If you’re watching The Bear season 4 and wondering, “Who TF is Francine?”— you’re not alone, my friend. I was just as confused at first about who she was, what the hell she did to Natalie, and how exactly she fit into this chaotic group. The new season of the FX culinary “comedy” dropped on June 25, and this time around, Carmy and crew are focused on recovering from that brutal Chicago Tribune review and chasing a Michelin star.
Carmy’s sister, Natalie “Sugar” Berzatto, is back this season (yay!), and things take a tense turn when her husband, Pete, mentions someone named Francie. She has a very visceral reaction to the name, but why? Are we supposed to remember who this person is? Not exactly. She was mentioned before season 4, but until now, we’ve never gotten any real details. So, who is Francie in The Bear? Let’s break down what we learn about the character in season 4 and why she’s suddenly important to the story.
Who Is Francie In The Bear? Character, Feud Explained
What Happened Between Natalie And Francie In The Bear?
Okay, so Francie is part of the Fak family. She’s the sister of Neil, Ted and Sammy. No, the Faks are not related to the Berzattos. They’re just close family friends! Neil, of course, started out as a handyman at the restaurant and was ultimately promoted to host. He has a close relationship with Carmy. (In season 3, we also met Sammy, who was played by John Cena.)
Remember that unhinged season 2 Christmas episode, “Fishes”? In that episode, Cousin Michelle asks why Francie isn’t at the family gathering, and the brothers tell her she’s banned because Natalie isn’t speaking to her. “She’s mad as hell,” Neil says about Natalie. “She’s angry. Cause of the thing…” We don’t learn what the “thing” is, and then Francie’s name doesn’t come up at all in season 3.
But in the second episode of season 4, Natalie gets visibly upset when her husband mentions the name. “She can go fuck,” Natalie says. We get a glimpse at her text messages with Francie, and it seems like they’re “dead” to each other. Natalie starts to type, “Please go fuck,” but she’s interrupted and doesn’t send it. When Neil asks Natalie if she ever thinks about Francie in episode 6, Natalie replies, “No, she can go fuck.” (There’s really a pattern here.)
Neil admits that he asked Tiff (Richie’s ex-wife) to invite Francie to her wedding, and Natalie’s pissed AF. “You have devastated me!” she shouts.
Francie FINALLY appears as an actual person in episode 7, and she’s played by none other than Brie Larson. Francie and Natalie fight throughout the episode, and we learn that their feud has something to do with an unfortunate house party.
“First of all, it wasn’t even your house, okay?” Natalie yells at Francie, claiming there was “whipped cream everywhere” and that Francie was super drunk. “I didn’t know how to start the car,” she adds. Francie responds, “It was raining, the bus was going to leave… There were no cell phones then!” They also imply that they hooked up that night.
Ultimately, they kiss and makeup (metaphorically speaking). “I do miss you, and I really hope that you’re happy and that you have someone who loves you,” Francie tells Natalie. “I think about you too,” Natalie admits, adding, “I think about how smart you are. How hard you work. How funny you are. And I just think, ‘Holy shit, she’s probably doing something great.’” Happy for these fictional queens.
