FX surprised fans of the hit show The Bear today with a standalone episode focused on the friendship between Michael “Mikey” Berzatto (Jon Bernthal) and Richie “Cousin” Jerimovich (Ebon Moss-Bachrach). Gary is set years before the events of The Bear, specifically on the eve of Richie’s daughter’s birth. The two friends have been dispatched by Jimmy (Oliver Platt) to deliver a box to a guy in Gary, Indiana, but they wind spend most of the day bonding and bro-ing out.

Gillian Jacobs guest stars as Richie’s then current wife Tiff, Marin Ireland makes a dazzling turn as “Sherri from Gary,” and we finally know the sentimental way of how little Eva (Annabelle Toomey) got her name. However, Bear fans might just revolt when they get to the final scene of the episode because it appears that Cousin is in some serious trouble in the current timeline.

**Spoilers for Gary, now streaming on Hulu**

New The Bear episode Gary appears to end sometime between the events of The Bear Seasons 4 and 5. We find Richie sitting in his car in the middle of a torrential downpour. He’s fixated on the empty seat beside him, the implication being that he’s still mourning Mikey.

A car behind him honks their horn and he begins to drive into an intersection. Out of nowhere, he yells, pleading, “No, no, no, no!” Then we cut outside the car and watch another vehicle t-boning into Mikey’s car. The episode cuts to black.

Gary was written by its stars, Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who are coincidentally starring opposite each other in a new Broadway production of Dog Day Afternoon. The entire episode delves into Mikey and Richie’s close-knit, yet complicated, friendship. While the two men repeatedly declare their fraternal love, the most harrowing scene comes late in the episode where a drunk and drugged up Mikey tells a group of Gary barflies that Richie is destined to ruin his relationship with his unborn daughter.

“You want to do that kid a favor? Just fucking bolt. Just fucking hit the fucking road and do not come back,” Mikey rants, before baiting his friend into slapping him.

Before we cut back to what appears to be the present day, Mikey tries to offer his friend an olive branch by putting in the CD mix Cousin proudly made for their journey to Gary. Richie takes the CD out and throws it out of the window.

We know from The Bear that Richie would be left shellshocked by Mikey’s eventual death by suicide. It’s only been recently, in The Bear Season 4 finale, that Richie admitted to Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) that he thought Mikey’s younger brother resented him for failing to keep Michael safe.

With all of this context and what we see go down in Gary, you might be left wondering… Did The Bear just kill off Cousin in between Seasons 4 and 5?

Gary Ending Explained: Did The Bear Just Kill Off Cousin Richie?

Look, there’s one thing we know for sure after watching Gary and it’s that Richie winds up in a horrible car accent. His fate is up in the air for now. When DECIDER reached out to FX, they declined to comment or clarify the meaning of that final scene.

We can ascertain that Richie’s car accident happens in the present day timeline thanks to the fact that our boy is sporting his maitre d’ suit and tie under his jacket. So our best guess is that, yes, Richie gets into a terrible car accident between The Bear Seasons 4 and 5.

The Bear Season 4 ended with Carmy leaving the restaurant to Syd (Ayo Edibiri) and Richie, explaining that he needed to leave the business to heal. If Richie dies, that could coax Carmy back to the kitchen to keep the restaurant afloat. Moreover, if Cousin is going to be laid up in the hospital, that could also give Carmy a reason to return. He could help look out for Richie and return to the restaurant business.

When Does The Bear Season 5 Come Out?

So far, FX has only confirmed that The Bear is returning for a fifth season in 2026. Past seasons of The Bear have all premiered in June, so there’s a good chance FX will repeat that pattern with a full season drop of The Bear Season 5 on Hulu sometime in June 2026.