the bear is an ode to the working class, chicago, and to the concept of service and hospitality. it quite literally romanticizes these things and revels in them. mutual care and respect are chief among the themes of the show. the equality of the restaurant starts and ends with syd and carmy's leadership and dedication to each other and their workers.
there definitely is an element of brain rot with the way that many people make ships out of thin air or develop tunnel vision around the concept of two characters hooking up. but it's not an exaggeration to say that without the racial element of sydcarmy, people would be writing essays about the erotics of food and labor as metaphors for their mutual desire or something equally as pretentious.
in every other popular show that came out this year, we can all recognize the function of blood, gore, cannibalism, dog cages, scorpions etc etc as a high metaphor for sex and romance. but suddenly people wanting to see two lonely workaholics together tarnishes the thematic integrity of the bear. they are simply destined to lead sisyphean lives of complete desexualization. their mutual passion for nourishment, food, and community has no bearing on their personal connection to each other. they could and should never possibly be interested in exploring that aspect of their relationship. it would improve nothing about their material realities and it's silly to even think so. okay then