#and he has another sweater than the trauma blue swater!!! it's not a Good sweater color-theory wise but

[blackjack-15]

sydcarmy breakdown 2X03!

opening with a futility montage for syd -- tight shots for her as well, but centered on her rather than to the side like carmy's? predicts evasion for carmy and head-on tackling of anxieties by syd. business as usual for these two

the BEAUTIFUL widening of the frame from carmy blitizing the crap outta some nuts with his knife, alone in a kitchen, grey sweater blending in with the rest of the background, to show syd in bold tints -- carmy's black and white, note, while he's in a "muddied" version of his colors -- is insane. establishing the lone man, the stress, and then to widen it to show syd and have typical banter start? i see you i see you

"you know what most restaurants suck at?" "how much time do i have to answer that question?" carmy is so, so dry, and i adore it.

THE COPENHAGEN CHEKOV'S GUN. VINDICATION.

them finishing each other's thoughts and sentences is so beautiful here, the way that he can follow her train of thought without missing a beat, the way that he doesn't find copenhagen a "wild" suggestion at all...it's beautiful. these two really are at their best in a small space, alone, with nothing directly hanging over them

"happy?" ohhhhh that's a loaded bit of dialogue. happy with the food? happy with the agreement on sending marcus to copenhagen? happy being there in his kitchen? syd of course takes the most literal interpretation, but bless her, she always does

"you marinated it for too long, but it's okay, though" "i mean it's not, it's twice in a row" "that's why we're doing this" carmy's best aspect by far is his ability to never make the exact same mistake twice, and to incorporate what he learns from others into his important relationships (especially syd). he knows he futzed up by not telling her what her risotto/cola ribs recipe was missing, so he comes out of the gate here with it. he feels bad for yelling at her after a mistake, so he offers support and a way to move past it, to normalize it as part of the learning process.

oh. okay this is breathtakingly vulnerable for syd in a way we really haven't seen yet.

syd is kinda thirsty for praise, especially from carmy -- not a bad thing at all, it's a very neutral character trait. but here, instead of staring wide-eyed at him and pretending she doesn't care (like when he doesn't eat when she preps family in s1), she voices it -- "you're sending me home?" you can almost hear the implied "did i do that badly?". it's a very vulnerable thing to say for syd, who tends to attack things head-on

look at her face there. she is honestly worried, but she's willing to speak up, she's more comfortable and confident in her and carmy's relationship than she was in s1

"no, i'm not sending you home, i'm sending us out for...inspiration" first. just tell your pretty friend that you like her and wanna go geek out about food together, carmy. i know it's not Repression Chic, but. honestly.

second, he's demonstrating that he knows how syd will take this -- how she does end up taking it, by the irritation at herself that she displays here. he knows she's impatient -- with everything and everyone, including herself -- so he tries to show her that this isn't a fault thing, it's just what they've gotta do

and when she doesn't get it and he knows she's mad at herself? "and syd?" "...yeah?" "this really was almost perfect." again, he's learned from the cola ribs and risotto. this conversation is a great mirror to that one, where he starts with praise (it's tremendous) and then tells her "i didn't say it was perfect" as a follow up. he starts with the critique, assures her that it's alright, and then, knowing she's unhappy with herself, praises her.

It doesn't take, but he's doing it right. which means, since carmy opens the episode in Repression Town, things are about to go to pot

#the bear #liveblogging #2X03 #dinner break but hoping to be back in a little bit #but hey! back on the wagon! #also carmy is so friggin soft with her here i'm crying #and he has another sweater than the trauma blue swater!!! it's not a Good sweater color-theory wise but #but it's a sweater!