A Breakdown Of Syd's "The Bear" Black Coded Episode

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The Bear Season 4 touched down on Hulu recently, giving viewers another opportunity to catch up with our favorite chefs.
Episode 4 of the new season, entitled "Worms," was a standalone piece for Sydney, and it was absolutely *chef's kiss.*
"Worms" was a beautiful look at Black culture and family, and gave us a more serene episode without much of the usual chaos and emotional baggage that comes with the standard The Bear atmosphere.
"Worms" was written by Ayo Edebiri, who plays Sydney, and Lionel Boyce, who plays Marcus.
By far, this was the most Black coded episode in the entire series, and it really made me feel seen. For a show that's based in Chicago, a city with one of the largest populations of Black people in America, I had long felt like I wanted to see more of the culture depicted in the series. "Worms" delivers this in such an eloquent and fresh way that it shocked me. So many times when we see Black culture depicted on shows that do not feature a majority Black cast, it feels trite and vociferous. In contrast, "Worms" was quiet, subtle, realistic, and gratifying.
Here are all the ways "Worms" was Black coded:
The Whoopi Goldberg opening.
The episode starts with Syd watching Jumpin' Jack Flash, a Whoopi Goldberg comedy from the mid-'80s. The film is a deep cut and is about a woman who is way overqualified but underappreciated, being recruited to help a European spy escape from danger. 'Do you wanna work here, or do you want to live?," asks Whoopi in the film. I couldn't help but see the parallels to Syd's journey here. She is an overqualified Black woman who feels underappreciated, working to help keep The Bear afloat. Does she want to continue working there, or does she want to live a more peaceful life?
Syd taking out her braids.
As Syd watches Jumpin' Jack Flash she is undoing her box braids. We see her removing some extensions, sometimes painfully, with semi-patience and grace. This process alone can take forever and is the first step in the hours-long process of getting your hair redone.
Chef Adam thinks the hair appointment will only last two hours.
While Syd is taking her braids out, Chef Adam Shapiro calls her. If you recall, in the previous season, Chef Adam offered Syd a boss position at his new restaurant. The decision to leave The Bear and join Chef Adam has been weighing heavily on Syd for an entire season at this point. Chef Adam asks Syd to come check out the new restaurant, which is still being built. Syd lets him know that she has a hair appointment today... a warning that most people in the Black community know means, "I'm busy for the rest of the day, try me another time." However, this goes right over Chef Adam's head as a white man, and he offers to meet her after it's done in "two hours." Both Syd and I scoffed at the same time here... TWO HOURS? For box braids? Impossible. However, rather than explaining this, Syd just offers to push her appointment back so she can go meet him quickly.
Syd's wool beanie.
To cover up her undone hair in public, Syd rocks a large wool beanie. Same Syd, Same.
Chef Adam's slight microaggressions.
Chef Adam seems like a genuinely nice guy who just wants to impress Syd and make her feel welcome. Unfortunately, he commits quite a few microaggressions in his attempt to be friendly. When Syd meets Chef Adam at the new spot, he is blasting MOP's "Ante Up," which is honestly a classic rap record that I play around the house."Do you know this guy?" he asks Syd (MOP is actually a duo) before he continues whitesplaining. "It's East Coast shit, but it's a classic.' I assume Chef Adam thinks playing very loud rap music for the Black woman coming to visit him will make her feel welcome. He tells her she can then play whatever she wants (I guess he assumed she wanted loud rap music?), but then Syd turns on Beethoven, to which a caught-off-guard Chef Adam goes, "Yeah, vibes."
Next, he suggests that Syd bring in, 'some of those Afro-Caribbean influences' to the menu. However, I don't think we've seen Syd create many "Afro" dishes thus far on the show, which highlights that Chef Adam doesn't really know her style at all and is just assuming she has some African or Caribbean dishes in her repertoire because she's a Black woman.
To cap off this parade of microaggressions, Chef Adam then suggests that he doesn't want to hire a woman, but then fill the kitchen with, "guys that look like me." Once again, I think he's just trying to be warm and welcoming, but the comment just hit like someone who is trying too hard to be diverse and hip. Would he have made this same comment to a guy who looks like Carmy? Probably not.
