The Bear season 4 ending explained: Does the restaurant survive?

The series sees Jeremy Allen White's Carmy and his team picking themselves up following the end of season 3, in which they received a mixed to negative review and the restaurant's future was left hanging in the balance.

Throughout season 4, things start to turn a corner, as Carmy himself comes to some personal realisations and begins to grapple with his own demons. But does the restaurant survive in the end and what decisions are made regarding its future?

Read on for everything you need to know about the ending of The Bear season 4.

Did Sydney take Shapiro's job?

She didn't. Sydney deliberated for much of the season as to whether she would take the job, even getting to the point of discussing paperwork with Shapiro.

However, she seemed to come to a clear conclusion when speaking with Carmy's mother Donna at Tiffany's wedding, cryptically telling Richie that she had to make a decision, but there was only one decision she could make.

In episode 8, she called Shapiro to tell him the news. Frustrated, he told her she was making a massive mistake, attaching herself even more firmly to a sinking ship. Shapiro also rang Carmy to tell him, but Carmy only revealed to Sydney what he knew later.

What happened between Natalie and Francie?

A feud between Natalie and the previously unseen Fak sister, Francie, has been teased since The Bear season 2. However, up till now it had not been expanded upon.

This season saw it brought more into the limelight, as Natalie found out that Francie was invited to Tiffany's wedding.

When Francie showed up (played by Brie Larson, no less), the feud reached boiling point, with the duo revealing they were once romantically involved, and were subsequently best friends. However, their arguing was so frenetic that it was impossible to decipher exactly what it was that tore them apart.

In the end, they managed to patch things up - but we as viewers were little the wiser to exactly what went on between them in the first place.

What did Carmy decide?

Midway through The Bear season 4, Carmy called Pete and got him to make a change to the partnership agreement. He then tried on a couple of occasions to talk to Sydney about it, but they were always interrupted.

In the penultimate episode, Sydney found out from Pete that Carmy had taken himself off the deeds to The Bear, leaving Sydney and Natalie as owners.

Feeling confused and betrayed, Sydney confronted Carmy in the finale, and he revealed that, having patched up his relationships with Claire and his mother, he had realised his obsession with cooking and restaurants had become a distraction for him, a way of avoiding dealing with his trauma.

He told Sydney he no longer enjoyed his work, and that removing himself from the restaurant, once its debt was cleared, would set it up for success. He told Sydney that he believed in her far more than he believed in himself, and that she is "The Bear".

Once Richie found out, he also berated Carmy, but the two went on to finally open up about their reactions to Michael's death, and the way they'd felt about one another ever since.

Sydney then told Carmy to make Richie a partner in business alongside her, which he accepted, showing he was certainly sticking around.

Finally, Natalie arrived, and the trio told her the news. She hugged her brother, clearly realising that his decision came from a positive place.

Did the restaurant survive?

In truth, we don't entirely know. Computer had told Natalie that the restaurant's prospects were improving, and that they should be able to survive after the two-month grace period. However, that didn't mean they'd be able to thrive, or make it in any way worthwhile.

It was suggested that Ebraheim's concept of franchising the sandwich window could help to finance the restaurant going forward, giving its strong profit margins, while Carmy's decision to implement a single set menu helped reduce costs.

However, the final shot of the season saw Cicero's countdown clock reach zero, after Sydney and Richie both expressed that they didn't know how they would be able to keep the restaurant open.

If we do get The Bear season 5, it will no doubt deal with this question - although at that point, it remains very much uncertain whether The Bear will indeed return, or if Carmy announcing the end of his own personal journey also means the end of the series.

The Bear season 4 is available to stream in the UK on Disney+.

Right now Disney+ is running a limited-time deal where you can get four months for just £1.99 a month. Sign up today or check out our Disney+ deal page to find out more.

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