Forever (The Bear)

"Forever" is the tenth episode and season finale of the third season of the American television comedy-drama The Bear. It is the 28th overall episode of the series and was written and directed by series creator Christopher Storer. It was released on Hulu on June 26, 2024, along with the rest of the season.

The series follows Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto, an award-winning New York City chef de cuisine, who returns to his hometown of Chicago to run his late brother Michael's failing Italian beef sandwich shop. In the episode, Carmy, Sydney and Richie attend Ever's funeral service, where they reunite with some chefs.

Plot
In a flashback, Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) starts his first day at the French Laundry. As he is cooking, he is approached by Chef Thomas Keller, who helps him control his side of the kitchen. Keller also explains that, besides learning how to cook, it is very important to "nurture" people in his environment to build a good image.

In present day, Carmy, Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) and Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) arrive at Ever for its closing dinner. They reunite with a few colleagues, including Chef Luca (Will Poulter) and a few other respected chefs. Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) is surprised when people compliment her skills, delighting her. As they sit to converse about their experiences, Carmy notices that Chef David Fields (Joel McHale) is in attendance. Richie goes to the kitchen, where he reunites with Garrett (Andrew Lopez) and Jessica (Sarah Ramos) for one last time, and decides to help them in running service.

When the chefs talk about the important of creating safe environments, Carmy finally admits his frustration with Fields to Sydney and Luca. As Fields walks to the bathroom, Carmy stops him to confront him over his abusive nature. Fields states he does not care about Carmy, and the latter opens up about how he destroyed his life by having abandoned other people in his life. Fields says that Carmy you should be thankful; he began as a fine chef and left as an "excellent" chef through his abusive nature. Fields then leaves, and Carmy is left to think about his statement. Sydney and Luca visit the kitchen, where Luca reveals he will stay in Chicago for a few months to visit his sister. Adam (Adam Shapiro) reminds Sydney about his prior offer, to which she states she is still interested.

Chef Terry (Olivia Colman) delivers a speech, proclaiming that the importance of a restaurant is not the food, but the service to the customers. She also explains her choice to close the restaurant to Carmy, explaining she was tired of the constant stress and wanted to finish her career on her own terms. Later, Sydney invites the staff of The Bear and Ever to her apartment for a party. Checking the fridge, Sydney finds a 4-star review for The Beef, causing her to leave the apartment due to a panic attack. Carmy walks alone in the street, and discovers that he has missed phone calls from Cicero and The Computer, as the Chicago Tribune review is finally out. He stares at a few specific words, but the consensus is not seen. Carmy simply proclaims, "Motherfucker."

Development
In May 2024, Hulu confirmed that the tenth and final episode of the season would be titled "Forever", and was to be written and directed by series creator Christopher Storer. It was Storer's 14th writing credit and 19th directing credit.

Music
The episode featured many songs, including "Together" by Nine Inch Nails, "In the Garage" by Weezer, "The Big Country" by Talking Heads, "Joy" by The Sundays, "Within' Your Reach" by The Replacements, "Can You Hear Me?" by David Bowie, "Diamond Diary" by Tangerine Dream, "Just One More Day" by Otis Redding, "Big White Cloud" by John Cale, "Laid" by James, and "Disarm" by The Smashing Pumpkins.

Release
The episode, along with the rest of the season, premiered on June 26, 2024, on Hulu. Originally, the season was scheduled to premiere on June 27, 2024.

Critical reviews
Jenna Scherer of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B" grade and wrote, "Thus we arrive at “Forever,” a season finale that feels like The Bear patting itself on the back, buzzed on its buzz, topped off with a non-ending that makes you want to throw your hands in the air. Storer's heavy-handed script hammers home themes that he already made crystal clear earlier in the season."

Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone wrote, "even though the finale often gets high on its own supply, it eventually circles back to Carmy and Sydney, whose story this is above all else, and reminds us that miracles do not tend to come cheap. Perhaps if Carmy had gone back to Ever rather than going to New York, he might have become a worthy successor to Andrea Terry."

Marah Eakin of Vulture gave the episode a 3 star out of 5 rating and wrote, "We'll have to wait until next season to find out, which could be The Bear's last if rumors are to be believed. And while I don't think season three of The Bear was its best, maybe it helps to think about it like that frozen pizza Chef Terry pulled out of Syd's freezer: Even at its worst, The Bear is still pretty damn good." A.J. Daulerio of Decider wrote, "And here we are. The end of a mostly uneventful, meandering season that left the ravenous Bear-loving public still waiting for it to officially begin at the exact moment it ended. Most of the episodes were muddled with flashbacks, pretentious camera tricks, and what appeared to be an overreliance on the actors to improvise through dead spots in scripts. Next season, there should be more substance (right?) and hopefully 95% less Fak."

Brady Langmann of Esquire wrote, "when Carmy's anxiety montages pop up, we’re meant to understand that he's become an unreliable narrator. The review could've said anything — let's just hope it's not negative enough to make Uncle Jimmy pull his funding entirely."