‘The Bear’ Season 2’s Best Character Isn’t Who You Think

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The Bear Season 2. The kitchen staff of The Bear restaurant is full of colorful characters. Each of them brings a little something different to the terrific chemistry that makes the show so good. The tumultuous and often frenzied Season 2 sees Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) get out from under his older brother Michael’s (Jon Bernthal) shadow and troublesome past by shutting down the family restaurant The Original Beef. In its place, Carmy is undergoing the Herculean task of opening a new, revamped, and upscale space called The Bear in Southside Chicago. For a group of characters that have devoted a good part of their adult lives to The Original Beef, this comes as not only a shock but something that each of them will have to adjust to and find a new role. All the characters have great moments in Season 2, but the one that stands out to us is the inspiring and relatable character of Sydney (Ayo Edibiri). After quitting over all the drama and clashing personalities during Season 1, she is coaxed back by Carmy to be his sous chef for the new endeavor.

Sydney is the Keystone to the Success of The Bear

For all the drama surrounding the massively dysfunctional Berzatto family highlighted in Episode 6 entitled, “Fishes”. There is one person who stands alone, free from all of that bad history. Sydney is a bright young woman who is really the one who holds everything together at The Bear when everyone around her is falling apart. Let Richie go to stage to get his act together. Carmy can’t balance a new relationship with what appears to be the perfect woman and his childhood crush Claire (Molly Gordon)? That’s his problem. Marcus’ (Lionel Boyce) feelings are changing for her as time passes. Again, it’s not her issue. The first frame of the finale encapsulates what Sydney is all about. Barking out orders and tearing it up driving the call line. ” Let’s see hands! Please, and thank you!” She’s just doing her job, and if anyone has a problem with that, she has proven time and time again over the first two seasons that you can’t unload your personal baggage in her because she wants to get this thing right. Not only for herself but for all the staff as well, because let’s face it, she’s trying to keep this ship afloat and Carmy is definitely not.

RELATED: ‘The Bear’ Season 2 Ending Explained: What Happens at the Restaurant Opening?

Sydney Has an Inspiring Backstory

You can never understand the trauma that comes with losing a parent at a very young age. In Sydney’s case, she lost what is arguably the most important person in a young girl’s life when her mother tragically died. Her father, Emmanuel (Robert Townsend) does a great job of trying to fill that void, but replacing a mother is flat-out impossible. Nonetheless, he is there to shoulder as much of the load for his daughter as he can. The fact that she is living in a small, two-bedroom apartment with him and still has the drive and the fortitude to go out every day and pursue a dream is phenomenal.

Even if she’s not entirely sure if it’s the right dream, Sydney is determined to find out for herself. Her calling is food service and hospitality in general, but Emmanuel, in a loving and protective way, pressures her, wanting to make sure that she is on the right track to having a successful professional and personal life. It’s more or less what you would expect from a single father whose daughter means the world to him. Their relationship is one of the healthier family relationships on the show.

All the Emotions of Sydney Wrapped Into One Character

All season long, Sydney has put on a brave face. In confrontations with the brilliantly played but sometimes insufferable Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), she always keeps her cool even as Richie looks like seven different veins in his head and neck are about to explode. To be clear, it’s not that Sydney is without fault and her stubbornness is often the cause of conflict, but when push comes to shove, she knows when to back off of a heated situation and let each fighter retreat to their corner. Whether it’s the erratic Richie, a spiraling and neurotic Carmy, or the other screaming characters in the kitchen, she never backs down.

She will not be shouted down like the timid wallflower her peers want her to be. It’s not always for the better, but in the end, a simple ASL (American Sign Language) “sorry” with Carmy and a rational discussion with Marcus or Tina (Liza Colon-Zayas) gets everything back on track. She’s quick to accept an apology and also willing to claim her mistakes and make amends. When it comes down to it, she is the baseline for the kitchen and her steady demeanor is the rudder on what is all too often a leaky boat in rough waters. She treats everyone the exact same way and demands a level of respect in return.

A Great Close to Sydney’s Arc in Season 2 of ‘The Bear’

When things start to go off the rails in Season 2 and especially in the finale, Sydney is not immune to an anxiety attack. But she quickly gathers herself and restores the order. After Carmy gets locked in the walk-in fridge, the shit really hits the fan and a close-up of Sydney shows her getting weak in the knees before pulling things together and officially burying the hatchet with Richie when she gives him control of the intake call order. She simply says, “Richie…drive.” It’s at this moment that Sydney’s arc has reached a flashpoint, She is no longer the sous chef trying to hold her own, but acting as the head chef and taking ownership of the kitchen.

It’s a wonderful paradigm shift where she establishes herself as not only a capable but laser-focused head chef who can delegate authority while also covering the head chef’s station on the line. It’s fun to watch. And by the end of a frantic shift, she releases all the emotion and fear she has been holding onto for the first two seasons. When Emmanuel comes out behind the restaurant to greet her, she is still getting sick but is also cleansed by the reality that she saw it through to the end. When the last scene reveals her dad acknowledging that she has found “the thing” and is on the right course with her life at The Bear, she is overwhelmed with contentment and pure joy in what showrunners saw fit to be the final image of Season 2.