No but an ep dedicated to her day would be so interesting. Like we see a hard day at the ER. For Claire, at her job everything is so important, young female residents aren’t taken seriously in their profession, and a single mistake can cost someone their life. Maybe we could see how Carmy and his problems are an escape for her too.

This.is.it!!! They literally treat her like old family footage of the cop who's drinking his way through grief over his dead wife! Like she's not an actual person. In season 2 and 3, they spent 80% of the show talking about but she was never actually around. She feels like a shared fever dream. Completely romanticized. I just can't root for this made up relationship

@@msandrews87 personally I think the showrunners are very lazy and indecisive. They want Claire and Carmy but they are unwilling to flesh out her character (and honestly with how much people dislike her already, its either too late to redeem her character, or they'll have to put in extra effort). And on the other hand, they want a platonic relationship with Sydney, yet she and Carmy have the most chemistry and are framed in a way that makes them the most realistic for a potential romance. They need to make up their minds. Mostly so I'll know if I should totally give up on this show because I don't like Claire either, esp right now, and I don't like how they keep stringing Sydney along for more and playing games with the viewers.

@@chisomo8088 you said this perfectly!

that's a great point and i completely forgot to point that out as well! their careers are very similar in that way and i think that's something that should've been touched on as their dynamic definitely could've been affected by that

No. This is how shows get convoluted. The main characters are the focus. Side characters are there to give motive and push the story along. That’s it. That’s why the show is so tight.they focus on the main characters

It’s very possible we may get an episode that goes more in depth about Claire in season 4.

​@@iDewThis4Yu who is and isn't main is up to the writers. Someone else pointed out that they'd be best not to wait any longer at expanding Carmy's character arc (i.e., he hasn't changed that much since episode 1. Seeing how the show clearly hasn't forgotten about Clair, pulling her in more could be a prime opportunity for them to grow Carmy more. Otherwise, him screwing up with Clair has only made him more himself...but if that's the route they wanna take then that's fine too.

"we dont know her, cause carmy doesnt know her" youre so right

that's exactly what i was going for! i think we genuinely know as much about her as carmy does. granted, i don't think carmy is intentionally not trying to learn more about her, i just think he's just got too much going on honestly (which isn't an excuse, but i do think he needs more growth). thank you for the comment!

I love when people say that last line because YES! Carmy DOESN'T KNOW HER, and quick note we feel like we know Sydney because he feels like he knows Sydney.

Girl who is a friend (joking). But I agree.

That’s literally her character, Camrys girlfriend. The show is about “the bear” she’s not part of the restaurant. She doesn’t matter. That’s the point of her character. I think we might know just as much as Carmy. She’s a nothing character because that’s the narrative. She doesn’t matter to Carmy. He wants her to, but she doesn’t matter.

@@kingvampstan i agree! even if it was just one scene showing her having an interest outside of carmy, that would’ve been nice. every scene she has she’s somehow serving someone else in a way (whether it be with carmy or even with her friend kelly), we never see simply enjoy herself without having to help someone else. thank you for the comment!

@@d1g1cxlt_ i also agree with this! us knowing just as much as carmy makes a lot of sense. he wants a relationship so badly, but is simply just incapable of being there emotionally and physically (meaning just spending time with her), resulting in him knowing very little about her. thank you for the comment!

@@ananyapurkayastha2942 i 1,000% agree! her boundaries being virtually nonexistent is incredibly unhealthy and definitely gives off “i can fix him.” having this deep empathy and understanding for your partner to the point where they’re not being held accountable for anything really feeds into that. this was a really interesting perspective to hear from so thank you for commenting!

