The Bear

[Targaryen]

Kind of expected, but now it's official...

Season 5 will be the final season of The Bear.

I'm glad they're going to be able to finish the show on their terms. Hate when a good series gets cancelled with unresolved plot points.

[FrankTheTank]

Guessing it is going to be full on carnage so they get their star, and then Carmy rides off into the sunset? One of the strongest shows in some times, despite its flaws. The writing and acting, overall, has been consistently strong. I am glad that this is it though, no show should pull a Walking Dead and go on for 37 seasons.

[Targaryen]

With absolutely no fanfare, FX/Hulu just released a special one-off prequel episode of The Bear today in anticipation of the upcoming final season, which I'm guessing will be released late next month (all of the first four seasons were released in the final week of June of the last four years). The episode is called "Gary", and it was co-written by Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Jon Bernthal, and it's about the frequently referenced work road trip that Mikey and Richie took for Uncle Jimmy to Gary, Indiana some time before the pilot of the series took place.

[Targaryen]

We have a release date...

[FrankTheTank]

With absolutely no fanfare, FX/Hulu just released a special one-off prequel episode of The Bear today in anticipation of the upcoming final season, which I'm guessing will be released late next month (all of the first four seasons were released in the final week of June of the last four years). The episode is called "Gary", and it was co-written by Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Jon Bernthal, and it's about the frequently referenced work road trip that Mikey and Richie took for Uncle Jimmy to Gary, Indiana some time before the pilot of the series took place.

I watched it last night, and thought it was terrific. It explores their very complicated relationship, and how Mikey was hurting, and simply a struggling adult. Highly recommend it.

The interesting thing is on HULU it is listed as episode 1, so will there be more one off's?

[Targaryen]

With absolutely no fanfare, FX/Hulu just released a special one-off prequel episode of The Bear today in anticipation of the upcoming final season, which I'm guessing will be released late next month (all of the first four seasons were released in the final week of June of the last four years). The episode is called "Gary", and it was co-written by Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Jon Bernthal, and it's about the frequently referenced work road trip that Mikey and Richie took for Uncle Jimmy to Gary, Indiana some time before the pilot of the series took place.

I watched it last night, and thought it was terrific. It explores their very complicated relationship, and how Mikey was hurting, and simply a struggling adult. Highly recommend it.

The interesting thing is on HULU it is listed as episode 1, so will there be more one off's?

No, I think they just didn't know how else to classify it. The final season releases late next month, with 8 episodes total. Can't imagine there are any more of these one-off surprise episodes. Apparently the surprise episode was filmed back in April 2025 along with reshoots for S4 (which was mostly filmed simultaneously with S3 in early 2024), so they somehow managed to keep this whole thing completely under wraps for a whole year (I'm sure everybody involved had to sign NDAs).

The crazy thing about the episode is that it shows Mikey in a very, very dark place and he's clearly spiraling - but it takes place in early 2019 (a few months after "Fishes"), and Mikey's suicide wasn't until February 2022. So he was obviously really struggling for quite awhile before he finally gave up and took his own life.

[Targaryen]

Season 5 Official Trailer...

Disclaimer: The video above is hosted on Youtube, and has not be reviewed by the staff of the Post-Dispatch.

The final eight episodes of the series release in 12 days.

[FrankTheTank]

I really hope they go out on a high note. I know there has been some rocky episodes, but overall, The Bear has been some pretty fantastic television.

Any guesses for what happens, or how the show ends?

[Targaryen]

I really hope they go out on a high note. I know there has been some rocky episodes, but overall, The Bear has been some pretty fantastic television.

Any guesses for what happens, or how the show ends?

Seems like they may be going back to their roots. In the trailer you see them all wearing "Original BERF" t-shirts during service (the misprinted version), and the title of the series finale episode is "The Original Beef of Chicagoland".

[Targaryen]

I haven't started watching any of it yet, but I've heard that the entire final season takes place over the course of one day.

[3dender]

I haven't started watching any of it yet, but I've heard that the entire final season takes place over the course of one day.

We binged it in two days... about half the episodes are just 20 minutes long, with a few 50+ minutes.

