The hottest subject of The Bear’s first season was, nicely, the hotness of Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White). Greater than the meals, the themes, or the cash within the tomato cans, viewers have been obsessive about the “scorching line prepare dinner” aesthetic, a kind of dirtbag stylish propelled by Carmy’s penchant for fitted tees, smoking cigarettes, and simply typically being emotionally unavailable. However in Season 2, the item of the web’s thirst is the chiseled jawline and rippling muscular tissues of scorching pastry chef Luca (Will Poulter), who works within the Copenhagen restaurant the place Carmy sends his personal pastry chef, Marcus, to stage.
Luca’s vibe is the polar reverse of Carmy’s. He solely seems in just a few scenes and we by no means even be taught his final title, however we get an intimate window into his psyche in these fleeting moments. We be taught that he’s powerful however variety as he patiently teaches Marcus how one can scoop a quenelle correctly. We see his steely precision when he eyeballs lumps of perfectly-sized dough as he and Marcus put together bread for the evening’s dinner service. The place Carmy is a seething ball of hysteria and remorse, Luca is confident, regular, and robust. And actually, actually good together with his palms.
Luca is already the topic of many a attractive tweet. And whereas his bodily type is actually spectacular — these tattoos! the accent! the megawatt smile! — our curiosity in Luca is deeper than that. We’re interested in his competency as a chef (watching him weigh out these dough balls is surprisingly enthralling), his brains (he has the chemical composition of sugar tattooed on his wrist), in addition to his soothing countenance. He’s variety to Marcus, educating him new expertise with out condescension or asinine chef bravado. He’s the calm within the storm that’s Season 2, and in a present this frenetic and demanding, his look is an particularly welcome reprieve.
In fact, Poulter isn’t the unique Scorching Pastry Chef. Nicolas Cage (arguably) originated that trope because the sweaty, muscular, and deeply dramatic Ronny Cammareri, a bread maker at his household’s Brooklyn bakery, in 1987’s Moonstruck. Even Cher couldn’t resist his charms. However Poulter’s Luca improves on the system — the place Ronny Cammareri was lots like Carmy, somewhat manic and resentful of being caught within the household enterprise, Luca is assured and enjoys his work. He’s additionally endlessly considerate, sending a present to Marcus on the restaurant’s first evening of service that calls again to an inside joke the 2 shared about basketball legends Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.
What Luca actually is, although, is a direct distinction to the “I can repair him!” vibe that was such a staple of 2022’s “scorching line prepare dinner” summer time. Perhaps it’s as a result of we’re all realizing that what is definitely engaging is a man who can competently bake a loaf of brioche, not the dirtbag out of your native neighborhood joint who sort of appears to be like like Carmy, at all times has a pack of Pall Malls rolled up in his shirt sleeve, and received’t confront his apparent mommy points. I suppose that is rising up.
