This is a recap of The Bear season two, episode five, “Popâ€; it contains spoilers.
You know an episode of The Bear is going to be good when it features not one but two songs by the Replacements, plus a little background debate about why the Minneapolis rockers are so severely underrated. Opening with the ’Mats’ “Bastards of Young,†“Pop†finds everyone floundering just a bit. Sydney seems to have lost her palate and her inner clock. Ebra hasn’t been to culinary school in an indeterminate amount of time, choosing instead to just smoke stogies on a bench by the lake. And while Tina’s absolutely dominating culinary school (with Carmy’s knife to boot), she still feels pretty out of place when her much younger classmates invite her to do some karaoke at Alice’s Lounge. (She absolutely slays Freddy Fender’s “Before the Next Teardrop Falls,†though.)
Even the actual restaurant seems a bit out of sorts, with each contractor seemingly waiting on someone else to finish up first and permits not coming in as expected. Things are so fucked Uncle Jimmy pops by for a check-in, kindly reminding the group that there’s no point in just randomly “pissing money.†As he puts it, “I like to control the pissing to the best of my ability.†He’s $550,000 in the hole at this point and is wondering if it’s even worth finishing the restaurant, but a little sweet talk from Sugar (which the group rightly calls out as being gratuitous and gross) gets him to open up a bit and help the group at least get their certificate of occupancy. Cicero is a connected guy with a large, mysterious income, and that’s how you can be sure he knows how to get things done in Chicago. Frankly, he probably should have been more hands-on the whole time. Dude has to know a few contractors who work cheap and owe him favors.
Carmy tells Sugar that he’ll mail the beer-and-liquor permit application into the city, which he turns into a nice driving date to a mailbox in Winnetka with newfound paramour Claire. She drives a very swank BMW wagon horribly, which she says is because she “enjoys the risk of it.†Claire and Carmy exchange quips about their jobs on the way to the mailbox and then have a chat afterwards about shoplifting, Carmy’s shy-boy past, and the joy of a well-made pair of worsted wool pants. (Carmy really likes pants, huh? Maybe that’s what’s “fun†for him at this point.) The pair also end up talking about Mikey, who Claire says “was so great.†After she apologizes for being afraid to bring it up, lest she bum him out, he tells her that he actually likes talking about his late brother, which I think shows that he’s made a little bit of progress in whatever grief group he’s in.
And “speaking of dead brothers,†Claire asks, does Carmy want to go to a party? Turns out he’s never actually been to one, so he says yes and they blast off to whatever suburban rager contains a bunch of kids from their high school and one sobbing girl named Kelly played by Mitra Jouhari. There’s a fucked-up kid named Kyle who does too much Ambien and breaks into T-Mobile stores, a group of kids who think Carmy is some guy named “Logan,†and glass-bottle Coke. It seems like a nice party, all in all — at least until the cops bust it up after stupid Kyle blows off too many stupid fireworks.
Before that happens, though, Claire corners Carmy for some sexy chatting about drunk people, France, and why he gave her a fake number. He says it’s because he likes her so much and feels like he missed a lot, subsequently inviting her to come with him to see the restaurant. They’re on one of those hours-long, multiple-location dates, and when you’re deep into one of those you sort of know it’s “on,†as it were, and we’re kind of living vicariously through them at this point, which feels good and sexy. Beyond that, I like that they both seem to have found someone that they honestly care about, that knows their shit, and that works for them. It feels like it has staying power — and the power to cause a lot of pain — and I’m pleased this is where The Bear is taking Carmy’s love life.
When Carmy and Claire get to the restaurant, Sydney, Natalie, and Richie are in a huge blowout because Richie — always a fan of cutting corners — attempted to steal power from their neighbors to help solve the building’s amperage issues. Remember his speech from the first episode about getting left behind? It feels like he’s been flailing a bit trying to find his purpose, but this certainly isn’t going to help him maintain his spot at the restaurant. They’re trying to go legit, and duct-taped wires and extension cords plugged into extension cords isn’t quite the vibe they’re aiming for. You’ve got to hope he figures it out because seeing Richie kicked to the curb, no matter how gently they did it, would just be heartbreaking.
Luckily for Claire, she actually knows both Richie and Natalie going into the fight, so she’s at least a little prepared for what’s going on. Sydney stumbles a little as they’re introduced, but she’s probably more concerned about Carmy staying focused than she is about Claire herself. After all, as she told Natalie earlier in the ep, the menu is currently “fucked,†and they’ve got to get it locked in for launch, lest all their hard work be for naught.
After Carmy gets (almost) everyone to leave, he goes in for a kiss, only to have Fak interrupt. He’s thrilled Claire and Carmy are in there together, whispering to his “cousin†that, “I did that,†because as he explains, “she is the best and so are you.†Fak is actually a very kind man, and I’m glad to see Matty Matheson getting a little more on-screen time this season. After he takes his leave, Carmy and Claire finally kiss as the Replacements’ “Can’t Hardly Wait†(Fak’s favorite song!) swells. It’s a perfectly romantic moment, and one The Bear plays off with sweetness and maybe just a touch of “kissing in an empty shell of a restaurant†sexiness. Yes, Chef, indeed.
Small Bites
• It’s fun that Tina used to call Carmy “Jeff†instead of “Chef†to tease him, but now she calls him “Jeffrey,†which I read as a sign of respect.
• It’s very cute that Richie is trying to land Taylor Swift tickets. He’s a good dad.
• When is this Coach K thing going to pay off? And am I going to have to read a motivational basketball book to even really get it?
• Also, do we really think Carmy would have any fucking idea who Coach K is or what his stats are? Please.
• Twice this episode Richie says “I’m not like this because I’m in Van Halen. I’m in Van Halen because I’m like this,†which is just the perfect way to describe him, assuming you can figure out who Van Halen is supposed to be in this situation.
• This is the second time The Bear has used REM’s “Strange Currencies†this season, and I have no complaints. Great song.
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