After five seasons, 46 episodes, loads of anxiety, and too many drool-worthy dishes, “Yes, chefs,” and “Strange Currencies” replays to track, it’s closing time for Christopher Storer’s Emmy-winning FX comedy, The Bear.
The question is, it also closing time for The Bear, the family-owned restaurant that our favorite fictional chefs desperately tried to save in the fifth and final season, which hit Hulu on Thursday, June 25.
The Bear‘s final eight-episode season picked up the day after Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) told Sydney (Ayo Edeberi), Richie (Ebon Moss-Bacharach), and Sugar (Abby Elliott) he planned to quit the restaurant in Season 4’s emotionally excruciating finale. With no time left in their deal with Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) and “The Computer” (Brian Koppelman), limited food, and depleted finances, the chefs came together to carry out a final service in hopes of earning a miracle Michelin star.
The first seven episodes saw the group navigate a torrential “seventh circle of hell” storm, prep dinner, and impressively overcome a slew of obstacles. When the end credits rolled on The Bear‘s penultimate episode, the team hadn’t just survived the grueling service, they thrived. They laughed, smiled, shed tears of joy, and connected on deeper levels. With seconds to spare in “Caramel,” Richie asked his new partner Sydney, “What do we do tomorrow?” and she replied, “Do the same again?” Despite the restaurant’s uncertain future, they agreed. Syd stared down at her inspirational Ratatouille quote and laughed at the “fuckin’ rat.” And The Bear left us alone in the messy kitchen waiting to learn the fate of the restaurant and characters we’ve grown to love over the past five years.
So does The Bear earn a Michelin star and stay open? Does Carmy really leave the chef life behind? Will Unc agree to franchise the business? Will Richie and Jess (Sarah Ramos) kiss already? Will we every see or hear about Claire (Molly Gordon) again? Who’s the Unknown Caller blowing up Carmy’s phone? And who’s the mysterious spoon thief?! These are but a few of the many burning questions I hoped The Bear‘s series finale would answer. So how does The Bear end? Did the show serve up a satisfying final course?
Decider’s The Bear Season 5 ending explained breaks down Season 5, Episode 8, “The Original Beef of Chicagoland” below. Major spoilers lie ahead.
The Bear Season 5 Ending Explained: The Bear Season 5, Episode 8 Recap
After five seasons of cooking, the series finale, “The Original Beef of Chicagoland,” gives the chefs a well-deserved day off and finally, at long last, we see them at peace. The episode kicks off with gorgeous shots of Chicago set to Ebra’s soothing voice. He’s on a park bench, smoking a cigar, practicing the Mr. Beef franchise expansion pitch he plans to deliver to Carmy. He’s gotten so comfortable reciting his passionate plea he even adds some color at the end: “Stop talking, Carmen. Your blue eyes will not phase me. I expect your signature immediately!” Icon.
It’s the morning after the shift from hell that wound up feeling like heaven. Syd inspects the empty freezer and laughs, Richie asks if Sugar’s still alive, and Tina hits the farmer’s market, because the show goes on with or without Carmy. Despite the work ahead there’s a buzz in the air, a pep in steps, and a renewed sense of passion among the chef. “We had one arm, mostly two, tied behind our backs and we still did alright. I kept thinking, ‘This isn’t over, you can’t count us out. Not yet. We’re gonna fight all together,’” a jazzed Tina says. But no one thinks the road ahead will be smooth.
“If every night for the rest of our lives was like last night then it would be incredible,” Sugar says before revealing they made zero profit. The good news? A couple who got engaged at The Bear work at Pellegrino and invited Richie to an international hospitality seminar in Japan. In the word of the restaurant’s new partner: “Woah.”
Carmy finally meets Unc to have The Conversation. After they simultaneously apologize, Unc goes on about Carm running his business into the ground and feeling “hot fucking lightning bolt flying out of my cock anger.” He complains about the “colorful world of fucking food service fuckery,” then tells Carmy he loves him so fucking much and doesn’t want him to give up on things just because they’re hard. He also admits he’s so broke that he has to listen to Ebra’s franchise plan, which makes Carmy’s eyes light up. “Fuck me. That’s really smart.” And just like that, he agrees without even hearing Ebra’s passionately practiced pitch. Before they part, Carmy tells Unc why he has to leave. When his other uncle, Lee (Bob Odenkirk) said, “To break patterns, you have to break patterns,” the words resonated. But The Bear will be OK without him because Syd’s “the real deal.”
