‘The Bear’ Season 3 Ending Explained—Will Carmy’s Restaurant Survive?

Warning: Spoilers ahead for the third season of FX’s “The Bear.”

The Bear Season 3 is now streaming on Hulu and Disney+. If you’ve already watched all 10 episodes, you likely have questions about the ending of the culinary drama, including whether Sydney is leaving and if The Bear will stay in business.

Season 3 opens with Carmy at his new restaurant following Season 2’s heated Friends and Family night. The premiere features flashbacks of Carmy’s time working at Michelin-starred restaurants leading up to Mikey’s death. In the present, Carmy is still not speaking with Claire after she overheard his conversation in the walk-in.

Carmy drafts a list of non-negotiables for his team, such as “respect tradition,” “push boundaries,” and “vibrant collaboration.” However, some items are more controversial, such as changing the menu every day. Despite pushback from Sydney and Richie, Carmy insists this will help them earn a star. He also reveals to Sydney that he is sending her a partnership agreement detailing her ownership stake, but throughout the season, she delays signing it.

The Bear navigates its first month of full service and faces the inevitable challenges of operating at the highest level. The front and back of the house are in constant chaos, specifically between Carmy and Richie. Meanwhile, Natalie and Uncle Jimmy grow concerned about the skyrocketing expenses. (He brings in a family friend named “Computer” to help them cut costs wherever possible.)

To make matters worse, the team was unaware that they served a food critic from the Chicago Tribune. They only found out when the publication requested pictures of the restaurant and the duck dish the critic ate. However, since they changed the menu every day, they didn’t know what dish they served.

ForbesWill Carmy And Sydney Get Together In ‘The Bear’ Season 3? Here’s The Disappointing NewsBy Monica Mercuri

Season 3 also touches on the death of Marcus’ mother and how the pastry chef navigates her passing through baking. There are also more flashbacks, like when viewers see the emotional moment when Mikey hired Tina, who was struggling to find a job in the heartfelt sixth episode directed by Ayo Edebiri.

Like Season 2, the third chapter features new and returning cameos, such as John Cena as Sammy Fak, Oliva Coleman as Chef Terry, Adam Shapiro as Chef Shapiro, and Jamie Lee Curtis as Donna, the latter who comes to Natalie’s rescue when she goes into labor. Natalie and her mother finally reconcile before she gives birth in Episode 8, “Ice Chips.”

What Happens At The End Of The Bear Season 3?

In the season finale of Season 3 of The Bear, viewers are taken back to Carmy’s early days as a sous chef under Chef Thomas. The senior Chef imparts a valuable lesson to Carmy: to come in every day and do a little better than the day before.

Richie and Carmy both attend the Ever funeral, a place that stirs contrasting emotions in the cousins who are not on good terms. For Carmy, it’s a reminder of the restaurant that shaped him into the Chef he is today. And despite Richie’s brief four-day stint, Ever left an indelible mark on his work ethic and personal growth.

Sydney finally shows up and sits at a table with Carmy and other established chefs who used to work at Ever. The chefs swap stories of their past culinary experiences — good and bad — and make valid points about acknowledging credit where credit is due.

The conversation brings up conflicting thoughts for Sydney, who has had a rough couple of months working alongside Carmy. Meanwhile, Carmy is dealing with a destructive inner monologue after he spots his abusive former boss, Chef David Fields, from Empire.

When Fields stands up, Carmy steps in to confront him. After calling him a profanity, Carmy demands to know why Fields behaved the way he did. “You’re welcome,” Fields replies. His former boss tells Carmy that while he was an okay chef before, he left as an excellent one. Carmy disagrees, stating that he gave him ulcers, panic attacks, and nightmares. Fields, however, insists that he provided Carmy with “confidence, leadership, and ability” that made him the great chef he is today. Carmy is in disbelief.

Is Sydney Going To Leave The Bear And Accept The Job Offer?

Earlier in the season, Chef Shapiro invited Sydney for coffee to discuss a new opportunity. He wants to start his own restaurant and asks her if she wants to run it. She would get a partnership stake, a base salary of $80,000, and benefits. Sydney says she’ll think about it, but she has to talk to Carmy first.

At the Ever funeral, Chef Shapiro asks Sydney if she has discussed the opportunity with Carmy. Sydney admits she hasn’t found the right time to tell him, but there never is. She assures Shapiro that she’s still interested in the CDC opportunity.

Everyone is having a great time at Sydney’s apartment for the afterparty, including Richie, the Ever staff, Marcus, Tina, and the Faks. Sydney is trigged after she sees a newspaper clipping of The Bear on her fridge. She runs in the hallway and has a panic attack about the tough decision she has to make.

Do Carmy and Claire Get Back Together?

Unfortunately, Carmy and Claire do not get back together in Season 3 of The Bear. In fact, the only time we see them both interact in Season 3 are in flashbacks. Claire is still upset about how things ended and what he said to her. In Episode 9, the Faks try to convince Carmy to reach out to Claire, but he’s declines, saying that it would “hurt” too much.

Carmy goes into the walk-in fridge to think. He pulls up Claire’s contact and looks at her photo. “I’m sorry,” he says, as his hand hovers over the call button, but he never presses it.

Neil and Ted Fak decide to visit Claire at the ER. They tell her that Carmy doesn’t know they’re here, but they had to tell her that he’s stuck and Carmy still loves her. “He likes you more than he likes himself,” Neil says. “I cant do this here, but I love you guys so much” she says. “You’re the peace,” Neil insists.

What Did The Chicago Tribune Say About The Bear?

The final scene pans to Carmy walking home after the Ever funeral. He looks at his phone and sees that the Chicago Tribune review is out. He also received four missed calls from Uncle Jimmy and three missed calls and two texts from Computer, which could only mean bad news.

While viewers can’t read the Chicago Tribune’s review in its entirety, single words from the article pop on the screen like “confusing, excellent, culinary, innovative, sloppy, inconsistent, simple, and complex.” At the end of the montage, the screen zooms in on the word “stale.”

This is concerning, because in the ninth episode Uncle Jimmy tells Carmy that if they receive a single bad review, then he will close the restaurant. It’s only after Uncle Jimmy gets in the car with Computer that viewers learn how dire the situation is. The Bear will likely have to close no matter what because of current market and the high costs.

It’s unclear what will happen to The Bear, but things aren’t looking good. Thankfully, there will be another season of the FX drama to pick off where the finale left off. At a virtual press conference on Monday, the cast were asked whether episodes of Season 4 were shot directly after Season 3.

“We did something like that,” White responded without revealing too much. “Yeah, a little version of it, sort of. But not exactly,” added Edebiri.

All episodes of The Bear Season 3 are streaming on Hulu and Disney+.