A Crew of Worms on the ISS Aims to Help Scientists Unlock the Secrets of Space Travel
Shortly after four astronauts returned from their trip around the Moon, a crew of tiny space travelers were already on the move. Scientists sent microscopic worms to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the same broader effort to extend human presence deeper into space.
The space-faring worms arrived at the space station on Monday aboard Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft. The uncrewed spacecraft delivered about 11,000 pounds (4,990 kilograms) of science equipment and supplies to the ISS, including a miniature space laboratory with the wriggly inhabitants inside.
The scientists behind the experiment are hoping these small creatures will help better inform them on human health during long duration space travel.
Space worms
The experiment, led by the University of Exeter in England, is designed to study how living organisms respond to the harsh space environment. “It might sound surprising, but these tiny worms could play a big role in the future of human spaceflight,” U.K. Space Minister Liz Lloyd said in a statement.
The worms are called C. elegans nematode worms, a tiny roundworm that measures around 1 millimeter in length. Because of its transparent body, researchers can watch its cells develop under a microscope. The roundworm is also fast-growing and genetically tractable, making it an ideal candidate for biological research.
The worms are placed inside a miniature lab called the Petri Pod. The self-contained experiment is housed in a unit that measures approximately 4 x 11 inches (10 x 30 centimeters) and weighs around 6 pounds (3 kilograms).
The Petri Pod provides a miniaturized life support system. Credit: University of Exeter
The unit has 12 chambers, four of which can be actively imaged using fluorescent and white light. Each chamber provides a miniaturized life support environment for the worms, maintaining temperature, pressure and a trapped volume of air for them to breathe when exposed to the vacuum of space. They will also receive a supply of food through an agar carrier.
Miniature mission
The worms will spend some time inside the space station before being mounted on the outside of the ISS. From there, the small creatures will spend around 15 weeks inside their miniaturized environment while being exposed to zero-gravity and radiation of outer space.
Throughout that time, the researchers will monitor the worms’ health, using miniaturized cameras to capture stills and time-lapse videos. The experiment will collect data on temperature, pressure, and accumulated dose of radiation experienced by the worms, and send the data back to Earth.
“NASA’s Artemis programme marks a new era of human exploration, with astronauts set to live and work on the Moon for extended periods for the first time. To do that safely, we need to understand how the body responds to the extreme conditions of deep space,” Tim Etheridge, a researcher at the University of Exeter Medical School, said in a statement. “By studying how these worms survive and adapt in space, we can begin to identify the biological mechanisms that will ultimately help protect astronauts during long-duration missions – and bring us one step closer to humans living on the Moon.”
Shortly after four astronauts returned from their trip around the Moon, a crew of tiny space travelers were already on the move. Scientists sent microscopic worms to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the same broader effort to extend human presence deeper into space.
The space-faring worms arrived at the space station on Monday aboard Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft. The uncrewed spacecraft delivered about 11,000 pounds (4,990 kilograms) of science equipment and supplies to the ISS, including a miniature space laboratory with the wriggly inhabitants inside.
The scientists behind the experiment are hoping these small creatures will help better inform them on human health during long duration space travel.
Space worms
The experiment, led by the University of Exeter in England, is designed to study how living organisms respond to the harsh space environment. “It might sound surprising, but these tiny worms could play a big role in the future of human spaceflight,” U.K. Space Minister Liz Lloyd said in a statement.
The worms are called C. elegans nematode worms, a tiny roundworm that measures around 1 millimeter in length. Because of its transparent body, researchers can watch its cells develop under a microscope. The roundworm is also fast-growing and genetically tractable, making it an ideal candidate for biological research.
The worms are placed inside a miniature lab called the Petri Pod. The self-contained experiment is housed in a unit that measures approximately 4 x 11 inches (10 x 30 centimeters) and weighs around 6 pounds (3 kilograms).
