After arguing last year that The Bear should have ended with Season 4, the reviewer is now calling Season 5 a return to roots—eight fast, one-day episodes centered on the restaurant’s chaos—crowned by a finale that delivers peace and a final Michelin-style bow
The minute you press play on The Bear Season 5, it feels less like starting a new chapter and more like jumping back into the same storm—just faster, tighter, and with everything aimed back at the kitchen.
Last year, around this same time, the reviewer wrote that The Bear should have ended with Season 4. The argument was simple: the Season 4 finale. where Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) quit and handed The Bear to Syd (Ayo Edebiri) and Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach). felt like the perfect ending. Now, that earlier certainty has been walked back. Season 5 arrives with eight streamlined, high-energy episodes that the reviewer says embody everything fans love.
The whole season—except the finale—plays out over one day, drawing on the pressure-cooker energy of The Pitt and 24. There’s no detour into extra frills or over-the-top cameos. Showrunner Christopher Storer. the reviewer writes. strips the story down to the basics and makes the case that The Bear has never needed much more than that.
This is also a season built to be binged. Even with The Bear’s famously intense intensity—especially during Season 2—the reviewer says Season 5 is paced so the episodes flow into one another like a single movie. In the kitchen, the chaos keeps stacking: flooding, storm traffic, overbooked tables, and a lack of food. The tempo never slows, and the crew keeps moving forward as if stopping would only make everything worse.
The pressure doesn’t erase quiet moments, either. Between episodes. the reviewer points to small. calm scenes that offer room to breathe—scenes that feel unique to the series. Richie and Carmy get a beat like Richie talking some sense into Carmy during a smoke break. and Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) is singled out for an at-home interlude where she crafts an artistic dish made out of brussels sprouts.
Those calmer pockets can be brief. but the season’s real momentum stutters when the story follows Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt). The Computer (Brian Koppelman). and The Computer’s protégée. Cheese (Elsie Fisher). The review says Jimmy’s storyline mostly becomes a scramble to get back money he’s lost after bad investments—money he’s also feeding back into the largest “money sink” of all: restaurants. Platt. Koppelman. and Fisher are praised for their work and banter. and Fisher’s Cheese is described as a wonderful addition in the role of a vaping Zoomer and “the upgraded version” of her uncle.
Still, the review argues Jimmy’s conflict never feels as pressing as what’s happening at The Bear. The threat. it says. doesn’t land because Ebra’s (Edwin Lee Gibson) plan for franchising always sits in the distance. ready to swoop in. In the kitchen. by contrast. the reviewer writes that even when Jimmy might pull through with the money. something can always go disastrously wrong—so the stakes feel sharper in the place where the work is actually happening.
What anchors the season, according to the review, is the cast—especially Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. Edebiri’s work is described as standout-level. taking Syd from her final steps as an uncertain. burgeoning chef into someone who can manage a full team and do it “far better than Carmy ever could.” The review also notes her range. praising her ability to handle both comedic scenes and drama.
Richie’s performance is framed the same way: reliable, then suddenly complete. The reviewer highlights that Richie’s journey arrives at his “final form. ” pointing to an emotional standalone episode titled “Gary. ” written by both Moss-Bachrach and Jon Bernthal. By Season 5. the review says Richie is not just surviving working at The Bear—he’s thriving. and that his arc confirms he’s standing on his own.
Carmy, meanwhile, gets the kind of shift the review says hasn’t been visible in quite a while. After three grueling seasons watching him struggle with anxiety. grief. and trauma. The Bear finally lets viewers see the result of Carmy’s slow growth. White is praised for playing a newly evolved Carmy who realizes he’s made the right decision and who acknowledges that his attitude and temper have contributed to their downfall. For the first time, the review says, it doesn’t feel like White is being overshadowed by co-stars.
The rest of the ensemble also gets room to move. Liza Colón-Zayas’s Tina is described as reaching her height after being brilliant since day one. Lionel Boyce’s Marcus is said to deal with a fragile relationship with his father while bouncing off Will Poulter’s Luca. who is still staging at The Bear. Boyce’s presence is called quietly powerful. but the reviewer notes he’s pushed more into the center this season—and ends with a wish that more of him had been seen earlier.
Poulter is also credited with turning guest-star energy into something steadier. and the review argues Season 5 uses that star power without drowning the show in cameos. The season has far fewer cameos than other seasons. “except for one big party scene at the very end.” Jamie Lee Curtis is highlighted for sweeping in to stun during every scene she’s in. Her arrival at The Bear is described as a gut-punch moment that ties everything together for the Berzattos. and the review adds that she spends a lot of the season babysitting for Natalie (Abby Elliott).
For the reviewer. the biggest win is that Season 5 returns The Bear to its roots: no trips to Copenhagen. no Carmy running an errand for a whole episode. and no staging at other restaurants. The review acknowledges that some of the show’s old tension can feel familiar—Carmy trying to take control again. Syd still uncertain about her leadership role. and Richie flying off the handle—but says what used to feel like nerve-wracking now functions more like a plot device meant to push the story.
Yet the show, the review insists, keeps its focus where it matters most: the people working there. Across five seasons. The Bear has exposed the pretension of highbrow dining and pointed out the abusive and degrading environments these restaurants can become. The reviewer frames Season 5 as proof that greatness doesn’t require cruelty. and that clashing egos create chaos—while collaboration. creativity. and support let everyone work at their best.
Under the frantic service. the reviewer says Season 5 leans into passion and the question that follows it: what happens when you love your job?. Does it get easier—or does the pressure worsen?. In a high-intensity kitchen. burnout can arrive fast. but the show’s family at the heart is what keeps everyone together. The review concludes that no matter how bad a fight becomes. the characters apologize. reconcile. and go back to working as family does.
The penultimate episode is described as a fireworks show, finishing off a seemingly apocalyptic service. Then the series finale comes in softer: the reviewer calls it gentle and says it wraps everything perfectly. The finale strips away the nail-biting anxiety and pretentious trimmings that previously held the show back. landing as “saccharine but earned”—hopeful. bright. and ultimately offering peace.
The reviewer closes by saying they were harsh on The Bear in the past, but Season 5 proves it was worth trusting the process. With Season 5 now complete, Storer is described as delivering nothing less than a masterpiece, one that will be sorely missed now that The Bear is over.
Season 5 of The Bear will drop in full on Hulu on June 25. All seasons of The Bear are also available to stream on Hulu.
The Bear Season 5 Hulu June 25 Christopher Storer Jeremy Allen White Ayo Edebiri Ebon Moss-Bachrach Sydney Berzatto Richie Jamie Lee Curtis Liza Colón-Zayas Oliver Platt Brian Koppelman Elsie Fisher Will Poulter Tina Marcus Luca Jon Bernthal