‘The Bear’ Season 2 Episode 4 Recap: “Honeydew”

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The Bear

The Bear Season 2 Episode 4 (“Honeydew”) begins with smash-cuts of the whiteboard, the day calendar, the permit notices, the bills — all the insurmountable problems The Bear must mount in under two months.

Carmy and Natalie go over all the grim details of FMLTD-ness when he notices that his sister is not feeling so hot then she finally reveals to him that she is pregnant. And once again, walls are closing in and falling down.

(Lots of comedic wall-falling moments so far this season.)

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But set all the wacky demolition hi-jinx aside, and we’re able to zero in on Marcus, who, since his opening scene in the start of the Season 2’s first episode, has become the character destined to experience the most growth this season. (Tina is a close second.)

As was suggested by Sydney last episode, it’s agreed that Marcus will head to Copenhagen to apprentice with a real-deal pastry chef to learn some fancy dessert-making skills for The Bear. He lands safely and checks into his rental, which turns out to be on a boat. (A nice boat, but still a boat.)

Each morning he trudges over to his apprenticeship at a bakery under a pastry chef named Luca, played by Will Poulter, who comes off as frosty and militant. “You start at 5 a.m. Your station’s over there.” Then a theme emerges: the camera subtly pans across a sign posted atop a high wall: “Every second counts.”

As opposed to the frenetic insanity of The Bear’s usual FMLTD- pace, where the seconds are panic-filled and loud, the seconds in Luca’s pastry corner of The Bear’s universe are clinical and quiet: there needs to be precision and order for the seconds to be worthwhile.

This is one gorgeous-looking TV episode. Director Ramy Youssef knows how to capture the intricacies of what we’re watching Marcus learn. The beauty he sees is what we’re shown on screen:

Meanwhile, back home in Chicago, it’s the usual disarray, with Fak and Richie arguing over gas lines, making messes, sweeping them up, in constant search of a grown-up or referee to settle whatever it is their arguing about.

Of more pressing concern is the staffing problem. Sydney patiently interviews potential hires, striking out often, as many uniquely qualified applicants are too entitled. She settles on the one overly eager man who said he’s available to start immediately.

Back in the Scandinavian pastry lab, there’s a tender moment between Marcus and Luca talking about their jobs, upbringings, desserts, and Michael Jordan. But Luca also offers a sobering reminder to Marcus that the kitchen is no place for a human being to live:

“At a certain level, it becomes less about skill and more about being open. To the world, to yourself, to other people. Most of the incredible things that I’ve eaten, haven’t been because the skill level’s exceptionally high, or there’s loads of mad, fancy techniques, it’s because it’s been really inspired. You can spend all the time in the world in here, but if you don’t spend enough time out there. Helps to have good people around you, too.”

Marcus is out in the world, enjoying Copenhagen, until one night, on his walk back to his boat, he hears someone crying for help. He comes upon a bike rider who’s crashed and gotten their neck caught under a fence. Marcus manages to get to him quickly and lifts up the fence enough for the man to get free. The man is bloody and woozy, and Marcus asks him repeatedly if he’s okay, but it’s clear he doesn’t speak English. He reaches up to hug Marcus wordlessly, then pats him on his head like a giant little schoolboy. The man rips his bike, that was still tangled up in the metal fencing and pedals off.

After he’s back on his boat, Marcus calls Syd to check in on The Bear. She tells him they did not pass the fire inspection, and Marcus feels bad for not being there. She insists he’s missing nothing. “You do not need to be here at all. I’m really happy you’re out there enjoying yourself.” Time to get inspired.

THE BEAR SEASON 2 EPISODE 4: LEFTOVERS

QUESTION I STILL HAVE: Seriously, what was with the guy on the bike? Some real Eugéne Ionesco shit happening there.
INCREDIBLE MIDDLE-AGED DAD NEEDLE DROP: “Holiday Road” by Lindsey Buckingham. A little too on the nose since it was played over Marcus landing in Copenhagen. I’m still trying to figure out if the show is a comedy pretending to be a drama or a drama that secretly wants to be a comedy, one that pays homage to the Griswold family.
CARMY ARM PORN: Tendons.