The Petri Pod provides a miniaturized life support system. Credit: University of Exeter
The unit has 12 chambers, four of which can be actively imaged using fluorescent and white light. Each chamber provides a miniaturized life support environment for the worms, maintaining temperature, pressure and a trapped volume of air for them to breathe when exposed to the vacuum of space. They will also receive a supply of food through an agar carrier.
Miniature mission
The worms will spend some time inside the space station before being mounted on the outside of the ISS. From there, the small creatures will spend around 15 weeks inside their miniaturized environment while being exposed to zero-gravity and radiation of outer space.
Throughout that time, the researchers will monitor the worms’ health, using miniaturized cameras to capture stills and time-lapse videos. The experiment will collect data on temperature, pressure, and accumulated dose of radiation experienced by the worms, and send the data back to Earth.
“NASA’s Artemis programme marks a new era of human exploration, with astronauts set to live and work on the Moon for extended periods for the first time. To do that safely, we need to understand how the body responds to the extreme conditions of deep space,” Tim Etheridge, a researcher at the University of Exeter Medical School, said in a statement. “By studying how these worms survive and adapt in space, we can begin to identify the biological mechanisms that will ultimately help protect astronauts during long-duration missions – and bring us one step closer to humans living on the Moon.”
According to the New York Times, if you bought an iPhone 16 or certain iPhone 15 between June of 2024 and March of 2025, you may soon be eligible to receive a check for as much as $95 per device as part of a class action lawsuit related to Apple Intelligence and Siri. The allegedly flawed Apple Intelligence features that were part of the suit originally shipped on iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max in June of 2024. The Apple Intelligence-native iPhone 16 line shipped later that year.
On Tuesday, Apple settled claims in U.S. District Court in San Jose, California over alleged false advertising. The suit argued that Apple led consumers to believe the Apple Intelligence suite of features was more capable than it actually was. The total settlement amount, still awaiting a judge’s approval, is $250 million.
Apple maintains that it did nothing wrong. Marni Goldberg, an Apple spokesperson gave a statement to the Times, claiming that beginning with “the launch of Apple Intelligence,” Apple has “introduced dozens of features across many languages that are integrated across Apple’s platforms,” and that the company had “resolved this matter to stay focused on doing what we do best, delivering the most innovative products and services to our users.”
This lawsuit was “fallout,” according to Axios, from Apple’s acknowledgement last year that AI upgrades to Siri were not going to be released on schedule. A statement to Daring Fireball at the time said Apple had “been working on a more personalized Siri, giving it more awareness of your personal context, as well as the ability to take action for you within and across your apps,” but added, “It’s going to take us longer than we thought to deliver on these features and we anticipate rolling them out in the coming year.”
The ad is a nice summary of the “more personal” Siri concept that still has not been realized. We see Ramsey notice a person whose name they know they should know, so they quickly ask Siri “the name of the guy I had a meeting with a couple of months ago at Cafe Grenel?” It’s up to the viewer to presume this beefed-up version of Siri is able to use this prompt to draw on, say, an email, and produce the right answer. It immediately replies, “You met Zac Wingate at Cafe Grenel a couple of months ago.”
To put this class action settlement in context, Apple had been struggling mightily with Siri ever since—deservedly or not—ChatGPT created new consumer expectations for an AI-powered assistant. “AI is what most investors are really excited about. Almost all momentum in the market in general is being fueled by AI,” a portfolio manager named Brian Mulberry told the Wall Street Journal in February of 2024. Mulberry lamented that “Apple really hasn’t made a big splash in the AI space yet.”
So the Apple Intelligence rollout was perceived as coming late, but it was also, it seems, too early—given that it was sued and ended up settling for $250 million. In an interview with TechRadar last year after the smoke cleared around Siri’s underperformance, Apple software chief Craig Federighi explained that the company was working on a “version 2” of the new Siri that would work in all the personalized ways consumers had come to expect, but that Apple was no longer publicly offering a speculative release schedule for that version.
