The 5 Questions ‘The Bear’ Season 5 Desperately Needs To Answer
The Bear is one of those TV shows that I could probably write about more if I loved it even slightly less. Therefore, knowing that it is about to drop its final season in June means that my mind is already swirling with what I hope to see before the show ends. Funnily enough, one of the things I wanted most has already happened and inspired one of the questions on this list.
Still, there are certain storylines I want to see resolved and character arcs I want to see reach some sort of conclusion. For instance, I wonder if Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis) will return, or if the show will end her arc with the breakthroughs in The Bear Season 4, Episode 9, “Tonnato.” I also wonder if Luca (Will Poulter) will stick around as more than a guide, working with Marcus (Lionel Boyce) full-time. Mostly, I just want The Bear to stay open. Heading into the final season, the restaurant’s fate is one of the multi-pronged conflicts that the show has to resolve. You can catch up on The Bear in time for its final season on June 25, 2026, on Hulu or Disney+!
1. Will Richie Be Okay After the ‘Gary’ Episode?
The biggest and probably most important question that I need answered immediately is whether Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) is okay. The Bear surprise-dropped a prequel episode about Richie and Mikey’s (Jon Bernthal) friendship, and it is one of the best things I’ve seen this year. I know that’s a bold thing to say less than halfway into the year, but it’s true. It’s beautiful and harrowing and honest, and I think it’ll be incredibly important to the show’s final season.
It grants understanding to a character who has haunted the entire narrative. Mikey’s presence looms large, even in his absence. It’s that loss of him that finds Richie staring at this passenger seat in the prequel episode’s final minutes. Feeling rushed to move into an intersection, he pulls his car forward only to be T-boned. Leaving fans with that until the show returns for its final season in June is quite brutal. So, I would love it if The Bear’s fifth and final season lets everyone—the characters and the audience—know that Richie is okay as soon as possible.
2. Will The Bear Get a Michelin Star?
One of the biggest mysteries looming over The Bear’s final season is whether a Michelin star inspector visited the restaurant during Season 4. It’s heavily insinuated that Mr. Clark in The Bear Season 4, Episode 3, “Scallop,” is the inspector. He seems incredibly pleased by the restaurant and its staff, especially Richie, who goes the extra mile with a special surprise.
Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) has received three Michelin stars in his illustrious career, but never at The Bear. Meanwhile, Sydney (Ayo Edebri) is still vying for her first, which she most definitely deserves. I don’t know how The Bear ends without giving her that accolade. It also feels that way about the restaurant itself, as getting a star has been a topic of conversation since the show’s earliest seasons. There is no better time for The Bear to reach this goal than in its final season. Also, a Michelin star could give the place the recognition it needs to help it stay afloat.
3. Will Carmy Stay Away From the Restaurant?
The Bear Season 4, Episode 10, “Goodbye,” is essentially just one scene—a long conversation between Carmy, Sydney, Richie, and eventually, Sugar (Abby Elliott). Carmy finally tells his family that he’s leaving the restaurant. It’s a big move, but it feels like the right one for everyone involved. Carmy needs to heal away from the kitchen that so often puts him in a toxic cycle.
While it’s wild to imagine a version of that kitchen where Carmy and Sydney aren’t working side by side, I am intrigued and moved by Sydney’s intention to run the place in a new partnership structure. This time, it’s she, Richie, Sugar, and Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt), who will be steering the ship. That leadership shift opens The Bear—the show and the restaurant—for a multitude of opportunities in its final season. That is, of course, if Carmy actually keeps to his word and stays away. I imagine that will be a difficult thing for him, and he may do so gradually, instead of all at once. But I’m so curious to see if and how The Bear’s final season answers this question.
4. Will Ebra’s Sandwich Plan Save the Place?
The Bear Season 4 gives the restaurant a strict spending threshold of around $850,000 that would theoretically last seven months. After that, Carmy’s Uncle Jimmy isn’t going to put any more of his money into the place. Not only does The Bear need to be self-sufficient after that, but it also needs to pay Jimmy back in full. The season ends with the countdown that Jimmy and his financial partner, Computer (Brian Koppelman), installed, timing out, suggesting that The Bear may have to close its doors. That is, if it doesn’t figure something else out.
The same season also sees Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson) find success at the sandwich window. Even when things ebb and flow in the kitchen and front of house, Ebra finds significant profit. With the guidance of Albert Schnurr (Rob Reiner), it even sounds like there are opportunities for the sandwich-making side of The Bear to franchise. If The Bear is out of money, it would be satisfying for the restaurant—and the show—to return to its roots. After all, Mikey Berzatto (Jon Bernthal) started this whole journey with those sandwiches at The Beef. So, the final season has to answer if The Bear is out of money, and if it is, how it plans to move forward, and I’m curious to see if there is a more full-circle answer than relying on The Beef.
5. Will There Be One Final Family Dinner?
The Bear is about food as much as it's about family. They intersect, they overlap, they repel, and they meld. They’re interchangeable and baked into the heart of this show. So, one of the things I yearn most for in this final season is another family meal. The show hasn’t really had one since The Bear Season 1, Episode 8, “Braciole,” when they used all the tomato sauce (Mikey hid the money for the restaurant in the cans) to have spaghetti together as they planned for the future.
Since then, there hasn’t been much mention of a “family meal.” In fairness, the characters have been so busy trying to save the restaurant that they haven’t really had time to sit around a table. But, as the show heads into its final season, there is no better time or other time for the “family meal” to make a comeback. It also feels like the right time. The Bear is going to have eight episodes in its final season, just like the first season. The symmetry of the show ending with a “family meal” after the image of that first one became so synonymous with the show would be pretty incredible. I clearly have a lot of hopes for this season, but it’s because I love The Bear so much. But because I do, I know that this show will end the way it should—on its own terms.
