The Bear Season 5: One Last Service
by Sydney Reyes
The fifth and final season of the restaurant series, The Bear (2022-2026),culminates in the form of food sizzling, the endless clinking of silverware, and the sound of pouring rain. With the whole season (barring the last episode) taking place over the course of one day, the beloved restaurant and its found family of chefs find themselves faced with the worst conditions any operating business can have. The inclement weather created a butterfly effect, causing the restaurant many hurdles just to have a successful service. From indoor flooding, halted food deliveries, and even Uncle Jimmy’s (Oliver Platt) insistence to close the business down due to his investment being squeezed dry, the final season makes audiences wonder if they’ll even make it through the night. The business is running on empty, how much worse can it get for the crew? Season 5 is one last adrenaline-filled ride in the restaurant, wrapping up each character beautifully with wholesome endings.
The first half of the season drags, showing us how everything goes wrong before service starts at 5:30pm. From busted pipes , to the reservations app malfunctioning and staff fighting using classic The Bear-style expletives, it’s pretty much an unending cycle for the first five episodes with little advancement to the overall plot. It’s in these episodes where the show briefly navigates Carmy’s (Jeremy Allen White) decision to quit being a chef, Uncle Jimmy’s quest for return on his investment, and Natalie (Abby Elliott) showing more trust in her estranged mother, yet they are overshadowed by the countless emergencies needing to be addressed. Too much is going on, and these incidents are pushed to the extreme.
Once we get over the repetitive establishment that The Bear crew are having an utmost horrific day, more substance appears by the beginning of the service. Most problems have been addressed, the team now having a contingency plan that they are determined to stick to. The magic of this part of the season is seeing how the characters problem-solve in real time, keeping service flawless in the eyes of customers. It was delightful seeing how Chef Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), after an influx of bookings, creatively reduced portions to feed everyone with their scarce food supply while keeping taste exquisite, and how Richie (Ebon Moss Bachrach) managed to keep every guest entertained despite the urgent need for a fast turnover rate. The Bear even pays homage to the fine dining restaurant’s humble beginnings, seeing the staff donning the original but misprinted version of the sandwich shop uniforms. “The Original Berf of Chicagoland” is plastered on a navy blue t-shirt, paired with waiter aprons. Endearing and smart moments such as these were enough to make the long buildup of previous episodes rewarding.
Perhaps the show’s strongest point this season is how it portrayed growth through Sydney’s newfound responsibility. When Carmy resigns as Head Chef and hands over the title to Sydney, she’s now the one who calls the shots, and gets the team through the challenging day. Edebiri’s embodiment of a person trying not to fall apart on their first day of total leadership is impressive. The cameras zoom in on Sydney’s face, with quick cuts to food, fighting, and timers spliced in between, mimicking Carmy’s experiences in earlier seasons. However, what’s different now is how Sydney responds to the mayhem. She’s firm, gives clear instructions that solve problems, and most importantly, never uses profanities. The foundations of Carmy’s kitchen are that of grit and tension. The high stress conditions of restaurant culture blend with the Berzatto tradition of harsh language and agitated personalities. Sydney’s willingness to evolve past this is a clear and conscious effort that can be felt through the screen. She’s a cycle breaker, ready to stand at the helm of the ship and bring the restaurant to greater levels. The conclusion of Sydney’s arc is an inspiring end to the tumultuous journey the show takes us on, perfectly encapsulating the experience that is The Bear.
The final season of The Bear allows us to savor the last time we’ll be in this moment with the series’ adored characters. This show might be one of the few who wonderfully portray the rawest kinds of people: aggressive with grief, but soft inside. The ability of the show to make audiences love hurt people who hurt back like Carmy, or even mourn for a dead character in Mikey (Jon Bernthal) who only ever haunted the narrative, is its beauty. After years of finding their footing, clashes, relapses, and healing alongside all this, The Bear takes its final bow in the form of giving every character a promising future and some peace, even if it was only through glimpses. Seeing each member of the restaurant family get their deserved endings, along with the restaurant itself receiving two Michelin Stars, makes for quite a note to end the story on. It’s sad to say goodbye to a series that accompanied me during an adventurous time of my life. So if this season is the last time I get to be in Chicago with the crew, in the kitchen that saw it all, maybe it’s worth living through another grueling day with them for one final service.