The Bear Season 3: Recaps and ending explained

❘ Updated: 2024-06-28T09:35:00

FX/Hulu

Every second counts in The Bear Season 3, so here’s your recap of all 10 episodes, and the ending explained.

Jeremy Allen-White, Ayo Edebiri, and the rest of The Bear cast are back for more friendship, fallouts, frenzy, and fine-dining, with The Bear Season 3 of the hit FX series landing on Hulu. The latest chapter picks up from last season’s finale, which centered on the opening night of Syd and Carmy’s dream restaurant.

It wasn’t exactly smooth sailing – Carmy got locked in the walk-in fridge, subsequently destroying his relationship with Claire and having a blowout with Richie; Syd vomited from the stress; and Marcus missed calls from his mother’s nurse.

They need this place to work for their own sakes and because Uncle Jimmy is bankrolling the whole thing. Is their journey any smoother in The Bear Season 3? Warning: Spoilers ahead!

The Bear Season 3 Episode 1 recap: ‘Tomorrow’

Even though this is the first episode, you could almost consider it a prelude, but an important one nonetheless, and a reminder of why The Bear is one of the best TV shows on the circuit. It weaves together flashbacks of Carmy’s (White) experience working with renowned chefs across the globe.

Some of them are fictional, including Chef Terry (Olivia Colman) at Ever alongside Luca (Will Poulter) and the horrendous David Fields (Joel McHale), while others such as René Redzepi and Daniel Boulud are real-life chefs. Carmy also has flashbacks to his time with Claire (Molly Gordon) and his late brother, Mikey (Jon Bernthal).

In the present day, Carmy apologizes to Syd (Edebiri) for abandoning the team and thanks her for taking charge, promising it’ll never happen again. He also leaves Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) a message saying sorry for their fight. We learn that Marcus’ mom did die after Syd phones him to share her condolences.

The Bear Season 3 Episode 2 recap: ‘Next’

Carmy’s stress manifests with the creation of an obsessive list of “non-negotiables” (including “technique, technique, technique”) for the restaurant, which doesn’t go down too well with the rest of the staff. Perhaps the most contentious of all is the decision to change the menu daily, leaving Syd with the feeling that she’s got no say in the matter.

Sugar (Abby Elliott) tells Syd that she’s sent her a DocuSign contract for her partnership agreement, recommending that she gets a lawyer to look over everything. Formalizing her stake in The Bear should be an exciting moment but at this point, her overriding feeling is stress.

Despite his apology, Richie and Carmy are still at each other’s throats. Everyone is squabbling until Marcus (Lionel Boyce) walks in, telling them he just wants to work to distract himself. Carmy later offers his support, recommending that he deals with it properly – in other words, don’t bottle it up like he did when Mikey died.

The Bear Season 3 Episode 3 recap: ‘Doors’

It’s a somber mood as the gang attends the funeral, where Marcus gives a heartfelt speech about his mom. Back in the kitchen tensions are rising, with Richie trying to establish his own set of non-negotiables – much to Carmy’s frustration.

Everyone’s trying to adjust to their new roles. Richie’s struggling with the front of house, Syd’s trying to manage Carmy’s temper, Ebraheim’s (Edwin Lee Gibson) busy running the restaurant’s takeout sandwich division, Sugar and Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) are stressing over the finances, and the Fak brothers are… well, they’re the Fak brothers.

At the end of a particularly difficult shift, Syd takes it all in, realizing just how dysfunctional their situation is.

The Bear Season 3 Episode 4 recap: ‘Violet’

The opening scene is a flashback to Carmy and Claire having a heart-to-heart. At present, Syd is yet to sign the partnership agreement, a decision that’s clearly weighing on her mind. At the same time, she’s getting a new apartment so she can live alone, a decision her father has concerns about.

Richie’s opening up to his daughter Eva, discussing her stepdad-to-be Frank (Josh Hartnett). During their chat, Richie finds out that his ex Tiff (Gillian Jacobs) told their daughter that he’s “alone.” Meanwhile, a heavily pregnant Sugar says goodbye to her husband Pete (Chris Witaske), who’s going away for a week-long work trip.

As for the rest of the team, Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) is busy at the fresh produce market, Marcus finds inspiration for a new dessert, and the Fak brothers (Matty Matheson and Ricky Staffieri) stress Carmy out by plastering the profiles of every top food critic on the wall out back.

Sugar opens up to Richie about her hopes of being a good mom, while Richie opens up about whether he should back off as a father and allow Frank to step in. Syd bumps into Ever’s CDC (Adam Shapiro), indicating it’s been a stressful opening month.

And if that weren’t enough pressure, back at The Bear, they find out the Chicago Tribune’s food critic has already written a review – without anyone realizing they were there.

The Bear Season 3 Episode 5 recap: ‘Children’

Syd helps Marcus sort through his mother’s things, and they restore their friendship after he asks her on a date in The Bear Season 2. We cut to the restaurant, where Carmy spots big news in the culinary world: Chef Terry is closing down Ever for good, with articles suggesting it spells the end for “fine dining.”

