*Spoilers Ahead*
On an unexpected note, FX delighted fans on Tuesday by dropping a surprise episode of the acclaimed series “The Bear.” This episode, titled “Gary,” adds another layer to the Emmy-winning show’s narrative.
The episode features the talents of Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Jon Bernthal, who not only co-wrote it but also star as their characters, Richie and Mikey. The storyline takes viewers back in time, offering a flashback set just before the events of the first season.
In this latest installment, Richie and Mikey venture out on a work trip to Gary, Indiana, which is approximately a 40-minute drive from their familiar Chicago setting. As part of their journey, they find themselves in a bar, engaging in a game of “fact or fiction” to pass the time.
In an interview with On The Red Carpet, Moss-Bachrach and Bernthal discussed the nuances of the episode. The conversation also included a playful twist of their own game.
“This episode poses the intriguing question, ‘fact or fiction?’ Should we also interpret this special episode with that perspective in mind?” we inquired.
Bernthal responded, “Everything with Mikey is always through the lens of memory, you know. Good or bad. And it’s a part of the show that I think, you know, like so much of it that’s so beautiful, so nuanced and rich.”
Mikey’s death is the catalyst for the series, and the character is only perceived through flashbacks from friends like Richie or family members like his brother Carmy (Jeremy Allen White).
“This is a private experience,” he said. “The only one who actually knows what happened in the story of ‘The Bear,’ what happened on this day is Richie. It’s like, you know, to load in, you know, the regret and the remorse and like wishing maybe things had gone a little bit different and this understanding that he saw an image of this person that was so dear to him before he lost him that was so ugly, and so unhealthy, and so hurt, and so hurtful. You know, we really wanted to do that.”
When it comes to the more fantastical elements of the episode, like the bar that seems to pop out of nowhere, he explained that the moments that make you question things, like “Is Sherri from Gary actually a real person?” are “really part of it.”
Of course, the most shocking moment of the episode comes once we’ve flipped back to a present-day version of Richie in his car, who seems to be reminiscing about the day in Gary, when suddenly, he is hit by a car.
We asked Moss-Bachrach about what this means for Season 5 of “The Bear,” and this is what he shared.
“What I can say about that is, because you touched on it, and you said, ‘Is this fact or fiction,’ this is a memory, you know. And I’m glad that this episode ends with Richie, contemporary Richie, thinking back on it. And, you know, memories are not completely truthful, as we know.”
He reflects on another episode where Richie talks about this memory to Mikey’s sister, Sugar (Abby Elliott).
“And in Season 3, I think, or maybe Season 4, there’s a scene with Richie and Sugar at a banquet, and she’s thinking about something. She’s like, ‘What are you thinking about?’ He’s like, ‘I was just thinking about one of these last days I saw with your brother. We took a trip to Gary, Indiana, or something.’ And she goes, ‘How was it?’ And he thinks, and he was like, it was a great day.’”
“And I find that that’s so poignant that that’s how he remembers that day. Or that’s how what he chooses to share with her. And that’s what I’m sharing with you,” Moss-Bachrach ends with.
Read into that as you will.
“Gary” is streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
The fifth and final season of “The Bear” premieres June 25 on FX and Hulu.
The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of FX, Disney+, Hulu and this ABC station.
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