Maximum distress is on the menu for Carmy and Sydney: ‘The Bear’ season 3 ending, explained

Warning: Spoilers for The Bear season three to follow

The Bear season three has finally descended upon us, and while we viewers are feasting on some of Christopher Storer’s finest delicacies yet, things are looking more on the grizzly side for Carmy and company.

The tension is lacerating in the way that only The Bear can be; that is, not without an equally hearty dose of warmth and humanity. Indeed, in the land of the Berzattos, things can only be wonderful when they’re downright horrible, and vice versa.

And with season four having wrapped filming more-or-less in tandem with season three, it’s only a matter of time before the other shoe drops on season three’s multi-pronged cliffhanger. So, how did things wrap up exactly?

The Bear season three ending, explained

In the tenth and final episode of The Bear‘s third round, alumni and friends of Chef Andrea Terry’s (Olivia Colman) restaurant Ever all came together for one last meal from the establishment. This included David Fields (Joel McHale), the executive chef that turned Carmy’s life into a waking nightmare in New York, and whose culture Carmy has come to model The Bear’s after (much to the dismay of Carmy himself, who clues into that over the course of the episode).

After confronting David, Carmy finds momentary solace in a conversation with Andrea before getting a Google alert on his phone; the review for The Bear has been published. He doesn’t open it, nor does he do anything with the three missed calls he has from Claire.

While this is happening, Sydney opens up her apartment for an Ever afterparty, hosting her coworkers from The Bear in addition to Andrea, Luca (who was present at the last Ever dinner), and Jess, in whose future viewers will probably spy a Richie romance. Everyone is laughing, drinking, and somehow making five-star meals out of Eggos and frozen pizzas.

During this shindig, Sydney spies the Chicago Tribune’s review of The Bear that’s stuck on her fridge with a magnet; a four-star verdict with the headline “The Bear evolves with Chicago.” Sydney promptly walks outside and has a panic attack; she hasn’t signed the agreement for The Bear, she’s torn between staying at The Bear and joining Adam Shapiro on his new venture, and since The Bear won’t be closing any time soon, she’ll have to face Carmy about it now.

Elsewhere, Richie and Carmy still aren’t on speaking terms, Natalie is adjusting to life as a mom, Tiffany’s wedding to Frank is coming up (which is doing no great favors for Richie’s anxiety), and the Faks are still the Faks.

Here’s hoping Hulu gets hands for season four before long, because there are few finer delights in life than watching The Bear solve television with each season.