Men's Lifestyle May 5, 2026 0 Comments

This Shocking Twist in The Bear’s Latest Episode Will Leave You Breathless—Here’s What You Didn’t See Coming!

Ever wonder what it really takes to stand by someone battling addiction—especially when that someone is close enough to call family? I haven’t had a brother myself, but diving into the twisted, fiery relationship between Richie and Mikey in The Bear hits like a gut punch and a warm hug all at once. You think you’re in for a story about brotherhood, loyalty, and the chaos that comes with it—then the FX drama flips the script and shreds that heart right out of your chest. For four seasons, this show has been a raw look at human frailty and resilience, the kind that makes you question: when life throws every possible disaster your way, do you fight back… or just break under the weight? Brace yourself for an intense flashback episode that doesn’t just explore friendship and failure—it carves it into your soul. Intrigued? LEARN MORE

6 min read

I’ve never had a brother, let alone one struggling with addiction. I imagine it would take a lot of patience and understanding—two qualities that The Bear’s Berzatto family doesn’t exactly dole out in spades. Richie (Ebon Moss-Bacharach) has a temper that fires off as quick as a flick of the grill. Likewise, the late Mikey (Jon Bernthal) is a beloved fireball with the power to inspire everyone but himself. But when these two best friends come together for a special flashback episode of the FX drama ahead of season 5, you really believe in the power of brotherhood. That is, until The Bear’s hour-long surprise drop rips that warm, beating heart out of your chest and stomps on it.

For four seasons now, The Bear has looked at how (mostly) well-meaning people deal with constant disappointment. What do you do when life throws the book at you? What about when you feel cheated, or when you let someone down? Everyone on The Bear deals with failure differently. Some of them rally and try again. Others never ask for help until they’re standing on the very edge, even if their every action is screaming for a savior. In the latest episode with Mikey and Richie, The Bear narrows its focus to two characters in desperate need of some guidance.

gary — streams tuesday, may 5 pictured l r ebon mossbachrach as richard "richie" jerimovich, jon bernthal as michael berzatto cr fx

FX

Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach wrote the surprise episode, “Gary,” ahead of season 5.

Series creator and director Christopher Storer kicks the episode off with a lot of energy, because he knows that it’s the highest that audiences will feel for the next hour. “Heart of the Sunrise” by Yes pumps through the beginning of this story, as Richie laces up his shoes and kisses his wife Tiff (Gillian Jacobs) on the way out. We’re in the past—likely a bit after season 2’s disastrous “Fishes” episode—and Richie is heading to Gary, Indiana to deliver a package for Jimmy (Oliver Platt) with his best friend, Mikey (Jon Bernthal).

Richie is on top of the world. He and Tiff say sweet things we’ve never heard in the present, like “I’m proud of you” and “I love you.” She’s pregnant with Eva, their child, and she tells Richie that he has to be home by 5:15 p.m.—which is a dead giveaway that something will go wrong. Tiff harbors some superstition about going into labor early at 5:15 p.m., because that’s when her mom gave birth to her. But Richie is happy to oblige the request. He cares for her.

Mikey, on the other hand, is already agitated. He’s in more of a glass-half-empty mood, while Richie’s cup is overflowing. He’s looking forward to the future—and excited about their trip to Gary—even when the surrounding buildings are run-down and abandoned. Michael Jackson grew up here! John Cougar Mellencamp. Freddie Gibbs! Hell, there’s a whole Music Man song dedicated to Gary, Indiana, and they’ve even got pizza puffs! Someone from Chicago will need to explain to me what a pizza puff is, or why you’d want one from a restaurant and not frozen out of the oven. Am I on the right track? Is it a pizza roll, like Totino’s? I want one now, whatever it is.

But even though the vibes seem immaculate for a getaway with the boys, a heavy John Cassavetes energy takes over. It’s that feeling that men with too much free time on their hands will always find trouble, as if they really don’t have a clue what’s good for them. And when the two randomly stop to play a little pickup basketball with some teenagers, Mikey’s trash talk teeters the line between good ol’ fashioned rough-housing and flat-out asshole behavior. “You know it’s the orange circle, right?” he teases a kid when he misses a shot. Then, when the client pushes their delivery back a few hours, the pair immediately try to pass the time with beer and cocaine.

gary — streams tuesday, may 5 pictured jon bernthal as michael berzatto cr fx

FX

It’s a very up and down kind of day for Mikey.

