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The thing about The Bear is that it doesn't let its viewers get out of having the hard conversations. It forces them to sit in the awkwardness of it, and it does so by more than just the dialogues, the characters, or the story.
Throughout the fourth season, the episode titles have been one-word phrases that refer to certain special bits about the episode, or in a way, tie it together. So, here's a look at all the episode titles for The Bear Season 4 and what they might mean in regard to the story.
Disclaimer: This article may contain the writer's opinion. Readers' discretion is advised.
Symbolism behind The Bear Season 4 Episode titles
Season 4 of The Bear has 10 episodes, all of which are available to stream on Hulu, and all the episodes also have one-word titles referring to something unique about the episode.
Episode 1 - "Groundhogs"
At first glance, this title for Episode 1 might appear straightforward, since Carmy is seen watching Groundhog Day in his apartment before he leaves for the restaurant. However, if we consider the deeper meaning behind the episode, we realize there's a certain feeling about the movie that the episode is thematically referring to.
In the 1993 movie, Bill Murray is a self-centered, narcissistic weatherman who finds himself in a time loop on Groundhog Day, reliving the same day again and again. This detail about the specific movie is foreshadowing Carmy's feelings as he feels like he's burning himself out, reliving the same days over and over again, without taking a moment to sit with his life and his feelings. As Carmy himself confesses later in the show:
"This is all I've ever done. This is all I've ever known. I think I did this so I didn't have to do other things."
Episode 2 - "Soubise"
Episode 2 of The Bear Season 4 is titled after a French sauce, which is made by cooking onions and thickening them with simple and readily available ingredients such as milk, flour, and butter. The title is symbolic in the sense that the restaurant is forced to come up with creative ways to maintain its changing menu with the minimal funds that they are receiving. This sauce made out of onions was one of the solutions that the chefs came up with in order to deal with the limited resources.
The title symbolically refers to the challenges that the team is facing in order to keep the doors of the restaurant open. The title focuses on the creative solutions that the team comes up with, because if there's one thing we know, it's that The Bear keep on trying until there's nothing left to try, and even then they come up with Soubise.
Episode 3 - "Scallop"
The third episode of this season is symbolic of the one thing that keeps The Bear going. A passion for cooking and a creativity that grows despite the challenges it faces. Even though the restaurant is on limited supplies, and the team is constantly burdened by the presence of the ticking clock, Sydney comes up with a brilliant scallop dish just around the time a food critic, unbeknownst to them, is making multiple visits to the restaurant.
Watching Sydney make the dish also helps Carmy realize that he is missing the pure, unbridled joy that he felt with cooking and innovation. This realization is foreshadowing the major decision that Carmy takes in regards to the restaurant agreement.
Episode 4 - "Worms"
In classic The Bear style, this episode mainly revolves around Sydney, who is burdened with the decision of choosing to continue working with Carmy and the entire gang or accept Adam's offer of building a restaurant from the ground up with him. She mainly spends the day at her cousin's place with her niece.
The title of this episode on a first glance, refers to Sydney's childhood obsession with gummy worms, even though they made her teeth hurt. However, by the end of the episode, she's seen munching on the candy again, even though they still make her teeth hurt, she keeps going in for more. This action might be foreshadowing Sydney's eventual decision to continue working at The Bear, even though working with Carmy has been the wildest ride of her life, with his mood swings and his chaotic decisions.
Episode 5: "Replicants"
In another reference to pop culture films, the title of the fifth episode refers to bioengineered humanoids, who are physically indistinguishable from humans, but have greater strength, intellect. To sum it up, they're 'better humans'.
This episode follows the team at The Bear as they're on a journey to better themselves, and Sydney, who is forced to stop and look around, as her father has a heart attack. The episode does a lot of jumping around, and Carmy also decides to stop the ever-changing menu and instead commit to a fixed one. All of the team at The Bear is turning into better humans, so to speak.
Episode 6: "Sophie"
The sixth episode is titled after Natalie's daughter, as she spends the majority of this episode in the restaurant. The baby is representative of the fresh new start, and considering it is the first time Carmy meets the baby and holds her, a new start might be in store for him as well.
Episode 7: "Bears"
This episode brought a lot of the bears (the Berzattos, the Faks, all the uncles, and Tiff) back in the same room for Frank and Tiff's wedding. The last time this family was gathered together was in the Season 2 episode "Fishes", which was an explosive reunion to say the least. The episode is a beautiful montage of all the love these people have for each other.
Episode 8: "Green"
The title of this episode refers to the color of the sweater that Claire tells Carmy she left in his mom's house. Carmy and Claire have a deep conversation as he sits in the van, outside his childhood home, wondering whether he wants to go in or not. Carmy choosing to go inside would mean him deciding to stop hiding from everything that has happened in his past, including his relationship with his mother.
On a similar parallel, Marcus is also wondering whether he wants to see his father, making reconnecting with old relationships and bonds a recurring theme in the episode. Claire's sweater also symbolizes something that was lost and needs to be found.
Episode 9: "Tonnato"
The penultimate episode is titled after a dish that Donna, Carmy's mom, had on her trip to Italy. The episode featured Carmy finally facing up to his mother, giving her a chance to talk, and actually hearing her instead of avoiding everything from his past. Donna and Carmy have a deep conversation where Donna apologizes to him for his childhood and expresses her love, and how she wants to get to know him better.
This title to the episode is representative of Donna's attempts to mend broken relationships and put in the effort to connect with Carmy. Carmy is also beginning to open himself and gives his mother the chance to own up to her mistakes and maybe build something new between them.
Episode 10: "Goodbye"
The title of the final episode is emotionally obvious, as this is the big reveal where Sydney finds out the changes that Carmy has made to the restaurant agreement, and it is also the last shift of The Bear before their clock runs out and Uncle Jimmy stops investing money into the restaurant.
Sydney finally finds out that Carmy is deciding to leave cooking and the restaurant after he digs The Bear out of debt, marking his goodbye as well.
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