@@nia907 When people talk about how perfect and one dimensional she is, I think this is what they are missing. She had a major flaw. As you mentioned in the video, the way she has been portrayed has been the way Carmy sees her. She is an idealized version of what she actually is and that is someone that will forgive anything. He pretends not to remember her. He lies to her. He treats her terribly. This does not sway her, not because she is perfect but because she is obsessed with Carmy. I don't think this comes from nowhere. She is, to my knowledge, the only character to have a musical leitmotif. Several times in Season 2, and prominently in the marketing, we hear R.E.M's Strange Currencies playing. Every single piece of music in The Bear is intentional and extremely well chosen. This is probably the most impactful, not only because of the way it is used, but also because it is repeated. Read the lyrics of Strange Currencies, it starts, "I don't know why you're mean to me when I call on the telephone. And I don't know what you mean to me but..." and goes on to later say "I need a word, a signal, nod, a little breath, just to fool myself, to catch myself, and make it real." The song isn't from Carmy's perspective. It is from hers. For some context, each song on the album it is on is about an unhealthy all-consuming obsession with examples being money, power, sex, jealousy, being cool and, yes, even the love song. The album was called Monster and the cover art is a distorted picture of a bear. The song was absolutely the perfect choice to drive this home. Everyone has a monster, Carmy (her obsession) is hers.

@@PizzaRedemption i feel like you should be making video essays on the bear, not me! that was a great comment! and i completely agree. to be honest, i never really focused on the music before, but it makes sense since i feel like sound in general is such a prominent driving force for the show (ie. shouting, typical kitchen noises like pots, pans, knives, etc etc).

Thank you! You definitely should give the show another watch and focus on the music. The songs add a lot to the theme and tone of each episode. The lyrics are very often completely on point and it shows just how much thought was put into each selection and the mood of the episode they are featured in. The Bear is a very well-produced show on pretty much every level. There are things I missed on first watch that I caught on my second that increased my already already very high opinion of the show.

@@PizzaRedemption Best comment here. I would def watch your video, let us know if you make one!

i think the show showing claire as this perfect character is intentional, because that's how carmy sees her. i think all of you claire haters are too harsh on her, literally in no scene was she annoying

@@farahhesham7130 I was just on my phone and saw the notification, so I'll reply right away :D I think her being annoying is very subjective and that's just how a lot of people who watched the show felt about her. It probably stems from the fact that the majority of the characters are constantly raving about how saintly and great a character is that you yourself barely know, so it becomes tiresome. I fully understand that she's written as a tool to further Carmen's story line, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy it. It feels like the storytelling has regressed in quality. It's lazy. And for a character that's supposed to be a catalyst for another character (Carmen), she took up way too much screentime. There are only so many ways in which you can express "This man has personal issues that destroy (romantic) relationships and lead to (self) destructive behavior" before it becomes extremely boring and repetitive. She served her purpose and now her character has to either be fleshed out or cut out. Not to mention that there is actually so much potential to be explored in her character. Why was she pursuing Carmen so strongly when he basically rejected her? How come she works as a doctor but always finds the time to listen to Carmen and his problems? (Is she keeping her own issues bottled up because she doesn't want to burden anyone?) What was her endgoal in the relationship? I think it's fine if you're okay with her character the way she is but I personally dislike her character because I want to KNOW her. The same way we have received backstories and intimate storylines for almost every side character. And with how much screentime she took up in season 2 and honestly also season 3 I think it's criminal that they gave her the personality of a dead fish.

@@cappuccinobean2442Ironic, that sounds like a reason why the family makes fun of Pete. Because hes shown to be very patient, kind, a little nerdy, and understanding. Which is probably why Nat loved him. Too perfect for the family to give credit for

@@wymg4480 yes, i thought this as well. Cause Pete seems like a genuinely good guy. But the main difference between him and Claire is Pete doesn't feel like a "perfect" character. He's shown almost as much as Claire, yet we understand him a lot more. Pete seems like someone who wants family, he's a tad insecure but he's also a sweetheart so he tries to make people like him by being himself. He's overly optimistic, to his own detriment at times, but he doesn't seem like a clueless person. He knows what the others think of him, but he feels like the type of person whose mantra is 'kill them with kindness', he just cannot be anything else. Overall, his character is very realistic, I know someone exactly like this as I am sure most people do. All this can be said about Pete without once mentioning Sugar, however, I cannot say the same for Claire without involving Carmy. Her entire character revolves around him, she isn't fully fleshed out and tbh the parts we do see of her isn't even enough to be considered interesting by most people. she's just a bland, boring dream of Carmy's.