It is absolutely a return to form, and arguably the best season, at very worst the 2nd best season after S1. After S3/4 they badly needed to get back to basics which was the stress of running a kitchen. Doing the whole season over basically 24 hours (give or take a 15 minute coda at the very end) was an inspired choice. It did get a little cartoonish at times, with how bad things get over the course of a single day, but it's not too distracting if you roll with it. I just had to sort of reestablish how grounded I understood the world of the show to be.

The penultimate episode is maybe the best episode in the entire series. It's the one episode that truly shows why the hell they regularly put themselves through is all worth it. It's the closest I've ever felt to wanting to try working in a high-stress kitchen.

The finale isn't as soaring as that, but it ties everything up very well. Maybe a little saccharine for some viewers, but I enjoyed how heartwarming it was.

[FrankTheTank]

I finished it yesterday, and I really enjoyed the last season. Honestly, I am gonna miss the show, for all of its warts, and it had some, overall one of the better shows of the last several years. It really had some standout episodes, with Forks (season 2) being one of my favorite episodes of TV in the last few years. They did a pretty good job on the finale, not perfect, but how many shows go out on top, especially in the last 10+ years? I would grade it a B. LOVED the last scene though, I thought that was perfect.

It will be interesting to see what Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Ebebiri & Ebon Moss-Bachrach does next. White has made his name in TV (Shameless & The Bear) but did try his hand in the movies (Springsteen, which I still haven't watched.) I think Ayo can do whatever she wants, she is pretty terrific. Moss-Bachrach has been the breakout though, and should win his 3rd award for playing Richie, who had the best arc in the entire show, easy. I only remember him from Girls, but sure he will be around as The Thing for a few more movies. He was pretty good.

All in all, strong last season and solid finale. Let it rip.

[Targaryen]

There is one huge glaring continuity error on the show that I think at some point the writers just decided, "[fork] it, we're just not gonna worry about it not making any sense"...

Eva Jerimovich.

More precisely, Eva Jerimovich's age on the show. She celebrates her 8th birthday during the series finale, which takes place sometime in the fall of 2023. The problem is... she was born in January 2019, the day after the special episode "Gary" took place. We know this because Richie told Sugar the story of Eva's birth in S3E7, right before the episode in which Nat gave birth to Sophie (S3E8 Ice Chips). Eva was born the day after Richie took his work trip with Mikey, and he stayed home all day the next day because Tiff was (upset) at him for getting back so late. They went and got Thai food and then she went into labor. The first time we hear about Eva was in S1E2, when Richie and Syd are leaving the hardware store after buying caulk and Richie talks to Eva on the phone. After he gets off the phone, Syd asks him how old his daughter is, and he responds, "She's five. Like Carmy. Food & Wine's Best New (bleep)".

Anyway... Eva wasn't even born yet in the flashback that happened in January 2019, but she's five years old at the beginning of the series which takes place in June 2022, and she turns eight years old in the fall of 2023 (when it should actually be taking place in January 2027). Makes no sense. I guess Chris Storer is as bad at math as Carmy.

[3dender]

There is one huge glaring continuity error on the show that I think at some point the writers just decided, "[fork] it, we're just not gonna worry about it not making any sense"...

Eva Jerimovich.

More precisely, Eva Jerimovich's age on the show. She celebrates her 8th birthday during the series finale, which takes place sometime in the fall of 2023. The problem is... she was born in January 2019, the day after the special episode "Gary" took place. We know this because Richie told Sugar the story of Eva's birth in S3E7, right before the episode in which Nat gave birth to Sophie (S3E8 Ice Chips). Eva was born the day after Richie took his work trip with Mikey, and he stayed home all day the next day because Tiff was (upset) at him for getting back so late. They went and got Thai food and then she went into labor. The first time we hear about Eva was in S1E2, when Richie and Syd are leaving the hardware store after buying caulk and Richie talks to Eva on the phone. After he gets off the phone, Syd asks him how old his daughter is, and he responds, "She's five. Like Carmy. Food & Wine's Best New (bleep)".

Anyway... Eva wasn't even born yet in the flashback that happened in January 2019, but she's five years old at the beginning of the series which takes place in June 2022, and she turns eight years old in the fall of 2023 (when it should actually be taking place in January 2027). Makes no sense. I guess Chris Storer is as bad at math as Carmy.

