"Replicants" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of the American comedy-drama television series The Bear. It is the 33rd overall episode of the series and was directed by series creator Christopher Storer. It was released on Hulu on June 25, 2025, along with the rest of the season.
| "Replicants" | |
|---|---|
| The Bear episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 5 |
| Directed by | Christopher Storer |
| Written by | Karen Joseph Adcock |
| Cinematography by | Andrew Wehde |
| Editing by | |
| Production code | XCBV4005 |
| Original air date | June 25, 2025 |
| Running time | 33 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
The series follows Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), an award-winning New York City chef de cuisine, who returns to his hometown of Chicago to run his late brother Michael's failing Italian beef sandwich shop. With the financial backing of his uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) and help from his cousin Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), sister Sugar (Abby Elliott), and chef Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), Carmy attempts to remodel the dingy Beef into a warm and hospitable fine-dining destination called the Bear.
Plot
editCarmy attends an Al-Anon meeting and is moved by another member's vivid story of her brother's addiction. He later drives to Oak Park in the van and tours the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio. Sydney receives an updated partnership agreement from Carmy. Marcus sells his late mother's house with his roommate Chester's help. Carmy hires Luca as a stage to help Marcus. Tina talks to Carmy about his current struggle with reducing ingredients and advises him to slow down the pace of the menu. Carmy reveals to Sydney that he has decided on a set menu, admitting that his insistence on changing the menu every day was selfish and detrimental to the restaurant. Natalie brings baby Sophie to the restaurant. Sydney receives a call from the hospital saying her father has suffered a heart attack.
Production
editDevelopment
edit"Replicants" was written by Karen Joseph Adcock.[1]
Filming
edit
Carmy toured Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio house museum in Oak Park, Illinois.[2] The scenes were filmed over the course of one morning in early 2025.[2] The historical site's digital communications manager, Christine Trevino, conducted the onscreen tour, pointing out and explaining key details of the building design and history to Jeremy Allen White and The Bear crew.[2] The cast and crew were granted special permission to interact with objects and furniture that are usually off-limits to visitors and were permitted to film in the typically closed-off kitchen and balcony of the drafting room.[3]
Music
editThe songs featured in the episode are "Let Me Live in Your City" by Paul Simon, "Slip Away (A Warning)" by Lou Reed and John Cale, "It's Magic" by Doris Day (the 1948 version not the 1952 version), "Hope the High Road" by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, "Looking Into You" by Jackson Browne, and "Pull the Cup" by Shellac.[4][5][6][7][8]
Reception
editCritical reviews
editThe Daily Beast called Berlant's four-minute monologue a "highlight of the season."[9]
Richie's line "Who wants to melt some provolone on a fuckin' baby right now?" was deemed especially memorable by The A.V. Club.[10] The pairing of Rob Reiner and Edwin Lee Gibson was called a "comedy dream team."[10]
Vulture felt that the episode simultaneously highlighted that although Richie is hilarious he also nurses an ongoing bitterness: "...Richie doesn't know how to have an adult conversation with a male he's related(ish) to. He seems to only know how to throw syllabic grenades, dropping lines about Carmy's supposed fear of refrigerators..."[11]
Substream magazine's Murjani Rawls thought:[12]
"...the high point of 'Replicants' is the conversation between Carmy and Tina. Even with Carmy taking a step back and helping to guide people towards their sense of purpose, a part of him still wants validation. In part, it's tangled up in all the trauma that Chef David's tutelage has instilled within him (and the realization that he will never gain closure from that) and the loss of Mikey. Tina has been there from The Beef to Carmy's new incarnation. She has insight that nobody else in the restaurant has. Carmy, as of right now, doesn’t have that parental figure in his life. When Tina tells him, 'you da s--t, you don't have to prove anything,' it feels like the words he’s always been waiting for. Sure, Sydney or Richie can say it, but it means a lot for her to be the person."[12]
Retrospective reviews
editIn 2025, Vulture ranked "Replicants" as 29th-best out of 38 episodes of The Bear, celebrating the arrival of Sophie and Luca but finding that the serious tone of the Berlant monologue "sets the episode off on a slightly off-kilter foot from which it never really recovers."[13]
References
edit- ↑ "The Bear - WGA Directory". Writers Guild of America West. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Worthington, Clint (July 7, 2025). "How The Bear Season 4 Found Inspiration in Alpana and Oak Park's Frank Lloyd Wright Home". Block Club Chicago. Retrieved September 20, 2025.
- ↑ Sikora, Lacey (July 1, 2025). "The Bear visits Oak Park's Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio". Wednesday Journal. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ↑ "Experience the sounds of The Bear – Music – Season 4". The Bear. FX Networks. 2025.
- ↑ Thapa, Shaurya (July 3, 2025). "The Bear season 4 soundtrack: the full tracklist for the acclaimed FX restaurant drama". Time Out Worldwide. Retrieved May 8, 2026.
- ↑ Gomez, Dessi (July 2, 2025). "The Bear Season 4 Soundtrack: From the Ronettes to Oasis". Deadline. Retrieved May 8, 2026.
- ↑ MacArthur, Greg (June 26, 2025). "The Bear Season 4 Full Soundtrack: Every Song from Taylor Swift to Led Zeppelin". Screen Rant. Retrieved May 8, 2026.
- ↑ Starkey, Adam (June 26, 2025). "Every song on The Bear season four soundtrack". NME. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
- ↑ Fallon, Kevin (June 26, 2025). "This Surprise Guest Star Is the Best Part of The Bear". The Daily Beast. Retrieved September 20, 2025.
- 1 2 Scherer, Jenna (June 30, 2025). "On The Bear, Carmy says exactly what Syd's been waiting to hear at exactly the wrong time". AV Club. Retrieved September 20, 2025.
- ↑ Eakin, Marah (June 26, 2025). "The Bear Recap: We Have the Beefs". Vulture. Retrieved September 20, 2025.
- 1 2 Rawls, Murjani (July 3, 2025). "'The Bear' S4E5 Review: Nothing To Prove". Substream Magazine. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
- ↑ Eakin, Marah (June 27, 2025). "Every Single Episode of The Bear, Ranked". Vulture. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
External links
edit- "Replicants" at IMDb