The Bear season 4 has been building to this episode, and it's finally here. It's officially time for Tiffany's wedding! And, it's a big family reunion with a bunch of people with a devastating shared history. Let the drama begin!
The Bear season 4 episode 7, "Bears," opens with Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) having a panic attack in the alley outside the wedding venue with Sydney (Ayo Edebiri). She tries to calm him down, but it's clear that he's still quite frustrated, which is putting it mildly, about his relationship with Tiffany (Gillian Jacobs), her getting married to a great guy like Frank (Josh Hartnett), and everything that goes with that.
Brie Larson is Francie Fak
Inside, Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) sees Tiffany, and she gives him permission to bail as soon as he gets uncomfortable from the anxiety of being this close to all these family and friends. It's so triggering! Honestly, I'm getting Christmas episode vibes all over again, and that's the point.
Right then, Francie Fak, played by Brie Larson, arrives and immediately gets into it with Sugar (Abby Elliott). We still don't know what all this drama is between the two of them, but we're about to find out.
Everyone is at this wedding, all of the Berzattos and their friends and family! Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis) arrives shortly after and has a very curt conversation with Michelle (Sarah Paulson). Frank asks Stevie (John Mulaney) and Claire (Molly Gordon) what the deal is with this family, and they soft launch him on how bad this is going to go. It's not the full truth, nothing but the truth, but it is a small appetizer for something wild that's about to happen very soon.
Shortly after this conversation, it all boils over between Sugar and Francie! I have honestly no idea what their argument is about, and I couldn't follow what anyone was saying, and that's kind of the point.
Carmy is really struggling to hang in there with all the people and the anxiety. He's about to have a panic attack when Donna shows up and gives him a hug. Carmy is clearly struggling, but Richie and Sydney send him into the kitchen to help out with something.
Then, Sydney and Donna get some quality time together after Frank steals Richie away to help with a situation with their daughter. Apparently, there is a dance with her and Frank that's supposed to happen, but Frank is nervous, and the vibe is off. Richie tries to give him some advice.
Lee saw Carmy at Mikey's funeral
In the kitchen, Carmy runs into Lee (Bob Odenkirk) for the first time since that massive fight on Christmas before Mikey died. Lee actually saw Carmy at Mikey's funeral, but he didn't tell anyone about it. That leads to a bigger conversation about why Carmy felt that he didn't deserve to be there. Lee reveals that he and Mikey became friends after Carmy left for New York and his chef pursuits. He also tells Carmy that Donna is doing better and trying to move through the pain instead of keeping it bottled up and exploding like she did on Christmas when she crashed the car into the house. Lee claims that Carmy and Donna aren't so different after all.
In an effort to prove that he was close to Mikey, Lee starts sharing things that Mikey told him about Carmy, including all the things that he made, the restaurants he worked at, and how proud he was of what Carmy was doing.
In Syd's chat with Donna, she reveals that she even went to New York City to taste Carmy's food before they even knew each other. They chat about Carmy and work family vs. family family. It's an interesting conversation, and then Donna leaves, and it's all over.
Richie, Frank, Claire, Carmy, and everyone help Evie deal with her fear of dancing
Richie gives Frank a pep talk about being a stepdad, but Evie still won't come out from under the table. Claire goes under the table to help out. When she returns, she asks Frank and Richie to get under the table.
Syd and Carmy catch up later about Donna, and Carmy says that he's trying to open up part of his life to make space for a relationship with his mother. Carmy gets distracted by Richie under the table, then Sugar and Francie join, too. And, somehow, this is the biggest table ever because like a dozen full-size adults are sitting under the table with Evie. More people keep coming, and they start sharing all of the things they are afraid of.
It's a beautiful moment as everyone gets a little bit vulnerable and shares something they probably would never talk about together if not for little Evie struggling with her fear of dancing in front of a crowd.
As we get toward the end of the episode, Richie tells Cicero that he's feeling really grateful, even during his ex-wife's wedding. Sugar and Francie decide to bury the hatchet and try to be friends again. Cicero (Oliver Platt) shares a dance with Tiffany, and she tells him that she feels closer to the Berzattos than she does her own family.
Carmy opens up to Claire
The most impactful moment of the whole episode is Carmy opening up to Claire. He tells her that he's trying to tell people things and let them in. He tells her that he put his hand on a burner after Sugar told him about Mikey's death. Then, they dance together! Then, everyone is dancing and having a good time.
For me, this is the most important episode of the season, possibly the series, in terms of the development of these characters. We're seeing real change in a number of the main characters at the same time. Sydney, Richie, and most importantly, Carmy are moving forward in a positive direction.
It also shows how far these characters have come. Seeing everyone together again for the first time in, I think, two seasons was the perfect recipe for a major Berzatto blow-up, but it actually turned out to be a beautiful wedding for Tiffany.
Ultimately, I don't know if we've totally turned the corner on the chaos of The Bear, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.
Oh, and it seems like Sydney is staying at The Bear? We'll have to see how it actually shakes out, but there's no way she is leaving now.
More to come in The Bear season 4 episode 8!