10 Ways The Bear Season 3 Sets Up A Very Different Season 4

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for The Bear season 3.

The Bear season 3 leaves many doors open for its beloved characters following a relatively inconclusive season finale. While season 3 continues the experimental creative approach that was introduced in season 2, it also focuses more intently on supporting characters such as Tina and Neil Fak while introducing a few brand new characters in Frank (Josh Hartnett) and Sammy Fak (John Cena). The Bear season 3 introduces several different forms of tension and pressure after the grand opening of The Bear restaurant, most of them coming from within Carmy himself, and has earned a Rotten Tomatoes score of 94%.

The Bear season 3 finale interestingly introduces a slate of new guest appearances of real-life world-renowned chefs at the Ever “funeral service”. It also allows Carmy to face his former boss Chef David Fields (Joel McHale) who verbally abused Carmy but also shaped him into becoming an excellent chef at Eleven Madison Park in New York City. Throughout The Bear season 3, more light was shed on Mikey and Tina’s backstory and how they seemed to overlap by fate before the events of The Bear season 1 took place. Jamie Lee Curtis also returns as the earnest yet destructive Donna as Natalie gives birth to her first child while Sydney is faced with a difficult decision ahead of season 4.

10 Sydney May Be Leaving The Bear For A New Opportunity

Carmy may not be able to go on without Sydney

One of the biggest mysteries that lingered throughout The Bear season 3 is what Sydney would end up doing after Chef Adam Shapiro made her an offer to join him in starting a brand new restaurant. The Bear season 3 does a good job of focusing on Sydney’s internal frustrations with Carmy’s “non-negotiable” approach after his relationship with Claire ended, which made her think less about her faith in The Bear and more about what was best for her future.

Toward the end of season 3, Sydney tries to bring up the matter to Carmy but refrains, knowing that it will send Carmy into another spiral even though she hasn’t made a decision yet. Sydney’s panic attack in the season 3 finale is the culmination of her uncertainty and fear of making such a life-changing decision, which could completely change the dynamic between her and Carmy in season 4.

9 Olivia Colman’s Chef Terry May Not Return

Chef Terry closed her world-class restaurant in the season 3 finale

Olivia Colman returned to reprise her season 2 role as Chef Terry, the head chef and owner of one of the best restaurants in Chicago and the world, Ever. Season 3 explores through several flashbacks how Carmy met Chef Terry and how she was one of the first people to see the raw talent and ambition in Carmy that could make him a world-class chef like her.

Unfortunately, the restaurant she was famous for called Ever was apparently forced to close its doors due to the effects of the pandemic, although Chef Terry tells Carmy it had more to do with her desire to retire, travel, and live more leisurely. With Chef Terry officially hanging up her apron at the end of season 3, there’s no ostensible reason for her to return outside of more flashbacks in season 4, unless Carmy seeks her for advice or support in other ways.

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8 The Bear May Have Gotten A Negative Review

Carmy may have to find a new financier

Carmy fixation during The Bear season 3 shifted between a few lofty ambitions, such as creating a brand new menu every day and having The Bear earn a Michelin star. Towards the middle of the season, Carmy discovered that a local food critic had dined incognito at The Bear and was writing up a review that would end up making or breaking Uncle Jimmy’s continued investment in the restaurant. In the final scene of The Bear season 3, Carmy looks at his phone and discovers that the review has been published and does not seem pleased, getting several missed calls from Uncle Jimmy and The Computer. Jimmy said he would pull the plug if the review was bad, which very well may be the case.

7 Donna Berzatto May Appear More Throughout Season 4

Sugar appears to be allowing Donna back into her life

Carmy and Sugar’s mom Donna had been featured in The Bear season 2, most notably in the explosive and masterful episode “Fishes” which ends with her driving her car into her family home on Christmas. Donna returns to assist Sugar as she prepares to give birth to her first child although she was her daughter’s last resort due to her erratic behavior. While Donna did help out Sugar in her own way, the overall experience was as wholesome as it was chaotic and triggering for Sugar, who was trying her best to have the baby enter a completely safe and calm environment. Sugar sends a picture of her newborn to her Mom towards the end of the season, hinting that she may have started the process of forgiving Donna, who may have a more integral role in The Bear season 4.

