Note: This story contains spoilers from “The Bear” Season 4, Episodes 4 and 7.
“The Bear” welcomed an Oscar-winning performer into its cast in Season 4, solving one of the FX comedy’s longest mysteries in the process.
Episode 6 of the Jeremy Allen White-led series, the longest of Season 4 with a 69-minute runtime, follows as friends and family gather for the wedding of Tiff (Gillian Jacobs) and Frank (Josh Hartnett). Unbeknownst to the groom, the event marked a family reunion of sorts of the Berzatto family, since Tiff considers ex-husband Richie’s (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) family her own.
Among the special day’s chaotic guests was the elusive Francine Fak (Brie Larson), sister to Neil (Matty Matheson) and Teddy (Ricky Staffieri) — other sibling Sammy (John Cena) was not in attendance. Larson is the latest in a sea of A-list talent to have joined the cast of “The Bear,” but her casting is even more significant as it provides significant context to a lingering question since the show’s first season: What happened between Francine and Sugar (Abby Elliott) to fuel their heated, years-long feud?
The episode did not provide much in the way of answers, but Larson and Elliott thrived in showcasing each others’ talents with plenty of screaming matches during the big day.
But it did provide one key piece of context to the feud that left Pete (Chris Witaske) nervous. One of the cousins revealed that the feud might have been sparked after Francinie and Sugar hooked up — information that was delivered in a sort-of joking matter that neither of them confirmed.
The reveal left enough uncertainty for Peter to ask his wife if she was in love with Francine. Her response? A long pause before blowing raspberries and denying the claim.
Larson was not the only new face in “The Bear” Season 4. “Till” star Danielle Deadwyler also made her debut in Episode 4 as Syd’s cousin Chantel, who helps Syd with her hair and also shares a funny parenting moment with her middle-school aged daughter TJ (Arion King). The standout installment was written by Edebiri and Lionel Boyce, who plays chef Marcus, and directed by Janicza Bravo.
The season also featured the return of many familiar faces from past seasons, including Jamie Lee Curtis as Donna, Sarah Ramos as Jessica, Bob Odenkirk as Uncle Lee, Sarah Paulson as Michelle, Will Poulter as Luca, John Mulaney as Stevie and more.
“The Bear” Season 4 is now streaming on Hulu.