According to the New York Times, if you bought an iPhone 16 or certain iPhone 15 between June of 2024 and March of 2025, you may soon be eligible to receive a check for as much as $95 per device as part of a class action lawsuit related to Apple Intelligence and Siri. The allegedly flawed Apple Intelligence features that were part of the suit originally shipped on iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max in June of 2024. The Apple Intelligence-native iPhone 16 line shipped later that year.
On Tuesday, Apple settled claims in U.S. District Court in San Jose, California over alleged false advertising. The suit argued that Apple led consumers to believe the Apple Intelligence suite of features was more capable than it actually was. The total settlement amount, still awaiting a judge’s approval, is $250 million.
Apple maintains that it did nothing wrong. Marni Goldberg, an Apple spokesperson gave a statement to the Times, claiming that beginning with “the launch of Apple Intelligence,” Apple has “introduced dozens of features across many languages that are integrated across Apple’s platforms,” and that the company had “resolved this matter to stay focused on doing what we do best, delivering the most innovative products and services to our users.”
This lawsuit was “fallout,” according to Axios, from Apple’s acknowledgement last year that AI upgrades to Siri were not going to be released on schedule. A statement to Daring Fireball at the time said Apple had “been working on a more personalized Siri, giving it more awareness of your personal context, as well as the ability to take action for you within and across your apps,” but added, “It’s going to take us longer than we thought to deliver on these features and we anticipate rolling them out in the coming year.”
The ad is a nice summary of the “more personal” Siri concept that still has not been realized. We see Ramsey notice a person whose name they know they should know, so they quickly ask Siri “the name of the guy I had a meeting with a couple of months ago at Cafe Grenel?” It’s up to the viewer to presume this beefed-up version of Siri is able to use this prompt to draw on, say, an email, and produce the right answer. It immediately replies, “You met Zac Wingate at Cafe Grenel a couple of months ago.”
To put this class action settlement in context, Apple had been struggling mightily with Siri ever since—deservedly or not—ChatGPT created new consumer expectations for an AI-powered assistant. “AI is what most investors are really excited about. Almost all momentum in the market in general is being fueled by AI,” a portfolio manager named Brian Mulberry told the Wall Street Journal in February of 2024. Mulberry lamented that “Apple really hasn’t made a big splash in the AI space yet.”
So the Apple Intelligence rollout was perceived as coming late, but it was also, it seems, too early—given that it was sued and ended up settling for $250 million. In an interview with TechRadar last year after the smoke cleared around Siri’s underperformance, Apple software chief Craig Federighi explained that the company was working on a “version 2” of the new Siri that would work in all the personalized ways consumers had come to expect, but that Apple was no longer publicly offering a speculative release schedule for that version.
#Apple #Settles #Alleged #False #Advertising #Suit #AIPowered #SiriApple,lawsuits,Siri">Apple Settles Alleged False Advertising Suit Over AI-Powered Siri
According to the New York Times, if you bought an iPhone 16 or certain iPhone 15 between June of 2024 and March of 2025, you may soon be eligible to receive a check for as much as $95 per device as part of a class action lawsuit related to Apple Intelligence and Siri. The allegedly flawed Apple Intelligence features that were part of the suit originally shipped on iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max in June of 2024. The Apple Intelligence-native iPhone 16 line shipped later that year.
On Tuesday, Apple settled claims in U.S. District Court in San Jose, California over alleged false advertising. The suit argued that Apple led consumers to believe the Apple Intelligence suite of features was more capable than it actually was. The total settlement amount, still awaiting a judge’s approval, is $250 million.
Apple maintains that it did nothing wrong. Marni Goldberg, an Apple spokesperson gave a statement to the Times, claiming that beginning with “the launch of Apple Intelligence,” Apple has “introduced dozens of features across many languages that are integrated across Apple’s platforms,” and that the company had “resolved this matter to stay focused on doing what we do best, delivering the most innovative products and services to our users.”
