It’s not Claire’s fault that The Bear fans hate her

The Bear is perhaps even more of a sensation in its second season than it was in the first. The reviews are glowing, and the series as a whole just surpassed one billion minutes watched, according to Nielsen (via The Hollywood Reporter). The beloved returning characters are even more beloved, and the cameos—Will Poulter’s sexy pastry chef, Olivia Colman’s surprise turn as Carmy’s (Jeremy Allen White) former boss, everybody in that chaotic Christmas episode—were all embraced with open arms. There’s only one negative aspect to the season that everyone seems to agree on: nobody likes Carmy’s love interest Claire, played by Theater Camp’s Molly Gordon.

Within the world of the show, Claire Bear is almost universally liked. Carmy’s family and oldest friends support the relationship, continually warning him not to fumble a good girl like Claire. Maybe that’s part of the reason fans can’t stand her: on X (née Twitter), she’s been called a manic pixie dream girl and a “sentient laughing dead wife video montage.” She is compared most frequently to TikToker Delaney Rowe, who has a recurring character called “Absolutely insufferable female lead of an indie movie, who says things like, “You look different to me. You look older. I mean, you don’t look old, you just… look like you know more.”

Rowe’s reenactment of the Insufferable Female Lead running into her old love interest does look a lot like Claire and Carmy’s meeting in The Bear’s second season. (For the record: “I haven’t seen it yet but I keep getting tagged in clips lol,” Rowe responded to one of her commenters after she posted the sketch in early July.) And yes, Claire does fit the definition of a manic pixie dream girl, as coined by The A.V. Club’s Nathan Rabin back in 2007. “The Manic Pixie Dream Girl exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures,” Rabin wrote. “Audiences either want to marry her instantly… or they want to commit grievous bodily harm against them and their immediate family.”

Claire, clearly, falls into the latter category. But does Claire deserve all the hate? Put yourself in her shoes: your high school crush is back in town, and he’s a hot chef. You give him your best banter, but he still holds you at a distance. Wouldn’t you agree to drive him to Winnetka if it meant you had a chance? Wouldn’t you remind him that his whole family knows and loves you if you thought it would give you an in with this guy?

More to the point, Claire’s manic pixie quality serves a narrative purpose. Carmy doesn’t really want to get to know her—that’s why he gave her a fake number at the start of their re-acquaintance. When he does give in, it ultimately seems to be more about engaging with a socially acceptable idea of “fun” than what he really wants. What Carmy really wants is to dedicate himself wholly to his restaurant and his partnership with Syd (Ayo Edebiri), which is why he ultimately breaks things off with Claire in the finale. With Claire, he tried out a version of himself that his family could understand and support, but that’s never really been who he is.

We don’t get to know Claire well, but there is a suggestion of a more well-rounded character hiding at the edges of The Bear’s second season. She’s a damn emergency room doctor, for crying out loud! Maybe The Bear should have fleshed her out more, but ultimately, the audience experiences her through Carmy’s eyes, and he never does get around to seeing her fully. Claire Bear is more idea than person by design. Maybe we’ll get to know Claire better if she returns in the third season—or maybe she’s just an idea that Carmy had to let go of.