The Bear‘s final season has arrived and is dialing up the heat as Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) must try to work alongside Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), and his team following the revelation that he’d be stepping away from his position as head chef. Warning: Spoilers for The Bear Season 5 ahead.
After a tension-filled confrontation in the alley behind their restaurant, the trio clocks in for what could be their final shift due to financial constraints and a torrential storm. And despite Carmy’s apparent resolve at the end of Season 4, letting go of the control he’s had since walking into The Beef was easier said than done as he tries to work out a new system with Sydney in these latest episodes.
“Carmy has an understanding of his shortcomings as a leader, and he sees these bright things and these strengths in Syd that maybe she can’t see in herself, but there’s still the ego involved,” White acknowledges. It’s an ego that he says has “been really sharpened” and “celebrated in kitchens and in this industry, so it’s not an easy thing to [let go of]… there’s a muscle memory.”
FX
Their evolving dynamic isn’t made any easier when the restaurant experiences physical deterioration when a pipe bursts, causing a flood that the Faks are forced to address, much to viewers’ enjoyment. Getting pelted by water was no joke, though, for real-life chef and series star Matty Matheson. “I was ready for it, you know,” he teases of the stunt work. “I grew up watching [Arnold] Schwarzenegger films, so I was kind of like mentally prepared, you know? I was just like, ‘Yo… let me get sprayed with water.’ You know, first steps, I’m taking baby steps into my own stunts.”
On the more serious side of things, Carmy’s decision to step back certainly has an impact on all of the team members, and concerns from Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) about her job security were put to rest by Sydney, who promised that no matter what happened, she’d be her CDC (chef de cuisine) from here on out. And in turn Colón-Zayas says, “After we learn about Carmen leaving, I feel like I’m reassuring Syd that no matter what… I got you.” They’ve come a long way from their fiery Season 1 encounters, when they were still learning how to communicate with one another.
As for Marcus (Lionel Boyce), he’s determined to impress his absentee father by delivering a flawless dessert following a recent award win. And while Luca (Will Poulter) is by his side to bring it together, the pressures of the day, as well as Carmy’s planned departure, have a sizeable impact on Marcus’s mood.
“Because this season takes place over the course of one day, you get to see how all these things compound and come to a head where it’s not just one thing, even though I think the core of it is a pressure and a feeling of being abandoned,” Boyce reveals.
And while we’ve seen Marcus lose his cool under pressure, he manages to deliver the final product he’d hoped to, thriving under pressure. Meanwhile, Carmy has a moment where he slips up and drops a dish, putting the kitchen at a brief standstill, but Sydney is there to help put everyone back on course as White says, “She picks him up, and I think that that’s an important moment where Carmy is really able to surrender… and be in some kind of acceptance that the restaurant is in good hands with or without him, and, and he’s able to kind of like release himself a little bit.”
See what other final season moments the stars are addressing in the full video interview above, and every second counts; don’t miss the episodes as they stream on Hulu and air on FX this summer.
The Bear, Season 5, Streaming now, Hulu (Thursdays, 9/8c, FX)