After the devastating cliffhanger ending about Sydney's father, The Bear season 4 episode 6, "Sophie," opens with Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) visiting the hospital. We still don't know if her father is okay, and when she gets there, they ask her to sit down in the waiting room.
She also asked Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) not to tell anyone about her dad, but like, that was never going to work because she's such a huge part of the team. After Neil (Matty Matheson) tells Sugar (Abby Elliott) that he invited Francie to the wedding and she freaks out, Carmy tells the team about Sydney's dad having a heart attack.
In the same conversation, we also get Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) to open up a little bit about Tiffany's wedding and why he hates Frank so much. It kickstarts one of the most eventful episodes of the show so far!
Sydney's dad is going to be okay
At the hospital, Sydney runs into Claire (Molly Gordon), who works there, while she's waiting for her dad. Claire finds out that her dad is going to be okay, and she shares that information with Sydney, who is really struggling with everything. She finally breaks down about the relationship with her father and how he's the only constant in her life right now. She has a tremendous amount of guilt about how much her father worries about her because her life is such a mess.
Claire shares that the only thing she has learned after working at the hospital is that having people to worry about and having people worry about them is basically the point of life, and that's really interesting to me. I mean, she's right.
Overall, this is the most powerful scene in a season full of powerful scenes so far. Watching Sydney worrying about her dad, and the shock that she's feeling, is so pointed and real. Her meltdown about feeling guilty and disappointing her father and herself in the process is what so many people feel. It was really moving to see it presented this way.
Later, Carmy calls Sydney and asks about her dad. He asks if he can come over and hang out at the hospital, but Syd says she's good. She also tells Carmy that she saw Claire. She ends the call by telling Carmy that she appreciates him.
She finally gets to see her dad, and they share a moment.
Carmy holds his niece for the first time
Right after the phone call with Syd, Carmy gets a call from Shapiro. We don't hear what they talked about, but it's pretty clear.
Finally, Carmy and Sugar have a conversation about communication and how they could do better, be better for each other, as a family. Sugar also convinces him to go to Tiffany's wedding, which came up during the big argument earlier in the episode. Sugar, then, asks Carmy to hold Sophie while she goes to the bathroom. It's the first time we see Carmy holding his niece, and he definitely doesn't look very comfortable. It takes some practice for Carm, but I'm sure he'll figure it out.
A lot is going on at The Bear this episode! Tina is making progress on the pasta service. The Faks really want to hold Sophie. They are obsessed with babies. Sweeps (Corey Hendrix) comes up with a plan to add some front-of-house stages to streamline service, get rid of the lulls, etc. Richie loves the idea! Marcus (Lionel Boyce) and Luca (Will Poulter) are crushing this working together thing again! Oh, and Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson) and the Beef guys accidentally share their plan as a possible franchise location with the Faks.
At the end of the episode, Neil finds the profile of one of the food critics reviewing The Bear. Richie, who has made great progress in his role, tells Neil that they're not going to do any different. They're going to treat every guest like family. Knowing how this family functions, I don't know if that's a good thing, but they are definitely trying to make it work!
On to The Bear season 4 episode 7!
More recaps on Show Snob: