The Bear: Mr. Clark Lines Up A Major Potential Season 5 Storyline

This article contains spoilers for The Bear season 4.

The thing about FX and Hulu culinary classic The Bear is that there is no “big bad” to conquer. Despite Richie Jerimovich actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach donning the orange rocks to play Ben Grimm a.k.a. The Thing in Marvel’s upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps, there is no Galactus waiting in the Chicago sky at the end of The Bear. The only demons the Berzatto family and their associates have to confront are the ones in their own heads.

Still, that’s not to say that The Bear isn’t building up to something. Carmy and company very much have their eyes on a prize, a goal, a … star. As the show frequently articulates, nothing boosts a restaurant’s profile like a Michelin star. Handed out by the Michelin company as part of their Michelin Guide books for travel, a single Michelin star (or two, or three) can instantly change a chef’s life. It did so for Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) as he toiled away in the kitchens of New York’s finest establishments. Now he needs one again to save The Bear. Even his benefactors Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) and The Computer (Brian Koppelman) agree that a star would be enough to keep the floundering business afloat.

Should The Bear receive a fifth season, the quest for that star that will undoubtedly drive much of the conflict. A careful viewing of season 4, however, reveals that the conflict won’t be over whether The Bear gets its star but how the staff reacts once they inevitably do. That’s because The Bear almost certainly already has a Michelin star. And we know that thanks to the presence of an enigmatic guest named “Mr. Clark” in season 4’s third episode.

After Carmy announces his intention to once again pursue the favor of the Michelin Guide, Chicago restauranteur Donnie Madia gives the kitchen staff a crash course on how to spot a member of the Michelin team in episode 2. This is particularly important after The Bear dropped the ball with a Chicago Tribune reviewer. According to Madia, Michelin representatives operate secretively – often giving a pseudonym based on a local neighborhood name or something similar.

Sure enough, a well-dressed mystery man named Mr. Clark (Gary Janetti) stops by The Bear for a solo dining experience in the very next episode, with “Clark” happening to be the name of a prominent Chicago street cutting through Wrigleyville. Though the viewer has been primed to spot someone like Mr. Clark from a mile away, Richie and the rest of The Bear hospitality staff don’t seem to clock him as a VIP. Thankfully, however, their new strategy of treating every diner like a VIP pays immediate dividends.

Mr. Clark looks on in genuine joy and astonishment as a nearby guest is gifted a bespoke Chicago Beef dish to celebrate being cancer-free. After the meal, Mr. Clark follows the guest’s family out into the restaurant’s lot where Richie and company have arranged for a snow machine to blanket the outdoor seating, creating a wintry Chicago experience they’ve always dreamed of. Combined with Clark’s glowing review of Chef Sydney’s (Ayo Edebiri) scallop dish, it is a stone cold lock that The Bear just earned its first Michelin Star. Hell, it might have gotten two of them for that display!

In case you missed it, The Bear is absolutely getting it's Michelin star next season after that guy ate Sydney's better than perfect scallop and saw their magic snow moment for the other guests. Clark Street is right in front of Wrigley Field. Homerun baby. ⚾️💫 pic.twitter.com/1J6js7yOFw

— chefkids (@girlflopping) June 29, 2025

Notably, The Bear has not yet been renewed for a fifth season yet with FX chairman John Landgraf telling Variety that the show’s future comes down to whether creator Christopher Storer feels he has more story to tell. It’s possible then that Storer simply decided to covertly stick a happy ending for the series into season 4’s third episode. Should The Bear continue, however, the arrival of a Michelin star won’t necessarily mean an end of drama.

That’s the thing about goals: life continues on even after you reach them. If Carmy couldn’t achieve inner peace after earning stars at previous restaurants how will he or Syd do so after earning one at their own spot? Compound that with the fact that Carmy has already “quit” The Bear and you have the potential for all sorts of complicated feelings and responsibilities to come.

All 10 episodes of The Bear season 4 are available to stream on Hulu now.