The Biggest Unanswered Questions Ahead of "The Bear" Season 4

We’re just days away from the fourth season of The Bear dropping on Hulu, and it’s probably been a while since you’ve thought about Carmy, Sydney and the rest of the gang at our favorite Italian beef shop-turned-fine-dining restaurant. Regardless of how you felt about last season — though if you hated it, you’re dead wrong — a lot happened in its 10 episodes. Some relationships healed, others crumbled, Carmy continued to be an anxious mess and drive away everyone close to him, and ultimately we were left hanging as a big “TO BE CONTINUED” flashed across the screen after he started reading the review that’ll make or break The Bear.

In other words, we could all use a little refresher about what exactly was going on when the last season wrapped up. To help you prep ahead of its debut on June 25, we rounded up some of our biggest unanswered questions as we head into Season 4.

What was actually in that review?

We don’t actually know what the Chicago Tribune review says, just that it caused Carmy (played by Jeremy Allen White) to mutter “motherfucker” at the cliffhanger end of Season 3 — and that the very future of The Bear rides on how positive or negative it is. We see a few words as Carmy’s eyes scan the article that would seem to indicate it’s a mixed review: “delicious,” “sloppy,” “confusing,” “innovative,” “excellent” and “disappointing.” The trailer for Season 4 gives us a few more hints as characters read lines from the review out loud: “The offerings were substantially different on each visit.” “Consistency seems to be the weak link here.” Not great, but is it bad enough to shut down The Bear? Will Carmy learn from his mistakes, or slip deeper and deeper into his perfectionism and frustration?

Will Sydney leave The Bear?

When we last saw Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), she was in the throes of a panic attack, overwhelmed by how much she loves her coworkers at The Bear and how painful it’d be to leave them if she decides to take Chef Adam (Adam Shapiro) up on his offer to be his new chef de cuisine. Will she actually work up the courage to tell Carmy she’s got a better opportunity, or will she decide to stick with him and the rest of her work family? Based on how much we see her and Carmy at The Bear in the Season 4 trailer, it seems safe to assume that she stays. But there’s always the possibility that she gives two week’s notice and still has some remaining time at The Bear before heading on to greener pastures.

Is Richie going to hook up with Jess?

Jess (Sarah Ramos), the no-nonsense expeditor at Ever who inspires Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) in Season 2, turned up again last season in the finale. She and Richie have always had a special connection, and after the Ever funeral dinner, she shows up at Sydney’s after-party, where she and Richie seem to be getting a little flirty, dancing and whispering in each other’s ears. Could she be a new love interest for Richie? She’s out of a job now that Ever’s closed, so there’s always the possibility that she winds up working at The Bear alongside him.

Has Carmy met his niece yet?

Natalie (Abby Elliott) gives birth in Episode 8 of Season 3, and we don’t see her (or her new baby) interact with Carmy at all in Episodes 9 or 10, so we have to ask: Has Carmy even bothered to meet his new niece yet? Uncle Cicero (Oliver Platt) tells Carmy “Your mom wants you to call her, with the baby” in Episode 9, but that’s the last we hear of it. He’s had a lot going on with the restaurant and Ever’s funeral dinner, but c’mon, man. At least send flowers or something, right?

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Will Richie actually go to his ex-wife’s wedding?

Season 3 introduced Josh Hartnett as Frank, the annoyingly nice fiance of Tiffany (Gillian Jacobs), Richie’s ex. Richie has been putting off RSVPing to their wedding, presumably because watching the mother of his child marry another man is deeply painful (or at best, a little awkward). In Episode 9, Tiffany confronts Richie about it and asks him point-blank if he’ll come to the wedding, mentioning that he’s the only family she has left and it would mean a lot to her if he showed up. He reluctantly agrees, but it’s unclear whether he actually intends on going or if he just said yes to get her to stop pestering him about it. There does seem to be some sort of formal event, most likely a wedding, in the Season 4 trailer, so I’m thinking he sucks it up and shows up for Tiffany and his daughter on the big day.

Will Carmy reconnect with Donna?

We already know from the Season 4 trailer that Carmy and his estranged mother will finally come face to face, but will it be another disaster a la the infamous “Fishes” episode, or will they actually be able to heal their relationship and ease back into each other’s lives? Whatever happens, it’s bound to be incredible; Jamie Lee Curtis has been giving a career-best performance as Donna, and the more we see of her on The Bear, the better.

Are Carmy and Claire done forever?

Season 3 was largely free of Claire (Molly Gordon), after the freezer incident at the end of Season 2 led to her breakup with Carmy. But she did make an appearance in Episode 9, when the well-intentioned Faks show up at her work and try to convince her to forgive Carmy because he can’t bring himself to reach out to her and make amends. In that same episode, Carmy comes so close to calling her to apologize, but he can’t quite bring himself to go through with it. He does, however, admit to the Faks that he still thinks about her every day. Is there still a chance for reconciliation if Carmy manages to chill out, address some of his many neuroses and say sorry? Or is it too late for these two?

Which character will get their own showcase episode this season?

Season 2 had the unforgettable “Forks,” one of the best episodes of the entire series, in which Richie staged at Ever and found his purpose. Last season had “Napkins,” the Tina-centric (Liza Colón-Zayas) episode where we learned the backstory of how she bonded with Mikey (Jon Bernthal) and came to work at The Beef. It seems safe to assume that Season 4 will also feature one episode devoted to fleshing out another of The Bear‘s supporting characters, but who will it be? (And what aspect of a table setting will it be named after? “Spoons”? “Knives”?) My best guess is Sweeps (Corey Hendrix), the former minor league baseball player/current sommelier. Of all the employees of The Bear, we know the least about him, save for last season’s revelation that he was banned from baseball after getting caught taking performance-enhancing drugs. There’s a lot to delve into there, and it’d be great to see more of his journey from baseball prospect to down-on-his-luck Beef employee to a wine expert at a fancy restaurant.

Who is acting COO of The Bear while Natalie is on maternity leave?

When we last saw Natalie at the end of Season 3, she was smiling and texting her mom a photo of her new baby (whose name we haven’t learned just yet). Presumably, she’ll have to take some time away from The Bear to continue bonding with her daughter and adapting to life with a newborn. And if the action in Season 4 picks up right where we left off — as the “To Be Continued” title card at the end of Season 3 would seem to indicate — that means we might see her on maternity leave. But who’s going to handle the books while she’s gone? It’s especially important that someone’s there doing a good job of tracking expenses since the restaurant is in danger of closing if it doesn’t become more financially viable for Uncle Cicero. On the other hand, The Bear has always been about work-life balance (or, in many cases, the lack of it), and Natalie’s always had a hard time staying away from The Bear, so maybe she’ll let Pete (Chris Witaske) stay home with the baby and keep handling things herself.