A new prequel episode of The Bear, titled “Gary,” has been surprisingly released, and it has some big ramifications for the TV show. Set several months after the Season 2 episode “Fishes,” and thus a few years before the main events of the series, it follows Mikey (Jon Bernthal) and Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) on a trip to Gary, Indiana, to deliver a package for Uncle Jimmy, where chaos inevitably ensues and their relationship is severely tested. Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Bear – “Gary.”
Videos by ComicBook.com
A lot is going on in the episode, with neither Mikey nor Richie exactly on their best behavior. They drink, do drugs, play basketball and angrily trash-talk some kids, and by the end, Mike loses it and tells Rich that he’s going to be a terrible father. It’s sad, brutal, uncomfortable, funny, and in short, what The Bear does best. What makes it more stressful is the ticking clock that runs through the episode: Richie has to get back home by 5:15 pm, as that’s when Tiff (Gillian Jacobs) plans on going into labor, as it’s the same time her mother had her.
Richie Didn’t Actually Miss Eva’s Birth, But It Helps Explain Why He & Tiff Got Divorced
Despite Richie’s efforts, they don’t make it back to Chicago by 5:15 pm. They don’t beat the train, which means they lose vital time in Indiana, and the clock on the car even before that point – when Mikey tries to play the mixed CD, and Richie throws it out of the window – already reads 5:15, so he wasn’t even close to making it.
However, despite what “Gary” implies, Richie didn’t actually miss the birth of his daughter (who did end up being called Eva, as Mikey suggested). In The Bear Season 3, Episode 7, “Legacy,” Sugar asks Rich about what he was doing the day before Tiff went into labor, and he reveals that he was on a trip with Mikey, where they delivered something for Jimmy. Or in other words, he was on this trip, meaning Tiff actually goes into labor the next day, though he admits she was “pissed” at him.
One unanswered question throughout The Bear is exactly why Richie and Tiff got divorced, and I think this does a good job of making that pretty clear. It might not have been the exact event that instigated it, or maybe it was, but it highlights Richie’s immaturity and unreliability at the time when she needed him the most. While both he and Mikey are at fault for not making it back home in time, he’s the one who decided to go into the bar, smoke, and get wasted. He also lies to her on the phone, something we know wasn’t an unusual occurrence.
Like in “Fishes,” it’s bittersweet to see Tiff and Rich together at the beginning of the episode, knowing where their relationship ends up. Richie is not a terrible person and, despite what Mikey says, he’s certainly not a bad father, but he showed time and again that he was not someone Tiff could trust or count on when it mattered, and “Gary” really hammers that point home.
It also suggests his friendship with Mikey was part of this: they could be bad influences on each other, sometimes bringing out their worst sides, and Richie’s love and concern for him meant he had a difficult time saying no, because the Berzattos were family to him. But that also came at the expense of his new family, and being able to grow and take responsibility has been a major part of Richie’s arc throughout The Bear‘s four seasons so far, and it’ll continue in Season 5.
The Bear‘s prequel, “Gary,” is now available to stream on FX on Hulu.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Courtesy of Crunchyroll / Sony Pictures -
Image Courtesy of Netflix -
Image Courtesy of Ufotable