Family doing your hair on their day off.
After Syd finally gets to her hair appointment, we meet her cousin Chantel, played by the always masterful Danielle Deadwyler. Chantel, who is a stylist, is doing Syd's hair at her house on her day off. Having an auntie or cousin do your hair on their off day is such a subtle nod to the culture, and it's little things like that that really bring this episode together. The close-up shots of the hair gel just adds to the ambiance and sets the cultural mood perfectly.
The entire relationship and lingo between Syd and Chantel.
Throughout the entire episode, we are given a front-row seat to Syd and Chantel's relationship. From their lingo to their body language, it's just such a fresh, funny, and vivid window into the culture. The way they gossip, the way they throw shots at each other and allude to family beef... it feels so authentic, like I'm sitting in my auntie's house while watching it.
Chantel code switching on the phone.
While Chantel is doing Syd's hair, she gets a call from someone trying to schedule an appointment. We hear Chantel immediately code-switch and talk in a much more "proper" voice to the client on the phone, reminding them not to call her personal phone and to call the shop instead.
"I know she didn't just talk to me like that."
This was my favorite moment from "Worms." Chantel yells upstairs to her daughter, TJ, asking her to bring down the hair extensions to finish Syd's hair. To which her daughter yells back, "There ain't none, damn!" LAWD, let me tell you I almost fell out of my seat when Syd slowly turns to look at Chantel, both of them in shock. Using a simple curse word like "damn" towards your parents in a Black household sounds to them like you're asking for the death penalty. The subsequent crash out from Chantel had me in tears of laughter.
Chantel leaving mid-session to get more supplies.
But it turns out TJ was right, there aren't any hair extensions in the house. So, Chantel tells Syd that she's heading to the store and doesn't ask but instructs Syd to watch TJ while she runs out. While I don't use extensions for my locs, I have definitely been in a position where the loc gel or another item runs out, and I'm left to sit and watch TV while my stylist runs to the store.
"Fit Check!"
Chantel hits Syd with the obligatory, "fit check" question before sliding out the door in a fresh blue Adidas tracksuit. At this point, it's pretty obvious that Chantel is not just going to the hair store. Also, I was howling when she asked for a fit check and didn't even wait for a response before deciding her look was good enough and leaving.
The blinking and unset stove clock stuck on 12:00.
The unset stove clock is such a subtle inside joke, and I loved it. It's not as trite as the overused "why is the smoke alarm always beeping" joke, but it hits the same tone.
The feeling of being left out when going to a better school.
While Syd is watching TJ, it's revealed that TJ is being forced by her mother to attend a charter school, while her friends get to go to the public school. This is a struggle that many kids in the hood can relate to. Their parents want them to have a better education and experience, but that means leaving friends behind whose parents may not be able to afford those same opportunities. And God forbid you're seen as the kid with "rich" parents who can afford to provide you with a better life.
"Go and make me a bowl."
When Chantel finally comes home, after shopping for herself on top of everything else, she checks out the dish that Sydney prepared for TJ. Syd has the audacity to ask, "What did you buy me at Adidas?", after seeing all the shopping bags. Chantel simply hits back with, "Don't worry about that, go and make me a bowl." TRIFLING yet hilarious.
Food on the North Side being too dry.
When Syd invites Chantel to The Bear, the latter is hesitant because it's on the North Side of Chicago. "You know they beefs be different," Chantel quips. The wide-eyed look of disgust Chantel gives Syd is the tell that she's talking about white people, even though she doesn't directly mention race. "Dip it, keep it wet. With the cheese," Chantel continues, alluding to the fact that the beef on the North side is too dry.
And finally, one more microaggression from Chef Adam.
When all is said and done, Syd leaves Chantel's place and calls Chef Adam. And you know he has to leave us with one more friendly yet painful microaggression. 'Have you seen Good Hair? I just streamed it. It's so dope," he tells Syd on the phone. I'm still shaking my damn head.
Stream The Bear on Hulu.