The Bear’s Prequel Finale Twist Could Rewrite Season 5

FX on Hulu just pulled a fast one: there is now a surprise, one-hour prequel episode of The Bear sitting on the service, and it is not nothing. It is called 'Gary.' It is written by and stars Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. And it quietly sets up something that sure looks like a big swing for Season 5.

Spoilers ahead.

So what is 'Gary' exactly?

Timeline-wise, it lands a few years before the main run of the series and a few months after the Season 2 flashback episode 'Fishes.' The setup is simple: Mikey and Richie take a road trip to Gary, Indiana to drop off a mysterious package for Uncle Jimmy. The execution is very The Bear - intimate, messy, and tense in ways you do and do not expect.

• It mostly plays like a standalone flashback, focused on Mikey and Richie hanging out, spiraling, and trying to be brothers to each other.
• They talk trash with some local kids over a pickup game, get high and drunk, and bounce between affection and resentment like only those two can.
• Richie has a hard-out: he promised Tiff he would be back by 5:15 pm because she is close to giving birth. Gillian Jacobs pops in briefly as Tiff.
• Despite the chaos, they actually deliver the parcel. Small miracle.

The ending everyone will be arguing about

On the way home, Mikey drives, Richie rides shotgun, and they wait at a train crossing. Then the episode cuts - clearly to a later point in time, because Richie looks different - and we are suddenly with Richie behind the wheel, alone. He stares at the empty passenger seat, pulls forward, and an oncoming van slams into him. Smash to credits.

Is that crash a Season 5 scene?

There is not much to timestamp it, but a couple things stick out. Richie is wearing his now standard black shirt and tie - the front-of-house look we associate with him later in the series. And the crash is not a fender bender. It looks bad. If this had happened before, the show has never mentioned it, which makes its placement here feel deliberate - a teaser for where we are headed rather than a random flash- forward tossed into a prequel.

If that read is right, it has major implications for the fifth and final season. Richie probably does not die - probably - but the extent of his injuries and the fallout could drive a lot of story. He is supposed to become a partner with Sydney, so his condition would affect that partnership, the day-to-day at the restaurant, and whatever Carmy decides to do next. Depending on when the crash lands in the timeline, we could be looking at Richie in the hospital for a stretch, which would change the show’s balance in a big way.

The bottom line

As a character piece, 'Gary' is sharp and self-contained. As a preview of what is coming, it ends with a real jolt that raises the stakes for everyone. The Bear Season 5 is expected to hit FX on Hulu in June. 'Gary' is streaming now.