Contains spoilers for The girls with sex machine videosBearSeason 4, episode 1.
The BearSeason 4 reveals more about the relationship between Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) and his late brother, Mikey (Jon Bernthal), with the season opening with a poignant flashback of the two of them discussing the pipe dream of opening a restaurant together.
That isn't the only insight episode 1 gives us, though. Shortly after the flashback there's another moment, equally poignant but far briefer, in which Carmy sends a text message to his late brother's phone while he's on the way to work — and we see from a close-up that it isn't the only message he's sent.
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So what has Carmy texted Mikey since he died, and what does it tell us about their relationship?
What messages has Carmy sent to Mikey since he died?
We've transcribed all the undelivered messages that are visible on Carmy's phone screen in Season 4, episode 1, below:
Miss you bro
Sat., Jan. 21
Found the tomato cans
Wed., Apr. 18
You were right about Claire Bear
Fri., May 26
Thinking of you today
Today
The restaurant was called Kerrigan's
Those are pretty brief, but all can be linked back to things that have happened in the show. "Found the tomato cans" is a reference to the end of Season 1, when Carmy finds the $300,000 that Mikey hid in the tomato cans mentioned in the recipe he leaves his brother. "You were right about Claire Bear" throws back to Season 2's brilliant "Fishes" episode, in which Mikey refers to Claire (Molly Gordon) as "the love of your fucking life."
The "thinking of you today" message was sent on opening day of The Bear, the restaurant which we now know Mikey played a key role in naming and funding. And the final message, "The restaurant was called Kerrigan's," relates to the opening flashback we've just seen in episode 1. Kerrigan's is presumably the name of the Irish restaurant that Carmy and Mikey's dad loved.
What do the messages tell us?
Carmy is a character marked by how shut off he is, constantly avoiding difficult subject matters and his own emotions. We know how much he loves his brother though flashbacks, though, and from the rare occasions when he talks about him.
But what the undelivered messages also show is just how much Carmy is thinkingabout Mikey. During all the most important moments that have happened in Carmy's life over the course of the show – from finding the money to reconnecting with Claire and opening his dream restaurant – Mikey has been on his mind. Sending a text message to his brother's old phone is likely a way for Carmy to feel close to him.
The BearSeason 4 is streaming now on FX.