Warning! Spoilers for The Bear season 4 ahead!The Bearseason 4, episode 8, “Green,” opens as Sydney has a bizarre dream. This character struggled throughout season 4 to decide whether she should stay at Carmy’s restaurant (which seems doomed to fail) or start all the way over again with Chef Adam Shapiro. Episode after episode, Sydney weighed her options and nearly made a decision on a couple of occasions. However, Sydney hadn’t quite been able to pull the trigger as of the start ofThe Bearseason 4, episode 8, and her dream reflected the stress of this difficult moment in her life.
Sydney’s dream is never fully addressed after the fact inThe Bearseason 4. She didn’t discuss it with any of the other characters or break down the meaning of each bizarre stage of it. However, given what we know about Sydney, the choice she faced, andprevious events ofThe Bear, we can sort it all out. From the overly chipper cooking show that was crashed by a rainstorm to Sydney’s attempts to run through an empty, ornate theater, there’s a lot to unpack.
Why Sydney Has A Nightmare Of Herself On A Cooking Show
Sydney Wasn’t Herself During The First Stage Of Her Dream
Sydney’s dream began with her as the star of a cooking show, which appeared to be filmed in front of a live audience. Sydney was as far more chipper than usual in this stage of the dream, smiling and joking with the camera while sporting a straight, bobbed hairstyle. It’s interesting to note that as Sydney described what she was cooking,she repeated several times how expensive, bougie, and inaccessible her ingredients and tools were.
Sydney’s frequent comments about the cost and rarity of her tools drew attention to all the work and money that went into her career. Sydney had already tried and failed to run a business, and her finances and credit are shot as a result. If she makes the wrong choice about which restaurant to work at, she would be throwing everything that she and her father had invested out the window. This concept is reinforced by the sudden rain and the panicking crowd of people.
The chaos of Sydney’s dream as the rain pours down on the cooking show set is rather self-explanatory. The moment reflects how chaotic thisThe Bearcharacterfeels inside her mind. What’s interesting is that as the water ruins her expensive kitchen and premium ingredients, Sydney does her best to keep a smile on her face and act like nothing’s wrong. She even noted that a little water wouldn’t hurt, which clearly wasn’t true.
The last thing we see during this sequence is a destroyed teddy bear next to a plate of food. This indicates that Sydney’s cooking-show kitchen represents the job with Shapiro—a place where she isn’t quite herself and everything is still chaos.
Why Sydney Has A Dream About Running Through An Auditorium & Red Light
The Restaurant Industry Is Theatre
The next phase ofSydney’s dream inThe Bearseason 4saw her wake up on a stage covered in snow. Her straight bob was replaced with a more natural hairstyle, and as Sydney stood up and looked around, she saw that she was in a beautiful, empty theater. She tried to run through the seats and out of the place, but she suddenly found that she could only run in place. As the camera zoomed in on her, Sydney became surrounded by a red light, andher panic mounted higher and higher as she struggled to escape.
The snow on stage in Sydney’s dream is reminiscent of the fake stuff that Richie used to surprise a guest at The Bear in an earlier episode.
The snow on stage in Sydney’s dream is reminiscent of the fake stuff that Richie used to surprise a guest at The Bear in an earlier episode. It’s interesting that, in this part of the dream,Sydney looks and acts a little more like herself. Her hair is natural, and rather than aggressively pretending that everything is okay, she silently tries and fails to escape. The auditorium seems to represent The Bear and this extravagant show that she and the staff put on night after night. This setting is preferred to the loud, wet cooking show, but that red glow emphasizes the silent tension that still exists in the background.
How Sydney’s Nightmare Influences Her Decision With Shapiro & The Bear
Image via Hulu
The scene that followed Sydney waking up from her dream inThe Bearseason 4, episode 8, saw her call Chef Adam and tell him that she wouldn’t be able to come to work at his new restaurant.She had officially made the decision to stay at The Bear. It certainly seems that Sydney’s dream helped her finally make a decision. The bizarre sequence reflected the fact that Carmy and his restaurant are pure chaos, but that it was a place where Sydney could fully be her own creative self.
Moreover, Sydney’s dream made it clear thatholding off on making a decision was far worse than either of the choices she could make. The stress was putting her under too much strain, and she had put off the choice for too long. Of course, Sydney didn’t realize yet that Carmy himself had chosen to leaveThe Bear. This and more are sure to ultimately contribute to whether Sydney regrets her choice. For now, though, she at least took a step forward.
