The Bear season 3 cliffhanger ending explained

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Bear season 3 finale, "Forever."

Someone left the stove on at the end of The Bear season 3, because all of the major storylines were still cooking when the credits began to roll.

FX's high-anxiety restaurant dramedy turned up the heat throughout the 10 new episodes (now streaming on Hulu), putting every character in a sticky situation as fine-dining establishment the Bear opened and struggled throughout its debut month. But the finale, "Forever," left everything hanging when the words "to be continued" flashed on the screen.

So where do Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), and the rest of the Bear crew go from here? It's hard to say for all of the characters — and the Bear itself. Throughout the season, reviews of the restaurant flashed onscreen, ranging from high praise to truly disastrous. But it's not clear if those headlines were real... or just manifestations of Carmy's worsening anxiety.

The finale ended with the Chicago Tribune review of the restaurant finally publishing online, but we don't actually see the full article. Carmy opened the link to read it and inconsistent words flashed onscreen: Confusing, excellent, culinary, innovative, sloppy, inconsistent, simple, complex, and stale. Since the words skewed both positive and negative, it's difficult to know whether the review is overall good or bad. Carmy's own reaction of "Motherf---er!" also does not shed light one way or another.

But since Carmy's phone showed a bunch of missed calls from Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) and the "Computer" (Brian Koppelman), the family friend hired to cut rising costs from the restaurant, it's likely not a good sign. Unc previously threatened to close the restaurant if it got one bad review... and his finances just tanked (which Carmy still doesn't know about), making the Bear a very bad investment at the moment. Carmy's "new menu everyday" policy, as well as his other "non-negotiables" in his bid for a Michelin star, just cost too much in the current market.

Plus, the restaurant could be losing a pivotal member of its staff. Sydney ended the finale having a panic attack outside her apartment while everyone else partied inside — she didn't know whether to stay at the Bear and finally sign the partnership agreement with Carmy or leave for another, arguably better, opportunity from Ever's chef Adam (Adam Shapiro). She hadn't even told Carmy yet about the life-changing decision she's considering, and her indecision and stalling — as well as Carmy's increasingly stubborn and borderline abusive behavior in the kitchen — were taking a real toll on her.

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Meanwhile, Carmy still had not apologized or made up with Claire (Molly Gordon) after his freezer meltdown in the season 2 finale. In fact, he's still not on good terms with Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) either — but Richie finally began getting to a good place with his ex-wife Tiff (Gillian Jacobs) and her new fiancé Frank (Josh Hartnett). Natalie (Abby Elliott) gave birth, finally making amends with her mother (Jamie Lee Curtis) in an intensely emotional episode focused on their relationship. And since Marcus' (Lionel Boyce) mother passed away, he's thrown himself into work to cope with his grief.

Thank goodness The Bear is reportedly pre-heating a fourth season (FX has not officially renewed it yet), because season 3 was more of an intriguing appetizer for what's to come next rather than a satisfying meal on its own.