This lawsuit was “fallout,” according to Axios, from Apple’s acknowledgement last year that AI upgrades to Siri were not going to be released on schedule. A statement to Daring Fireball at the time said Apple had “been working on a more personalized Siri, giving it more awareness of your personal context, as well as the ability to take action for you within and across your apps,” but added, “It’s going to take us longer than we thought to deliver on these features and we anticipate rolling them out in the coming year.”
The ad is a nice summary of the “more personal” Siri concept that still has not been realized. We see Ramsey notice a person whose name they know they should know, so they quickly ask Siri “the name of the guy I had a meeting with a couple of months ago at Cafe Grenel?” It’s up to the viewer to presume this beefed-up version of Siri is able to use this prompt to draw on, say, an email, and produce the right answer. It immediately replies, “You met Zac Wingate at Cafe Grenel a couple of months ago.”
To put this class action settlement in context, Apple had been struggling mightily with Siri ever since—deservedly or not—ChatGPT created new consumer expectations for an AI-powered assistant. “AI is what most investors are really excited about. Almost all momentum in the market in general is being fueled by AI,” a portfolio manager named Brian Mulberry told the Wall Street Journal in February of 2024. Mulberry lamented that “Apple really hasn’t made a big splash in the AI space yet.”
So the Apple Intelligence rollout was perceived as coming late, but it was also, it seems, too early—given that it was sued and ended up settling for $250 million. In an interview with TechRadar last year after the smoke cleared around Siri’s underperformance, Apple software chief Craig Federighi explained that the company was working on a “version 2” of the new Siri that would work in all the personalized ways consumers had come to expect, but that Apple was no longer publicly offering a speculative release schedule for that version.
Texture eaters might not love Factor’s meals, which tend to be a little mushy. They’re still tasty and very filling. I suggest accompanying them with some crisp veggies, parmesan snaps, or fresh fruit to jazz up the texture a bit. If you’re the kind of person that can meal prep a week’s worth of chicken and rice and happily eat it every day, Factor is going to be right up your alley. Right now, you can save with this Factor coupon and get up to $130 off 6 boxes. Just follow one of our links above, and enjoy your discounted meal kits.
Save With Factor Coupons and Get Meals Tailored to Your Health Goals
Not only is Factor a convenient way to make protein-packed meals in minutes, they also have tons of choices tailored to your dietary needs and preferences. Different Factor meal categories you can choose from include GLP-1 Support, Low Carb, Fiber Filled, and Calorie Smart, ensuring that whatever health goal you may have, Factor has the meals to get you to reach that goal through convenient, pre-prepared meals.
Use Factor Promo Code for Keto Diet Food Delivery
If you want to get serious about your health goals, Factor makes it easy, with prepared keto meal delivery from Factor. Whatever your health goal may be, Factor’s prepared meal delivery makes it easy to stick to a keto diet plan and lose weight, using chef-prepared keto meals that are ready to eat in just a few minutes. Whether you want to use Factor for a keto diet food delivery service, or just want a healthy meal delivery plan, Factor makes it easy (and our promo codes make it cheaper).
Get High Protein Meals for Less
Factor is one of the easiest ways to conveniently get high-protein, chef prepared meals that are reheatable and ready in two minutes. These meals are not only packed with protein, but are also dietitian-approved and prepared by chefs. Each has 30 to 50 grams of protein per serving, making it super easy to hit those nutrition goals without any extra work in the kitchen from you. Once you decide, you’ll pick from a new rotating menu of over 100 dietitian- and chef-designed meals, including add-on options each week that are especially tailored to a high-protein diet.
Does Factor Offer Free Shipping?
Factor wants to reward adventurous (and healthy) eaters, by offering 50% off your first subscription box, plus free shipping. The offer is only valid for new Factor customers with a qualifying auto-renewing subscription purchase (and you’ll still get an $11 shipping fee on subsequent boxes).