There was a massive uptick in sydcarmy shippers after Claire was introduced and I don't think it was a coincidence. especially because the anxiety attack scene was interpreted by so many people as this "Sydney br8ngs him back" type of situation. it happened again in season 3 as well where he was stressing and only Sydney's voice cut through the noise in his heads and again (this time inverted kind of) where he and Sydney are talking after hours and there is this peaceful piano music playing but then this soft rock song (I think) starts playing and mixing with the calm music, slowly overcoming it when he's thinking of calling Claire. this could be the specifics of apologizing to Claire may make him anxious, but he's done worse to people in the kitchen and apologized much more quickly.

ur so real

@@user-kt3qm8jy8y exactly! being told how great she is, but never seeing it was kind of frustrating. especially since when it comes to any other character and their traits, we don’t have to be explicitly told what their personalities are, we see who everyone is over and over again through their actions. thank you for the comment!

this was great, i 1,000% agree! if i could add more to my video, i'd touch more on exactly what you said! thanks for the comment!

@@FlashLegion wow thank you so much! since this was an old school project, i wrote it as a literal essay first, which is the best process for me when it comes to organizing my thoughts. and yes! when i was researching and found that quote from the creator saying we’re seeing her through carmy’s eyes, it all clicked into place for me. thank you for the comment!

@@nia907 making an essay/script is always the best approach when making vids like this 🤌🏻

@@dollarsaurus01 i agree! i can understand maybe not enjoying her, but the hatred she gets never made sense. i do think it’s partially because of sydcarmy (which i’m not a shipper of, i just don’t think it makes sense), so i think a lot of it just comes from her “interfering” with them even though there’s not much to interfere with, in my opinion. thank you for the comment!

Different people deal with hurt differently though. Some people get sad and quiet instead of angry.

There was definite glimpse scenes of her crying all night though with her friend (I believe?) in S3. Also, Claire herself said she wasn't the peace in S3. I think next S4, we will see her special character POVs & why a Claire love Carmy in the first place.

hmmm first of all I'd like to say that I STILL don't understand why people hate Claire. I loved her when she showed up. also i don't think she showed out of nowhere, the first season was introducing us to the idea of the bear and to carmy and it was a short season, i don't think they could've introduced her in the first season

@@farahhesham7130 it's like they wanted us to care about her as soon as she showed up. At first I thought "did I miss her introduction? Did I miss a scene?" But we're supposed to immediately believe she's this girl carmy had heart eyes for a decade ago and she just fully liked him back the same amount. It just wasn't a choice that worked for me.

my mom dislikes the idea of syd and carmy together and sees them as strictly platonic, and she HATED Claire lol so i don’t think it has to do with shipping

@@joselocalau123 yeah I think it's a big conflation to say sydcarmy shippers are Claire antis because they don't want her with carmy. A lot of people simply just don't like her or are apathetic.

@@ione97 i definitely agree with this! he’s not in the right headspace for it, making him both emotionally unavailable and physically unavailable since he’s so busy with the restaurant. if i wanted to even stretch it further, i could say maybe they’re trying to show a reason for why syd and carmy also wouldn’t work (not sydcarmy shipper, just theorizing)

Wait, how do we know that Carmy doesn’t have that capacity though? Maybe Claire just isn’t the one for him and that’s why things are playing out the way they are thus far.

