The fact that you’re all trying to guess the feelings of a grown man who literally asked his colleague, “WHAT IS A GIRLFRIEND?”(208) is beyond me.
You’re so blinded by the main character’s sex appeal that you forget that Carmen has been an awkward/nerdy/neurodivergent man all his life who never made decisions for himself except when he decided to hire Sydney and keep her without anyone’s influence.
Carmen’s lack of experience means he probably doesn’t know the difference between a platonic relationship versus a romantic relationship with a woman.
That’s why he was baffled when Sydney tried to introduce Claire as his girlfriend.
That’s why Claire pursued him, not the other way around.
That’s why, at this stage, he can’t even describe the nature of his feelings for Sydney.
It’s also why, the day after his panic attack, he hasn’t said a word to his sister, even though he’s been confiding in her since season one.
Because he’s confused himself, and doesn’t understand why Sydney’s vision reassured him more than Claire’s did. It’s also interesting that he chose not to remember when she called him a piece of shit.
Everything happens on an UNCONSCIOUS level for him, which explains all these confusing montages showing Claire and Sydney at the same time.
That’s also why he made his declaration to Sydney UNDER the table where CLAIRE ATE. Because everything HIDDEN is unconscious.
“I wanna show you something…” // “Wait. Was is this? Are we doing drawings now?” // “Well, no. I had to draw these because we didn’t have the heat…” // “You had to draw them so then you like whip out these fuckin’ Sistine Chapel. There’s like shading here.”
I can't fully articulate it yet, but there's something about the show taking place not immediately after Mikey's death or even Carmy starting at The Beef, but on the day Sydney arrives to stage
Something something Carmy got a wake up call the day Mikey passed, but wasn't awake until Sydney arrived blahblahblah
Fandoms will ship two het men who simply breathe next to each other but god forbid a Black woman has a relationship with or even just chemistry with the popular male lead. And this happens in EVERY fandom (see tags for examples) with a prominent Black female character. They were even vehemently against Miles Morales and the Black spider girl (Margo).
It’s just very telling that certain people are suddenly “platonic love/besties/sibling energy only otherwise the show is ruined!!” when the fem character is Black.
It’s ok to not ship characters, but the overwhelming backlash to these specific ones has been so ridiculous and very obviously racially motivated. There are articles now discussing whether harmless shipping of two fictional adult characters is acceptable, and on the cover of them is typically an interracial pairing involving a Black woman…
Obsessed with the delivery here. The hesitation. The way he lingers. The little micro expression/lip quiver. The way he sounds so quiet and sad when he says it. And he could say “you wore the apron.” he could make it about the restaurant or the brand or the team. But no, he says “you’re dressed like Syd.” It’s such a simple line but I think it really highlights his headspace. The guilt. The sadness. The regret. The way he’s clearly missing her so much he sees her everywhere
everytime i try to post this something happens so im praying that this actually fucking goes through🙏🙏 anyway i love this edit and i worked hard on it!!
Costumes are such an important part of the storytelling. Carmen and Sydney were matching this season, even across episodes. The green sweaters were in episodes 2 and 8, for Sydney and Carmy, respectively, and the black shirts with white undershirts were in episodes 3 and 7. Even apart, they were in sync.