"Sophie" is the sixth episode of the fourth season of the American comedy-drama television series The Bear. It is the 34th overall episode of the series and was written and directed by series creator Christopher Storer. It was released on Hulu on June 25, 2025, along with the rest of the season.
In this episode Sydney grapples with her father's cardiac incident, while Carmy holds down the fort at the restaurant, where the crew gets to know Natalie and Pete's baby Sophie (she smells like raspberry sauce), and squabble over Tiffany and Frank's upcoming wedding. Reviewers applauded Ayo Edebiri's vulnerable acting performance, as Syd comes to terms with her dad's mortality and her own self-protective perfectionism, while she simultaneously stands at a career crossroads, with the enticements of Shapiro's job offer down one road, and a continued relationship with Carmy and the Berzatto family down the other road.
Plot
Sydney arrives at the hospital in a panic, but Claire (Molly Gordon) tells her that her father is recovering. Sydney breaks down in tears over her guilt about making her father (Robert Townsend) worry about her, but Claire comforts her, assuring her that it is a good thing to worry about loved ones. Richie opens up to Jess (Sarah Ramos) about his insecurities over co-parenting his daughter with Tiff's (Gillian Jacobs) fiancé Frank (Josh Hartnett), and his anxiety about attending her wedding. Albert (Rob Reiner) suggests to Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson) that he turn the Beef window into a franchise. Neil angers Natalie when he says he invited his sister Francie—whom Natalie despises—to Tiff's wedding. Carmy, who is also hesitating going to Tiff's wedding out of fear of seeing Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis), agrees to go after talking to Natalie.
Context
As Collider writer Ryan Loomey put it, Sydney's hospital monologue is "messy and incoherent by design, and this level of raw emotion is something we've never seen from Sydney before."[1]
Production
Costuming
Sydney arrives at the hospital wearing her Carleen Upcycled Blanket Liner Jacket, previously seen in the season two episode "Pop."[2]
The A.V. Club gave the episode a B rating, commending Ayo Edebiri's acting in "an open wound of a monologue that reminds us just how young Syd is; she's so good at projecting cool confidence that it's easy to forget.[4] Vulture rated it four out of five stars, commending the well-developed work family dynamic as a backdrop for Syd's anxiety about her family-family.[5] Decider lamented Sweeps and Tina being "lost in the woods of secondary character plotlessness."[6]Substream magazine commended an "extremely emotionally touching performance from Ayo Edebiri" and wrote that "...it's sad to witness Syd come apart in that way, because she's doing the best she can...The conversation between Syd and Emmanuel is beautiful because he's giving her the fatherly reassurance she needs still. Carmy is still trying to find out the best way to show up for her. In their call, he even says he'd leave and come to the hospital. That overture is different than what we've experienced with Carmy in the past...There is more to be said between them, but that 'I appreciate you' from Syd to Carmy hit hard. It shakes him in a good way."[7]
Retrospective reviews
In 2025, Vulture ranked "Bolognese" as 32nd-best out of 38 episodes of The Bear, describing it as a "pretty solid Bear episode all things considered."[8]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
