FX has served up another season of The Bear, which takes place in the competitive world of cooking and hospitality.
Season 3 kicked off with a montage of Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) going to train in New York under the intense Chef David (Joel McHale) and more in New York City with an emotional goodbye from his sister Natalie (Abby Elliott). This opening in the first episode set the tone for Carmy’s continued drive to level up The Bear into a fine dining establishment. The first episode of Season 3 also showed how Carmy, Nat, Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and more dealt with the death of Michael “Mikey” Berzatto that rocked the family and brought Carmy back to Chicago to manage The Beef in Season 1.
Of course, much more happened for the intense chef as well as the rest of the ensemble in the kitchen. Find a refresher of what happened in The Bear Season 3 and details to remember before binging Season 4 below:
Marcus’ Mom Died
Lionel Boyce as Marcus in ‘The Bear’ Season 3
Courtesy of FX Networks
The first episode of Season 3 of The Bear saw Marcus (Lionel Bouce), pastry chef and baker, in the aftermath of losing his mom, whom he cared for throughout Season 2. Marcus got his standalone episode early in Season 2, “Honeydew,” directed by Ramy Youssef.
The Bear Gets More Competitive
Carmy’s Non-negotiables in ‘The Bear’ Season 3
Courtesy of FX Networks
In the continued journey of the evolution from The Beef to The Bear, Carmy pulls yet another intense move and decides to change the menu at the restaurant daily. Pictured above are his non-negotiables, which echoe the kitchen culture in which he came up. He also sent Syd (Ayo Edebiri) a partnership agreement that would give her real stake in the restaurant, and this hung over her the entire season as she struggled to voice her thoughts about what she wants to be an equal partnership.
Richie and Carmy’s butting heads in the kitchen also continued to create a stressful and dysfunctional environment that Syd couldn’t ignore along with others like Marcus and Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas). There was also Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) reminding the team of his investment with Nicholas “The Computer” Marshall (Billions co-creator Brian Koppelman) recruited to help advise The Bear team financially.
Sydney Received An Offer To Work With Chef Adam
L-R: Ayo Edebiri as Sydney Adamu and Adam Shapiro as Adam Shapiro in ‘The Bear’ Season 3
Courtesy of FX Networks
After making the difficult decision to move out of her dad’s apartment and get her own place, Syd was approached by Ever’s Chef de Cuisine (Adam Shapiro), who offered her that job (CDC) at a restaurant he wanted to open. Ever is the nice restaurant Richie staged at in Season 2’s episode 7 “Forks,” owned by Olivia Coleman’s Chef Andrea Terry. More on the fate of Ever later.
This offer was what brought Syd to put off signing the agreement Carmy emailed her, and she agonized over the decision throughout Season 3.
Richie’s Ex-Wife Tiffany Got Engaged
L-R: Josh Hartnett as Frank, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richard “Richie” Jerimovich in ‘The Bear’ Season 3
Courtesy of FX Networks
As viewers saw in Season 2, Richie is still on okay terms with his ex-wife Tiffany (Gillian Jacobs), but when she tells him she’s engaged in “Forks,” hearts break for both sides. Season 3 introduced her fiancé Frank (Josh Hartnett) with another Taylor Swift needledrop playing in the background (“Forks” contained the songstress’ “Love Story”). This time it was “Long Live.”
Tina’s Journey To The Beef
Liza Colón-Zayas as Tina in ‘The Bear’ Season 3
Courtesy of FX Networks
Highlighted in the sixth episode of Season 3, titled “Napkins” and directed by star Ayo Edebiri, Tina’s path to The Beef was one of hard work and soul-searching. Turns out she met Mikey Berzatto (Jon Bernthal) who started The Beef and bonded with him over life and hardships after a long period of unemployment. That’s how she landed her job there after pounding the pavement looking for a new one.
Natalie Had Her Baby
In episode 8 of Season 3, “Ice Chips,” what started out as a trip to the convenience store to get more C-Folds, which The Bear had run out of to Carmy’s major disappointment, Natalie’s water broke and she went into labor while driving. She placed several calls to her sibling and cousin before her last resort, her mother Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis).
