WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for The Bear season 4, episode 7!After two years of buildup, Francie Fak finally appears in The Bear season 4, and her cameo completely lives up to the long hype. One of the best recurring gags in The Bear has been the expansion of the Fak family tree, which continues to grow each season with increasingly wild stories and connections about Neil’s eclectic siblings. While Neil and Ted have been staples in The Bear’s cast of characters, we’ve only gotten a few glimpses into the other Faks, with John Cena’s Sammy Fak being introduced in season 3 and their sister Francie finally debuting in season 4.

Of all the Faks, Francie has been the sibling with the greatest intrigue due to her mysterious rivalry with Sugar. Any time Francie is brought up, Sugar becomes angry and notes that “Francie can go f***.” However, when asked what Francie did to make Sugar hate her so much, she often vaguely responds that Francie “knows what she did.” The weight of the mystery around Francie has made the anticipation for her introduction, casting, and reunion with Sugar all the more intense, and The Bear season 4, episode 7 doesn’t disappoint.

Brie Larson Plays Francie Fak In The Bear

Francie Fak Gets A Fitting Big-Name Casting

After John Cena made a cameo as Sammy Fak in The Bear season 3, the stakes were raised to get another big-name actor to appear as the notorious Francie. While some fan-castings for Francie Fak suggested stars like Alison Brie or Jeremy Allen White’s Shameless co-star Emmy Rossum, The Bear ultimately found the perfect fit for Francie Fak in actress Brie Larson. Best known for her roles in Room, Captain Marvel, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Larson provides a satisfying big-name casting for Francie to follow up on season 3’s Sammy Fak reveal.

While the actress’ more notable recent ventures have been on the big screen with the MCU and other franchise entries like Kong: Skull Island, Brie Larson’s The Bear season 4 role helps bring her back to her TV comedy origins. Long before joining the MCU, Larson’s earlier roles included stints in comedies like Raising Dad, United States of Tara, The League, and Community. She also recently led the cast of Apple TV+’s Lessons in Chemistry drama miniseries, giving her an Emmy-nominated TV return before joining The Bear’s chaotic world.

With Brie Larson and John Cena now being part of The Bear’s extensive Fak siblings group, the hit series is collecting some recent stars from the Fast & Furious franchise. Before The Bear, Larson and Cena starred together in 2023’s Fast X, so the duo expands from being part of film’s biggest street racing family to joining TV’s biggest cooking family.

Francie & Sugar Finally Reunite At Tiff & Frank’s Wedding

Neil Forces The Reunion When Asking Tiff To Invite Francie

Francie Fak’s impending The Bear introduction was expected, but how exactly she would come back into contact with Sugar remained a big question. Neil was the one responsible for the reluctant reunion, as he asked Tiff to invite Francie to the wedding despite knowing how intensely Sugar would respond to her attendance. As expected, when the day arrived, Sugar and Francie’s reunion was immediately met with bickering and hostility due to both still being upset with the other because of their past betrayals.

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The Bear Season 2 Finally Explains Sugar’s Nickname Mystery

The Bear season 2’s Christmas family gathering episode provided some backstory for Natalie’s nickname, explaining why everyone calls her “Sugar.”

For the majority of The Bear season 4, episode 7, Sugar and Francie are either intensely arguing, insulting each other, or trying to hide from each other. However, after most of The Bear’s main characters convene under a table to help Richie’s daughter Evie conquer her fears about dancing with Frank, Sugar and Francie come to a place where they’re able to admit that they miss each other. After being best friends and sworn enemies, Sugar and Francie end Tiff and Frank’s wedding by agreeing to be friends again – as long as they “don’t f*** [each other] over” again.

The Bear Season 4 Still Doesn’t Confirm Why Sugar Hated Francie

Sugar & Francie’s Feud Backstory Isn’t Explained

While the mystery around who Francie Fak’s identity was finally solved by Brie Larson’s The Bear season 4, episode 7 cameo, the outing still didn’t clarify the biggest unanswered question about her history. Though Sugar and Francie continue to yell at each other and blame the other for betraying them, The Bear doesn’t really explain why Sugar hated Francie, or vice versa. As they scream over each other, certain bits and pieces of the incident that ended their friendship are gleaned, but there’s still no answer about what Francie “did” to Sugar.

During one yelling match, accusations regarding whipped cream, “starting the car,” not having a cell phone, and being drunk are lodged against each other, but they don’t form a coherent story by the end of the episode. However, at one point, Matty Matheson’s Neil Fak claims that Sugar and Francie “hooked up” before their friendship ended, which is met by an unconvincing denial by the two frenemies. Neil believes their alleged intimate experience is to blame for their fallout and the intensity behind their mutual hatred, but it’s difficult to know whether that’s the case without learning the full backstory.

Given that Sugar and Francie have already confronted each other about their supposed betrayals, it’s looking less likely that The Bear will ever solve that mystery. Seemingly like the question of what happened to Carmy’s father, what exactly caused Sugar to hate Francie may remain an unanswered query throughout The Bear. Now that they’ve agreed to be friends again, Francie and Sugar will likely just let bygones be bygones and continue to refer to their feud in only the most vague descriptions.

Why Francie & Sugar Decide To Be Friends Again In The Bear Season 4

Seeing Each Other Again Makes Them Face The Reality Of Their Pointless Feud

Though the full details of Francie and Sugar’s feud are still undisclosed, it seemed like an argument that, as it aged, became more petty rather than genuine. The beloved Berzatto family member and Francie believed they were betrayed, and without the other being willing to apologize or admit any faults on their part, the grudges they held against each other festered. At a certain point, their anger didn’t seem to be justified, but neither wanted to be the one who admitted they missed the other person and were wrong to still be mad.

However, after what seemed to be years of letting those resentments intensify, it was finally seeing each other face-to-face and expressing their hurt that brought them back together. Even as they hurled insults at one another, Sugar and Francie realized that their deep hurt was rooted in the deep love they had for each other. They ultimately missed each other and their close friendship more than they cared about whatever pettiness began their feud, and it took a great deal of maturity and growing up for them to finally admit that.

Sugar having her daughter also helped get her to a place where she could forgive Francie and move forward. Sugar wants to be surrounded by people who love and support her, and would want her daughter to see her in a loving friendship rather than a bitter rivalry. The Faks and the Berzattos may not be blood-related, but they’re family, and they’ll continue to argue, come back together, and grow together like one. Francie and Sugar will more than likely fight again in The Bear’s future, but next time around they won’t let it fester to the same extreme.

The Bear

10/10

Release Date

June 23, 2022

Network

Hulu

Showrunner

Christopher Storer

Directors

Ramy Youssef

Writers

Catherine Schetina, Alex Russell, Karen Joseph Adcock, Sofya Levitsky-Weitz, Stacy Osei-Kuffour