But what did you think about the final season?

[George Zipp]

I finished it yesterday, and I really enjoyed the last season. Honestly, I am gonna miss the show, for all of its warts, and it had some, overall one of the better shows of the last several years. It really had some standout episodes, with Forks (season 2) being one of my favorite episodes of TV in the last few years. They did a pretty good job on the finale, not perfect, but how many shows go out on top, especially in the last 10+ years? I would grade it a B. LOVED the last scene though, I thought that was perfect.

It will be interesting to see what Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Ebebiri & Ebon Moss-Bachrach does next. White has made his name in TV (Shameless & The Bear) but did try his hand in the movies (Springsteen, which I still haven't watched.) I think Ayo can do whatever she wants, she is pretty terrific. Moss-Bachrach has been the breakout though, and should win his 3rd award for playing Richie, who had the best arc in the entire show, easy. I only remember him from Girls, but sure he will be around as The Thing for a few more movies. He was pretty good.

All in all, strong last season and solid finale. Let it rip.

I always enjoy your posts and tend to agree with your opinions when it comes to TV, film etc.

I can't share your take on the last season at all. I really, and mean really, liked this show early on. It was different, incredibly well acted and written, lots of great stories about an industry that is closet to my home for several reasons. Last season started the decline for me.

This season I just can't stand what I'm watching. I'm to the point where my wife and I discuss whether to continue. We are about two thirds of the way thru, the raspberry, foccacia, salami, the episodes named after food. Here's what I'm getting out of this season. It's raining. A lot. Like biblical rains. Everyone is bitter at Carmy that he's leaving. Marcus is angry at the Danish chef bc he's going back to Denmark and clearly is in love with him. Nobody really trusts Syd. The place is out of money. Oh, and it's raining.

And the worst is it all makes me anxious with the ten billion camera shots per episode. I've never got anxious watching TV unless i'm watching the blues lose in winnipeg in game 7.

I'm hate watching at this point and just want it to be done

TL/DR: don't like this season.

[Targaryen]

There is one huge glaring continuity error on the show that I think at some point the writers just decided, "[fork] it, we're just not gonna worry about it not making any sense"...

Eva Jerimovich.

More precisely, Eva Jerimovich's age on the show. She celebrates her 8th birthday during the series finale, which takes place sometime in the fall of 2023. The problem is... she was born in January 2019, the day after the special episode "Gary" took place. We know this because Richie told Sugar the story of Eva's birth in S3E7, right before the episode in which Nat gave birth to Sophie (S3E8 Ice Chips). Eva was born the day after Richie took his work trip with Mikey, and he stayed home all day the next day because Tiff was (upset) at him for getting back so late. They went and got Thai food and then she went into labor. The first time we hear about Eva was in S1E2, when Richie and Syd are leaving the hardware store after buying caulk and Richie talks to Eva on the phone. After he gets off the phone, Syd asks him how old his daughter is, and he responds, "She's five. Like Carmy. Food & Wine's Best New (bleep)".

Anyway... Eva wasn't even born yet in the flashback that happened in January 2019, but she's five years old at the beginning of the series which takes place in June 2022, and she turns eight years old in the fall of 2023 (when it should actually be taking place in January 2027). Makes no sense. I guess Chris Storer is as bad at math as Carmy.

But what did you think about the final season?

I think it was a fantastic return to form, and I think they stuck the landing perfectly. And I'm really glad they didn't make SydCarmy happen, because that would have been cheesy as [fork]. I loved Pete's response to DD when she asked if Carmen and Syd were a couple... "I don't think so, but there are theories out there". It was obviously the writers just straight up trolling the fans who so desperately wanted to see the show make them a couple. They don't really confirm Carmy's relationship status with anyone directly, but I think it's pretty heavily implied that he and Claire got back together given her presence at Eva's birthday party in the finale.

Also loved the very subtle tribute to Rob Reiner in the finale, when Ebra ends his phone call with Albert by saying, "As you wish", an obvious hat tip to The Princess Bride.

I didn't hate S3 and S4 like a lot of people did, but I do concede that they aren't on par with the first two seasons. But this one closed out strong.