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6 Carmy May Have Found Peace After Chef David Confrontation

Carmy didn’t get an apology but was finally validated

Carmy was finally able to confront Chef David (McHale) about the verbal abuse and maltreatment that was inflicted on him while working as the head chef at Eleven Madison Park in New York City, where David was the executive chef and his boss. Carmy doesn’t hesitate to instigate a one-on-one with David, who has a widespread reputation for being antagonistic, but Carmy doesn’t have anything particular to say to him face-to-face. David does, however, give Carmy validation by calling him an excellent chef as a means of justifying how hard he had been on him. He refuses to apologize, however, which Carmy seemed not to need as much as the validation he inadvertently received from David, which might finally mellow Carmy out in season 4.

5 Chef Luca Could (And Should) Become Sydney’s Love Interest

Carmy & Richie have love interests, so why not Sydney?

Luca and Sydney first met at the Ever “funeral service” in the last episode of season 3 where they seemed to click instantly. They went on to have a private conversation in the Ever kitchen before Shapiro pulled Sydney away to follow up about his proposal. Although Luca and Sydney were just getting to know each other on a platonic level, it would be a great match if Sydney and Luca eventually developed a more intimate relationship down the line. It would also be a smart way to get fan-favorite actor Will Poulter more involved in The Bear as a series regular as opposed to making another guest appearance in season 4.

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4 The Bear Might Finally Reveal What Happened To Carmy’s Father

It remains one of the biggest mysteries of the series

It’s never been made officially clear what exactly happened to Carmy’s father but it is evident that he had been out of the picture for a very long time. Uncle Jimmy said that he hadn’t talked to Carmy’s dad in 20 years back in season 1 and he doesn’t appear to even show up to Mikey’s funeral in the season 3 flashback scenes. Given the nature of The Bear’s ever-expanding family tree, it would be surprising if the series continued to completely ignore the character altogether, given how much of a spotlight other members of the Berzatto family have gotten thus far. Now that Mikey and Donna have been further explored in season 3, season 4 might be the time to introduce Carmy’s dad in either present-day or flashback.

3 Carmy Might Fire Some Of The Bear’s Staff To Stay Afloat

Carmy might have to choose between great ingredients or great people

If Uncle Jimmy keeps his word and decides to pull the plug on The Bear, Carmy may be forced to make some difficult subtractions to his workforce. Carmy had been unwilling to compromise on the quality of his ingredients throughout season 3, which put The Bear in a financial hole that Jimmy couldn’t stand much longer. For a series as realistic as The Bear is, it would be wise to also contain some of the hardest realities of the service industry which is that employees come and go quite frequently and get let go all the time. Carmy will have to make sacrifices in some way if the review is bad and Jimmy is on his case, and season 4 could prove whether Carmy cares more about ingredients or people.

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2 Richie May Have Found A Love Interest In Jessica

She may end up working at The Bear after Ever shuts down

As is the case with Luca and Sydney, but perhaps with more evidence or a trajectory, Jessica (Sarah Ramos) could become Richie’s new love interest in The Bear season 4. Jessica appeared in two episodes of The Bear’s third season and started to show more of a wild side in the finale episode while she was partying with Richie and company. With Richie needing someone to move past the tragic situation of losing Tiff for good now that she’s marrying Frank, Jessica would be a natural candidate to arise as Richie’s new love interest and even a new employee (if Carmy can afford it) at The Bear in season 4 since she will no longer be working at Ever.

1 Claire May Inspire Carmy To Stop Obsessing Over His Work

It doesn’t look like things are completely over between Claire and Carmy

Claire wasn’t featured much in The Bear season 3 but she certainly haunted Carmy throughout, indicating that Carmy still hasn’t gotten over her. Having grown up in the same neighborhood as Carmy and being aware of the lovable yet chaotic vibe of his family and the adjacent Faks, Claire knows Carmy better than anyone and is able to make him vulnerable throughout season 2. Carmy cast her away because of his obsession with his work at the restaurant but if she does choose to come back to him in The Bear season 4, it may change Carmy for good. It would be a major step in his character development after regressing into a near villain in season 3.

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The Bear

Set in a Chicago sandwich shop, The Bear follows Carmy Berzatto, a young professionally trained chef who returns to take over his family business after the unexpected death of his brother. At odds with many of the shop’s employees due to his culinary training, Carmy struggles to maintain order and keep the shop from failing entirely. Jeremy Allen White stars as Carmy alongside Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Ayo Edebiri. 

Cast

Jeremy Allen White , Ebon Moss-Bachrach , Ayo Edebiri , Lionel Boyce , Liza Colón-Zayas , Abby Elliott , Oliver Platt

Release Date

June 23, 2022

Seasons

3

Streaming Service(s)

Hulu , Disney+

Writers

Christopher Storer

Directors

Christopher Storer

Showrunner

Christopher Storer

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