Discover More Ways to Save With Factor
Factor offers year-round promotions and savings, so you should always keep an eye out for an opportunity to save some cash. First responders, teachers, medical providers, nurses, doctors, military members, and veterans can take advantage of the Factor Hero Discount to save 55% on their first order and up to 15% on every box for the first year. Save the most with Factor first-order discounts, and what all the fuss is about.
Texture eaters might not love Factor’s meals, which tend to be a little mushy. They’re still tasty and very filling. I suggest accompanying them with some crisp veggies, parmesan snaps, or fresh fruit to jazz up the texture a bit. If you’re the kind of person that can meal prep a week’s worth of chicken and rice and happily eat it every day, Factor is going to be right up your alley. Right now, you can save with this Factor coupon and get up to $130 off 6 boxes. Just follow one of our links above, and enjoy your discounted meal kits.
Save With Factor Coupons and Get Meals Tailored to Your Health Goals
Not only is Factor a convenient way to make protein-packed meals in minutes, they also have tons of choices tailored to your dietary needs and preferences. Different Factor meal categories you can choose from include GLP-1 Support, Low Carb, Fiber Filled, and Calorie Smart, ensuring that whatever health goal you may have, Factor has the meals to get you to reach that goal through convenient, pre-prepared meals.
Use Factor Promo Code for Keto Diet Food Delivery
If you want to get serious about your health goals, Factor makes it easy, with prepared keto meal delivery from Factor. Whatever your health goal may be, Factor’s prepared meal delivery makes it easy to stick to a keto diet plan and lose weight, using chef-prepared keto meals that are ready to eat in just a few minutes. Whether you want to use Factor for a keto diet food delivery service, or just want a healthy meal delivery plan, Factor makes it easy (and our promo codes make it cheaper).
Get High Protein Meals for Less
Factor is one of the easiest ways to conveniently get high-protein, chef prepared meals that are reheatable and ready in two minutes. These meals are not only packed with protein, but are also dietitian-approved and prepared by chefs. Each has 30 to 50 grams of protein per serving, making it super easy to hit those nutrition goals without any extra work in the kitchen from you. Once you decide, you’ll pick from a new rotating menu of over 100 dietitian- and chef-designed meals, including add-on options each week that are especially tailored to a high-protein diet.
Does Factor Offer Free Shipping?
Factor wants to reward adventurous (and healthy) eaters, by offering 50% off your first subscription box, plus free shipping. The offer is only valid for new Factor customers with a qualifying auto-renewing subscription purchase (and you’ll still get an $11 shipping fee on subsequent boxes).
Discover More Ways to Save With Factor
Factor offers year-round promotions and savings, so you should always keep an eye out for an opportunity to save some cash. First responders, teachers, medical providers, nurses, doctors, military members, and veterans can take advantage of the Factor Hero Discount to save 55% on their first order and up to 15% on every box for the first year. Save the most with Factor first-order discounts, and what all the fuss is about.
#Factor #Promo #Codescoupons,shopping">Factor Promo Codes for May 2026
Sometimes, eating makes me feel like Sisyphus. Every day, I must toil up the mountain and the rock to figure out what the heck I want to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I tested Factor meals earlier this year, and they’re a solid option if you’re the type of person that doesn’t want to fuss over your food. With expansive menus and an emphasis on tracking macros and nutrition, you can simply pick out your meals, get them delivered, and then reheat them in the microwave or oven when it’s time to eat.
Texture eaters might not love Factor’s meals, which tend to be a little mushy. They’re still tasty and very filling. I suggest accompanying them with some crisp veggies, parmesan snaps, or fresh fruit to jazz up the texture a bit. If you’re the kind of person that can meal prep a week’s worth of chicken and rice and happily eat it every day, Factor is going to be right up your alley. Right now, you can save with this Factor coupon and get up to $130 off 6 boxes. Just follow one of our links above, and enjoy your discounted meal kits.
