The best quotes and moments from ‘The Bear’ Season 2

From the chaotic Berzatto dinner to Richie belting out Taytay, these are some of the best moments and quotes from the second season of The Bear.

In the wake of awards season, fans of critically acclaimed comedy series The Bear have much to celebrate, from the show’s landslide wins to stars Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri’s well-deserved accolades. With season 3 of the FX series cooking just around the corner, reports have surfaced to suggest that fans will be blessed with yet another delicious morsel: The green-lighting of season 4, which, rumour has it, will be filmed back-to-back with season 3. Ahead of its June release, we look at the best quotes and moments from The Bear season 2.

With 18 anarchic and explosive episodes spanning two extraordinary seasons, The Bear has more than earned its place among contemporary television greats. Chaotic pacing and frenetic cinematography perfectly encapsulate the madness and method of the modern-day Michelin star kitchen, flawlessly delivered in sterling performances from the show’s stellar cast. Among them, Emmy winners Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, along with Matty Matherson, Abby Elliott, Oliver Platt, and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Scriptwriting genius, stellar portrayals, and profound themes

From deadpan snark to drunken hysterics discharged in impassioned speeches, season 2 of The Bear followed the amuse-bouche of its inaugural season, expanding on the tasting menu of Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto and friends to proffer an entree to remember.

The fictional establishment is certainly worthy of its (let’s face it, impending) Michelin stars; but so too is the show, with its plucky and acrimonious portrayal of the struggle excellence entails.

Ask any chef who has worked in the pit of a high-stakes kitchen, and they will tell you that The Bear gets it right. From the power struggles and shouting matches to the debilitating breakdowns and the push for perfection, The Bear accurately depicts the culinary journey behind closed doors.

With short episodes that range from 30 to 40 minutes in length, the series is a relatively easy watch with profound and often thought-provoking themes that lie dormant beneath a veil of sass and comedy. The show does not shy away from taboo topics, with characters freely confronting their vices from addiction and sobriety to anger management and abuse, conveyed through brilliant scriptwriting, razor-sharp wit, and the talent of Hollywood’s finest. The resultant episodes are fun and feisty, giving rise to a multitude of moments to remember.

Ahead of its upcoming third season, we look at the best quotes and moments from The Bear season 2.

The best quotes and moments from The Bear season 2

1. Sydney falls through a wall

The Beef is falling apart, and Sydney is literally falling through its walls. This scene aptly depicts the dilapidation of the eatery, cleverly setting up its home improvement arc. A passing Marcus remarks wryly on Syd’s feat, joking, “You got strong” in response to the destruction of property. The hole in the wall later used as a conversation starter, with Carmy dryly pointing it out to Sugar, who literally watched the whole thing unfold. The entire scene is comedy gold, with snappy deliveries that depict the characters as whip-smart reprobates who love ribbing one another just as much as they actually love one another.

2. Heard and resented

Who is Richie and how is he related to the Berzattos? Turns out he’s not. In this scene, Uncle Jimmy (who is famously also not a Berzatto) breaks the fourth wall to say what we’re all thinking, and Richie wants us to know he resents it. Once a cousin, always a cousin.

3. A Carmy problem

He may be a genius in the kitchen, but Carmy is terrible at math. From lowballing costs and set-up time to being literally unable to count the number of forks required, Carmy is quite evidently a devotee to Girl Math. That is, he should not be trusted to crunch the numbers, lest they result in Carmy Problems.

4. The new Sydney

Having spent much of her life being underestimated, Tina is rightly touched when Sydney asks if she would like to be trained to become the new sous chef. She accepts with a heartwarming hug, leaving Syd impressed with her strength and viewers sobbing at the exchange.

5. Carmy’s three stars

Working together to develop new recipes for The Bear, Carmy and Syd share a poignant exchange about his previous Michelin experience. The conversation accurately portrays the intensity and single focus required to survive in high-octave kitchens, where every dish is a masterwork of explosive flavours. Albeit hesitant at first, Carmy eventually opens up about his initial reaction upon receiving the Michelin call informing him that the establishment had retained their three stars.

He shares, “The first 10 seconds felt like a sort of panic ’cause I knew I just had to keep ’em. I had to retain ’em. And your brain does this weird thing where it just bypasses any sense of joy. It just like attaches itself to dread. And, um, I don’t know, after those 10 seconds, I had to turn over a really slow table ’cause the, uh, entire United Nations Security Council was coming in.”