@@Keesha_Hardy oh you make a great point! for me, i guess i’m still thinking of everything we’ve seen happen in his life so far (leaving an incredibly toxic culinary environment, rebuilding and rebranding an entire restaurant, all while dealing with open wounds from family stuff aka michael) and was wondering if he was at a point where he could let someone in on that level. but you’re not wrong - i do also think that claire just might not be the one for him and could find someone else that fits him better!

I agree that Claire is a concept that ties Carmy to his past. His relationship with her is him, in a sense, trying to rewrite his past. I think this is why she doesn’t have a back story, because she is his past and not his future. She’s just a plot device not a fully formed person.

i 100% also get whiplash vibes from the bear at times and although i do think it's intentional, i agree with you when it comes to hoping they don't forget the original intention. the show has so much potential to be one of the greats, so i'm also hoping the characters are written in the right direction

Don’t agree with that assessment at all, Whiplash does not glorify abuse and violence. It’s a cautionary tale about abusive workplaces and you’re supposed to feel troubled by the end of the film seeing what it costs him to be great. The shot of his dad watching him on stage in shock is intended to mirror the audience. Depiction is not endorsement

@@dollarsaurus01 That's attaching your own opinion to the movie. It's what Andrew wanted. Whatever you feel about if it's right or wrong doesn't matter. The movie pretty obviously says what Andrew wants in that dinner table scene and Fletcher gave him that. Whether you agree or disagree if it was worth it is up to you but the movie doesn't take a clear stance

@@dollarsaurus01 It's problematic when the mc himself literally seeks this toxic validation from this piece of shit. The final shot literally shows that him choosing this path is him choosing the right path(in his opinion). It's one way to say that art doesn't promote abuse, but when it so obviously on the nose that Andrew chooses to do so when he is the mc. To be the depiction, you need to present a dichotomoy/critique through the characters. Not once, Andrew is made realise or told verbally/symbolically that his path towards greatness is wrong. Idk how you can see it not glorifying. Also, Andrew is kind of a piece of shit. Because of people like Fletcher, cycles of abuse perpetuates in the workplace and Andrew literally wants to seek his validation so badly wanting him as a mentor. How is it not obvious lol

I don't think it glorifies it so much as offers a very realistic depiction of what it's like being groomed and trapped in an abusive relationship of any kind. Most take several attempts to fully cut ties with their abusers.

i agree! she’s a side character that i think, because of what her role was going to be (aka carmy’s girlfriend), i just expected her to have a bit more personality. especially since she’s a family friend, i thought she’d be able to get a deeper story with them since they go way back. granted the other characters you mention also have a deep history with the main characters, but because this was going to be such a new experience for carmy (having a romantic relationship), i thought they’d highlight her just a little more. thank you for the comment!

I think they said it'd be five seasons

@@soph5707 thank you! i felt legally obligated to put end of beginning in there haha

I wonder what's the opposite trope? There are some cases of a manic pixie dream boy (The Fault in Our Stars, Titanic), but that's not the most popular one. Then of course you've got some seriously toxic archetypes, such as the hot manipulative stalker and the third-wheeling nice guy duo found in pretty much every YA novel with a female protagonist.

@@zuz33 thank you :) i’m currently trying to decide what i should talk about in the next one! suggestions are welcome :)

@@luvulots18 omg thank you so much! i’m literally on my, like, 4th rewatch right now. and i’m definitely tempted to think of something i could talk about relating to doctor who but i’m not sure what at the moment! but thank you again for the comment, alyssa :)

@@ssjack2 thank you so much, i’m glad that you heard me out! i 100% agree that it’s really jarring to have such a 1d character in a show like this but i always felt that just made her inclusion even more intentional.

i think she doesn't need dimensionality because she never struck me as interesting or in need of it. like you said, the purpose of her character is to serve as a catalyst for carmy's character development. accordingly, she's given limited screentime and never came off as overbearing.