L-R: Jaime Lee Curtis as Donna, Abby Elliott as Natalie “Sugar” Berzatto in ‘The Bear’ Season 3
Courtesy of FX Networks
Donna helped Natalie, who they call “Sugar,” through her labor in an emotional episode that brought them closer together.
Waiting on a Review
L-R: Jeremy Allen White as Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto and Oliver Platt as Uncle Jimmy in ‘The Bear’ Season 3
Courtesy of FX Networks
The finale of Season 3 was peppered with headlines about dining at The Bear. The whole staff is waiting on a major review of the restaurant, and Uncle Jimmy hesitates to tell Carmy that he will have to pull his funding if that review is negative. His first attempt to share the news with his nephew didn’t go over super well when “Computer” scolded him for not being direct.
Ever’s Funeral Service
L-R: Sarah Ramos as Jessica, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richard “Richie” Jerimovich, Rene Gube as Rene and Andrew Lopez as Garrett in ‘The Bear’ Season 3
At the end of Season 3, the entire staff of The Bear took a night off so that Carmy, Richie and Syd could attend the funeral service of Ever, which Chef Terry decided to close down so that she could retire, rest and have time off. Will Poulter’s Chef Luca, who mentored Marcus in Season 2’s “Honeydew” episode when Carmy sent Marcus to Copenhagen to train with Luca as a pastry chef, was also in attendance at Ever’s final service with Chef Adam and the formidable David Fields.
Richie reunited with his former Ever colleagues played by Sara Ramos, Andrew Lopez and more while Syd and Luca hit it off, and Luca revealed he’d be staying in Chicago for a few months. Carmy, though, remained distracted by Fields even as real-life, big-name chefs like Christina Tosi and more shared anecdotes from their time starting out as cooks.
Carmy Confronted David Fields (Joel McHale)
Joel McHale as Chef David Fields in ‘The Bear’ Season 3
Courtesy of FX Networks
After noticeably staring Fields down across tables, as pointed out by Luca, Carmy confronted the man who had haunted him since the beginning of his career to say “F*ck you” and more. Fields, not really fazed by Carmy’s outburst, recounted how he whipped him into a better cook and left the conversation to “piss.”
Lack of Resolution
L-R: Molly Gordon as Claire, Ricky Staffieri as Ted Fak and Matty Matheson as Neil Fak in ‘The Bear’ Season 3
Courtesy of FX Networks
Season 3 of The Bear left a lot of loose ends for the fourth installment to pick up. Carmy’s relationship with Claire Dunlap (Molly Gordon) saw the Faks — Neil (Matty Matheson) and Theodore or “Teddy” (Ricky Staffieri) — approach her in the hospital where she worked, affectionately calling her Claire Bear, to try and persuade her that Carmy still loves her.
Syd, meanwhile, had a panic attack at the afterparty for Ever’s closing, where everyone else seemed to be enjoying themselves despite the bittersweet moment as Chef Terry heated up frozen pizza and everyone danced to “Laid” by James. This seemed to be brought on after Chef Adam asked her about his offer in Ever’s wine cooler room and she stalled for more time.
Ayo Edebiri as Sydney Adamu in ‘The Bear’ Season 3
Courtesy of FX Networks
Carmy, who had left after his heated moment with Fields, was left looking at the much-anticipated review, which seemed mixed from spotlighted words like “dissonant” and “sloppy” written alongside more positive descriptors. Carmy’s reaction, “Motherf*cker!”, left viewers wondering how this bodes for the future of the restaurant.
Cameos
Alongside the above mentioned Josh Hartnett and real-life chefs like Grant Achatz, John Cena appeared in an episode as cousin Sammy Fak. Bradley Cooper also made somewhat of a cameo in a picture of the actor from the 2015 film Burnt.
RELATED: ‘The Bear’ Season 3 Cast: Returning Characters, Guest Stars
All episodes of The Bear Season 4 are new streaming on Hulu.
