"The restaurant is underwater. We're not getting any more deliveries. We're running out of food". In short: just another day of complete madness in "The Bear: King of the Kitchen". As the trailer for the fifth season of the FX series (starting June 26 on Disney+) suggests, the restaurant staff are this time literally in over their heads. Because in addition to financial problems, the team is also plagued by concerns about a very real storm. But if the four previous seasons of the Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning dramedy series have taught us anything, it's that Carmy and co. sometimes perform best right on the edge. As a reminder, here's an overview of where the conclusion of season four, titled "Goodbye", left fans.
Is "The Bear" finally standing on its own two feet?
Zero has been reached, the countdown has expired. At the end of season four, the financial support that Uncle Jimmy aka Cicero (Oliver Platt, 66), himself now struggling with bankruptcy, had pumped into the restaurant finally ended. The burning questions that arise for the new episodes: Is "The Bear" finally turning a profit and able to stand on its own two feet? Or will Cicero have to reluctantly sell the building and put all the employees out on the street?
The supposedly most important personnel matter seems to be left out of the equation. Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White, 35) had decided during the season to step down as a partner in "The Bear". Not because he wants to leave the sinking ship while there's still time, as his colleague Sydney "Syd" Adamu (Ayo Edebiri, 30) accuses him. On the contrary: In his opinion, "The Bear" can only flourish if he makes way for Syd as a decision-maker.
Only after four seasons did Carmy come to a realization that viewers probably had from the very first second of the series: The psychologically severely troubled exceptional chef only threw himself so self-destructively into the restaurant routine to avoid having to deal with his real problems.
Self-awareness instead of self-sacrifice
His downright toxic obsession with food was supposed to block out the grief over the loss of his big brother Mickey (Jon Bernthal, 49) and the omnipresent family conflicts. He finally tries to convey this to Syd as well, when he says to her: "Every chance of anything good in this building started the moment you walked in, and any possibility of it lasting depends on you." So no pressure...
The long-overdue confrontation with Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach, 49) also took place. Carmy finally admitted to him that he had indeed traveled to Mikey's funeral - but couldn't bring himself to attend the ceremony. In return, Richie also poured out his heart; after years of mutually escalating resentments, the two reconciled.
The season finale had another highlight in store for Richie: Now that Carmy is out of the game, Sydney demanded that he be promoted to partner of "The Bear" in his place. After initial hesitation, Richie finally agreed. What could possibly go wrong? Fans will get the answers starting June 26 on Disney+, when the bittersweet series dessert is served with the final season.