After one bump, Richie notices a bar nearby and takes their “Open” sign as a literal sign inviting them in. Mikey’s not feeling it, but Richie goads him on. “You’ll fucking see,” Richie warns him. “You’re gonna remember this fucking day.” True to his warning, Mikey eventually does come inside the bar. He’s siren-songed to join Richie’s new friends by a magical redhead, as he hears a monologue from Richie that briefly restarts the viewers’ heart. Richie goes on about shitting himself when he was in grade school because he didn’t want to use his hot math tutor’s bathroom. He tells Mikey that the best part of the story was that he ran to Mikey’s house right after to tell him the whole thing, because he knew that his best friend in the whole world would get a kick out of it. Mikey gives him a kiss on the forehead. It’s beautiful.

But it doesn’t last. As Mikey does more cocaine in the bathroom with the mystery woman, he’s transported to a memory of his own. He remembers his mother scratching his back when he was younger, giving him assurances that everything is going to be okay. Though sometimes, she would “get kinda angry” and say things like, “What the fucking difference does it make?” As The Bear fans know, Donna Berzatto (Jamie Lee Curtis) is a bit of a handful herself. “I didn’t understand how that could be the same person,” he says. It’s drug-induced therapy.

At this point, Richie and Mikey have both forgotten why they came to Gary, Indiana in the first place. This magical bar is a massive time-suck, and it’s clear that these two are unbelievable fuck-ups. Lovable fuck-ups, sure. Richie has a goddamn red mustache painted on his face. But they had a simple task here. Deliver a box. Instead, they spent all day getting loaded.

So, when Richie gets a call from Jimmy that the client’s been waiting all day for his delivery, he snaps Mikey out of his dream state and interrupts the couple right before they’re about to kiss. Mikey unloads on him. He toasts Richie, mentioning to the bar that he’s got a child on the way. “You’re full,” he says. Then, he turns on him, feeling like he’s the one who’s been left behind while Richie received everything. “Fucking kid’s gonna end up abandoned and alone, just like he was,” Mikey taunts him. “The one thing you can absolutely depend on with this fucking guy is that if he’s involved, he’s going to fuck it up.”

gary — streams tuesday, may 5 pictured ebon moss bachrach as richard "richie" jerimovich cr fx

FX

I don’t think the trip to Gary, Indiana went the way that Richie envisioned it.

It’s harsh, but Mikey’s sadly right, in a way. From what we know about Richie in the future, he goes through a crushing divorce and is forced to starts his own life over again after Mikey’s death. But he doesn’t stop trying to be a good father for his daughter, Eva. We even learn that Richie named her Eva after a suggestion from Mikey on this trip. So, Richie slaps him. Twice. They leave the bar to make the delivery—the box is full of plastic pump impellers, whatever those are—and then drive home. They don’t even speak to each other again for the rest of the episode. Hell, we don’t even know if Richie makes it home by 5:15 p.m., though I doubt it.

Instead, we cut back to present day to find Richie sitting in his car in the rain, looking forlorn. Perhaps he’s thinking back to this day. Maybe he has regrets about how it ended. It’s normal to feel that you wished you did things differently when someone close to you dies.

The car behind him honks. Richie pulls forward and he’s T-boned by another vehicle. It’s on the passenger side, but it’s a serious car accident. Then, the screen turns black and all we hear is the rain. It’s an insanely somber ending to bridge viewers into the final season of The Bear.

That said, I have to give major props to Bernthal and Moss-Bachrach for writing a relationship that feels so real. I’ve always appreciated the lows of The Bear as much as I love the highs. But it’s still tough every time the FX drama delivers a gut-wrenching arc like this. You can only hope that The Bear doesn’t have more trauma to inflict on its characters before they close shop in the series finale. I’ve watched these characters struggle for too long now to not see them finally find peace.