Beef Season 2 Ending Explained

Picture Credit: Netflix

Lee Sung Jin’s Emmy-winning anthology series BEEF returns with even more beef – in fact it has double the amount from season one – pitting couples against each other.

After a hugely popular debut season, BEEF Season 2 is a tremendous return to form. In fact, we rated it a near-perfect 4.5/5 stars in our review. Season 2 swaps a parking lot squabble for a lavish, highly pretentious country club, Monte Vista Point,run by millennial couple Josh (Oscar Isaac) and his wife Lindsay (Carey Mulligan).

Warning: The following section contains spoilers. Proceed with caution!

The titular beef commences when young, Gen-Z couple — country club employee Ashley Miller (Cailee Spaeny) and her boyfriend Austin Davis (Charles Melton) — witness an alarming fight between Josh and Lindsay. Ashley captures the domestic on camera, using it as leverage to coerce and gather favors from Josh and his wife. Meanwhile, Josh and Lindsay must try to keep their heads as they fight for the approval of the elitist club’s Korean billionaire owner, Chairwoman Park (Youn Yuh Jung) — who harbors secrets and scandals of her own.

How do all of the plot points play out? Here’s our full ending explainer.

Beef Season 2 Review: The New Rivalry Is Even Better (And Bloodier) Than The First

What is the central ‘beef’ in the season?

In the early episodes of the season, Ashley weaponizes the incriminating footage she possesses of Josh and Lindsay’s domestic. She uses it to blackmail Josh into favors. At first, she forces him to give her a higher-paying promotion within the country club, which he opens up by firing another employee.

The power soon goes to Ashley’s head when she later demands 45K out of him, as well as health insurance. The latter becomes a necessity when she is diagnosed with an ovarian cyst, which can be fatal if not treated. In addition, she even gets her boyfriend Austin a gig at the club as a sports therapist (a job that he’s incredibly underqualified for, but takes on anyway).

After forking out copious amounts of hush money, we also learn that Josh has been struggling financially in other ways. He suffers due to the cost of his late mother’s medical care, and the mounting expenses in transforming his property into something more commercial. As a result, he sneakily embezzles Monte Vista Point by way of submitting false invoices. However, his crafty scheme soon comes crashing down after he’s discovered by Ashley.

Strangely, when Chairwoman Park learns of his embezzlement, she keeps Josh in his job. She appears impressed by his scheme.

What is Ashley’s health problem, and how does it lead to further beef?

We know from episode 1 that Ashley suffers from torsion due to an ovarian cyst, a medical condition that if not treated can be fatal. It is also linked with complications in childbirth. By episode 3, Ashley is admitted to the hospital after deliberately jumping out of a car to avoid facing Austin about Eunice, who is harboring a closer relationship.

While in the hospital, she’s visited by Josh, who’s intent on helping. However, when Ashley refuses to delete the incriminating video in favor of help, Josh storms out. Later on, her existing health issues are aggravated, and she finds herself in a medical emergency. She ultimately loses an ovary during the medical procedure– and she blames Josh for refusing to comply in helping her.

When Ashley is sent home from the hospital, she’s fuelled by hatred towards Josh and formulates a plan for vengeance. She heads to his home, where she delivers revenge best served cold: she washes her bloodied hands in Josh’s orange juice. But worst of all, she deliberately leaves the door wide open, allowing Josh and Lindsay’s dog, Burberry, to escape. We later learn that Burberry was brutally killed by a fox while alone in the woods.

Unknowing that Ashley was responsible for Burberry’s death, Josh and Lindsay blame each other. Their disagreement ultimately leads to a divorce.

Who is Chairwoman Park, and what does she use the country club for?

Chairwoman Park serves as the overarching villain throughout the season. She’s a multi-billionaire with ultimate power and sees those beneath her as her puppets.

She purchases Monte Vista Point as a place to launder her money. With a 300K initiation fee, it’s a good place to bury a lot of money, very quickly, with few questions over legitimacy. She uses the club to clean money used to hush up a death caused by her husband Dr Kim. Previously, a woman died at Kim’s operating table as a direct result of his hand tremors — a condition that should have forced him into retirement.Inspired by Josh’s embezzlement scheme, she enacts her own version of it to cover up the fallout of her husband’s major fumble.

How does Ashley and Austin’s story end?

During their VIP trip to Korea, Austin breaks up with Ashley. His head is turned by Eunice, whom he completely falls for, even if she is rather tepid in her reciprocation. This breaks Ashley’s heart, especially after learning that she has a viable embryo to have a baby with Austin (he previously tried to spoil the results).

We see Austin riding away alone in a taxi on the phone to Eunice. He pleads with her to confess her love to him, which she does, but without passion. She is more interested in using him as a pawn in the bigger picture, imploring him to deliver the hard drive to the police. The love is not as pure nor passionate as what he had with Ashley.

Before the credits roll, the show jumps forward eight years. We see both Ashley and Austin together, with their child, Ashton. Ashley is shown as the proud general manager of Monte Vista Point. They remain friends with loyal club members Troy (William Fichtner) and Ava (Mikaela Hoover).

This epilogue scene directly mirrors the opening scene in episode 1. The ending does not elaborate on how Austin’s relationship with Eunice failed; it only reveals that he ultimately ends up with Ashley. They get a happy-ish ending. There appears to be some emotional distance between them, as depicted when they’re in a car together. Is running the country club doomed to unfulfilling lives? Is this a sign of a continuing cycle?

How does Josh and Lindsay’s story end?

As for Josh and Lindsay, they get a very different sort of conclusion. When the two are captured by Chairwoman Park and thrown into cells, they use the downtime to reconcile with each other. At peace, Josh decides to come clean with Chairwoman Park and takes the blame for everything. He’s thrown into prison, just as Lindsay rediscovers her love for him.

Who lives, who dies, and who wins?

Ultimately, Chairwoman Park escapes any sort of consequence, and Trochos wins. Dr. Kim’s death — being shot by Park’s security — is deemed a suicide. Josh takes the flack for the embezzlement.

It’s a rather strange ending, basically telling viewers that the character with the most money and power comes out on top.

What’s the final message at the end of BEEF Season 2?

The season finale hinges on the passage of time and its impact on their relationships. After the time jump, each couple finds themselves in the exact opposite position to what we anticipated. For example, Ashley and Austin’s breakup in Korea ultimately leads to them getting back together. Similarly, Lindsay promises to wait for Josh to complete his prison sentence but later moves on and builds a new life during that time, with a husband and children.

BEEF Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.