WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for The Bear season 2.
Throughout its 10-episode runtime, The Bear season 2 features many Taylor Swift references that subtly walk viewers through Richie's journey and transformation. After struggling to find his life's purpose in The Bear season 2's opening moments, Richie tries his best to fit somewhere in the central restaurant's staff. He dabbles with different roles but struggles to figure out what he wants to do in the new restaurant. Throughout the episode, he is a misfit in The Bear's kitchen, where everyone else seems to know what they are doing, but he is the only one walking around like a headless chicken.
Only because he is unofficially a part of the Berzatto family in The Bear, Carmy and Sugar keep him around. However, his lack of purpose makes things worse and more chaotic over time, especially for Sugar, who feels overwhelmed by the idea of asg him a role in the kitchen. However, Richie finally sees a semblance of change in his life when Carmy gets him a week-long apprenticeship at one of his old workplaces. While Richie attempts to flip his script, the Taylor Swift references in his storyline become allegories to where he stands. Hence, here's a breakdown of each Taylor Swift reference in The Bear season 2 and what it reflects in Richie's narrative.
5 The Bear's Richie Loves Taylor Swift Because Of His Daughter
In The Bear season 2, episode 3, Richie assures his daughter that he loves Taylor Swift, too, after dropping her home. Although this scene does not add more context to his statement, it hints that despite staying away from his daughter after his separation from his wife, Richie is trying his best to connect with his daughter. He wants her to know that even though he may not get to spend enough time with her, they still have shared interests that can keep them connected. Richie's Taylor Swift reference in The Bear season 2's opening episodes also reflects how he feels as purposeless with his family as he does with his role in The Bear restaurant.
Just like he struggles to find a role inside The Bear's kitchen brigade, he finds it hard to understand what shoes he can fill with his family after his separation from his wife. While he takes up random tasks in The Bear's kitchen but never truly does things right, he tries bridging the gap between him and his daughter by telling her he loves Taylor Swift. This marks the beginning of his cathartic journey, where he cannot help but float through life, weighed down by the failures and pitfalls of his past.
4 The Real Reason Why Richie Wants Taylor Swift Tickets In The Bear
A little later in The Bear season 2, Richie asks Jimmy if it would be a great time to talk about Taylor Swift tickets, suggesting that he is trying to get tickets to a Taylor Swift concert. As his opening scene with his daughter establishes, he does not want the tickets for himself. Instead, he wants them for his daughter and hopes to show her that he can still contribute to the family even though it may look like he is not an active part of it. By putting in some effort to get his hands on the Taylor Swift tickets, Richie seems to take one step in the right direction to improve his ties with his family.
However, it is not enough because he is superficially trying to connect with them without addressing the core issues that led to his separation from his wife. Just like The Bear restaurant, where he takes up random tasks to show that he belongs like everyone else, he attempts to fulfill his role as a father by getting Taylor Swift tickets for his daughter. Little does he realize that to solve his issues with both his kitchen staff at The Bear and his family, he must take a holistic approach that encomes empathy and a deeper understanding of what they expect from him.
3 Richie's Wife Tiffany Wears A Taylor Swift T-Shirt
The flashback Christmas dinner from The Bear season 2's episode 6 establishes that there is more to Richie's Taylor Swift references than meets the eye. His ex-wife Tiffany shows up wearing a Taylor Swift t-shirt to the family dinner, suggesting she is also a Taylor Swift fan. This establishes that Richie is not trying to get those concert tickets just for his daughter but also for his wife as he still hopes to reinforce his desire to have a role in the family. While The Bear season 2 never highlights the exact reasons behind Richie and Tiffany's divorce, the flashback shows Uncle Jimmy was about to get him a job.
As seen in The Bear season 2's present timeline, Richie never managed to land that job or just struggled to keep it because of his inability to commit to responsibility. Other factors may have contributed to his separation from Tiffany, but his lack of ability and direction might have been the primary factor. By getting Taylor Swift tickets for his wife and daughter, Richie tries to gain some sense of ability for his family and rebuild the trust he lost a long time ago.
2 Richie Gets The Taylor Swift Tickets But His "Love Story" Ends In The Bear
Richie finds himself digging deeper into his existential crisis when Carmy gets him a week-long apprenticeship at one of his former workplaces. Missing the point of the apprenticeship, Richie again approaches things with a negative perspective. He looks down on his fork-cleaning job at the restaurant and even believes that Carmy sent him there to get rid of him. Even his relationship with Tiffany takes a dark turn when he finally gets three tickets for the Taylor Swift concert, but his ex-wife breaks it to him that Frank proposed to her, and she said "yes." The two accidentally acknowledge they are still in love, but Tiffany's confession ends their "Love Story."
1 Richie Listens To Taylor Swift's "Love Story" In His Car After Finding His Purpose
Fortunately for Richie, his haze of uncertainty and despair in The Bear season 2 is followed by clarity of vision and purpose. After sulking through the first few days of his apprenticeship, he grows tired of living a directionless life. His change in attitude triggers a change in luck as he gets to work alongside the disciplined front-of-the-house staff of the restaurant. This new experience opens his eyes to the realities of the culinary industry and helps him realize how it is his job to provide a service to his customers. As he slowly gains momentum and comes to speed with the brisk tempo of his peers, he understands the true meaning of hospitality.
Coach K's words from The Bear season 2 — “In order to get better, we must change limits.” — ring true when Richie starts racing against time to do his job right and redefines his limits. When the day finally ends, Richie feels an overwhelming sense of accomplishment after ages, and to celebrate his win, he blasts Taylor Swift's "Love Story" in his car. On his final day of the apprenticeship, Richie's newfound purpose gets cemented when Chef Terry leaves him in the middle of a conversation to fulfill her responsibilities at the restaurant.
Richie takes one last look at the "every second counts" signboard in the kitchen and finally understands that to turn his life around, he will have to do a lot more than just show up. As a result, he feels grateful that Carmy gave him the opportunity to work at the restaurant for a week and stops believing that he was trying to get rid of him. With this, The Bear season 2, episode 7, ends with Taylor Swift's "Love Story," marking a bittersweet ending — more sweet than bitter — for Richie, whose love story ends but teaches him that his purpose is to actively contribute to Carmy and Sydney's The Be