6. Richie loves his daughter, and also Taylor Swift

Throughout The Bear’s two seasons, Cousin Richie has proven himself to be many things, but a bad father he is not. This delightful scene finds Richie delivering his daughter Eva back home to her mother. Upon arrival, he proclaims his love to her, and for the Eras tour headliner with, “I love you. And, Eva? I love Taylor Swift too. I just needed a break, you know?” And if that isn’t one of the best quotes of The Bear season 2, we don’t know what else would make the cut.

7. The opposite of a pregnancy glow

Considering the complex nature of her relationship with her mother and the difficult childhood she endured alongside her brothers, it makes perfect sense for Sugar to approach her pregnancy with caution. Elbow deep in morning sickness, she nonetheless finds enough gumption to respond with cheek when asked whether she’s okay, quipping, “Sometimes I look like February.”

8. Richie vs mold

Yet another moment that deserves the spotlight in the show’s second season, Richie’s battle against mold alongside Fak and Marcus is equal measures entertaining and exasperating. From his dogged refusal to call the authorities to the literal collapse of his argument, Richie’s reaction aptly highlights the perils mold can present for a restaurant, with Fak even calling it the ‘death knell’.

9. Car trouble

Through season 2 of The Bear, the relationship between Syd and her father Emmanuel contrasts that of Carmy, Sugar, and Mike with their mother Donna; the former is loving and supportive, whilst the latter is decidedly not so. This touching scene finds Syd celebrating her deceased mother’s birthday with Emmanuel. While Emmanuel expresses concern for his daughter and the state of her career, he nonetheless does so with grace and gentleness, and the duo share a heartfelt conversation about his first date with her mother.

10. Did you say ‘keep it a secret’?

Yet another moment of comedy gold in season 2 of The Bear is when Sugar finally decides to share the news of her pregnancy with Carmy. Tucked away behind a wall, she struggles briefly to gather her thoughts and words, assuring him that she is happy and swearing him to secrecy before finally blurting out that she is pregnant. There’s just one caveat: the wall behind them literally collapses as she says it, effectively letting the cat out of the bag in one fell swoop.

11. Google is man’s best friend

To further hone and expand his skills, baker Marcus travels to Copenhagen to learn from a pastry chef named Luca (played by newly minted Marvel star Will Poulter). In this hilarious scene, Luca asks Marcus if he has ever made shiso gelee — and like everyone who has ever lied on their resume, Marcus says yes, and immediately Googles it.

12. Messing up is the answer to life

The show’s themes of imperfection, burnout, failure, and the triumphs of hard work, are expressed through Luca’s lived experiences in this scene, highlighting the value of genuine human connection.

Marcus asks Luca how he ‘got good at this’, to which Luca responds that he made a lot of mistakes. The duo then drops one of the best quotes and exchanges of The Bear season 2, further highlighting the theme of the show at large with, “That’s the secret, just f-ck up?”, and “It might be, you know, f-ck up.”

13. Getting the point across

Uncle Jimmy’s role between season 1 and 2 of The Bear has resulted in some of the best quotes and moments of the show, from “Shoulda stopped by to break your legs, but, you know, I guess I’m becoming forgetful,” to the masterpiece that is him putting Richie in his place, “Gotta be honest. I’m becoming concerned that we are taking our eye off the ball here, and I just wanna be — shut the f-ck up — hyper clear.”

Despite his rough edges and his questionable connection to the Berzatto family, Uncle Jimmy nonetheless displays moments of genuine care for Carmy, Sugar, and Richie. So much so that Richie feels comfortable asking him about Taylor Swift tickets. Because even in the fictional world, Eras tour tickets are hard to come by.

14. Budgeting woes

Yet another quippy scene that showcases the delivery of the show’s stellar cast, we find Syd and Carmy discussing plates for the restaurant. Carmy’s initial selection is met with resistance by Syd, who insists that she doesn’t share his vision with, “Okay. Well, that’s 55 bucks a plate for that type of silence, so…”

To this, Carmy relents with, “Then we can use the sh-ty ones,” proving once and for all that Syd really is the boss of him.

