SPOILER WARNING: This story contains spoilers for Season 3 of “The Bear,” streaming now on Hulu.
Season 3 of “The Bear” begins and ends with a funeral. But in the end, it’s a restaurant that is mourned.
The episode begins with a peaceful flashback to Carmy’s (Jeremy Allen White) first day on the job at the French Laundry. He’s cooking whole chickens when Thomas Keller, the real head chef and owner of the decorated California restaurant, approaches him and shows him a simple way to remove the keel.
It’s a sweet moment that contrasts with Carmy’s memories of New York Empire, where he was berated by an abusive boss (Joel McHale) who has been haunting his subconscious since Season 1. Here, Keller patiently explains why chefs call the back of the chicken “the pope’s nose” and gives Carmy a gentle speech about using food to nourish and leave a legacy in the kitchen.
Back in the present, Carmy reunites with Chef Luca (Will Poulter) at Ever’s funeral dinner, an institution on the Chicago dining scene. (Don’t worry: The restaurant isn’t closing in real life.) Chef Andrea Terry (Olivia Colman), who mentored Carmy, Luca and countless others, has chosen to close the restaurant and retire, thus bringing together an impressive list of celebrities. Chicago chefs and culinary legends for one last celebratory dinner.
Back in the kitchen, Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) reunites with the Ever employees who trained him in the memorable Season 2 episode “Forks,” while Carmy and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) share funny and embarrassing restaurant stories with other chefs. The consensus: Restaurants are brutal, but cooking for others is beautiful, and none of these chefs would trade their careers for anything.
As the chefs talk, Carmy looks over to another table and locks eyes with her former boss (McHale). Suddenly, Carmy has flashbacks of being told he’s not good enough and should quit, interspersed with nightmarish visions of negative headlines: “The Bear Is Worse Than Its Bite” and “The Bear new restaurant, l’ours, closes after just three months. (Earlier in the season, The Bear’s team realizes that a critic from the Chicago Tribune has already stopped by the restaurant, meaning a potentially game-changing review could come at any moment.)
Then, suddenly, Chef Terry clinks her glass and makes a speech: “People often talk about restaurants and ask, what’s their history? What’s their impact? Who worked there before? What awards have they won? And their chef, quote? I think what I’ve learned over the years, in every place I’ve worked, is that people don’t remember the food. Sorry! They remember the people.” (This will be important later.)
While everyone enjoys the meal, Carmy is still obsessed with her old boss and ends up following him to the bathroom to confront him. It’s an awkward encounter: Carmy tells him: “Fuck you”, “I think about you too much”, “You gave me ulcers, panic attacks and nightmares”. The leader is not fazed. Instead, he takes credit for transforming Carmy from an “okay leader” to a “great one”, which gave him confidence and leadership. He leaves Carmy still visibly shaken and in tears.
Elsewhere, Ever’s head chef Adam Shapiro pulls Sydney aside for a temperature check. Earlier in the season, he offered Sydney the head chef position at a new restaurant he’s considering opening. As Carmy exerts more and more control over The Bear, Sydney has been procrastinating on signing her deal to acquire the restaurant. She’s stuck, torn between a smarter career move and the family she’s chosen. Sydney tells Adam she’s still thinking about it and plans to talk to Carmy soon, but it’s clear he wants to move fast.
After dinner, Chef Terry finds Carmy outside getting some fresh air. Carmy tells her everything he learned from her while working at Ever and asks for advice on his new business. “You have no idea what you’re doing, so you’re invincible,” Terry says.
Back in the kitchen, Sydney, Richie, Luca and the Ever staff stare silently at Chef Terry’s “Every Second Counts” sign, a mantra that has transcended his kitchen walls and helped define “the bear “. Adam takes down the sign and gives it to Terry, who says, “Let’s get out of here!”
And so they do. Everyone except Carmy returns to an impromptu party at Sydney’s apartment to celebrate, where they’re joined by Bear’s crew. They sing, dance, raise frozen waffles with caviar. On Sydney’s refrigerator, there’s a newspaper review of The Beef, the Italian sandwich shop she helped Carmy turn into a fine-dining establishment. In her mind, she runs through images of Marcus (Lionel Boyce), Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas), Natalie (Abby Elliott), Fak (Matty Matheson), Carmy and the rest of the Bear family. No doubt Chef Terry’s words ring in her ears: “These are the people they remember.” Sydney goes outside and has a panic attack, hyperventilating at the thought of the decision she has to make.
Meanwhile, Carmy is walking alone when his phone rings with four missed calls from Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt), who is financing the bear but has been advised to cut his losses and stop the bleeding. In a previous episode, he couldn’t quite bring himself to tell Carmy how bad the restaurant’s finances have gotten. More importantly, there’s a Google Alert from the Chicago Tribune. The review is there.
Carmy frantically checks her phone, focusing on words like “excellent,” “confusing,” “innovative,” “sloppy,” “brilliant,” “amazing,” “disappointing.” It’s mixed.
So where does our favorite restaurant staff stand? Nothing is resolved at the end of Season 3. Sydney still has to choose whether she will stay at the Bear and fight for a Michelin star alongside Carmy, whose personal trauma has made him a toxic leader, or jump ship and run a rival kitchen with Adam. Will Carmy be able to overcome what he’s been through and become a true partner to Sydney, or will he continue to allow himself to be infected by the cycle of abuse, pushing his confidant away?
Carmy has gone the entire season without contacting Claire (Molly Gordon) after breaking up their romance in the Season 2 finale. And Jimmy may decide to close his wallet and sell or even close the Bear, as the restaurant is too expensive to justify and has faced considerable obstacles. A mixed review would only exacerbate these issues. To echo Carmy in the season finale, “Fucker!”