The Emmy-winning series usually releases all of its episodes at the end of June. Its previous season was its fourth season, which released a batch of 10 back on June 25, 2025. Its fifth and final season is coming up, but the show, which is centered around a restaurateur, decided to drop what could be a dessert, something to cap off the fourth season. This bonus episode or special episode will be eligible for the 78th Emmy Awards, the same ceremony in which the fourth season will compete. With the fifth and final season coming up in a month, some might see this as an amuse-bouche or hors d'œuvre for that final season. Others might see it as a palate cleanser, given that seasons three and four of The Bear (2022) weren't as rapturously received as seasons one and two.
There has been a running gag that since the second season, the show has been doing standalone or what are called "suitcase episodes," which are episodes that are mainly set outside of the restaurant. The main plot of the show is about a young man who takes over his family's restaurant, a rag-tag sandwich shop, and transforms it into a fine-dining establishment. The majority of the show takes place inside the walls of that restaurant, as the workers struggle to get it up and going. However, since the second season, there have been episodes where we see one or more characters outside those walls. There were essentially three suitcase episodes in Season 2, and all three are considered three of the best episodes that the show has ever produced. The first was "Honeydew," which was about one of the restaurant workers going on a trip to Copenhagen, Denmark. The next was "Fishes," which was a flashback to a confrontational and emotionally charged moment, involving Mikey, the older brother of the restaurateur. The last was "Forks", which was about the restaurateur's cousin, learning something about himself. It feels as though for this special episode, what was done in those previous suitcase episodes was distilled into this one.
Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Punisher and Girls) stars as Richie, the manager of the Beef, the aforementioned, sandwich shop in Chicago that was started by his best friend. He's in a relationship and has a baby on the way. Yet, this episode focuses on him spending the day with his best friend on a road trip from Illinois to Indiana. Richie's best friend is like family to him, so much so that Richie refers to his best friend as "cousin." Richie is also the person featured in the episode "Forks." This episode is in a lot of ways centering on him, even though it's mostly a two-hander with his cousin. Throughout the show, we've gotten glimpses into Richie's life outside the restaurant, particularly with his daughter. This episode is a flashback and it does give us a glimpse of Richie outside the restaurant. Particularly, it drills into his compassionate and at times contentious relationship with his best friend / cousin.
Jon Bernthal (The Punisher and The Walking Dead) stars as Mikey, the aforementioned best friend to Richie whom he calls "cousin," despite not being blood-related. It's not a spoiler to say that Mikey committed suicide. His death is the premise of the show. It's what forces his younger brother to come back home to Chicago to take over the restaurant that Mikey left behind. Much like This Is Us (2016), the nature of the death of this significant character wasn't revealed in the first, few seasons. In the upcoming final season, the nature or more details about Mikey's death might be confronted. Those details aren't necessary, but there is a reckoning to Mikey's death that hasn't been depicted or fully explored. The episode titled "Fishes" hints at the issues with which Mikey was dealing that might have led to his death. This episode also provides hints to that effect, as we get more insight into Mikey's head and with what he was wrestling.
This special episode isn't all doom and gloom, much in the way that "Fishes" was not all doom and gloom. The majority of the episode is rather joyful, as we just hang out with Richie and Mikey on this road trip. The two make stops along the way, which includes a basketball court for a quick pickup game, stopping for a hot dog at a hot dog shop, as well as regaling patrons at a local dive bar. It's mostly the two guys having fun and enjoying each other's company. The whole thing reveals a bit about each other's characters and how each of them see one another. At one point, we see them doing drugs, which is initiated by Mikey and suggests darker things that he's battling, but otherwise Mikey is seen as this aggressive alpha-male who is strong and athletic, whereas at another point Richie has clown makeup put on him, which makes him seem like the court jester.
Written by Moss-Bachrach and Bernthal, this represents the umpteenth time that the two have worked together on various projects, both in film, television and Broadway theater. They very much have a natural rapport with one another, as well as just being strong performers on their own. That's essentially what the takeaway here is. It's mainly just indulging in watching the chemistry between these two characters and actors. Whatever meaning won't be truly divined until we see the final season and where all of this is leading.
Rated TV-MA.
Running Time: 1 hr.
Available on Hulu.
