Instead of just focusing on Kami (Jeremy Allen-White),Season 2 Bear Taking the time to meaningfully develop a supporting cast like Ritchie (Ebony Moss-Bakrach), Marcus (Lionel Boyce) and Kami’s sister Natalie aka Sugar (Abby Elliott). The first season only gave us brief flashbacks of the Belzato family before Mikey.Joe Bernthal)’s death, but season two offered a full hour of flashbacks that brought Kami’s complicated relationship with her family and how Nat fit into the picture. As the eldest (and only) daughter, Nat bears the brunt of her mother’s wrath in episode six, becoming the only family member who can provide stability and support for Kami after her brother’s death.
Who is Nathalie Belzato?
Nat is Carmy and Mikey’s older sister, and she reluctantly serves as project manager as The Beef transforms from a run-down sandwich shop to a famous restaurant, The Bear, in season two . She showed up sporadically in the first season, trying to support Kami as they both grieved the death of his brother Mickey, suggesting that he attend an Al-Anon meeting to process his grief and get to know his brother better before he died by suicide mental health problems. Nutter, who is legally co-owner with The Beef, reminded Carmy’s of how bad the restaurant’s finances were in the first season, and in season two he handled the logistical and financial aspects of The Beef’s transformation into The Bear matters.
Season 2 also found out that Nat was pregnant and tried to keep it a secret from the rest of the crew, but she couldn’t. The second season saw a notable increase in screen time, with Nat admitting she used to avoid going to The Beef because it reminded her of Mickey, but now enjoys working there and trying new things. Throughout the second season, she grew closer to Sydney, but despite being an integral part of Beef’s transformation, she was still seen as a staff killer, dubbed by Rich and Fark “” Mother”(Matty Matheson) even before they found out she was pregnant. She has a thankless job of controlling chaotic staff, reminding Kami of their budget constraints, and dealing with contractors, inspectors, and the maddening bureaucratic process of opening a brand new restaurant.
What the Christmas episode tells us about Nat
While the first season gave us a glimpse into Cammy’s life when his brother Mickey was still alive, the sixth episode, “Fish,” gave us a deeper look at the Belzato family through a chaotic and ultimately violent Christmas dinner. Five years before The Bears opened, Kami reluctantly returns home from Copenhagen to spend Christmas with his family, but his emotionally unstable mother Donna (Jamie Lee-Curtis) while Belzato was preparing Christmas dinner for the Seven Fishes, she created utter chaos at home. Although the three siblings were worried about her, Cammy was in the kitchen trying to follow her orders, Mickey was handling the rest of the family, and every time Nat tried to help Donna, especially when she asked if she was okay. In good times, she would be yelled at.
Episode six helps us understand why Kami and Nat are the way they are, thanks in large part to their mother, making her presence in the season finale all the more impactful. Although Donna told Cammy she was upset because he didn’t want to visit his family, she left the brunt of her anger to her daughter, screaming for help with food while chasing her from the kitchen. It’s also at this point that we learn how she earned the nickname “Sugar” after she once accidentally added a cup of sugar instead of a cup of salt to a gravy that turned out to be too sweet to eat. It was a simple mistake her mother would never let her forget, and it became her lifelong nickname, which she eventually started dropping as Sydney only called her by her real name.
Donna was clearly out of her mind and drinking so much that Nat started emptying bottles in the kitchen when his mother wasn’t looking. The dinner climaxes with Donna’s car crashing into the side of their house, leaving the audience unclear about their relationship after the incident, but it’s clear that neither Kami nor Nat are particularly close to her. When Nat reveals that she invited their mother to Bear’s family and friends night, Kami reacts negatively, doesn’t want her to get her hopes up, and takes it for granted that she won’t show up. Nat’s husband Pete (Chris Whitasker) also suspected that Donna would come, but was later surprised to find her lurking outside the restaurant. Despite his pleas, Donna, not wanting to ruin the kids’ evening, refuses to go in, while Pete inadvertently breaks the news that Nat is pregnant, unaware that his wife never told her.
As the mother’s eldest daughter and only daughter, Nat was unsurprisingly anxious about motherhood as she faced harsher treatment from Donna than her brothers. She never told her mother she was pregnant, but despite that, she hopes to be in front of family and friends at night, perhaps planning to tell her the news when the time comes. While her mother never showed disappointment, Nat found her groove in season two, managing to get The Bear to its opening night despite its many setbacks. With a supportive husband, a baby on the way, and her new role in the family, Nat ends the season on a relatively high note, hoping we’ll learn more about her, her relationship with Kami , and how she fares when The Bear opens to the public.