Save With Factor Coupons and Get Meals Tailored to Your Health Goals
Not only is Factor a convenient way to make protein-packed meals in minutes, they also have tons of choices tailored to your dietary needs and preferences. Different Factor meal categories you can choose from include GLP-1 Support, Low Carb, Fiber Filled, and Calorie Smart, ensuring that whatever health goal you may have, Factor has the meals to get you to reach that goal through convenient, pre-prepared meals.
Use Factor Promo Code for Keto Diet Food Delivery
If you want to get serious about your health goals, Factor makes it easy, with prepared keto meal delivery from Factor. Whatever your health goal may be, Factor’s prepared meal delivery makes it easy to stick to a keto diet plan and lose weight, using chef-prepared keto meals that are ready to eat in just a few minutes. Whether you want to use Factor for a keto diet food delivery service, or just want a healthy meal delivery plan, Factor makes it easy (and our promo codes make it cheaper).
Get High Protein Meals for Less
Factor is one of the easiest ways to conveniently get high-protein, chef prepared meals that are reheatable and ready in two minutes. These meals are not only packed with protein, but are also dietitian-approved and prepared by chefs. Each has 30 to 50 grams of protein per serving, making it super easy to hit those nutrition goals without any extra work in the kitchen from you. Once you decide, you’ll pick from a new rotating menu of over 100 dietitian- and chef-designed meals, including add-on options each week that are especially tailored to a high-protein diet.
Does Factor Offer Free Shipping?
Factor wants to reward adventurous (and healthy) eaters, by offering 50% off your first subscription box, plus free shipping. The offer is only valid for new Factor customers with a qualifying auto-renewing subscription purchase (and you’ll still get an $11 shipping fee on subsequent boxes).
Discover More Ways to Save With Factor
Factor offers year-round promotions and savings, so you should always keep an eye out for an opportunity to save some cash. First responders, teachers, medical providers, nurses, doctors, military members, and veterans can take advantage of the Factor Hero Discount to save 55% on their first order and up to 15% on every box for the first year. Save the most with Factor first-order discounts, and what all the fuss is about.
#Factor #Promo #Codescoupons,shopping
Whenever The Bearintroduces a new female character, I pray she doesn’t become a love interest for one of the male leads. Not because I hate romance, but because I specifically hate the way The Bear does romance.
The clearest offender is Carmy’s (Jeremy Allen White) relationship with Claire (Molly Gordon). A childhood friend who re-enters Carmy’s life, Claire is less a real human character than she is a walking self-help book for Carmy. She spends almost every moment she’s on screen talking about him: her memories of him, his mental health struggles, his relationship with his family. In theory, she has a life apart from Carmy — her defining character trait outside of being his girlfriend is vaguely “nurse” — but in watching The Bear, you wouldn’t know it.
Usually a great performer (see: Shiva Baby, Oh, Hi!, and more), Gordon is reduced to two modes here: luminous love interest hanging onto Carmy’s every word, or calming therapist. She’s not the only Bear character to meet this fate. As The Bear builds Ever staffer Jessica (Sarah Ramos) into a possible match for Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), it replaces her level-headed expertise with empty platitudes designed to ground him. (Season 4 line “honesty is sanity” made me want to drive my head through a wall.) Elsewhere, Richie’s ex-wife, Tiffany (Gillian Jacobs), acts as a similar pillar of support.
Their heads constantly askew, their eyes lit up in adoration, their mouths always ready to offer up an eager laugh or some cornball advice, these characters morph into The Bear‘s single idea of a Woman In Love. Now, The Bear‘s standalone episode “Gary” offers a new addition to this pantheon: Sherri (Marin Ireland) from Gary, Indiana.
Mashable Top Stories
Sherri is a woman whom Richie and Mikey (Jon Bernthal) meet at a bar while on a work trip to Gary. She immediately strikes up a rapport with Mikey, playing a private game of “Fact or Fiction” with him, listening to his complicated woes while nestled together in a bathroom stall, and stealing his beanie and wearing it like a middle schooler trying to get a rise out of a crush. It’s a level of blindly supportive compassion we haven’t seen since Claire Bear, and Ireland, typically a huge asset to any project, soon becomes trapped in The Bear‘s love interest archetype. (Someone please ban affectionate head tilts from the set of The Bear, effectiveimmediately.)