15. Siblings

Cementing the fact that siblings will never give up a chance to poke fun at one another, this scene depicts a heartfelt moment between Syd and Sugar. In a moment of vulnerability and connection, Syd shares with Sugar that, “The menu’s f-ckеd. And I need Carmy, but he is… being Carmy somewhere. Sorry. I really, I-I shouldn’t talk sh-t. I don’t mean to. I know that’s your brother,” to which Sugar simply remarks, “No, he sucks.”

16. Power play

One of the best quotes to come from one of the best moments of The Bear season 2 is the aftermath of Richie’s attempt to steal power from a neighbouring establishment. This genius plan clearly fails, and Richie effectively trips the fuse, causing an argument to erupt in which he continues to assert that the neighbours are his friends while a fed-up Syd says, “Are they still?”

17. Manic Christmas and a Chaotic New Year

While The Bear has always been filmed and edited to reflect the chaotic and fast-paced nature of the service industry, the flashback Christmas episode takes it one step further into madness. Within the pandemonium of Donna Berzatto’s increasingly suffocating kitchen, the episode depicts the grim realities of undiagnosed mental health problems and parental abuse.

Despite its agonising, yet nuanced portrayal of these issues, The Bear season 2 nonetheless manages to infuse its script with humour, leading to one of its most memorable quotes and best moments. In the wake of his eighth fish mishap, Sugar’s husband Pete attempts to salvage the situation with a good-natured, “Merry Christmas, guys,” followed by a response from yet another questionable relative, Uncle Lee, who simply says, “Maybe somewhere.”

18. The duality of a dark place

Portrayed by Jamie Lee Curtis, the character of Donna Berzatto is polarising, yet not without reason. Evidently battling an alcohol addiction and suffering from an undiagnosed cocktail of mental health problems, Donna cycles through her emotions with the speed of a yo-yo, one moment a doting mother and the next an abusive drunk.

Curtis’ portrayal of her is incredibly nuanced, allowing viewers to connect and emphatise with the character even as she delivers one of the most heartbreaking quotes of The Bear season 2, “I make things beautiful for them, and no one makes things beautiful for me.”

19. Garrett’s little grin

To earn some restaurant management skills, Richie stages at a Michelin-starred restaurant Ever. While his presence is initially met with mild derision, Richie eventually finds his footing, befriending a front-of-house server named Garrett whom he shadows over several days.

The duo attends a staff meeting that makes light of how seriously the restaurant industry has come to take itself, but it is during these moments that we are presented with one of the best quotes of The Bear season 2. Whilst speaking, the chef berates his staff for causing a delay in service with a ‘smudge’, and at the end of his impassioned rant, yells, “F-ck you, Garrett!” In response, Garrett, ever eager to please, simply says, “Yes, chef, f-ck me.”

20. Deep dish makeover

Put aside the ethics of serving another establishment’s cooking and presenting it as your own, and you’ll see the absolute genius behind Ever’s deep dish pizza makeover. From its clever ‘repackaging’ to the little haute cuisine additions (basil gel and micro basil), the entire scene is a masterclass in pivoting, making for one of the most unforgettable moments in season 2 of The Bear.

21. A hospitality Love Story

Richie’s success at Ever is perfectly capped off with a car karaoke session, featuring an incredible rendition of Taylor Swift’s Love Story — surely a sign that he has finally found something to love about the restaurant business.

22. The Michael cannoli

Paying homage to Mike and his role in bringing together the crew of The Bear, Marcus presents Carmy and Syd with a savoury cannoli, sharing that, “This one is a little bit of all of us. Everything that we all kinda know about each other and… And I wouldn’t know any of you if I didn’t work at The Beef.” The kicker? The cannoli is named The Michael.

23. Richie’s growth, and a napkin

One of the best things to emerge from the series is Richie’s character development, from his earliest days of insecurity to the self-assuredness of his post-stagiaire days as a front-of-house manager. In one of The Bear season 2’s most memorable scenes, Richie tests his interviewees by rotating a napkin, insisting that they would rearrange it if they were truly up to snuff. The resultant look of pride that Sugar shoots him tells us everything we need to know about his glow-up — that he’s well on his way to making amazing things happen.

24. Checking in

Season 2 of The Bear is a masterpiece of many memorable quotes, and that proves to be true in this scene, which is yet another heartfelt moment shared between Syd and Sugar. In the lead-up to opening night, Sugar checks in on Syd, asking if she is ‘Okay on the puntarelle sub’. In response, Syd tells her yes, and follows up with a quip that is equal measures concerned and cheeky, “Are you okay on, like, life?”

