When the final season of The Bear came out in June, I binged it in a week. I loved the season and was upset the show was over for good. But when I went on TikTok, I was happy to see the editing community had done their big one. Using Ethel Cain songs, they had created some of the best edits I had ever seen. Every time I scrolled, I got more and more content keeping the show alive.

The Bear is very well written, has complex characters, and emotional scenes. Ethel Cain’s music is often also extremely intimate and emotional. So when the two combined, the result was some of the most beautiful and thoughtful edits I had ever seen.

The edits were getting thousands of likes, comments, and shares. The increased use of her songs boosted her popularity and made way for more people to discover her music. You know an artist has made it when fans want to start gatekeeping them. And sure enough, people began commenting things like “this song being tiktokifed hurts my soul” and “quick name 5 Ethel Cain songs right now.”

Edits like these give audiences a chance to celebrate what they think the show did well and correct what they wish was done differently. They also show what people valued about the show. In this case, using emotional songs to talk about core problems characters like Carmy faced showed that audiences really valued the depth of the show and were paying attention to every tiny detail. 

I often wish I could go back and watch my favorite shows or listen to my favorite songs for the first time again. I love Ethel Cain, but admittedly, her songs don’t have the same impact on me after hundreds of listens. These edits gave me new ways to experience both the show and music. I got to listen to some of my favorite songs with different stories in mind. 

Throughout all five seasons of The Bear, I was a proud supporter of Sydcarmy but the show never gave me what I wanted. Thankfully, TikTok did: their sweetest moments were stitched together to show their connection and I will choose to believe the show actually ended like that.

It’s fun to watch what fandoms intersect with each other. I’m always pleasantly surprised when two seemingly unrelated things fit together perfectly. I had never thought about Richie & Mikey’s friendship when listening to A House in Nebraska, but when it was put in front of me, it made perfect sense. I saw both the show and song in a new light.

Seeing what other interests an audience has is great insight to who they are. I can learn more about what they care about, what they’re paying attention to, and how their brains make connections.