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The Bear season 3 shows that getting stuck in a walk-in freezer and having a meltdown on opening night can have serious consequences. To fix broken friendships and relationships, Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) takes full control of the kitchen with strict “non-negotiables,” unknowingly putting the restaurant on a path to failure.
With Cicero pressuring him about the restaurant losing money, daily menu changes driving up costs, and tense relationships causing chaos during service, season 3 builds on the stress and intensity of the previous season, all leading up to one food review that could decide the restaurant’s fate.
With The Bear season 3 premiering a year ago in June 2024, fans would definitely need a refresher before walking into the next season. Stream all episodes of The Bear season 4, premiering 25 June 2025, only on Hulu.
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Disclaimer: All opinions in this article belong to the writer. Spoilers ahead.
The Bear season 3: Highlights and things to remember before the new season
1) The dreaded review from The Chicago Tribune
Every episode of The Bear season 3 showed the crew's total lack of coordination under Carmy's regime. With no dearth of temper tantrums and the confusion from having a new and convoluted menu every day, the kitchen struggled to keep up with the demands of customers who walk in expecting nothing but finesse.
In this chaos, it completely slips everyone's mind (mostly Carmy's) that food critics might be walking through his restaurant doors at any moment. So when Natalie gets wind that a food critic from The Chicago Tribune wants to write a review, the team struggles to recreate the duck dish that the critic had already tasted. Cicero warns Carmy that he would pull out of the business if it's a negative review.
In The Bear season 3 finale, Carmy runs out of Sydney's house party after showing symptoms of a panic attack. He checks his phone to find a million missed calls from Cicero and a review from the Tribune. Fans must wait and see the fate that awaits the crew based on what the review says.
2) Sydney's future forks into two paths
Ayo Edibri's Sydney Adamu asked for heat, and Carmy's kitchen delivered. The Bear season 3 was an unraveling for the chef, who is caught between making a choice that could change her life forever. While she wants to make it work with Carmy, she sees the irreparable damage of his actions and how that creates a dysfunctional kitchen.
Carmy offers her a partnership contract to increase her stake in the restaurant, and while she's debating that decision, Adam Shapiro, Ever's CDC, approaches her with an offer. After Chef Terry closes Ever, Shapiro plans to go out on his own and wants Sydney as his CDC. When she finds out that, on top of giving her panic attacks, Carmy's partnership offers lesser financial benefits than Adam's, her scales tip.
Sydney and Carmy's uncertain future as business partners will be one of the focal points of The Bear season 3.
3) Carmy's family tries their hand at being functional
A major sub-plot of season 2 was Carmy's dysfunctional family dynamics and how that translates into his attitude towards life and in the kitchen. By the end of season 2, Pete accidentally tells Carmy and Natalie's mother about Natalie's pregnancy, and fans waited for the other shoe to drop with Natalie so close to childbirth in The Bear season 3. Which it did, eventually.
Natalie (Abby Elliot) is deeply involved in the finances of the restaurant, adding to her stress right before childbirth. When her water breaks at a Restaurant Depot as she's running errands, she is forced to call her mother for help. Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis) arrives, and while things are tense, the mother and daughter find ways to connect over childbirth stories and deep-rooted fears about parenthood.
In the end, Pete arrives and Donna leaves the hospital room. While things aren't fully fixed in the Berzatto family, The Bear season 3, episode 8 ("Ice Chips") brought hope for a calmer future. Whether that would impact Carmy's life and career is something fans should wait and watch out for.
4) Carmy's people skills leave the crew wanting
In The Bear season 3, Carmy becomes the kind of head chef he once hated—angry, controlling, and harsh. He fights with Richie in the kitchen, yells at Sydney to remake dishes until they’re perfect, and ignores his team’s input, even though Marcus still believes in him.
Carmy's personal life is falling apart too. After Claire hears him say she was a waste of time, he doesn’t apologize. Instead, he stays stuck in his trauma. The Faks visit Claire in the hospital to say sorry to him, but she refuses to fix things, leaving their relationship unresolved.
5) Marcus's uncertain future
Marcus returns to the kitchen after his mother died in the season 2 finale and gets right down to work. He reassures Carmy that while he missed her passing due to opening night woes, she would've been happy to know he was pursuing his passion. But things behind the scenes are not rosy for the pastry chef.
When Cicero brings his friend, Nicholas "The Computer" Marshall, to find areas to cut financial corners, The Computer suggests docking Marcus's pay or letting go of him altogether. Natalie fights for his place in the kitchen, but with the uncertain future of the entire crew after the review, it's safe to assume that Marcus might face the wrath of Cicero's decisions.
Will Carmy's restaurant go under, or will they finally find their footing in The Bear season 4? Stay tuned to find out.
