The following article contains spoilers for The Bear’s “Replicants”
For FX’s hit culinary dramedy The Bear, celebrity cameos are an essential ingredient. Since its debut in 2022, the Emmy-winning series—which just aired its fourth season on June 25 and was renewed for a fifth less than a week later—has been peppered with famous faces that crop up in unexpected places.
Ranging from Olivia Colman to John Mulaney to Brie Larson—not to mention several real-life chefs as themselves—the show boasts a star-studded roster of guest actors and always crafts creative ways to integrate them into its high-pressure kitchen, but perhaps none more so than with Will Poulter’s Luca. Poulter first joined The Bear in Season 2 as a pastry chef who mentors Marcus Brooks (Lionel Boyce) when the latter travels to Copenhagen in Episode 4, “Honeydew,” to hone his skills. It’s hinted at during this episode—and later confirmed—that Luca previously crossed paths with Jeremy Allen White’s Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto, Marcus’s boss and one of the best chefs.
Luca is initially aloof towards Marcus, but the two eventually forge a friendship over the course of Chicago-native Marcus’s time overseas. While discussing the importance of inspiration when it comes to creating an exceptional dish, Luca tells Marcus, “It helps to have good people around you, too.” Even though we’ve only spent a single episode with him at this point, it’s already clear Luca is a good person that we’d like to keep around.
While we don’t see him again this season—the bulk of the Season 2 episodes are devoted to converting a beef sandwich shop into a high-end restaurant, aptly renamed The Bear—we’re still reminded of his presence. Prior to the opening of the new restaurant, Luca mails Marcus a plaque bearing the mantra “Every Second Counts.” A similar plaque resides in Luca’s kitchen in Copenhagen. The character makes his on-screen return the following season, starting with a brief appearance working alongside Carmy in one of several flashbacks that dominate the Season 3 premiere, “Tomorrow.” Both still early in their careers, Luca and Carmy shuck peas at a fictionalized version of Ever, a real Chicago restaurant, run in The Bear by the aforementioned Olivia Colman as Chef Andrea Terry. Later in the flashback, we see that Luca is now in a subordinate role to Carmy, fitting with the story he’d told Marcus about realizing this “other chef” was always going to be better than him and making peace with that.
It’s in Luca’s next appearance in Season 3, however, that we finally have the chance to be properly endeared to him. Along with Carmy, Richard “Richie” Jerimovich (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), and Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri), Luca attends the closing night, or “funeral” of Ever in the Season 3 finale, “Forever.” In addition to a charmingly dorky interaction with real-life chef Grant Achatz about edible balloons (“Why did I say needles so much?” Luca laments upon Achatz’s hasty exit.) Luca spends dinner service swapping stories with Sydney and half a dozen other culinary superstars. The episode is a great reminder of how Poulter’s portrayal of Luca successfully straddles the line of celebrity cameo and bona fide character.
Beyond just seeing Luca interact with some of The Bear’s main characters, “Forever” reveals a crucial detail about him: he’s staying in town for a few months to reconnect with his sister. The Bear—and Carmy—keep this in mind during the following season when Marcus tells Carmy, “I need firepower,” after he’s asked if there’s anything that would help his dessert station. Carmy promises to think about it, and just two episodes later, makes good on that promise in one of the most electrifying scenes of Season 4.
The scene is rather innocuous at first: Marcus is describing his latest creation to Carmy, a gorgeous dehydrated pear dessert with violet caramel and shiso. Carmy samples and instantly approves of the exquisite confection, informing Marcus that it’s going to be added to the evening’s menu, no questions asked.
Initially hesitant, Marcus eventually acquiesces, but then balks when he considers the dish’s complicated logistics. Fortunately, Carmy has a solution. “It’s a good thing I got you some firepower,” he tells Marcus in The Bear’s “Replicants.”
If you’ve made it this far, it should come as no surprise that the “firepower” in question is a certain familiar face from Copenhagen who just so happens to currently be in Chicago. Sure enough, when Marcus asks Carmy, “What kind [of firepower]?” and gets the vague response that there’s a new stage (or culinary trainee) starting today, his follow-up question of “Which stage?” is immediately answered by Luca coming into frame, a cheeky grin on his face and swagger in his step.
Cue the cheers.
It’s an instantly iconic entrance, akin to Andrew Garfield walking through a portal in Spider-Man: No Way Home or Evan Peters knocking on the door in an episode of WandaVision, and what makes it so epic is that it’s treated as such. In The Bear’s “Replicants,” Luca coming in to help Marcus has the same gravitas as all the heroes coming back to fight Thanos in Avengers: Endgame, because yes, we are thrilled to see him again and he really is the lynchpin who will help turn the metaphorical tide in the restaurant’s favor.
Of course, no superhero entrance would be complete without a killer needle drop to set the tone. In Luca’s case, his reintroduction is punctuated by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s “Hope the High Road,” which kicks in right as Carmy says the word “firepower.”
To be clear, The Bear wasn’t required to reincorporate Luca this way. He could have made a quiet, humble return, but instead, showrunners Christopher Storer and Joanna Calo opted to give him the full rockstar treatment in The Bear’s “Replicants.” They recognized the character’s appeal and intentionally structured the moment to have maximum impact, and as a result, his return gives the season a sense of momentum that was sorely missing in the somewhat stagnant previous season.
Beyond just being awesome, though, Luca’s return is so effective because of how it solidifies his place in this kitchen and this show. In very little screentime and with very few words exchanged between them, Luca’s reunion with Marcus and Carmy perfectly demonstrates the trio’s interconnected history. Their existing camaraderie is on full display as they banter back and forth about Luca’s abilities, and as viewers, we can already tell that he belongs here—and he’s here to stay.
Welcome to the family, Luca!
Now streaming on Hulu: What are your thoughts on Luca’s return in The Bear’s “Replicants?” Let us know in the comments below.
First Featured Image Credit: ©FX