Was talking to my friend about sydcarmy tattoos and we got into our usual analysis and it’s just so fascinating to me!
Months ago @yannaryartside made this great post about their tattoos and now I want to share some of my favorite thoughts and observations, because the costume and makeup departments didn’t just give them random shit, they designed two matching, contrasting sets of personal iconography.
I have to start with the absolute blueprint of their dynamic.
Carmy’s Pierced Hand: For a chef, the hands are everything!!! Creation, execution, control. Carmy has a knife plunging directly through his hand. It’s the ultimate symbol of self-inflicted sabotage of his own capability. He is one of the best chefs alive, yet he uses his talent as a weapon against himself. He cannot create without bleeding.
Sydney’s Pierced Heart: Syd’s wound isn't in her labor, it’s in her passion. Her shoulder features the Three of Swords tarot motif-a knife and swords piercing a heart. I assume that It represents the grief of a shattered dream from her past business failure. She leads with her heart, but she’s been burned badly.
Carmy hurts himself through what he does (the hand), and Sydney gets hurt through what she cares about (the heart). When Carmy metaphorically stabs himself in the hand (like locking himself in the walk-in fridge or completely losing focus or leaving) the collateral damage plunges straight into Sydney's heart, killing their shared dream.
The part I’m absolutely obsessed with: the potential portrait of their relationships with food
Carmy’s "86'd" Fish: Shoutout to my cousin who works in a kitchen and confirmed this. During an intense rush, they’ll slash an "x" on a container's tape so someone who isn't too bright doesn't accidentally use the spoiled produce. Symbolically, that is so Carmy. He only cooks or tries food when it's a high-stress restaurant obligation. In his personal life we see him eat junk food over a trash can. Like, food is literally just a stressful production line of panic-management and survival for him at this point.
Syd’s Vintage Anchovies: Syd has the complete opposite, beautiful relationship with food. We always see her in and out of the restaurant being so chill, exploring, experimenting, and never afraid to just try new things. Anchovies are a very specific ingredient used to build deep flavor profiles from scratch.
Where Carmy views food as a checklist of potential disasters to control, Syd genuinely appreciates the raw, complex ingredients that make cooking a soulful, creative art.
They are both drowning in intense, crazy anxiety, but look at how their skin maps out their relationship with time and pressure:
Carmy literally has Sense of Urgency tattooed on his fingers, right alongside the dark irony of a snail forced to "Live Fast." As we know SOU is the ultimate «every second counts». Move faster, sleep less, never stop. Carmy has internalized this mechanical, frantic pace so deeply that he wears it on his hands. He operates at a destructive 100 km/h, even though the snail shows that his soul is desperately crying out to slow tf down.
Syd counters all of that relentless pressure with a cursive "C'est pas grave" ("It’s no big deal" / "It doesn't matter"). It’s the literal antithesis to a toxic Sense of Urgency. My girl is chill. That phrase is like her personal grounding tool-the quiet reminder she uses to force her brain to breathe and de-escalate the panic when the kitchen is actively burning down around her.
So, basically, it shows how Carmy leans into the panic that is killing him, while Sydney actively tries to fight it off.
So, to me, these next two show exactly what anchors them to their pasts and the baggage they carry:
With “773" Carmy carries a loud, systemic obligation to a place. Reality of the South/West sides of Chicago and the heavy legacy of the Berzatto family name. His identity is entirely wrapped up in proving himself to his brother, hometown and the ghost of the family restaurant.
Sydney carries a quiet, private grief for a person. Her Volvo tattoo has a license plate that literally reads "MOM." It’s a devastatingly tender piece of nostalgia, the ultimate symbol of family safety and maternal care that she lost way too soon.
Finally, look at how they view their luck, risk, and life in general:
Carmy has the Grim Reaper shaking hands with a liquor bottle. It’s about as dark as it fuckin’ gets lol. It's just total acceptance of self-destruction. He knows his toxic coping mechanisms are walking him straight to an early grave, but he shakes hands with the reaper anyway. (Also might be a nice homage to his mamma)
Syd has a delicate little wishbone. It's a classic symbol of hope, luck, and wishing for the future. But a wishbone only works if you take a gamble and risk breaking it in half to get what you want. It proves that despite her trauma, Syd is still willing to take a massive leap of faith on her dreams, even if it hurts.
Can’t help but thing about this caption by the makeup artist:
Bourdain quote "Certain of nothing"
