Omelette – As the ninth episode of The Bear begins, Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri) gets ready and says good morning to her father Emmanuel (Robert Townsend). He confirms he is coming tonight while Sydney says she is excited. Emmanuel knows she puts a lot of pressure on herself so he wants her to know he loves her very much. If she needs to live with him forever, he is okay with that. When he asks why she is putting so much pressure on this one, Sydney admits she isn’t sure she can do another one. She says goodbye and leaves seconds later.

Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) freaks out outside while thinking about Claire and the events that Christmas. Sydney finds out that Verdana will be closing permanently on May 1. Carmen tells Natalie ‘Sugar’ Berzatto (Abby Elliott) that he has some fun stuff he wants to talk to her about. He starts by asking whether there should be tipping. Carmen notices a painting on the wall that he doesn’t like. Natalie reminds him she sent a text and told him not to respond if it was okay to hang it. Then, she says the sandwich window can’t open because it isn’t ServSafe certified. Ebra didn’t renew his ServSafe certifications. They believe Jimmy can help them get it done quickly.

Natalie thinks it is a bummer that Stevie and Michelle can’t come tonight. She reveals that she invited their mom, but she doesn’t want him to freak out when he sees her. Carmen quickly changes the subject before saying he is fine with their mom coming. Natalie agrees to get rid of the painting. Later, Carmen tells Sydney that they don’t have a full wait staff right now. They look through the menu again. After admitting he hasn’t gotten in touch with Tony, Carmen points out the stains on her jacket. He has something for her later. When Carmen asks who Tony is, Sydney says the fridge guy. Sydney complains that she feels like she is putting so much into this. Carmen apologizes.

She needs his focus like he needs hers. Natalie interrupts to ask if Carmen has heard from Tom who is the fridge guy. Carmen promises to take care of it. He asks Sydney what her relationship with her mom is like. Carmen knows what it is like for him and he calls it a disaster. It isn’t good though because she expects some kind of miracle or something. Sydney reveals that her mother is dead. She doesn’t want him to do that thing where he says he is sorry for her loss. Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) tells Natalie she can go lie down, but she worries she won’t get up again. He shows her the month. Natalie argues it is good for a couple of weeks, but it is barely good. They need great. Natalie thinks the menu prices should go up five percent or more.

Richie says they’re full next week, but not so much the following week. Natalie worries that they’ll die if they slow down. When the others begin cooking, it doesn’t take long for Carmen to start cursing. Marcus shows Carmen his desserts, including Mom’s Honeybun, Copenhagen Sundae, and Sydney’s Donut. Marcus receives a package from Denmark. He shows them the last dessert called The Michael and explains it has a little of each of them. Moments later, Uncle Jimmy tells Carmen that Ebraheim will need to do an eight-hour online test tonight. The health inspectors aren’t coming today. Jimmy gives Carmen the business certificate. He tells Carmen that the odds are against him.

Jimmy asks if he can share a story of complete and utter failure with him. He tells Carmen a story about the Cubs making many unforced errors and losing to the Marlins. Jimmy tells him about the Steve Bartman incident and how it overshadowed Alex Gonzalez’s screw-up. Jimmy says Bartman took the blame for an entire squad who literally took their eye off the ball. Jimmy argues that he doesn’t want to be Gonzalez. He doesn’t have the luxury of hiding behind someone like Steve Bartman so it’ll all be on Carmen. Jimmy doesn’t want to take this place from him and knock it down but he will. Carmen tells him that he has been dating someone. Sydney tells Natalie to eat something since she hasn’t eaten in a while.

She offers to make her an omelet. Natalie eats it after Sydney makes it. Ebraheim tries to complete the online test. As Carmen attempts to call the fridge guy, he receives a call from Claire (Molly Gordon). He is interrupted by Marcus who asks him to try a dish. Carmen gets busy and ignores Claire’s call. When Sydney tells Marcus his work is amazing, he credits her for pushing him. Marcus asks if she’d like to go out and eat, but Sydney doubts there will be time since they have to teach the new servers. The conversation ends awkwardly. Richie and the others speak to the new servers. Richie thinks they’re in the fortunate position to be able to blow some minds tonight.

They explain that they need to read peoples’ minds. Richie gives them the advice to listen better. Carmen tells them the dress rehearsal is tonight. He urges them not to get crazy or overwhelmed. He wants them to remind the guests that there are no checks tonight. Sydney goes over the menu. After the meeting, Neil tells Richie that he is excited and scared. Carmy interrupts to ask for a screwdriver. Neil says he is working at the front now so he doesn’t know where screwdrivers are. Once Neil gives him a screwdriver, he asks if Claire is coming tonight. Carmen says yes before everyone talks about how much they like Claire. Carmen gets Sydney’s help fixing one of the tables because it is uneven.

Carmen admits Sydney deserves his full focus, but he insists it isn’t Claire’s fault. He says Claire is so great that it scares the crap out of him. Sydney thinks she was scared and it just came out wrong. She goes on to say she was scared that she doesn’t have what it takes not to screw this up. Sydney thinks he could do this without her, but Carmen says he couldn’t. He wouldn’t even want to do it without her. They talk about the omelet she just made for Natalie. They discuss the possibility of no one coming or the food being trash. Carmen shows her something that a friend helped hook them up with. He reminds Sydney that she isn’t alone. She tells him the same.

Sydney opens the box and finds a new jacket. Then, Carmen yells to the chefs that they’re preparing for opening. Tina apologizes to Carmen for not giving his knife back, but he says he never asked for it back. Carmen tells Sydney that it is her ship now.

 

The Bear Review

This was a slower episode of The Bear as Carmen and the crew put the final touches on the restaurant before friends and family night. It also set up certain storylines for the final episode, such as Carmen not getting the fridge fixed and the mother coming. At the very least, the restaurant is finally about to reopen and the action can pick up a bit.

The whole kitchen renovation angle has been a bit of a mess considering the fire suppression test was the only aspect we’ve seen. The next minute, the restaurant is upgraded and ready to begin serving customers. Plus, there was never any risk that the last fire suppression test would fail because the restaurant had to reopen for the sake of the story and the show in general.

Richie’s turnaround has been good though. The episode scores a six out of 10. Recaps of The Bear are available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising on Reel Mockery here.