Warning: Contains spoilers for The Bear, Season 4.

After a lot of waiting around for characters to do things in Season 3, Season 4 of The Bear has a lot more stuff happening — from the literal ticking clock of the restaurant running out of money to Carmy's (Jeremy Allen White) quest to get a Michelin star.

And while the show's cliffhanger this time around isn't quite as abrupt as the one in Season 3, there is still a lot to unpack about how things end for the characters. Below, we've recapped what happened and speculated on what it might mean — and what comes next.

What happens in The Bear, Season 4?

The Bear itself isn't in a great place at the start of Season 4. The restaurant's first review from the Chicago Tribune (the review Carmy reads in the Season 3 finale) was a very mixed bag, with the resulting patchy press leading Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) and Computer (Brian Koppelman) to install a countdown clock in the kitchen that shows exactly how long the team has to turn things around before they run out of money.

Things are looking bleak, but Carmy still holds out hope of getting a Michelin star and saving the restaurant. Meanwhile Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) is still struggling with the decision of whether to leave The Bear for Ever, Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) is coming to terms with the stepdad (Josh Hartnett) in his daughter's life, Marcus (Lionel Boyce) weighs up reconnecting with his dad, Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson) wants to expand the success of the sandwich shop, and Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) is attempting to cook a pasta dish in under three minutes (yes, this is her entire Season 4 storyline).

What happens at the end of The Bear, Season 4?

The final episode of the season takes place almost entirely out the back of the restaurant, just after the clock has run out during the latest shift. Carmy makes the decision to quit The Bear for the good of the restaurant, sparking a heated argument between him, Sydney, and Richie that eventually leads to a deeper conversation about Carmy's brother Mikey (Jon Bernthal) and the wake of his death. It's a pivotal moment in the relationship between Carmy and Richie, in particular, with the shouting finally giving way to an honest sharing of emotion and apparent reconnection.

But Carmy's mind about quitting is still made up, and Sydney makes him a deal — she'll stay, rejecting Ever's chef de cuisine offer, provided Sydney, Richie, and Carmy's sister Natalie (Abby Elliott) are added to The Bear's ownership paperwork. Carmy agrees. In the final scene, Natalie arrives, Carmy tells her he's going to quit, and she hugs him.

Will the restaurant stay open in The Bear?

This is the big question of Season 4's finale. All the planning about whose name is going to be on the paperwork won't mean anything unless The Bear is actually able to stay in business, and the restaurant's numbers — despite an improvement over the season — still aren't looking great.

At the end of episode 8, with the clock about to run out, Natalie sits down opposite Computer to have a frank conversation about the state of The Bear.

"How long can you pay them?" Computer asks.

"We got a day left on the parachute," Natalie responds.

"How inspiring. What then?"

"Then it's what we bring in every night. We have a reduced payroll, we have a reduced menu, we can cover both."

Carmy quitting will reduce the payroll, and Sydney has already shown that she's able to effectively trim down the complexity of a menu and save money. But our best guess? The biggest help for The Bear will come from two other places: The chance of a surprise Michelin star (who is that mysterious diner in glasses, Mr Clark, from episode 3?) and the possibility of The Beef sandwich shop expanding into a franchise thanks to the work Ebraheim does with his new business mentor (Rob Reiner) throughout the season.

Is Carmy really going to quit The Bear?

In the season finale, Carmy says he's quitting because it's the best thing for the restaurant — but in this case, it may also be the best thing for him. As he explains to Sydney and Richie, Carmy wants to take time away from the kitchen to work on himself — and honestly, it's about time.

"I don't know what I'm like, Richie," Carmy says. "Like outside of the kitchen, I don't know what I'm like."

It's clear that although cooking was once his main purpose, Carmy has taken other steps towards personal growth this season. In addition to Richie, he's reconnected with both Claire (Molly Gordon) and his mother Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis), conversations that mark important steps for a character who's spent previous seasons avoiding his own emotions.

Our best guess for Carmy in Season 5, should The Bear be renewed? We think he'll still be a big part of the show (Allen White is the Emmy-winning protagonist after all), but — initially at least — he'll be going on a journey of self-discovery outside the restaurant's walls.

The Bear Season 4 is now streaming on Hulu.