The Bear’s season 3 ending is just the massive cliffhanger I was dreading. In the third season, the massive restaurant that Carmy worked at is shutting down. “Ever” was a restaurant that taught Carmy a lot, so this is quite hard-hitting for him. Ironically, it’s just as bad for Richie, who worked there for almost five days. The final episode is titled “Forever,” because to Carmy, Ever was always going to be that place that never shuts down. Like a permanent lighthouse, but as we realize ever so often in life, nothing lasts forever. Episode 10 is the “funeral dinner” of Ever, and Carmy invites Sydney to join them, even though she never worked there and doesn’t necessarily have any business attending. Yet, oddly enough, she’s the one who seems to sync into the rhythm with the other chefs there, rather than Carmy, who sits in a corner in utter silence. This is because, across from him, sits David Fields, the man who made Carmy who he is today.
I suppose one feels more excitement than fear when they’re about to embark on a new journey. Like the one Carmy and Syd got on, starting The Bear after shutting down “The Beef.” But season 3 is the onward journey that pushes its characters to reflect on their choices, and I suppose it’s not that much of a satisfactory destination for most of them.
Spoiler Alert
What does Carmy tell David?
So, while Syd is making small talk with all of these wonderful chefs, all speaking of their experiences that brought them where they are, Carmy, who should also be joining the conversation, instead has a staredown with David. When Lucas and Syd finally ask him what’s going on, he tells them that David’s the man who probably gave him some sort of mental illness. When David stands up, Carmy decides to actually go talk to him. Maybe he believes it’s going to be a cathartic experience, but all it really does is make him more furious. David doesn’t apologize to Carmy, nor does he comfort him. Instead, he tells him that he’s the reason Carmy’s an excellent chef, so he should thank him. Carmy is completely stumped as David leaves him. Carmy tells David that he thinks about him too much, and David tells him that he doesn’t think about him at all. I think this somewhat explains their dynamic perfectly, and how the one who creates the fire doesn’t ever put it out.
All that Carmy can do at this point is step outside for some fresh air. But this time, he’s met with an actually decent mentor: Andrea Terry. This is her restaurant they’re standing in, and despite all the wonder that she put in Carmy’s mind and heart for cooking, the person he remembers the most is, of course, David. The guy who kneaded him like dough, not the one who tweezed him like gold leaf on a piece of decadent pastry. In this conversation with Andrea, Carmy asks a few questions, but most importantly, he understands why she’s shutting down the restaurant. Andrea tells him that she basically wants to live, and these two things simply don’t go hand in hand. She says she wants to do the things she couldn’t do before. He then asks her what she’d told herself when she was in his position. She tells him that she told herself that she was invincible because she didn’t know what she was doing. It’s a shame Carmy wasn’t paying attention to the table because, at that moment, he would’ve realized that what he’s doing isn’t for himself but for those he can bring a smile to. That’s something David couldn’t have taught him.
Why does Syd break?
During this dinner, Andy borrows Syd for a bit to ask her if she’s still interested in becoming the CDC at his restaurant. She tells him that she absolutely is, but as it goes with Sydney, you can sense the awkward hesitation she’s feeling. Through this dinner, maybe she’s got the idea that what she’s going through is how she gets better, yet can she really give up on this huge opportunity? Especially when Carmy isn’t the person she expected him to be. In all honesty, as much as I find Sydney and Carmy to be the perfect two people to balance each other out, maybe Sydney leaving will help Carmy face his inner demons for real. She’s been resisting signing the restaurant papers for so long because she’s still not sure about this guy. All the doubts that have built up inside of her, occasionally reminded by her father, are finally surfacing.
After the board that reads “Every Second Counts,” is removed from the restaurant walls, the gang (minus Carmy) goes back to Sydney’s house (yeah, I thought it was odd, too), and it’s all going great, and everyone’s having a blast until Sydney gets overwhelmed by a paper clipping she’d put up on her fridge. It’s about how “The Beef” changed with the city, and it just puts her at her breaking point. She steps out and has a panic attack of sorts, and it’s quite heartbreaking to see her face this challenge of change.
What Does the Review Say?
Alright, I’m going to be honest with you. I hate when we see paper clippings in The Bear, because they move at the speed of light and purposely leave you confused. However, shows have the power to leave us wanting, and that’s what The Bear does with that dreadful ending.
In The Bear’s season 3 ending, Carmy gets a notification that the review of “The Bear” has been published. When he opens it, we see a bunch of words float on our screens that are a mixed bag of positive and negative thoughts. After he’s done reading it, he cusses at the wind as a train quickly moves by overhead. I suppose with the motif of the train and how relevant it is in The Bear, we can imagine it’s a positive review, or at least, the restaurant has had a positive response. Yet, I think it’s one that criticizes Carmy as a chef or as a person. I guess it would mean Carmy has to finally take a good look inside rather than hiding in the freezer. What we do know is that Jimmy’s not doing very well, and he has to pull the plugs on the restaurant, but if there’s a good review, would they be able to manage? We’ll have to wait for another season to find out.
On the other hand, if the review is bad, it just means that it’s another opportunity for Carmy to start all over again, but what about the rest of the crew? How will he keep them forever? What’s frustrating is that Carmy tends to make everything about himself, and he hasn’t yet realized how precious his kitchen and staff truly are. He still hasn’t fixed his problem with Richie or offered apologies to Claire (dang, I thought a season would’ve been plenty of time, but I guess not). I guess it is hard to step out of the negative and go towards the positive. It’s somewhat scary, but if you don’t do it, you’ll be left behind forever. So, at the end of the show, we don’t know if the review is good or not, but what we do know is that Carmy needs to get his act together, and not just for himself.
Final Words
The Bear demonstrates the orchestrated chaos that is a restaurant kitchen while simultaneously making one realize the powerful magic of food. On the surface, one could ask the question, What more can this show really give us? Culinary genius has been on the screen for years on end, but what goes on behind it? How does one get there, and how does one endure the terrifying struggle that comes with it? I suppose these are some of the questions The Bear attempts to answer. Yet, it’s not that simple. The show is a complex drama that delves into the lives of all its main characters, people like you and me, who now, in season 3, work at a fine dining restaurant. No, occasionally, it does feel like watching a dystopian epic simply because of all the chaos that we have to endure to watch this show. Nah, I’m not going to talk about episode 6 of season 2 again, and fortunately, we didn’t get anything as difficult to digest in season 3, but what I think we got is an answer to that episode in the form of episode 8 of season 3. So if episode 6 of season 2 was a family-run diner, then episode 8 of season 3 is a fine dining restaurant. By this, I mean that one represents the utter havoc that is a small-scale family-owned business, while the other is delegated work that comes together to create a magical experience. What we also realize is that there isn’t much of a difference between these two things.
