Shocking ending of ‘The Bear’ season 4! Find out Carmy’s decision and the future of the show.
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The Bear Season 4 Ending
‘The Bear‘ has once again left us with a major twist, but it looks like the potential end to the award-winning series is now taking shape.
Carmy’s Shocking Decision
In Season 4, Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) has been trying to move on from his past troubles – he finally had an emotional meeting with his mother, Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis);
He learned to embrace peace, and he worked hard to repair the broken relationships in his life, including his ex-girlfriend Claire (Molly Gordon).
But the peace he found has led him to make the shocking decision to leave ‘The Bear’.
Yes, the chef, after working so hard to build his dream restaurant, he’s planning to leave it!
In the finale, Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) and Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) experienced the five stages of grief after hearing Carmy was leaving.
Carmy promised them both that he would stay until the restaurant was debt-free (and little did they know they could be close to their Michelin star).
But once the future of ‘The Bear’ was stable, he would leave.
Carmy Out of the Kitchen
So, what will he do next? Well, he will continue his healing journey – in whatever form.
Carmy told Sydney that he doesn’t like being a chef anymore and that he doesn’t know himself outside of the kitchen.
There’s too much pain, anxiety and negativity that’s been fueled in his old passion, and he wants the freedom to figure out his life without being tied to the restaurant.
That’s why he agreed to remove his name from the partnership agreement and add Richie’s.
The truth about Michael’s funeral
Carmy had another big reveal for Richie and Sydney: he actually went to his brother Michael’s (Jon Bernthal) funeral. He just couldn’t get the courage to go in.
Richie was completely shocked by this confession, because for so long he had felt that Carmi blamed him for not being able to help Michael.
Richie felt like he had failed because he couldn’t get Michael to talk to anyone about his problems.
Tears were flowing at this point, and then Natalie (Abby Elliott) came in, bringing the emotional connection to a crescendo.
When Natalie revealed two big things – Carmy is leaving, and she actually went to Michael’s funeral – everyone hugged, and it seemed like things were taking a positive turn, despite Carmy’s plans.
But the ticking clock of the season finally hit zero, which meant Uncle Jimmy’s (Oliver Platt) creepy deadline had arrived.
Countdown Reaches Zero
In the Season 4 premiere, Uncle Jimmy started the countdown in response to the restaurant’s negative reviews (eventually, we learned the headline was “Bear Necessities Missing: The Bear stumbles with culinary inconsistency”).
Uncle told the team very clearly: “When that clock shows zero, this restaurant must cease operations.”
The only way to keep ‘The Bear’ alive is for it to become profitable…or get a Michelin star.
A mysterious customer who enjoyed his meal at the beginning of the season hinted that a star could be on the way, and ‘The Beef’ sandwich window is becoming more and more profitable (especially if they successfully franchise it as they plan to). But so far, they’ve run out of time.
What’s next?
‘The Bear’ hasn’t been renewed for a fifth season yet, so there’s no guarantee we’ll get what happens next.
But if the show does return, it could lead to a possible ending to the story.
Imagine this: Carmy leaves after the restaurant gets a Michelin star, Uncle Sandwich Counter agrees to keep it open due to the franchise being too profitable, and everyone gets their ‘Happily Ever After.’
Of course, this show has never been predictable.
It could go on for many, many more seasons (it is a popular, award-winning show, after all) and could also take a completely different turn that no one expects.
But it’s not hard to see how ‘The Bear’ could end after this eye-opening finale.
Let’s just hope the show gives us a delicious and satisfying dessert at the end before we get there.
All 10 episodes of ‘The Bear’ Season 4 are now available to stream on Hulu.