Ronit J

The Bear Season 4 (2025) Synopsis:

Carmy, Sydney, Ritchie & the staff of The Bear push to take things to the next level, before they run out of money and are forced to shut shop.

The Bear Season 4 (2025) Review:

Honestly, I was not looking forward to Season 4. Season 3 was disappointingly mediocre, not to mention that it felt like an indulgent drag. I didn’t even know The Bear Season 4 was releasing until Rohan Joshi & Sahil Shah talked about it in the last episode of Binge-O-Clock. Lo and behold, I saw it listed on my JioHotstar feed under ‘continue watching’. So, I thought, what the hell. Let’s see how this goes.

And you know what? The first two episodes were actually good. Apart from some stylistic choices that didn’t work for me, the opening episodes of season 4 really showed promise. A return to form that made me feel good about what was in store for me in this season.

For starters, I’d just like to point out that there is a certain level of technical finesse that we have all come to expect from the Bear. From its stunning visuals to its mood-appropriate editing, to the elevating soundtrack, Season 4 delivers style in a manner that’s aesthetically pleasing. But what really elevates the show’s quality is its performances. Be it Richie’s emotional growth, or Syd’s difficult choice, or even Ebraheim’s efforts to expand their business venture, each and every performance is a genuine tour de force.

All of the above points more than justify the show’s acclaim. However, there were more than enough issues with Season 4 that for me have made The Bear an unwatchable slog that I am going to abandon. And here’s why—

Criminally indulgent at the cost of structure & common sense

Many people were lauding Season 3 Episode 1 as a creative masterpiece; I thought it was an indulgent drag. Yes, it was artistic expression without restraint. But, there’s a limit to which you can tolerate the artistic. Beyond a point, the art stops being aesthetically indulgent, and starts being ridiculous. And that problem is more than evident throughout Season 4 as well.

There’s this one sequence in Episode 5 (I think) where we see what every character’s morning routine is like. Great stuff, every single one of it. Except, the way it plays out feels like everyone has forgotten that the restaurant is on the verge of shutting down. And by extension, the entire season, except the first two and last two episodes, feels like the showrunners pretty much forgot about the ticking time bomb.

The worst of it is Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) going to drop off a photo album at his mother’s (Jamie Lee Curtis) place. This very inane-yet-emotionally-important scene happens literally 12 hours before the deadline. Likewise, there are plenty of forced conflicts that bloat the season to be more than it really needs, losing focus of what it really needed to be.

The more I ponder over this show, the more I come to realise that the showrunners have ended up indulging their creativity more than should have been allowed. Because all this beauty comes at the cost of common sense. In indulging, the writers have crammed in everything that they could imagine as compelling, and not bothered to structure it well. And that is the main issue with both Season 3 & Season 4.

Losing focus, losing direction

When episode 1 introduced the literal race against the clock. Unc (Oliver Platt) & Unc Computer (Brian Koppelman) set up a literal digital countdown clock in the kitchen that shows 1400 Hours left before the restaurant reaches its breaking point. If they haven’t made a profit before the clock hits zero, Unc is going to shut shop. While a little too on-the-nose, this was a brilliant conflict that could’ve reined in the show’s many plotlines. Instead, there was a point around episodes 3-5 where the clock pretty much goes away.

The show virtually diffuses its well-built tension when it switches gears to focus solely on characters. They abandon the clock as well as the stakes all too many times. Why is Carmy touring around Chicago? Why do we get a whole episode of Syd babysitting her cousin’s daughter? While such plot points make sense on paper, the way they are treated worked completely against the season’s overall pace and focus.

It’s like the showrunners are trying to do everything all at once, but failing to give each individual plotline the focus it deserves. As a result, the season ends up feeling directionless. I mean, Carmy declared in the end of Season 2 that he wanted a Michelin star. We’re at the end of Season 4 and well… we’re still not there. Hell, it doesn’t even feel like the show’s made enough progress to justify two full seasons worth of episodes.

The only plotline that really worked for me was Ebraheim trying to expand the very lucrative ‘The Beef’ sandwich window. That’s the only arc that was developed well, and paced properly. But, even that plot went nowhere.

The Bear Season 4 (2025) Ending Explained

Hours before deadline, Food & Wine magazine informs Nat (Abby Elliott) that they visited the restaurant and loved everything. While they don’t review The Bear, they feature one of the best new chefs: Marcus. Meanwhile, Syd finds out that Carmy has updated their agreement so he is removed from the equation completely.

Why? Because Carmy realises that his becoming a chef and starting a restaurant was all about escaping from his family and emotional turmoil. In another drag of an episode, Carmy, Sydney, and Richie have a very long argument where they open up about their individual thoughts. The performances are great, but the journey that brought us to this spot—as well as the way the scene is treated—felt like such a slog.

Eventually, Syd agrees to the new terms on the condition that Richie is also made partner. Everyone agrees and… that’s it. Carmy is leaving the business for good, and the eventual fate of The Bear remains unclear.

Sigh.

The Bear Season 4 (2025) Worth Watching?

Maybe. There are many things to appreciate in the season. Ayo Edibiri’s breakdown after her father’s heart attack was definitely one of her best performances in the show so far. Even Jamie Lee Curtis’ Donna apologising to Carmy was an emotionally charged, gut-wrenching scene. Yet, all of these many bits of gold feel like they’re strung together in an incoherent manner.

Season 3 & Season 4 both felt like filler seasons to me. And honestly, they weren’t. It’s just that the makers seem to have lost focus of what they wanted the show to be. And they’re just loosely experimenting with each character arc, indulging themselves all at the cost of what could have been a genuinely compelling show.

Eventually, Syd agrees to the new terms, provided that Richie is also included in the agreement as partners. And Carmy? Well, he doesn’t just leave The Bear, he’s planning on quitting the business altogether.

Will There Be The Bear Season 5?

Probably. However, I don’t want to watch it. And depending on your tolerance for directionless narratives and over-indulgent aesthetics, you might not either.

The show hasn’t yet been renewed for Season 5, and seasons 3-4 were shot back-to-back. So, it is quite possible that the show might just get cancelled. And after the last two seasons, I really think it should.

In Conclusion:

The Bear Season 4 (2025) was a disappointing slog that—like the previous season—failed to tie up all the many conflicts it raised. While there were several golden nuggets of emotional catharsis, the overall season fell flat. And for that very reason, it might be time to abandon this show.

P.S: I just found out that all the moderators except one on The Bear subreddit up and quit earlier today. I wonder why.

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• Adults (2025) | Season 1 Review
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• Predator: Killer of Killers (2025) | Film Review
• Island of the Dying Goddess

What did you think of The Bear Season 4? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time.