When Carmy heads inside he finds Richie having a panic attack in the freezer. Talk about full-circle. He offers to leave, but Richie asks him to stay. In one of the finale’s most fulfilling scenes, Carmy cares for his Cousin beside the door they once screamed at each other through. Richie spirals over the opportunity to go to Japan and reveals he’s never been on a plane. While it takes Carmy a second to stop shit-talking flying, he eventually soothes Richie. After the sweet moment, Carmy goes to leave, but the freezer door is locked — just kidding! Our stress-free smiley boy is a real jokester this episode, and the moment makes for one of The Bear‘s biggest laughs.
Next up? Carmy and Sydney have a long-overdue debrief where she asks crucial questions like “What are you gonna do for a job?” and “Do you have any skills?” As the two laugh and smile together, Carm says he has a plan he’s not ready to share yet. (And I’m not sure viewers are ready to hear it!) Syd reminds him he’ll always have a job at the restaurant, assisting Ebra at the beef window, of course. After Carmy approves the franchise plan, Ebra experiences a second shock of a lifetime: He learns Marcus is the spoon thief. (OK, sure! Ha ha?!) When Sugar catches Carmy out back, she tells him someone named Peter Clark left her a message saying he’s trying to reach him. While Carm doesn’t know who he is, detail-oriented fans of The Bear will…
When the Unknown Caller Carmy’s been dodging all season rings again, Carmy answers and it’s Peter Clark, aka Mr. Clark from Season 4, the Star Man played by Gary Janetti who dined at The Bear on their special fake snow surprise night. When Carmy hangs up, Sydney catches him heavily breathing in the hall and asks what’s wrong. He tells her the Star Man from the night before was just a regular guest, but that Peter Clark visited a couple months ago, adored her scallop dish, the creativity, undeniable talent, and ambiance. She asks if they got a star, and Carm shakes his head no. Why? They got two.
The too good to be true TV moment sounds cheesy, and it is. But rest assured, after five seasons of watching these hardworking culinary geniuses fight for their family and the restaurant they love, the scene hits hard. And they deserve two stars! One for each of them! Shocked and speechless, the chefs swiftly brush past the news and save the announcement for after service. But minutes later, Syd runs out to Carmy in the dining room — near the table they had their touching talk under — cries, chuckles, and tightly embraces him. (BRB, sobbing!) Carmy whispers, “You did it.” But he did, too, because he believed in her more than he’s ever believed in himself.
Beyond the restaurant’s walls Marcus says goodbye to Luca at the airport, Tina’s husband celebrates her new CDC job, the boys scout franchise locations, and Syd spends a day off with her proud dad. Ready to start his next chapter, Carmy calls Stevie (John Mulaney), suits up, and accompanies him to an office building to meet with Stevie’s pal Sue (Bonnie Hunt). After a passionate monologue about his final service, The Bear’s family, and his love of creative outlets like drawing, we learn he’s there to be an intern at an architectural firm!
In The Bear‘s final minutes, Marcus inherits Carmy’s journals from restaurants past, Sydney gives Richie a care package for his flight, and Carm texts Mikey’s old number “All good.” In Episode 7, Richie told the guy they thought was a Star Man that his daughter’s birthday was coming up and she wanted a cake with 100 candles, so he throws her a surprise birthday party at The Bear. Everyone’s there: Uncle Lee, Tiffany, Frank, Donna, even Claire. (LOL! Guess she’s with Carmy?! Cool.) As some Friday Night Lights-esque music sets the mood, we see the family laughing, loving, and together at the restaurant. Carmy is free. The Bear has a new captain. And Richie is facing his fears and maximalizing, with Jess by his side! (FUCKING FINALLY!) Before The Bear fades to black we see the two holding hands again on a flight to Japan. And that, folks, is The Bear‘s final service. Whether you love it, hate it, or have a unique love-hate relationship with the series, the goodbye is bittersweet and The Bear leaves an indelible legacy behind.
Stay tuned for more The Bear Season 5 coverage from Decider.
