Dante Cress: The Bear season 3 recap: All you need to know before season 4 arrives

The Bear season 3, featuring 10 episodes, premiered on June 26, 2024, on FX on Hulu. It is directed by Christopher Storer, Duccio Fabbri, Ayo Edebiri, Joanna Calo, and written by Storer, Calo, Alex Russell, and Catherine Schetina. The comedy-drama series is created by Storer, who also serves as the showrunner along with Calo.

The Bear stars Jeremy Allen White as Carmen 'Carmy' Berzatto, an award-winning chef who tries to get the eponymous restaurant off the ground with the help of his staff, including his sous-chef, Sydney, and maître d'hôtel, Richie. With the show's fourth season releasing on June 25, 2025, here's a refresher of season 3.

The official synopsis of The Bear season 3, as per FX, reads:

"In season three of FX’s The Bear, Carmy pushes himself harder than ever while his crew do their best to match his intensity."

A look at Carmy's evolution in The Bear season 3

The Bear season 3 opens with Carmy determined to make a fresh start. He comes up with a new menu and a list of non-negotiables he wants the staff to follow to a T. One of his non-negotiables is changing the menu every single day, which his staff is not on board with. Also, the daily menu changes add to the restaurant's overall expense, to the annoyance of Natalie and Cicero.

Hence, Cicero hires Nicholas Marshall to help Carmy streamline the operations and bring down the overall cost.

Natalie learns that a food critic from The Chicago Tribune is writing a review of The Bear after visiting the restaurant discreetly. A lot rides on the review as Cicero threatens to withdraw his funding if it's anything but positive. At the end of The Bear season 3, Carmy is seen reading the review, and judging by his reaction, he isn't entirely happy with it.

Moreover, Carmy's old boss, Chef Andrea Terry, closes her high-end restaurant, called Ever. She invites Carmy, Sydney, and Richie, in addition to a host of other renowned chefs, for a funeral service or closing dinner. At the event, Carmy notices Chef David Fields, who was verbally abusive towards him when he worked at his restaurant, Empire.

The harsh criticisms gave Carmy panic attacks, which continue to this day. He musters up the courage to confront Fields and calls him out for damaging his self-worth. But, Fields deflects blame and snidely remarks that his behavior turned Carmy into a perfectionist and made him an excellent chef.

Throughout The Bear season 3, Carmy avoids apologizing to Claire for breaking her heart. Despite The Faks's insistence, he is unable to own up to his mistakes, prompting The Faks to urge Claire to make the first move.

Sydney contemplates her future at The Bear in season 3

Sydney and Carmy as seen in The Bear season 3 (Image via Instagram/@fxnetworks)

Carmy offers Sydney a partnership role that will give her a stake in the restaurant. But she hesitates to sign the agreement as she continues to feel underappreciated by Carmy. Additionally, Carmy often flies off the handle due to the mounting pressure, leaving Sydney to calm him down.

Adam Shapiro, the CDC of Ever, visits The Bear and notices Sydney's work. Later, he offers her a job as his CDC at the new restaurant he plans to open after Ever. She seriously considers the offer after discovering that Adam is willing to pay her more than what Carmy offered her for the partnership role in The Bear.

But by the end of The Bear season 3, she has not made up her mind about her future.

Also read: Bradley Cooper's unanticipated cameo in The Bear season 3 hints connection to 2015 film

What happens to Marcus and Tina in The Bear season 3?

Marcus gets news of his mother's death at the start of The Bear season 3. Following her funeral, he decides to pour himself into his work and make The Bear a success. Nicholas Marshall suggests firing Marcus or at least reducing his pay, as part of his cost-cutting efforts, but Natalie firmly refuses.

The Bear season 3 also delves into Tina's life before joining Mikey's Original Beef. She previously worked an office job for 15 years but was unceremoniously fired, increasing the financial burden on her family. Despite giving several interviews, she failed to secure a new job.

One day, she visited Mikey's diner to have coffee and broke down in tears over her situation. Richie offered her a free sandwich out of sympathy, and Mikey lent her a compassionate ear before offering her a job as the line cook at his diner.

Richie and Natalie embark on new beginnings in The Bear season 3

Carmy apologizes to Richie for his outburst in the finale of season 2, but the latter continues to hold a grudge against him. He comes up with his own list of non-negotiables, which rubs Carmy the wrong way. The two men come to blows in episode 3, causing the restaurant's expo sheets to fly off the table.

Richie's ex-wife, Tiff, reveals her plans to marry her boyfriend, Frank, and invites him to her upcoming wedding, since the exes are on good terms.

Moreover, Natalie, pregnant with her first child, goes into labor in episode 7. Unable to reach her husband, Pete, or Carmy, she is forced to call her mother for help. Donna comforts her daughter during contractions by recalling her delivery experience with her three kids. During a vulnerable moment, Nat shares her concerns over passing on the family's dysfunction to her newborn daughter.

In response, Donna reassures her that she is trying to turn her life around and mend her relationship with her and Carmy.

Watch all episodes of The Bear on Hulu.

About the author

Deepti is an entertainment writer at Sportskeeda. She comes with more than 6 years of experience in the creative writing field and has written extensively for the entertainment and travel domains.

She holds a degree in Chemistry, but her true interest always lay in the creative field. A passion for reading from a young age fueled her desire to make a career change later in life and take up writing as her profession.

Apart from reading, her hobbies include watching movies, listening to music, and going to the beach. In her free time, she can be found looking up reviews of new and old films to add to her watchlist. She also enjoys watching foreign language films that help expand her knowledge base regarding different cultures around the world.

Asked to describe herself, she would promptly mention that she is a die-hard Swiftie and enjoys nothing more than listening to Taylor Swift songs on loop while writing.

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Edited by Bharath S