Sydney Needs To Escape From The Bear

Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for Season 3 of The Bear.

Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri) enters The Bear as the odd one out. She’s the newest addition to The Beef’s staff, she’s young and ambitious, and she comes from the elite world of fine dining. The latter doubles as an olive branch from which Sydney and her new boss, Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), build a light camaraderie. Impressed by her creativity, tenacity, and business acumen, Carmy quickly entrusts Sydney with the prized role of sous chef, and it’s those same attributes that ensure Sydney overcomes every profoundly difficult bump in the road — whether it’s butting heads with her fellow employees, streamlining The Beef’s defective processes, or working through her crushing panic. As The Bear tosses “everything and the literal kitchen sink” at its cast, Sydney and Carmy grow closer, forming an honest, vulnerable, and intimate (yet platonic) bond: the lifeline both need during this uncertain, ambiguous moment.

After Season 3, it’s never been clearer that what was once an equitable partnership has devolved into the farthest thing. Carmy’s reckless, selfish choices are destroying what little stability Sydney has in her life, not to mention rotting away her self-confidence; Carmy offering her co-ownership of The Bear is empty legal terminology. Sydney, a rising luminary within her profession, deserves a workplace where her contributions and heart are genuinely respected, facilitated, and championed. If that means severing her ties to The Bear despite everything she poured into its creation, once again venturing into the unknown with something new, so be it. Get our girl out of there, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

Sydney Initially Finds Support at The Beef

Despite her formal training at the Culinary Institute of America, Sydney applies to The Beef, a Chicago sandwich shop staple, for two primary reasons. She has a childhood connection to The Beef thanks to weekly Sunday visits with her father, Emmanuel (Robert Townsend). Once Carmy assumes ownership after his brother Mikey’s (Jon Bernthal) tragic passing, the chance to learn under the great Carmen Berzatto is a temptation too great to ignore. Sydney admires Carmy’s technique, citing one of his dishes as the best food she’s ever eaten. For a “curious foodie” (in her words) who’s eager to learn and committed to creating the culinary triple threat (delicious recipes with breathtaking plating that nourish its customers), exploring The Beef is a sensible risk. And, frankly, Sydney needs the money after shuttering her catering service.

Following Sydney’s initial clashes with Tina Marrero (Liza Colón-Zayas) and Richie Jerimovich (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), her proactive ingenuity, overriding emotional stability, and lack of judgment or ego earn her the staff’s blessing and a Carmy-approved promotion from staging to his sous chef. Empowered, thrilled, and more than a little terrified, Sydney streamlines the kitchen’s processes and revitalizes morale as a result. She forms quality friendships with Tina and Marcus Brooks (Lionel Boyce). Against all odds, she’s stumbled into both a work family and an amiable environment where she can refine her craft.

Sydney and Carmy Become Partners in ‘The Bear’

When it comes to Carmy, their shared training initially connects them as fellow outsiders. Once he makes amends for his meltdown in Season 1’s penultimate episode, the chefs reframe their relationship from mentor and mentee to equals. As Season 2 progresses, Sydney and Carmy are partners in the truest sense, balancing professionalism with experimentation. Carmy surrenders his head chef role to Sydney; in effect, he entrusts her with Mikey’s legacy. They develop private communication cues to de-escalate heated arguments. They develop menus side-by-side, swap stories and perspectives, and learn how to communicate and compromise. Sydney and Carmy are The Bear’s stewards, and their teamwork builds something from the ground up.

As such, co-leading a new restaurant challenges Sydney in ways that facilitate her growth. Her metaphorical plate is constantly, overwhelmingly full. She navigates business strategies, nightly kitchen arrangements, and the nitty-gritty busy work Carmy ignores; by the day’s end, Sydney’s picking up the pieces, alone and exhausted. When Carmy gets trapped in the walk-in fridge at The Bear’s opening event, Sydney overcomes her fight or flight panic and successfully carries the night, which involves split-second decisions, constant problem-solving, and knowing whom to trust enough to delegate tasks to. Even when her stress demands a physical price, Sydney rises to the occasion. She grits her teeth and maneuvers through every setback that the unpredictable, high stakes, and half-torturous restaurant environment levy her way.

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If Carmy shatters the kitchen’s morale by screaming out his perfectionist demands, Sydney attends to her cooks. When someone makes a mistake, she quietly — but firmly — instructs them until they understand the procedure, rather than degrading their mistakes until they emotionally unravel. Sydney’s positive reinforcement, unsurprisingly, pays off. She breeds efficiency through communication and relationship-building; she evolves into a natural leader, not unlike the beloved and exceptional Chef Terry (Olivia Colman). It’s just like Coach K said: confidence and courage. All signs point to Sydney’s prosperous future.

‘The Bear’ Season 3 Proves That Carmy Has Made Sydney’s Life Toxic

However, Carmy’s gradual decline accelerates at top speed after the walk-in incident. He might be running The Bear in Mikey’s memory, but he’s actually running everyone’s dreams into the ground — and a hair’s breadth away from becoming the chef who emotionally abused him to the point of PTSD. Determined to achieve his goals regardless of the consequences, Carmy steamrolls Sydney’s ideas at every turn. He stifles her opportunities, ignores her input, refuses to correct his obvious mistakes, and, ultimately, implodes her environment’s stable foundation — the one they assembled together like they once assembled a table. Carmy chases away his partner and cuts her off at the knees without any meaningful apology.

During The Bear’s grand opening in Season 2, Sydney’s father finds her repeatedly stress-vomiting in the restaurant’s back alley. Having witnessed what his daughter created, Emmanuel reassures Sydney that this endeavor is “the thing” — that elusive, rare job that deserves her full commitment. Whether Sydney agrees is up to interpretation. What isn’t debatable is Sydney ending Season 3 by having a sobbing panic attack. Like weeds in a garden, the fault lines had been slowly growing. The fallout from Carmy’s unceasing mistreatment catches up to her, amplified by Adam Shapiro (playing himself) offering Sydney the head chef position at his upcoming restaurant.

His suggestion catches her off guard, but it lodges itself inside her heart. After all, she’s no longer receiving esteem, credit, or trust from Carmy. The iron fist that was once an open palm drains her freedom and her opportunities. Every Season 3 event casts Sydney’s unhealthy and unjust arrangement into stark relief. Hidden away in a corner of her apartment, alone and gasping, the accumulated pressure, her guilt, and her indecision blow the fissures wide open.

Sydney Deserves To Be Respected and Valued in ‘The Bear’

Sydney has no desire to hop from failed job to failed job. She yearns to build something lasting that’s genuine, innovative, and safe for employees. She dearly loves her work family, and The Bear will forever contain part of her essence. How could she leave The Bear for greener pastures less than a year after its opening? But, to counterpoint: what incentive exists for Sydney to stay? Carmy might one day resolve his trauma and correct his behavior. Sydney doesn’t need to wait for that day and lose herself in the process. She’s under no obligation to keep enduring conduct just this side of emotional abuse.

Right now, Sydney fills her days moderating male screaming matches, resetting the innocent staff’s equilibrium, and spinning her wheels in service to Carmy’s goals, unappreciated and unutilized. A woman and a chef of her caliber deserves to advance her career, achieve personal fulfillment, and surround herself with gracious, mature adults. The vow Sydney and Carmy exchanged as they secured a dinner table (“You aren’t alone,” followed by, “Neither are you”) has become Syd’s metaphorical death sentence. She spends Season 3 trying on fearlessness for size — leasing an apartment, supervising The Bear but refusing to sign the partnership agreement — without a safety net. Perhaps her most fearless and necessary act is leaving the home she helped build.

The Bear is available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.

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