooded with wind and rain. The sequence mirrors a lucid dream Carmy had in the first season, where he imagined himself on a cooking show gone wrong. This shift is hard evidence that the show is firmly in Sydney’s head and her mental state is the new central focus.
Sydney Becomes ‘The Bear’ in Season 4
The Bear Season 4 also explores Sydney’s relationship with her father (Robert Townsend) more deeply, as he suffers a heart attack that leaves him hospitalized. Although Syd’s dad has always been a visible figure in the show, he has often been behind doors or in the background of shots. Here, the inner workings of their relationship are placed at the forefront of Season 4 to give more context to Syd’s decision. When she learns of his heart attack, Edebiri gives her best performance yet as she breaks down at the thought of losing the most important string within her support network. Yet, her dad’s recovery leads to him telling her not to move back in after seeing just how much she worries. Watching the pair discuss his pills with a hint of humor allows a closer insight into their relationship and Sydney’s desire for calm in the kitchen.
The entirety of Season 4 represents The Bear‘s shift in lead protagonist from Carmy to Sydney, making the events of the more insular finale feel earned. There is a shift away from the Berzattos to a focus on Sydney’s life outside of the kitchen, bringing in other family members other than her dad and giving her even more dimensionality. It all leads to the moment where Syd reluctantly agrees to take over The Bear from Carmy, both as a restaurant and as a title. It opens up the show to follow her without being tied to Carmy and proves Sydney is the true star of The Bear.
