The following contains spoilers for The Bear Season 1, as well as mentions of self-harm. The show is now streaming on Hulu.
The first season of The Bear pushed the divisive genius, Carmen, and his kitchen staff to the limit. Carmen had to wade through Michael's (his brother) suicide, the stress with elevating the diner he was left, as well as his own depressive bouts. Thankfully, Carmen rose to the challenge, uniting the staff after some intense disputes that almost shut them down. But while it seems like there will be happier days on the horizon, threads have been set up to paint an equally tumultuous and turbulent Season 2, on a personal and business level.
The Bear Season 2 Will Have Drama in the Rebrand
Carmen believed in his staff again, and they finally saw him as a leader. It encouraged him to rebrand from "The Beef" to "The Bear," honoring his family's last name of Berzatto. However, while the staff's gotten cool with change, some things they might be resistant too. Online orders, pre-orders and to-go items proved challenging, so if Carmen's to really become an elite business in Chicago, he's going to have to get everyone on their A-game.
New staff may come in, plus standard operating procedures will have to be altered. As such, Carmen may be tougher on his staff, such as the feisty Ebra. They'll have to figure out their audience too, because while Fak's on board to help with the video games, the geek crowd may be out their demographic soon enough. Simply put, Carmen has to figure out which audience he wants to cater to, which could cause him to buckle under the stress.
The Bear Season 2 Has to Figure Out Sydney's Role
Sydney's a hotshot student who adored Carmen's cooking in New York. It's been a dream working with him, especially after he finally caved and decided to use her culinary expertise to update the menu. Her risotto is one dish, but Season 2 can see her and Carmen experimenting, coming up with other wild stuff. The problem is, she's impatient, so they may butt heads again, especially as Carmen's more experienced.
He'll have to temper himself as this teacher moving forward. Season 2 will also need to define Sydney's role, possibly shifting her to manager rather than sous-chef. The reason being is she understands business better, having come up with a plan, not just for the menu, but digital sales and such. It helps that she got modern schooling, thus such a move would allow Carmen to stick to the food. But again, both have egos, so it's likely they'll have very different opinions on the Bear's progress.
The Bear Season 2 Has to Mature Richie Up
Richie (Carmen's cousin) was a mess this season. He couldn't handle Sydney impressing on the job, with the progress of the place making him feel outdated. He's too hasty and almost landed in jail after beating a customer up, so the gun-toting Richie really needs to calm down. Season 2 can look at him trying to make a U-turn, which would officially end the beef with Syd after she deemed him a loser.
It'll be healthy for him too, because he's struggling as a dad and used to self-sabotage. His ex, Tiff, deemed him "bad news," which paves the way for Richie to prove her wrong. The problem is, he dabbled in peddling coke, seemed to call the cops on gangsters around the area, and may even be targeted by the friends of the guy he injured. As such, trouble's likely to follow Richie, which means the Bear may have to cut him loose, even if he does grow up.
The Bear Season 2 Needs to Sort Out Carmen's Family
Carmen made amends with his sister, Sugar, and her husband, Pete. Sugar co-signed with Michael, so thankfully, the money Carmen found in the tomato cans staved off the IRS. But if problems arise due to the source of the funds, Sugar may want out. This could also freak Pete out, as Michael was a pill-popper who may have dabbled in other narcotics too. If Pete loses it over this reveal and Carmen hits him again, that may send Sugar over the edge too.
In addition, Carmen has to get closure with his mom. He never visited her after Michael's suicide, so there's some hidden issue between them. This might even lead to more secrets being leaked, informing why Michael cut Carmen off, which pushed Carmen to go cook in the city. It feels like the family's harboring a lot of grim bombshells, which might lead to Season 2 breaking Carmen for good.
The Bear Season 2 Has to Iron Out Michael's Past
Michael borrowed $300,000 from the mobster, Cicero, which Carmen found in the cans. He'll be paying off staff and upgrading the business, but there's still a lot of shadiness involving the cash. Michael wrote it off as payments to KBL Electric, but if the IRS comes sniffing around to verify what's on the books, they may suss out the fraud.
It's not known if KBL's real or not, if they're a drug front, or if Michael's involved in embezzlement and money laundering outside drugs. This might be why he pushed Carmen away: to protect him. Either way, if the federal government closes in, the diner will be shut down, and the Berzattos can find themselves in jail. On top of that, there's always the possibility someone killed Michael, due to his seedy business ventures, which could blow the show wide open and cause Carmen's culinary empire to crumble.
The Bear Season 2 May Spark Romance For Marcus & Syd
When Marcus and Syd left Carmen after a meltdown, they shared a nice dinner together. They have great chemistry, and inspire each other. As such, they could become romantically involved, especially as they spend so much time together on the job. It'd also allow Tina to offer advice to Syd, repaying her for all the stuff Syd taught her on evolving at the diner.
What's interesting is Marcus is looking to become a cake and donut savant, so Syd can help him. He's very disciplined and obsessed so much, he slept in the diner just to keep up. Thus, Syd could be the key to balance, adding a degree of professionalism he didn't have as he never went to culinary school like her. This may even push them both to leave their comfort zones and work on catering, something Syd failed at initially. Ultimately, this could test Carmen over whether he wants to lose valuable assets while giving them his blessing after seeing them blossom under the pressure.
All eight episodes of The Bear are available on Hulu.