The Bear season 1 ending explained: What happened to The Beef?

It all comes down to this. In the last episode of The Bear, the excellent episode titled “Review,” tensions finally began to boil over. Carmen’s behavioral issues with managing his infatuation with perfection exploded after Sydney did not limit the number of to-go orders on the new digital ordering system.

What happens in The Bear season 1 episode 8? Here’s a quick recap and refresher of the main events.

What does Richie give Carmen on The Bear?

Richie hands Carmen a note from Mikey that says, “I love you, dude. Let it rip!” Richie found the letter in the break room before the season finale, written on the back of the recipe for Mikey’s famous tomato sauce. The recipe calls for smaller versions of normal-sized cans because they taste better.

Since the pilot episode, Carmen insisted on not serving his older brother’s famous sauce for the staff’s post-shift meal. As a tribute to his brother, who finally cooks that special sauce for the team, he finds something in the cans that he never knew existed until this point.

What does Carmen find in the sauce on The Bear?

Carmen finds wads of money wrapped in plastic and stuffed inside cans of tomato sauce at The Beef. This shocked Carmen and the staff since he had no idea Mikey owed his Uncle Jimmy (played by Oliver Platt) $300,000 when he took over the restaurant. How did Mikey get all of this money?

Carmen found a notebook ledger where Mikey made regular payments to a company called KBL Electronics. On the tomato cans, he sees the “KBL” initials. When he opens up the cans, that’s when Carmen finds the money. Mikey was right with cash; he saved it instead of paying back his Uncle Jimmy. It appears Mikey left it for Carmen to open up his place.

Why does Sydney come back to The Beef on The Bear?

After Sydney quit her job as the sou chef when she made the colossal blunder of not limiting the new to-go digital online ordering system, Sydney initially quit her job when Carmen disrespected her. Carmen screamed at her openly in front of the staff. (Frankly, I understand it was a hostile response, but wow, was that an awful screw up).

After Sydney returns to The Bear to pick up her last paycheck, Carmen and Sydney make amends, accepting Carmen’s apology that he sent over text messages. While the viewers may have speculated Sydney may start her restaurant to rival The Original Beef of Chicagoland, Sydney wants to learn from Carmen to get that star rating on the new restaurant someday.

What does Carmen decide to do with The Original Beef of Chicagoland?

Carmen finally realizes he cannot make The Beef work and closes the restaurant for good. Instead, he honors his brother by reinventing his brother’s dream. The last picture of the restaurant is a sign on the door that says, “The Bear is coming.”

The ending sets up The Bear for the second season. With Sydney and her impressive culinary mind, they should be able to create the type of award-winning restaurant that Carmen had a hand when he worked in New York City.

That’s it. What did you think of The Bears’ first season? Are you planning to watch the second season on Hulu? Let us know in the comments below!