Sugar, naturally, is just hungry, and so follows one of the greatest scenes of all time — the making of The Bear’s iconic omelette topped with crushed sour cream and onion chips.

25. A family business

Further cementing Richie’s character growth, this adorable scene wonderfully highlights the value of ‘found family’. On the night of the opening, Richie helps Fak with his necktie, leading to one of the most memorable exchanges and quotes of The Bear season 2. Once an outsider to the kitchen, Fak is now fully inundated into the family, sharing, “I’m lookin’ really good. So I’m thinking you should start calling me Chef.” To that, Richie simply counters, “Well, I’ma keep calling you jagoff, ’cause that’s what you like.”

26. Toilet trouble

Given the premise of the entire series, opening night is certain to go with many a hitch. Chief among them: Toilet problems. This hilarious exchange between Carmy and Sugar is rife with resignation, with the former asking why the latter is drenched. Clearly unsurprised by the chaos, Sugar shares that, “Uh, because the toilet exploded,” to which Carmy reacts with a nonchalant, “Oh, good.”

27. When Richie and Syd do The Thing

With Carmy literally locked away for a cooling down time-out, it’s up to Richie and Syd to do ‘The Thing’. Harnessing his experience at Ever, Richie’s masterful call outs provide method to the madness of the kitchen, making the epic scene one of the most powerful triumphs in modern-day television.

28. A mother’s regret

In the final episode of season 2 of The Bear, Jamie Lee Curtis returns as Donna to deliver one of the most gut-wrenching quotes of the show. Having received an invitation from Sugar to the restaurant’s opening night, Donna shows up but finds herself unable to enter. At the entrance, she encounters Pete, who catches her smoking outside. Their heartfelt exchange culminates in Donna’s expression of guilt for having traumatised her children. Showcasing self-awareness despite her personal demons, Donna shared, “I want them to have this good thing, and I don’t want to hurt it.”

29. That’s wild

If there’s one thing The Bear does exceptionally well, it is its unflinchingly forthright portrayal of substance abuse and addiction. When Marcus discovers Josh smoking up behind the restaurant, he brings it up to Syd, who, like him, has the most nonchalant reaction ever — “That’s wild.” The duo then shares an amusing exchange, expressing their admiration for Josh’s carrot-cutting skills before summarily dismissing him in the same breath. This exchange features some of the best quotes and moments on season 2 of The Bear, showcasing the depth of Marcus and Syd’s friendship and the overall growth of the OG kitchen crew as a whole.

30. Fridge fight

Season 2 of The Bear culminates in an all-out shouting match between Carmy and Ritchie, leading to perhaps one of the simplest, but best quotes of the show: “I love you”. While Carmy has often displayed difficulty repeating the phrase back to people in his family, the scene is a true testament to just how far Ritchie has come since his earliest days, and he responds to Carmy’s anger-fuelled tirade with “I love you”.

True to The Bear’s style of portraying familial love, Richie’s admissions of love and caring also (rightly) come with a side of colourful expletives. However, the scene does set the stage for season 3 of The Bear, which is due for release in June of this year.

Excited? We sure are.

Watch The Bear on Disney + Hotstar.

This story first appeared here.

(Main and featured images: FX)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

– What is the famous saying about bears?

There are numerous sayings and idioms that include this magnificent beast. In The Bear, the Berzatto family and their friends discuss the nature of bears, sharing that they are fierce, loyal, protective, and loving among other notable qualities.

– Is The Bear Season 2 stressful?

Because it is filmed in a chaotic and fast-paced nature, The Bear season 2 may present a stressful watch for viewers with anxiety. Additionally, its focus on often taboo subjects like mental health, addiction, childhood trauma, and abuse may trigger those with similar experiences. In terms of its storyline, however, opening and operating a restaurant at a Michelin level is indeed a stressful experience. Just ask Carmy.

– What is The Bear’s quote about consistency?

One of the best quotes in The Bear season 2 is, “We Can’t Operate At A Higher Level Without Consistency,” an ideal echoed throughout the course of the entire series.

– Why is The Bear series so popular?

The Bear is a hilarious and incredibly accurate take on the high-stakes restaurant industry and just how much chefs must sacrifice to make their dreams come true, whether it is in opening a restaurant or earning the elusive Michelin star. The FX show also intertwines compelling storylines in the form of its varied cast of characters, making for a fun watch.