Warning: Spoilers for season three of The Bear are ahead.
The Bear has returned for its third season, finally showing viewers what happened with the new restaurant opened by Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) and Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri). The show’s second-season finale saw the launch of the Bear, with Carmy getting locked in the freezer on opening night. Season three picks up in a dreamy fashion, with Carmy reflecting on the experiences that shaped him as a chef. Subsequent episodes detail a financially struggling operation, with new tensions arising between family and staff members alike.
By the time we reach this season’s finale, the Bear is in a ton of trouble, particularly as Sydney’s future at the restaurant is on the line. Here’s what you need to know about the season three finale of The Bear.
What happens in the season three finale of The Bear?
In the final episode of The Bear season three, Carmy, Sydney, and Richard “Richie” Jerimovich (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) attend the funeral dinner for Ever, the restaurant run by chef Andrea Terry (Olivia Colman). Luca, the Copenhagen-based English chef who helped train Marcus (Lionel Boyce) in season two, also returns for the party. Plus, a plethora of famous chefs make cameos in the final episode, with everyone from Elske pastry chef Anna Posey to former Noma chefs Rosio Sanchez and Malcolm Livingston II putting in an appearance. Hell, even Bradley Cooper turns up, with a photo of him in character in the culinary movie Burnt included in a collage displayed at the event.
Rather than sitting with the chefs, Richie opts to stay back of house with his former colleagues from the brief stint he spent working at Ever in season two. His connection with Jessica (Sarah Ramos) is ever-present, and the pair’s chemistry suggests Richie may have found a date to his ex-wife Tiffany (Gillian Jacobs)’s wedding.
While catching up with the restaurant’s former and current employees, Carmy starts to look back on some of the more negative moments in his life. In particular, he continues to experience flashbacks of his time in New York working under Chef David (Joel McHale), whose brutal criticism damaged his mental health. When Carmy comes face-to-face with David later in the night, he confronts his former boss about that behavior and how it leaves David’s employees scarred. “You gave me ulcers and panic attacks and nightmares,” Carmy tells him. “You know that, right? You understand that?” David, however, is unrepentant, justifying his tough methods and insinuating that Carmy would be no one without his influence. “Yeah, I gave you confidence and leadership and ability,” David says. “It fucking worked.” Obviously traumatized, Carmy is left with tears in his eyes and starts to have a panic attack. Afterward, he appears to have found some relief in having confronted his own personal monster, but the trauma runs deep.
Sydney spends some time talking to Luca, before being pulled away by Chef Shapiro (Adam Shapiro). He presses her for an answer to his offer to run the kitchen in his new restaurant, but Sydney continues to be evasive. Having not spoken to Carmy about the possibility of moving on, she’s in limbo. But Carmy’s ongoing resistance to her creative ideas, and his seeming lack of appreciation of her talent, appear to be pushing Sydney to move on. She leaves the party and starts to hyperventilate, after a vision of all her workmates and the incredible progress they’ve made.
Outside on the street, Carmy pulls out his phone and sees a Google alert for a review of the Bear in the Chicago Tribune. Although viewers aren’t shown the review in its entirety, certain words are highlighted onscreen, including dissonance, disappointed, overdone, tired, and stale. It’s also revealed that both Cicero (Oliver Platt), also known as Uncle Jimmy, and Computer (Brian Koppelman) have been trying to call Carmy, presumably in response to the negative article. Before the episode ends with an ominous “To be continued,” Carmy simply utters, “Motherfucker” in frustration at the negative write-up.
Will Sydney leave the Bear? And will that negative review destroy the restaurant?
Throughout season three, it becomes apparent that Uncle Jimmy won’t be able to fund the Bear forever, particularly as the establishment is losing money hand over fist. Carmy’s insistence on changing the menu every night, and his constant ordering of expensive ingredients, for R&D purposes, have made the business untenable. Although Uncle Jimmy struggles to relay this news to Carmy, he enlists the help of his friend known simply as “Computer” to look for cost-cutting measures. Now that the restaurant has received a muddled and largely negative review, it seems likely the Bear will face an even greater financial pinch.
Meanwhile, Sydney appears torn over whether to stay at the Bear or leave for a new position at Chef Shapiro’s new restaurant. Feeling overlooked and ignored, and noticeably absent from every piece written about the Bear, she seems extremely likely at the moment to jump ship in season four. But it’s clear that whatever Sydney decides, the staff at the Bear have become family to her.
What do we know about The Bear season four?
In March 2024, Variety reported that FX had already “secretly” renewed The Bear for a fourth season, before the third season had been released. The outlet also noted that the fourth season would be “filmed back-to-back with the third season,” which is incredible news for fans.
While details regarding the plot of season four appear to be firmly under wraps, it’s safe to assume all of the show’s main cast members will be back. In fact, Deadline suggested that the fourth season had gone into production right after season three wrapped, as stars White and Edebiri are both super busy outside of the show.
Another loose end that wasn’t tied up in season three is Carmy’s relationship with Claire (Molly Gordon). Having ruined their romance while locked in the fridge in the season two finale, and not realizing that Claire could hear every negative thing he said about her, Carmy hasn’t found the courage to text or call her since. Despite an intervention from Neil Fak (Matty Matheson), Claire wasn’t convinced to reach out to Carmy. Perhaps season three will provide some resolution for the former lovers, as well as for viewers.