While Sherri feels like she was meant to be a moment of bright connection in Mikey’s life, maybe even “the one that got away,” she really just comes across as an empty vessel for him to pour his trauma into. “What are you looking for, Michael?” she wonders. Later, when he asks permission to do a bump of cocaine, she simply responds, “I want you to be you.” It’s a series of faux-deep exchanges that even two great performers can’t sell. (It doesn’t help that Bernthal and Moss-Bachrach wrote the episode.)
That faux-deepness is what sinks The Bear‘s other romances, too. The show tries to force these deep, cosmic connections, but it forgets that these relationships should be a two-way street. Perhaps that’s why many viewers are drawn to shipping Carmy and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri). While the showrunners have affirmed that their relationship is platonic — and I personally agree with that choice — what sets this hypothetical pairing apart is that they each have such rich lives, both in their work together and their time apart. That’s because The Bear is invested in both of them as characters, rather than just using one as a device to unlock the other. You simply can’t say the same of The Bear‘s other romantic pairings, and the release of “Gary” further proves that romance is the recipe The Bear has yet to master.
Whenever The Bearintroduces a new female character, I pray she doesn’t become a love interest for one of the male leads. Not because I hate romance, but because I specifically hate the way The Bear does romance.
The clearest offender is Carmy’s (Jeremy Allen White) relationship with Claire (Molly Gordon). A childhood friend who re-enters Carmy’s life, Claire is less a real human character than she is a walking self-help book for Carmy. She spends almost every moment she’s on screen talking about him: her memories of him, his mental health struggles, his relationship with his family. In theory, she has a life apart from Carmy — her defining character trait outside of being his girlfriend is vaguely “nurse” — but in watching The Bear, you wouldn’t know it.
Usually a great performer (see: Shiva Baby, Oh, Hi!, and more), Gordon is reduced to two modes here: luminous love interest hanging onto Carmy’s every word, or calming therapist. She’s not the only Bear character to meet this fate. As The Bear builds Ever staffer Jessica (Sarah Ramos) into a possible match for Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), it replaces her level-headed expertise with empty platitudes designed to ground him. (Season 4 line “honesty is sanity” made me want to drive my head through a wall.) Elsewhere, Richie’s ex-wife, Tiffany (Gillian Jacobs), acts as a similar pillar of support.
Their heads constantly askew, their eyes lit up in adoration, their mouths always ready to offer up an eager laugh or some cornball advice, these characters morph into The Bear‘s single idea of a Woman In Love. Now, The Bear‘s standalone episode “Gary” offers a new addition to this pantheon: Sherri (Marin Ireland) from Gary, Indiana.
Mashable Top Stories
Sherri is a woman whom Richie and Mikey (Jon Bernthal) meet at a bar while on a work trip to Gary. She immediately strikes up a rapport with Mikey, playing a private game of “Fact or Fiction” with him, listening to his complicated woes while nestled together in a bathroom stall, and stealing his beanie and wearing it like a middle schooler trying to get a rise out of a crush. It’s a level of blindly supportive compassion we haven’t seen since Claire Bear, and Ireland, typically a huge asset to any project, soon becomes trapped in The Bear‘s love interest archetype. (Someone please ban affectionate head tilts from the set of The Bear, effectiveimmediately.)
While Sherri feels like she was meant to be a moment of bright connection in Mikey’s life, maybe even “the one that got away,” she really just comes across as an empty vessel for him to pour his trauma into. “What are you looking for, Michael?” she wonders. Later, when he asks permission to do a bump of cocaine, she simply responds, “I want you to be you.” It’s a series of faux-deep exchanges that even two great performers can’t sell. (It doesn’t help that Bernthal and Moss-Bachrach wrote the episode.)
