‘The Bear’ drops surprise episode that may have killed off a major character

No, chef.

Warning: Spoilers ahead! Do not proceed unless you’ve watched the surprise episode of “The Bear,” titled “Gary.”

“The Bear” dropped a surprise episode on Tuesday, ahead of the fifth and final season premiere this summer.

Titled “Gary” and now streaming on Hulu, it’s a flashback following Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Mikey (Jon Bernthal) on a road trip years before the events of the Emmy-winning chef show.

The shocking ending has implications for Season 5, because it’s possible it killed off Richie.

The episode ends seemingly out of the flashback, in the current timeline. As Richie is sitting in a car, another car plows into him. The accident looks brutal, and his fate is left up in the air.

Co-written by Moss-Bachrach and Bernthal (who are also currently on Broadway together in “Dog Day Afternoon”), the episode follows Richie and Mikey as they drive to Gary, Indiana, where they play basketball and trash talk with local teens, snort cocaine in their car and hang out in a bar.

Richie also calls his wife, Tiffany (Gillian Jacobs), who is about to give birth — so it seems irresponsible that he’s away. In the current timeline of the show, unsurprisingly, Richie and Tiffany are divorced co-parents of their daughter, and she has moved on with Frank (Josh Hartnett).

Mikey’s behavior gets more erratic as the episode progresses, until he eventually calls Richie a “coward” in front of a crowded bar, and tells him “your kid is gonna hate you.”

The flashback portion of the episode ends with Richie and Mikey driving in their car, sitting next to each other in tense silence.

The scene then switches to show Richie sitting alone in his car, looking sadly at the empty seat next to him. In the show’s current timeline, Mickey is dead, having taken his own life prior to the beginning of the series.

The show’s other seasons follow Mikey’s brother Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) as he takes over Mikey’s Chicago sandwich shop after his suicide. Over the seasons, he’s turned it into a fine dining establishment.

Given the show’s timeline, it appears the end scene with Richie’s car accident has moved out of the flashback and into the present day, after Mickey’s death.

There’s no timestamp on screen informing us exactly when Richie’s car accident occurs. But, he’s not badly injured in the first four seasons. It seems logical to assume that his car got T-boned shortly before Season 5. If he survives, he’ll likely be on crutches in Season 5 — at the very least.

The other characters in “The Bear,” like Carmy and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) don’t appear in “Gary.” 

Season 5 of “The Bear,” the show’s final season, is expected to premiere on an unannounced date in June.

“Gary” is now streaming on Hulu and Disney+.