We Need to Talk About the Journey Richie Went on in Season 2 of ‘The Bear’

If you told me in season 1 of The Bear that my favorite character would become Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s take on Richie Jerimovich, I wouldn’t believe you. Yet here I am, obsessed with his arc throughout the second season. When we first met Richie, he was a man lost in his own grief over the death of his best friend, Michael (Jon Bernthal). He’s called “Cousin” by the Berzatto family because he was so close to Michael, but he’s not actually related to them, something that Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), as Michael’s brother, loves to remind him of.

Throughout that first season, Richie wasn’t the easiest to deal with. He was trying to maintain Michael’s restaurant vision and would push back against Carmy at every turn he could. So, when season 2 rolled around and Carmy was creating “The Bear,” it seemed like the opposite of what Richie would have wanted. “The Original Beef of Chicagoland” was Michael’s vision, and Carmy tried to keep it running but it just wasn’t something he could maintain. Instead, he was keeping his family vision alive with his own restaurant.

The first few episodes left us watching Richie sort of floating in the background, trying to help where he could, seemingly sadder than he’d been in season 1—probably because he really didn’t have a purpose yet. So it was shocking to see where he started with the Berzatto family and where he would eventually end up by the end of the season.

A stressful seven fishes

The start of Richie’s journey begins in “Fishes,” an episode that really captures what it’s like to deal with an Italian family over the holidays—the stress, the screaming, the random people who are there because they’re friends of someone else. It’s all accurate to what it feels like during the holidays (at least for me and my Italian family), so when Richie is there at a Christmas that featured Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis) cooking a beautiful meal in the midst of what seemed like her own manic episode, he doesn’t feel out of place. It is, however, one of the few times we get to see Richie happy.

This is a Christmas prior to his daughter being born. He’s with Tiffany (Gillian Jacobs), and they’re excited about their future kid together, and it is a rare moment of Richie just genuinely being happy for once. That’s after a season of him being lost without Michael, and the beginning half of season 2 spent with Richie trying to find his new place in the midst of Carmy and “The Bear.”

It’s “Fishes” that shows us where Richie has come from and leads into “Forks,” an episode dedicated solely to Richie’s growth as a character.

Sometimes we all need to scream sing Taylor Swift

“Forks” takes Richie on a new adventure: working at a high class restaurant. In a move to teach Richie what he wants him to do at “The Bear,” Carmy sends Richie to work at an upscale restaurant in Chicago. It’s so elusive that it’s hard to get a reservation, and people wait for years to get in. At first, Richie doesn’t get it. It’s not something he would do, so he scoffs at the idea, but as is the case with great character growth, he begins to see the appeal of this restaurant.

It boils down to the staff and their willingness to make this dining experience the best it can be for their guests. He suddenly becomes interested in how the restaurant works, making special moments when he can, and it leads to a beautiful conversation between Richie and the head chef there (played by Olivia Colman). From there, he has a new outlook on his relationship with Carmy and “The Bear,” and he also scream sings Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” in the car during his realization.

This season has overall just been a great look into characters who are willing to grow (Richie) and those who still have work to do (Carmy).

(featured image: Chuck Hodes/FX)