"Every second counts." That was the mantra from Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Natalie (Abby Elliott) in The Bear season 2, both in the world of the show and for us viewers. The 10-episode season was as stuffed as a Beef's sandwich. However, with all that happened, you may have had some questions when you got to The Bear season 2 ending.
After moving back to Chicago following the death of his brother Mikey (Jon Beranthal) and taking over his restaurant in The Bear season 1, Carmy and the staff of The Beef decide to completely remake the failing restaurant. Though in order to pay off their debt to Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt), they need to open ASAP so they can start turning a profit.
That means remodeling, getting the proper permits, more training for Marcus (Lionel Boyce), Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) and getting Richie fully on board with the plan. And they have to do all that so they can open in three months. Then on top of it all, we get a bottle episode of a disastrous Christmas dinner for the Berzatto family a few years ago when Mikey was still alive.
Needless to say, it was a whirlwind of a season. We're here to help it make some more sense. SPOILERS ahead as we break down what happened in The Bear season 2. Here's how to watch The Bear season 2 if you still need to catch up.
Do they open the restaurant in The Bear season 2?
The first eight episodes of season 2 see Carmy and company tear down and then rebuild the restaurant so it's up to code, is a fully modern kitchen, has a fine dining experience out front and a menu that will (at least Sydney hopes) earn them a Michelin star. That's a tall order.
Lo and behold though, they manage to pull it off. They are preparing for their first night of service at The Bear, a friends and family night before the official opening of the restaurant, in the season finale.
The night is extremely hectic, ratcheting up the pace like in season 1 when they were all just getting a feel for each other at The Beef. But you can see how all of them have grown. Richie fully commits to helping create a memorable experience for the guests and he and Sydney now work together brilliantly. Tina helps manage the kitchen and the new chefs. The deserts Marcus has creats are incredible. Natalie is a vital part of the running of the restaurant, showing a real knack for it. And the rest of the staff, Neil (Matty Matheson), Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson) and Gary (Corey Hendrix) all find where they fit in helping to make The Bear go.
Working together they overcome all the problems they encounter and earn rave reviews from everyone, including Sydney's dad (Robert Townsend), who realizes that this is the thing that Sydney was meant to do.
What happens to Carmy in The Bear season 2?
But what about Carmy's growth? Where was he while all of the above was happening?
Carmy's journey throughout the season was whether or not he can have a life outside the restaurant. Early in the season he reunites with Claire (Molly Gordon), an old friend. When she asks for his number he purposefully gives her a fake one, not believing he has time for a girlfriend. However, Claire gets his real number and the two begin to spend time together.
Though it takes time for Carmy to call Claire his girlfriend, she brings out a happiness in him we haven't really seen in the show before. She also inspires him with some of his menu choices for the restaurant. Richie and others who have known Carmy the longest think it's a good thing he is dating Claire.
Sydney, meanwhile, is somewhat offput by the situation. Not because she is jealous (she and Marcus continue their flirtation), but because Carmy doesn't seem as reliable now. Uncle Jimmy reinforces that, warning him just before the first night that if he loses focus in this business it is all but certain the restaurant will fail.
On the night of the friends and family dinner, Carmy is working alongside everyone else when he gets himself stuck in the walk-in that has been broken all season because he keeps forgetting to call the guy to fix it. While the team rallies to get through the night, Carmy is irate, yelling from the walk-in.
At one point, thinking he is talking to Tina, he says it was stupid to think he could have a girlfriend. He doesn't need to be happy, all he needs is the work and letting his restaurant make other people happy. Unfortunately, it's not Tina but Claire on the other side of the door. Teary eyed, she says goodbye to Carmy and leaves.
As the season ends, Carmy listens to a voicemail from Claire he received earlier in the day saying how proud she is of him and that she loves him. Carmy certainly looks like he knows he messed up, but he still deletes the message, seemingly signifying that he is going to follow through and fully commit himself to the restaurant, even at the expense of his own happiness.
What's with the chocolate banana in The Bear season 2?
Perhaps the biggest head scratcher in The Bear season 2 finale was the chocolate banana Richie gives to Jimmy. What was the deal with that?
It's understandable if you missed it because the reference to the chocolate banana came in The Bear season 2 episode 6, "Fishes," otherwise known as the horrid family Christmas dinner. At one point in the episode, Jimmy is talking to Richie's then-wife Tiff (Gillian Jacobs) about how his dad would take him to a chocolate banana stand when he was a kid, something he remembers to this day.
It's fair to say Richie and Jimmy's relationship has been filled with issues and animosity on both sides. However, after Richie's time working at the other restaurant, he has a new appreciation for service and is taking it all very seriously. In order to prove this to Jimmy, Richie arranges a special dessert for him — the chocolate banana.
The look on Jimmy's face says a lot. Not only as a peace offering from Richie but the appreciation and thoughtfulness to remember something that meant so much to Jimmy. That proves to Jimmy that Richie is no longer the screw up that he once was.
All episodes of The Bear season 2 are now available to stream on Hulu in the US. It arrives in the UK on July 19 on Disney Plus.