@@chihun3981 Except for the beginning of one of the episodes in S3 where she just keeps talking and talking. I left the room, made myself a bowl of cereal, returned to the living room and she was STILL telling Carmy a story. My god, I wanted to yell shut up at the screen lol

@@chihun3981 i see your perspective on that, definitely! i think her flatness as a character is the overbearing part of it, and their (writers) insistence on keeping it flat and uninteresting in such a fast paced, chaotic, personality-filled show is overbearing to viewers like me, where all of the things i listed are what makes the show attractive in the first place. i also hate the idea of a woman’s whole characterization revolving around a man in any piece of media 😭

@@namiko8278 thank you! and i try haha

And you know what's funny? The same people who used that as a way to drag Sydcarmy fans are jumping at defending Claire and their "Relationship" It's ironic in a fustratingly funny way.

Because Pete is a compelling character that you want to know something about? Women are upset about Claire because she isn't awful. Every other female character is flawed and crappy and would be a terrible romantic partner which is why female viewers like them but not Claire.

@@thomasolson1154 Yeah you are SO wrong and projecting. VIEWERS don't like Claire because she is UNREALISTIC and a doormat for Carmy. In fact people hate how she's written and not her necissarily. If you actually cared to listen to views that don't suit your agenda, you would come to understand that. Her and Carmy are toxic, he is constantly confused about her and she just takes it. It's so wrong.

@@kimberleywilliams7802 I'm projecting 😆😆 Viewers? You mean women, because it isn't men who have an issue with the character. AS FOR Realistic and doormat 😅😅 Punching Bag Pete who never looses that stupid smile even when his wife is berating him, her family are constantly belittling him he doesn't get upset. When his wife decided to quit her job and just live on his income there wasn't even a discussion. SO your "agenda" that all women should be complicated three dimensional characters who would make terrible romantic partners is keeping you from seeing that Pete is far worse than Claire but you don't see an issue with a man being treated like crap.

her character seemed so random and out of nowhere, i was like huh who tf is dis? Also does she interact with any other character beside carmy??

@@ainativehealth thanks so much!

@@So-tf1dz you’re not wrong lol. since she’s only being used as a plot device and only really there to show carmy just how not ready he is to be in a relationship, i feel like her time does probably need to come to an end soon

Yeah, at this point, with the fact that Carmy hasn’t talked to her the whole season 3, I just don’t see why the show runner(s) would put them back together S4 (I hope that’s not their plan). I don’t feel invested in Claire as a character because she has no established character arc, and she just feels like an outsider, only really here to be Carmy’s love interest, as she has not interacted with any other characters much, outside of Carmy, of course, & the Fak brothers. Pete (Nat’s husband) and Tiffany (Richie’s ex), for instance, both have, while small, established arcs (Pete: to be accepted by the family, namely Richie & Cicero; Tiffany: to marry Frank & continue navigating co-parenting with Richie). They have also both been shown to have interacted with much of the family.

wow thanks so much!

@@MakedaPhillips thank you, makeda!

Why is the fact that you haven't seen the last two episodes relevant to napkins greatness?

@@FredrikSkievan coz in season 2 last 2 episodes were absolute bamgers! I saw forks then fishes and the last one in which carmy ends up in a fridge were awesome. So i m hoping that more awesomer episodes are ahead of me!

@@thenewyorkgirl1326 for sure! i think they’re going about writing her character in a very intentional way. maybe they’re keeping at arm’s length (not giving her much dimension) as to not potentially have to make her a more important character since i think her sole purpose was to come in, show carmy what he’s missing/what he can’t have (a relationship), then leave. thank you for the comment!

@@adityakrishna4137 thank you so much!

Yess, we need a Garry episode! Maybe in season 4

@@ianreid1434 i agree! i was more thinking of despite the screen time, there’s no character outrightly hated like claire. i definitely agree that gary needs some more screen time!

