The Bearseason 4 has finally revealed one of the show’s biggest unseen characters, but it still hasn’t explained why they’ve been absent from the story for so long.The Bear’s character dynamicsare confusingly and hilariously complicated. Between the Berzatto family, the Fak family, and an assortment of cousins who aren’t actual cousins, it can be hard to keep track of who’s who.
It can be even harder to keep track of who’s fighting with whom, however. Among all the various “bears” and “cousins,” there’s an overload of passion, anger, stress, and love, which, as we’ve seen in memorable yet taxing episodes like season 2’s “Fishes,” can lead to fights that are tragically, almost frighteningly explosive. There’s only been one inter-family feud present since the beginning, though.
Natalie “Sugar” Berzatto (Abby Elliott) is the calmest member of the Berzatto family. She’s sweet, supportive, and loving. ThroughoutThe Bear’s four-season run, only one person’s name ever set her off: Francie Fak, the infamous missing member of the Fak family. Now,The Bearseason 4has finally given audiences a good, long look at Francie, but the show still failed to answer the biggest mystery of all.
Francie Fak’s The Bear Season 4 Cameo Was Great, But Still Didn’t Reveal Exactly What She Did To Sugar
The Bear’s critical acclaim has attracted several Hollywood A-listers and high-profile actors to join the chaos in guest-starring and cameo roles. Jamie Lee Curtis, Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Paulson, John Cena, John Mulaney, and more have all appeared on the show.
Perhaps, then,Oscar-winner Brie Larson’s role as Francie Fakshouldn’t have been a surprise. With Larson’s casting, it’s clear that Francie is meant to be the Fak family’s version of Natalie; no wonder the two ended up butting heads.
While we did see Natalie and Francie resolve their differences in an admittedly lovely moment, it’s frankly shocking thatThe Bearnever revealed why they fought so much in the first place.
The thing is, however, that we still don’t know exactly why they grew so far apart. Francie and Natalie are reunited at Tiffany’s (Gillian Jacobs) and Frank’s (Josh Hartnett) wedding. This episode, “Bears,” had all the makings of becoming “Fishes” 2.0, focusing on another big family gathering in an hour-long episode.
While we did see Natalie and Francie resolve their differences in an admittedly lovely moment, it’s frankly shocking thatThe Bearnever revealed why they fought so much in the first place. This has been a major part of Natalie’s character, andThe Bearis all about resolving conflict and finding common ground.
The Bearfocused on the wrong mystery. Audiences didn’t necessarily need to know who was playing Francie. We wanted to know what could make someone like Natalie become a raging ball of fury whenever Francie’s name was mentioned, and it’s unlikely we’ll find out the truth now.
Francie Fak Needs To Return In The Bear Season 5 (But Season 3’s Fak Cameo Makes That Unlikely)
IfBrie Larson did returnfor a future appearance inThe Bearseason 5(or beyond), then she wouldn’t be the first major star to make a returning guest appearance. Larson has also shared her enthusiasm for the show, saying that she would"fly across the country and work with them for one hour if that’s what it took."
Arguably, Francie needs to return, if only so that we can finally discover how, exactly, she betrayed Natalie (and vice versa).Unfortunately, It seems more likely that Larson’s cameo will be treated similarly to John Cena’s appearance as Sammy Fak in season 3; he hasn’t been seen since, either, and with good reason. He wouldn’t add anything new to the story.
With all these major guest stars,The Bearruns the risk of overshadowing its narrative, keeping the audience guessing as to which big Hollywood star will show up next rather than focusing on the characters that truly matter. Now that Francie and Natalie have buried the hatchet, perhapsThe Bearis ready to move on – it’s just a shame we may never know what happened between them.