This only adds to the stress, which is ramped up when the Tribune photographer shows up to take photos for the review. He asks for a recreation of the duck dish the critic had while there, which would be fine if it weren’t for the fact that none of them can remember the recipe due to Carmy’s daily menu change.

Richie phones Jess (Sarah Ramos), Ever’s back-of-house worker, after hearing the news, while Syd helps Tina enhance her veg dishes. As Uncle Jimmy stresses about the money he’s pumped into The Bear, he calls in his friend Nicholas “The Computer” Marshall (Brian Koppelman), who tries to get them to cut unnecessary spending where possible.

Shoutout to this episode’s The Bear guest star, John Cena, who steals the scenes with some much-needed comic relief as the third Fak brother, Sammy.

The Bear Season 3 Episode 6 recap: ‘Napkins’

This episode is Tina’s origin story, traveling back in time to the moments leading up to her joining The Original Beef of Chicagoland. She’s let go of her job at a chocolate factory, despite having worked there for 15 years.

Job-hunting is tough to say the least. After a particularly bad interaction, she sees Mikey’s eatery and heads in for a coffee, where Richie gives her a sandwich on the house. As she tucks in, Tina bursts into tears and Mikey goes to comfort her. Even though they’re strangers, they dig deep and reveal their life’s struggles to each other.

At the end of their chat, Mikey offers her a job as their new line cook. And the rest, as they say, is history.

The Bear Season 3 Episode 7 recap: ‘Legacy’

As Marcus and Carmy talk about the meaning of legacy, Syd secretly goes to meet Ever’s CDC for coffee, where he reveals his plans now that the restaurant is closing. He’s opening up a new place, and wants Syd to be his CDC – not only is the offer better than her partnership with Carmy, but she’d have full control over the menu. She tells him she’ll think about it.

Sugar’s feeling the pressure with her due date fast approaching, with Richie and Tina giving her some heartfelt advice. Richie himself is struggling with his own problems, wondering about his place in the family now that Tiff is marrying Frank. At the end of the episode, Sugar goes into labor.

The Bear Season 3 Episode 8 recap: ‘Ice Chips’

Sugar drives along the freeway, desperately trying to get hold of everyone and anyone on the way to the hospital. She realizes she has to go for her last resort: calling her mother, Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis).

At the hospital, their unresolved issues lead to numerous strained moments. Despite her faults, Donna tries her best to comfort her daughter and right some wrongs. In between painful contractions, they talk through everything, from Sugar’s concerns about being a mom, to why she chose not to tell Donna about her pregnancy.

Though there’s no fixing the past, the pair are able to make their own form of amends before Pete shows up at the hospital and thanks Donna for being there.

The Bear Season 3 Episode 9 recap: ‘Apologies’

The burgeoning pressure continues in the penultimate episode of The Bear Season 3 as a series of mixed reviews for the restaurant pile in. Richie’s down, Carmy’s screaming at everyone, and Syd’s still figuring out whether to jump ship.

They’re still waiting for the Chicago Tribune’s piece, and if that weren’t scary enough, Jimmy tells Carmy that if it’s bad, he’s going to have to cut them off. In other words, everything’s riding on this one review.

Richie speaks with Tiff, and he finally agrees to RSVP for her wedding to Frank. Amid the chaos, Carmy heads back into the walk-in refrigerator where he nearly calls Claire but ultimately decides against it. Right at the end, the Fak brothers pay Claire a visit (without consulting Carmy first). But she’s less than impressed, pointing out that Carmy hasn’t even tried to contact her.

The Bear Season 3 Episode 10 recap: ‘Forever’

The Bear Season 3 finale is packed full of cameos as Carmy, Syd, and Richie head to Ever’s “funeral” service. Alongside Chef Terry and Luca, there’s a smorgasbord of top Chicago chefs, including Grant Achatz, Anna Posey, Genie Kwon, and Kevin Boehm.

On the next table is David Fields, who Carmy stares down before finally confronting him. Rather than apologize, the NYC chef tells Carmy “You’re welcome,” suggesting he made him the excellent chef he is today. Following the service, the gang heads to Syd’s place for the after-party, where they eat, drink, and dance to mark the end of Ever.

The Bear Season 3 ending explained

The Bear Season 3 ends on a cliffhanger, with Syd yet to make a decision. Carmy receives a Google alert of the Chicago Tribune’s review, but rather than show whether it’s good or bad, we see a flash of words – ranging from “excellent” to “disappointed.”

Alongside the review, Carmy’s got a load of missed calls and messages from Uncle Jimmy and The Computer – which, again, could spell either good news or bad. The finale ends with the text, “To be continued,” meaning we’ll just have to wait for The Bear Season 4 to find out whether the restaurant will survive.

For more, check out our guide to the French Laundry explained and when to watch The Bear. You can also take a look at The Bear Season 3 soundtrack and what ‘keep the spoon‘ meant.