Critical reviews
Rolling Stone critic Alan Sepinwall commended Deadwyler, "one of most chameleonic actors we have," for disappearing into this "relaxed, confident, funny role." He praised the episode overall as one of the season four installments that "zeroes in on the emotional details that matter."
Rolling Stone reporter C.T. Jones wrote that "the genius of 'Worms' also lies in how deftly Boyce and Edebiri lay out some of the most treasured and joyous parts of Black community onscreen without explaining them to death. The Bear is a show about all of the different ways a group of strangers can become family. 'Worms' turns that same silliness, banter, and heartwarming energy radical, by placing the Black home in a place of soft reverence." Slate's Nadira Goff found "Worms" to be a "lovely episode. It's both a testament to Black culture and an overdue check-in with Sydney, who has been ruminating on this choice between the chaos of her chosen family and the normalcy of strangers for ages," but felt that the story told therein frustratingly "doesn't end up mattering in her final decision between the two offers." Time's Judy Berman described the episode as "...refreshing, thanks in part to Bravo's lighter hand and in part to the respite it offers from Carmy's wallowing.
Vulture's Marah Eakin rated "Worms" four out of five stars, commenting, "It's always nice to get a Sydney-focused episode of The Bear, and this one is a doozy." Vulture culture correspondent Roxana Hadidi wrote that it "endures as a genuine, distinct portrait of Black womanhood created by a team making for themselves what they want to see onscreen." WaPo's Heil found that "the bits where Sydney is helping the girl decide whether to go to a slumber party and winds up turning her decision to stay at the Bear or take the offer to help open a new restaurant into a metaphor about which slumber party she wants to attend was funny and sweet. When she described Carmy as the 'big brother' at one of the houses who is the best video game player in the world, it was such a clear breakdown of their dynamic." Decider declared that "Worms" immediately "joins The Bear's hall of fame," commending the episode's illustration of Syd's thought process about her competing partnership offers.
BuzzFeed reacted to the "more serene episode" with a "*chef's kiss*," calling it "a beautiful look at Black culture and family" and commending it as "by far...the most Black coded episode in the entire series," turning the Chicago-centric eye of The Bear to focus on the city's large Black population for the first time. BuzzFeed staffer Jahmal wrote, "From their lingo to their body language, it's just such a fresh, funny, and vivid window into the culture. The way they gossip, the way they throw shots at each other and allude to family beef...it feels so authentic, like I'm sitting in my auntie's house while watching it." Substream magazine's Murjani Rawls wrote that the episode "delightfully centers Sydney's character" in partnership with T.J. as a Greek chorus of sorts: "Contrary to some beliefs, kids are intelligent. You can gain a lot of wisdom just by hearing their nuggets about life. They aren't as tainted by the world as adults are. 'Worms' has a great parallel in cojoining the problems of T.J., who is facing the prospect of switching schools, and her friends not directly inviting her to the slumber party, with Syd's own 'parties' she has to choose from."
Shapiro's treatment of Sydney within the episode was commented upon as an example of the way Black women are negatively treated in the work environment. Hello Beautiful's Boone found that Shapiro demonstrated a strictly "performative allyship," and that "Janicza Bravo directed the story with care, zooming in on the little moments that cause friction in the professional lives of Black women. The Italian family running The Bear may not be experts on intersectionality, but they are consistent. They expose everyone to the same 'energetically musty' environment. Shapiro pretended to value Sydney more than he did." Vulture's Eakin landed in the same place on the Shapiro issue, writing that "it's performative at best and patronizing at worst, and you have to think that working around someone like that...could suck the life out of someone like Syd."
The New Republic called the episode a "series highlight. Deadwyler is extraordinary, Edebiri is as funny as she's been on this show, and the episode is helmed by guest director Janicza Bravo with a kind of economical cool that feels refreshing amid the nosy extreme close-ups that characterize Storer's house style as a director."
