The episode of The Bear Season 4, Episode 6 begins with Syd at the hospital, visiting her father who has suffered a heart attack. Kudos to the writers for continuing the storyline rather than jumping into a flashback of young Faks with a confusing bouncy castle incident. 

Returning to the kitchen, tensions are high due to the upcoming wedding of Richie’s ex-wife, Tiff, and her fiancé, Frank. Richie is anxious about Frank, played by Josh Hartnett, because he fears Frank will replace him as a father to his daughter due to his wealth and amiable nature. Meanwhile, Sugar is upset with Neil Fak, portrayed by Matty Matheson, for inviting his sister Francie to the wedding, reviving past grievances that Sugar can’t forgive. On top of that, Carmy is indecisive about attending the wedding because Claire Bear will be there, and their unresolved feelings make him prone to anxiety, often resulting in him retreating to the walk-in fridge. So yes, everything is as chaotic as ever. 

Comedy!

Syd is visibly upset during all this, and she encounters Claire Bear, who happens to be working her shift. Claire offers Syd comfort and friendship, though she unfortunately doesn’t have a tissue on hand—something crucial given Ayo Edebiri’s impressive display of tears in the scene. (Congratulations on your likely Emmy, Ayo!) 

Meanwhile, still lost in the woods of secondary character plotlessness, Tina and Sweeps go over some of the restaurant’s service deficiencies. Sweeps subtly implies that his wine service would be better if Tina could get her cavatelli out faster, a problem she’s had all season. She finally gets some alone time with Luca, who explains to her that the pressure that’s overwhelming to her right now about the cavatelli will someday become such a drug that you won’t be able to live without it, which means that there will be another emotionally abusive maniac addict in that kitchen. (This whole plotline feels like a demotion for actor Liza Colon-Zayas. Remember last season’s lone high-point episode, “Napkins,” focused solely on her origin story and gave her something to do besides stir sauce and fret about money. And now, this year, she has to stir sauce faster. Congrats in advance on your second Emmy award nomination, Liza!)

What else: Richie and Jessica (TK) are clearly about to fall in love, which should work out great. Anyone who has ever worked at a restaurant knows how genius it is to start hooking up with a co-worker. It’s the perfect environment to cultivate gentle communication skills. 

Meanwhile, Carmy is out in the back of the restaurant, doing a check-in call on Syd. After he hangs up, he takes a call from Shapiro. The contents of that call, although not shown, are most likely this: 

SHAPIRO: “What’s up with Syd? Why is she flaking? This is a tremendous opportunity! We have secret compartments in this restaurant for chefs to store secret ingredients or forbidden knives. But this is also a very safe space for everyone!” 

CARMY: “Heard.” 

But Syd is not in an emotional space to think about any dream jobs or nightmare jobs right now. She sits at her father’s bedside as he recuperates from the heart attack. She insists she should move back into his house to take care of him, but he forbids it. 

We move on from the dram portion of this episode and downshift right into the amedy. So that means I take a deep breath, pray for an instant and painless death, and endure the Faks. In this scene, the two main morons sniff around baby Sophie like a couple of sweaty moron hyenas.

There we go. (Congratulations in advance on your Golden Globe nominations for actors in a best supporting role, Matty Matheson and Ricky Staffieri!)

Meanwhile, Sugar finally rescues her baby and plops it into Carmy’s arms. I know Carmy is supposed to be selfish and clueless around a baby, but Jeremy Allen White has two young daughters and can’t pretend he doesn’t know how to do a gentle daddy bounce. 

That lack of commitment to the role will cost you an Emmy nomination this year, Jeremy. You had a good run. 

THE BEAR SEASON 3 EPISODE 6: LEFTOVERS

QUESTIONS I STILL HAVE: Why does everyone feel obligated to attend the wedding of an ex-cousin-in-law? And also, Tiff and Frank – why would you invite a dozen of the most disruptive, unstable people who clearly should never be near an open bar to your blessed event? 

MIDDLE-AGED DAD NEEDLE DROP: “I’m Always in Love” by Wilco. This is a track off the Summerteeth album, but this version sounds like it could be one of those solo Jeff Tweedy B-side versions licensed exclusively for The Bear. 

CARMY ARM PORN: THE CELLY!

THE BEAR – SEASON 4: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Can’t get enough of The Bear Season 4? For more insight, analysis, GIFs, and close-ups of Carmy’s arms, check out some highlights of Decider’s coverage:

A.J. Daulerio is a Los Angeles-based writer and editor. He is also the founder of The Small Bow, a recovery newsletter.