That faux-deepness is what sinks The Bear‘s other romances, too. The show tries to force these deep, cosmic connections, but it forgets that these relationships should be a two-way street. Perhaps that’s why many viewers are drawn to shipping Carmy and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri). While the showrunners have affirmed that their relationship is platonic — and I personally agree with that choice — what sets this hypothetical pairing apart is that they each have such rich lives, both in their work together and their time apart. That’s because The Bear is invested in both of them as characters, rather than just using one as a device to unlock the other. You simply can’t say the same of The Bear‘s other romantic pairings, and the release of “Gary” further proves that romance is the recipe The Bear has yet to master.
#Bears #onedimensional #love #interests">‘The Bear’s one-dimensional love interests have got to go
Whenever The Bearintroduces a new female character, I pray she doesn’t become a love interest for one of the male leads. Not because I hate romance, but because I specifically hate the way The Bear does romance.
The clearest offender is Carmy’s (Jeremy Allen White) relationship with Claire (Molly Gordon). A childhood friend who re-enters Carmy’s life, Claire is less a real human character than she is a walking self-help book for Carmy. She spends almost every moment she’s on screen talking about him: her memories of him, his mental health struggles, his relationship with his family. In theory, she has a life apart from Carmy — her defining character trait outside of being his girlfriend is vaguely “nurse” — but in watching The Bear, you wouldn’t know it.
Usually a great performer (see: Shiva Baby, Oh, Hi!, and more), Gordon is reduced to two modes here: luminous love interest hanging onto Carmy’s every word, or calming therapist. She’s not the only Bear character to meet this fate. As The Bear builds Ever staffer Jessica (Sarah Ramos) into a possible match for Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), it replaces her level-headed expertise with empty platitudes designed to ground him. (Season 4 line “honesty is sanity” made me want to drive my head through a wall.) Elsewhere, Richie’s ex-wife, Tiffany (Gillian Jacobs), acts as a similar pillar of support.
Their heads constantly askew, their eyes lit up in adoration, their mouths always ready to offer up an eager laugh or some cornball advice, these characters morph into The Bear‘s single idea of a Woman In Love. Now, The Bear‘s standalone episode “Gary” offers a new addition to this pantheon: Sherri (Marin Ireland) from Gary, Indiana.
Mashable Top Stories
Sherri is a woman whom Richie and Mikey (Jon Bernthal) meet at a bar while on a work trip to Gary. She immediately strikes up a rapport with Mikey, playing a private game of “Fact or Fiction” with him, listening to his complicated woes while nestled together in a bathroom stall, and stealing his beanie and wearing it like a middle schooler trying to get a rise out of a crush. It’s a level of blindly supportive compassion we haven’t seen since Claire Bear, and Ireland, typically a huge asset to any project, soon becomes trapped in The Bear‘s love interest archetype. (Someone please ban affectionate head tilts from the set of The Bear, effectiveimmediately.)
While Sherri feels like she was meant to be a moment of bright connection in Mikey’s life, maybe even “the one that got away,” she really just comes across as an empty vessel for him to pour his trauma into. “What are you looking for, Michael?” she wonders. Later, when he asks permission to do a bump of cocaine, she simply responds, “I want you to be you.” It’s a series of faux-deep exchanges that even two great performers can’t sell. (It doesn’t help that Bernthal and Moss-Bachrach wrote the episode.)
That faux-deepness is what sinks The Bear‘s other romances, too. The show tries to force these deep, cosmic connections, but it forgets that these relationships should be a two-way street. Perhaps that’s why many viewers are drawn to shipping Carmy and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri). While the showrunners have affirmed that their relationship is platonic — and I personally agree with that choice — what sets this hypothetical pairing apart is that they each have such rich lives, both in their work together and their time apart. That’s because The Bear is invested in both of them as characters, rather than just using one as a device to unlock the other. You simply can’t say the same of The Bear‘s other romantic pairings, and the release of “Gary” further proves that romance is the recipe The Bear has yet to master.
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