The Bear Season 3 Was Gorgeous, But I Felt Let Down By That Finale

Spoilers ahead for The Bear Season 3’s finale.

Since its first season debuted, The Bear has been called one of the best Hulu original shows. The acclaimed series dominated at the 2024 Emmy Awards, so the pressure was on for the third season to similarly deliver. And while The Bear‘s third installation was gorgeous, I felt let down by that finale. Let’s break it all down.

The Bear Season 3 was another stunning installment of the beloved series (and available to stream with a Hulu subscription). While some fans want to see Carmy and Sydney together, I’m more invested in the state of the titular restaurant, and the other interpersonal dynamics at play. And while we got emotional moments like Sugar’s reunion with her mother in the delivery room, I thought that the restaurant itself took a backseat. And the finale really hammered that home.

While Season 2 of The Bear was about on the road to the restaurant’s opening, the third season didn’t have as focused on a narrative. The last few episodes made it clear that reviews are going to make or break the new place, and the audience is shown excerpts from imaginary headlines coming from the minds of both Carmy and Syd. So that ends up being exactly what the audience (myself included) looked forward to in the Season 3 finale.

The finale saw Carmy finally confront his boss from hell/ abuser Chef David, to unfortunate results. Add in Sydney failing to tell Carmy about her job offer, and things felt pretty bleak. As such, when the culinary review for The Bear finally dropped, we couldn’t really make it out. Instead of the audience is shown brief flashes of a mixed variety of adjectives. But since this is filmed the same way as all the fake reviews that we’d previously seen, it wasn’t clear if it were real. That is, until Jeremy Allen White drops a final F-bomb of disappointment.

The Season 3 finale was still a great episode, especially as it featured the return of The Bear guest stars that we fell in love with throughout Season 2. But it was the ending that bothered me. I needed to see more of this review, for better or worse. And since the season was less plot-driven than its predecessors, that was doubly important for me.

(Image credit: FX)

To be clear, I am still a HUGE fan of The Bearand was once again reduced to tears multiples throughout my binge of Season 3. Jamie Lee Curtis’ character Donna continues to tug at my heart strings, and I’m really rooting for Carmy and Richie to finally bury the hatchet. There’s a reason I flew through the entire third season so quick: I love the show and it’s a gorgeous piece of art.

Season 3 took some amazing risks, including its first, musical episode through Carmy’s past. The entire season played with time in this way, with the show’s protagonists history with cooking enveloping us. Perhaps Season 2’s countdown to opening day was just a structure I was hoping for, especially related to plot point about the restaurant’s reviews. Hopefully the wait for Season 4 isn’t too long, because fans like me no doubt have questions about what comes next.

The Bear is streaming in its entirety on Hulu. Check out the TV premiere list to plan your next binge watch.