The Bear Season 5's Subtle Rob Reiner Tribute Explained

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Spoilers for "The Bear" series finale follow.

Over the course of five seasons, "The Bear" hosted a parade of famous faces popping up in surprise guest roles. Season 4 introduced us to Albert, a businessman played by Rob Reiner. Albert acted as a mentor to line cook Ebra (Edwin Lee Parker), who was in charge of running the Original Beef window located off to the side of the fancy restaurant that had become The Bear. Working with Albert, Ebra cooked up a plan to turn the Beef window into a full-blown franchise, and after looking over the numbers, Albert agreed that the plan could be successful.

Tragically, Reiner died in between Season 4 and 5 — the actor and filmmaker was murdered in his home along with his wife Michele Singer, and the couple's son Nick Reiner has been charged with the crime. This raised a question for "The Bear" Season 5: would Albert still have some sort of involvement in the story now that Reiner was gone? The fifth and final season of the show found a workaround: while we never see Albert this season, Ebra has several conversations with him via phone. We don't hear Albert's side of the calls, but in the show's final episode, "The Bear" manages to slip in a sweet, subtle tribute to Reiner's legacy.

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In "The Bear" series finale, Ebra, who has been hesitating talking to Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) about franchising, finally gets the greenlight to enact his business plan. As the episode, and the show, winds down to its final moments, Ebra has one last call with his mentor Albert. He tells Albert that things are smoothly in motion, and then asks, "Is there anything else you need me to do?" We don't hear what Albert says, but Ebra smiles and replies, "As you wish," before hanging up.

Fans of Reiner's work, and movies in general, will immediately clock that line: it's a recurring quote from "The Princess Bride," the Reiner-directed 1987 fantasy-comedy that's become a beloved classic. By having Ebra say the line to Reiner's character Albert, "The Bear" found a clever, lovely little way to pay tribute to Reiner and his work.

"The Bear" Season 5 is now streaming on Hulu. You can read our review here.