​@@nia907I followed Gary because I was interested in being a Somme. As far as Claire goes, I sadly can relate to Carmen in that I have been shallow and thought having an attractive girlfriend would save me from myself only to crash and burn when I realize that they do not do so (don't judge, we ALL make mistakes especially in middle school and high school). I think Carmen either should have known better because of how long he has known Claire, or gone this already because of how long he has known Claire. I was talking about Claire with a friend, and we don't mind if in the end Carmen is with Claire, but there would have to be serious character development that should have been done already. This development would be very off-putting structurally since it would have taken at least 3 seasons to get to with Clair, assuming it starts in season 4. Great video, and I would love to see more content from you!

i don’t hate claire i just find her really boring generally, but i am fully genuinely asking what you find interesting and compelling about her?

i also find there are parallels between her and carmy, which i think would make them good for each other, but i think carmy's perception of her is so one-dimensional that he doesn't even realize how similar they are and could be. thanks for the comment!

​@@kiarawilliams2720 i know you were asking the commenter, but i wanted to add in my own 2 cents haha. for me personally, i think i find her potential and her utilization to be more interesting. she stands out a lot because of how she's written and i generally think she has a lot of potential, but i also find that her purpose is to not being extremely characterized and i think in general i find that fascinating (ie intentionally making a character less complex because that's how another character sees her aka carmy not seeing her as complex). hopefully that made sense lol

@@nia907 it definitely makes sense! and i can see your point i definitely think it’s intentional from the writers but i feel like in practice making a character’s writing intentionally shallow just ends up with the character…being shallow. like watching her scenes just kinda makes my eyes glaze over and that’s not something that happens any other time i’m watching this show

@@adabing3060 LOL i was partially joking, but i honestly love messy tv

grace vanderwaal in stargirl :)

@@nia907 thank you :DD!

i know right?

I think the difference though is that Nat just happens to be married to a nice guy who doesn’t create drama for the show, while Claire’s relationship is supposed to be a significant to the main character’s inner conflict. As people they may be similar but as characters they serve very different purposes

Pete isn't the same character as Claire. And I would say we get more depth from Pete than we do from Claire. Pete knows the family doesn't treat him well, but he also obviously has a super good connection with his wife that allowed them to marry each other. He is probably the only normal "family member." So, he isn't just a love interest, he is in the family from the beginning of the show as the in law. Pete is also a normal healthy person, and he is one who the messed up family thinks is a weirdo for being a decent person. It makes sense he is married to the sister as she might be the most normal attempt at healthy in the family lol As the other comment mentioned Claire is for the main character and kind of shows how not ready he is for a healthy relationship with a decent person. I would actually contrast that to his sister who was able to marry Pete and have an okay relationship with him (it seems) for a while despite her messed up family. Her brother isn't fully able to do that and it shows a difference in how their childhoods and experiences have impacted those two characters. I don't think of Pete as an inflatable punching bad, I think his relationship with his wife is not the same as the relationship with her family. I also think Pete literally has more in context history with the family than Claire does, so once again he is more like a part of the chaotic family than just a punching bag husband.

@@marigolden_mariposa the characters definitely can stress you out at times lol. there’s an episode in s2 called fishes and wow.. definitely spiked my anxiety ngl. but those are some good shows! i’ve actually just started watching got - well i’m watching hotd first but so far i’m liking it! i literally just started so i’m only on ep 2 but it’s good! and i love black mirror! i still think about shut up and dance sometimes, it was insane. thanks for the comment!

westworld is ass

@@StonedandRolling i completely forgot to mention to that! i also agree in thinking that some of the hatred towards claire solely stems from people thinking she jeopardizes sydcarmy. i’m not a sydcarmy shipper (they’ve had cute moments, but i don’t think it would make sense at all), so i never found claire annoying and liked her for the most part. thank you for the comment!

very true, she is a nurse! they're just my thoughts though, no biggie :)

@@nia907 yeah sorry idk why i took it personally xd

she’s a doctor

Damn chill out 😂 you say that as if a "mpd girl" can't be a nurse

manic pixie dream girl is a common trope. It's literally what it's called