External links
- "Sheridan" at IMDb
| "Sheridan" | |
|---|---|
| The Bear episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 5 |
| Directed by | Joanna Calo |
| Written by | Karen Joseph Adcock |
| Original air date | June 23, 2022 |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Sheridan" is the fifth episode of the first season of the American comedy-drama television series The Bear . It is the fifth overall episode of the series and was written by series creator Christopher Storer and directed by Joanna Calo. It was released on Hulu on June 23, 2022, along with the rest of the season.
The series follows Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto, an award-winning New York City chef de cuisine, who returns to his hometown of Chicago to run his late brother Michael's failing Italian beef sandwich shop.
To try to increase profits, Carmy and Sydney agree to create a new dinner menu. As they prepare to open for lunch, a toilet backs up. Carmy calls Fak, Richie's friend, to fix it. Fak wants to be an employee but his informal interview with Richie culminates in a fight which Carmy breaks up. Fak reveals that Richie has been selling cocaine in the alley behind the restaurant; Richie explains that this got the business through the COVID-19 pandemic but agrees to stop. Marcus experiments with fermentation, but neglects his baking duties. As he rushes to catch up, he overloads the mixer and causes a fuse to blow. With the power out, the crew scramble to save their perishables. When Fak informs Carmy it will cost over $5,000 to replace a damaged condenser, he asks Richie to get the money by selling cocaine one final time. Sydney saves the day by running an outdoor lunch service using a makeshift barbecue setup, causing her to reflect on her failed catering business.
Marcus is experimenting out of the Noma Guide to Fermentation book; actor Lionel Boyce trained for the role with Noma pastry chef Malcolm Livingston II. [1] (Livingston later appeared as himself in the season-three finale episode set at the Ever funeral.) [2]
"Say mattae" is a reference to the 1988 Jean-Claude Van Damme movie Bloodsport. [3]
The episode opens with what Collider described as a successful use of the "hip-hop montage" form of storytelling: "The opening sequence shows Sydney lying awake in bed, interspersed with swift cuts to a fiery beef roast and a chicken demi-glace. A woodfire grill burning shifts to fish, red sauce, and then a shot of an email notification from Greater Chicago Banking 'Dear Ms. Adamu, Thank you for your application with Greater Chicago Banking, however we regret to inform you that we are unable to approve you for th...' There is the ding of a cash register and a rapid succession of seafood shots." [4] More shots follow, including images of boxes labeled Sheridan Road Catering, and overall "in just under one minute, the viewer gets a more personal look into Sydney’s character, motivation, and history. This style of silent, third-person narration prevails as a beautiful storytelling device essentially immune to even the slightest prospect of cheese." [5] Syd's catering company was named for Sheridan Road, which is a major thoroughfare that runs along Lake Michigan into Wisconsin. [6] The road, which is in turn named for U.S. Army general Philip Sheridan, was proposed in the 1880s as a northward extension of Lake Shore Drive. [6] At the end of the episode, a similar montage outlines Syd's creative process in developing her cola-braised short ribs dish. [4]
The songs included in the episode were "Wish I Was" by Kim Deal, "Da Doo Ron Ron" by the Crystals, "Sisyphus" by Andrew Bird, and "Impossible Germany" from the Sky Blue Sky album by Wilco. [7]
When Sydney enters the kitchen she immediately understands what Carmy is already working on and asks "Can I?" Carmy approves, so she begins hammering chicken breasts with a meat tenderizer while he makes conversation about having looked at her COGS, which are reports about "costs of goods sold." [8] Later, using the chicken in question, Carmy shows the cooks how to make lemon chicken piccata for the updated dinner menu. [9] This is "mom's chicken" that Sugar was making for dinner in episode two, "Hands." [9] Carmy uses the term monter (from beurre monté ) and then switches to simpler language. Translated literally from the French monter means "to mount," but it's used in "culinary English" to mean "to thicken," specifically by slowly whisking in butter. [10] Piccata is the Italian word "for a very thin, usually flattened, slice of meat or fish." [11] Veal piccata was the original form, chicken piccata came later. [12]
The stock that Sydney asks Carmy to help her strain is an étouffée stock for use in her forthcoming risotto dish. [13] [8] Per The New Food Lover's Companion , étouffée is a traditional "thick, spicy" Creole-cuisine or Cajun-cuisine stew made from crayfish and vegetables, usually served over rice. [14]
In 2024, the Hollywood Reporter ranked "Sheridan" 25th-best out of 28 episodes produced to that point, calling it "a solid episode, lost amid some better, similar episodes, not unlike 'Pop.'" [15] Vulture rated "Sheridan" four out of five stars. [3] Buzzfeed commented that the moment when "Carmy helped [Sydney] strain shrimp stock planted the seed for a hypothetical romance between them that many fans have been hoping for." [16]
