‘The Bear’ Returns: Where Did We Leave Carmy, Syd & the Cooks?

It’s late June, which means it’s time for a new season of The Bear. In a television business where hiatuses can last for years, FX’s culinary comedy-drama serves up its seasons on Hulu at yearly intervals, almost to the day. (Props to whoever is expediting in the FX kitchen!) Even so, you might need a refresher about where we left off before Season 4 lands on your table on Wednesday, June 25.

As Season 3 starts, cooler heads prevail — literally — as Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) is freed from the walk-in fridge that trapped him in the Season 2 finale. As the chef tries to get The Bear back on track after his blowout with maître d’ Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and his breakup with girlfriend Claire (Molly Gordon), Carmy makes a list of “non-negotiables” for restaurant operations (spurring Richie to make a list of his own).

But Carmy’s idea to change up the new menu every day blows the budget, and unofficial uncle-turned-restaurant investor Cicero (Oliver Platt) brings in a financial expert nicknamed “The Computer” (Brian Koppelman) to identify inefficiencies and unnecessary costs. The Computer IDs pastry chef Marcus (Lionel Boyce), who just lost his mother, as one such overspend. But more revenue comes in when Carmy opens The Bear’s long-awaited “sandwich window,” bringing in former Original Beef employees and giving line cook Ebra (Edwin Lee Gibson) a reason to stick around.

Chaos is still the order of the day at The Bear, though, making sous-chef Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) drag her feet when Carmy sends her a partnership agreement. As Syd observes, Carmy is still fighting with Richie — sometimes physically — and his idea of “partnership” seems slanted in his favor. Therefore, Syd is tempted when Adam (Adam Shapiro), a chef de cuisine at Chicago culinary destination Ever, asks her to join him in opening a new restaurant.

A welcome break from Season 3’s breakneck pace comes in the episode “Napkins,” directed by Edebiri, which provides a delicately-drawn origin story for line cook Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas). We see how Tina is laid off, how she struggles to get a foot in the door with potential employers, and how a chance encounter with Carmy’s late brother, Mikey (Jon Bernthal), at the Original Beef is what led to her job in the kitchen.

Now, back to the upheaval. Sugar (Abby Elliott), Carmy’s pregnant sister and business manager, has a lot on her proverbial plate in Season 3: She hears that a Chicago Tribune review of The Bear is in the works, and she goes into labor while shopping for restaurant supplies. The only person who picks up her calls, it turns out, is Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis), her and Carmy’s emotionally unpredictable mother. At the hospital, Sugar and Donna have a heart-to-heart, with the elder Berzatto acknowledging her own shortcomings as a mother.

And as we hurtle toward the end of Season 3, the handymen brothers collectively known as the Faks (Matty Matheson and Ricky Staffieri) try to get Carmy and Claire back together, but he’s under a lot of pressure. Cicero tells him he’ll close the restaurant if the Tribune prints a negative review of the place.

The Season 3 finale sees Ever closing its doors and Carmy, Sydney, and Richie attending a farewell dinner for the restaurant, where Carmy once worked and where Richie staged in Season 2. (The real Ever, FYI, is alive and well in Chicago.) Carmy chats up old friend Luca (Will Poulter), a pastry chef who mentored Marcus in Copenhagen and who now says he’s sticking around Chicago for a few months.

The end of Ever is a loss, especially since Andrea (Olivia Colman), Carmy and Luca’s onetime boss, ran a calm operation — a rarity in the restaurant industry, as real-life chefs discuss over dinner — but Andrea confides in Carmy that she’s tired of the long hours.

Related

9 Burning 'The Bear' Questions We Need Answered in Season 4

The dinner turns sour for Carmy, though, when he runs into David (Joel McHale), a boss of his from his time in New York City. Carmy criticizes his David for his verbal abuse, but David contends that same abuse made Carmy a better chef and leader. (Eye roll.)

The season finale ends with an after-party at Sydney’s place, with the Bear and Ever chefs and staffs carousing together. Sydney, however, has a panic attack as she weighs her career prospects. And Carmy realizes the Tribune has posted its review and sees several missed calls from Cicero and the Computer. Would they be blowing up his phone if the review were a rave one? We’ll find out when The Bear delivers its next course…

The Bear, Season 4 Premiere, Wednesday, June 25, Hulu

From TV Guide Magazine

How 'Countdown' Recruited Jensen Ackles to Go Full 'Die Hard'

Countdown boss Derek Haas talks creating the character around Ackles, and the cast teases the “Avengers”-like team of the crime thriller. Read the story now on TV Insider.