I’m Obsessed With Silly Carmy In The Bear Season 5

Next to its shipping discourse and wellspring of kitchen crash-out memes, one of the most enduring pieces of The Bear’s pop-culture legacy may be the question: Was it actually ever a comedy?

Though its first few seasons took home a record-setting slew of Emmys in the comedy category, critics weren’t feeling so ha-ha as the show went on. (Indeed, it could be a heavy watch!) And last year, the series went completely Emmy-less, which some theorized was partly due to skepticism about The Bear being funny enough for the comedy label.

But whatever its awards future may be, The Bear went out on a pretty hilarious note, filling Season 5 with delightfully self-aware humor that parallels Carmy’s shift in perspective as he plans to leave the restaurant.

That isn’t to say things are all fun and chill. (Carmy dropping that 11th-hour dish and feeling like he let everyone down? Heartbreaking.) But even as everything in the restaurant goes wrong, the show strikes a delicious balance of heart and humor — like when Donna admires a photo of her son and Sydney and asks her son-in-law, Pete, “Are they dating?”

In a playful nod to the #sydcarmy community, Pete replies, “I don’t think so, but... there’s some theories.”

Elsewhere, moments of conflict are punctuated with pitch-perfect diversions, like when Luca is shouting at Marcus loud enough for diners to hear, and says he originally left Copenhagen so he “didn’t become Carmy.” The chef in question looks incredulous: “I was trying to f*cking help you!” Carmy’s not laughing, of course, but the way his exasperation plays out like a stray kitchen casualty is genuinely fun to watch.

After the dust settles the next day, Carmy is almost jovial. As he later describes during his architecture internship interview, the chaotic shift brought newfound clarity. After having a heart-to-heart with Richie in the restaurant fridge, Carmy acts like the door out is stuck: an earned callback to when Carmy got trapped there in Season 2 and had an explosive fight with Richie. (A rare Carmy laugh? We won!)

Later, he can’t help but play with Sydney when sharing a major development with her. He shakes his head after she asks if they got a Michelin star, before admitting, “You got two.” Apparently, he’s just full of fake-outs today.

The subtle tonal shift feels earned in a meaningful way. In Season 5, Carmy is feeling genuine hope about a new path. And while it might be a surprising one — architecture? Sure, why not! — that optimism has a tangible effect on the aftertaste of The Bear.