Beef Season 2 is officially here and so is the drama that comes with it.
After introducing us to the key players at Monte Vista Point Country Club, including General Manager Josh (Oscar Isaac), his wife Lindsay (Carey Mulligan), and employees Ashley (Cailee Spaeny) and Austin (Charles Melton), Season 2 of this Netflix anthology series took us on a wild ride that started in Southern California and made its way halfway around the world to South Korea. But let’s back up a little bit.
**Spoiler alert: This article contains details about the Season 2 finale of Beef, now streaming on Netflix**
In the end, Josh and Lindsay’s embezzlement did come back to bite them in the ass, although in a much bigger way than even they could have predicted. For Ashley and Austin, the piper also came looking for his pay as their own connections to the enterprise were put into question, as Chairwoman Park (Youn Yuh-jung) attempted to set them up for a slew of financial crimes. This all unfolded as Chairwoman Park’s husband, Dr. Kim (Song Kang-ho), seemingly played both sides as he attempted to get the sensitive information about his patient’s death from the Americans, while also juggling his complex relationship with his wife. Oh, and we totally forgot to mention that Ava was in the crossfire, too. Talk about a friendship gone sour.
With so many moving pieces, locations, and characters to keep straight in this eighth and final episode, we cannot blame you if you got a little lost. That’s why we’re here to help. Whether you need an explainer or just want to skip to the end and find out how it all goes, keep reading for a breakdown of the Beef Season 2 finale, including what that final scene means…
Beef Season 2 Ending Explained: Who Takes the Fall for Chairwoman Park?
After traveling to South Korea to escape questioning from the authorities in Ojai and trying to save Lindsay from Chairwoman Park, it is Josh who offers himself up as a sacrifice in the end. While back in the States, Josh and Lindsay were in the middle of a divorce, in Korea, the pair reunite and have a heart-to-heart after being kidnapped by Chairwoman Park’s henchmen. During their period of being sequestered, they agree that Ashley and Austin are also going to try and throw them under the bus, but that it’s best if they do it first.
That plan goes right out the window, however, when Josh approaches one of Chairwoman Park’s security guards, asks for a private meeting, and says he plans to be the lone scapegoat in this money laundering/Trochos scheme run by Park and her husband, Dr. Kim. Lindsay protests but is ultimately let go along with Austin and Ashley, and before they can take him away in handcuffs permanently, she jumps a police barricade and passionately kisses her husband one last time.
After jumping forward eight years, we find out that not only are Ashley and Austin married and parents to a young boy, they have virtually taken over at Monte Vista Pointe Country Club as the new Lindsay and Josh. Their final scene sees them on the same stage Josh and Lindsay stood on in the very first scene of the season, delivering nearly the same remarks about the club being a family.
Elsewhere, Josh is seen in a prison talking with fellow inmates and handing off contraband as they discuss his upcoming release. One of Josh’s friends informs him that he heard Lindsay had remarried and, despite saying that he could get her address if Josh wants it, Josh refuses and says that he’s good. Cut to Lindsay, rocking a new hairstyle, watching a news interview with Josh from his release, in which he says he’s grateful for his freedom and even more grateful that the people he loves are safe. We also see Lindsay’s new husband and daughter.
It all goes back to what Dr. Kim said about first marriages versus second marriages, in the end. Lindsay and Josh married each other for love and it was as true as it comes. Sure, their fire burned them both throughout the marriage, but it was bright and hot and kept them warm during the best times. Lindsay’s second marriage, then, is a marriage to someone with whom she can navigate life. A marriage of convenience just like Chairwoman Park marrying Dr. Kim. Lindsay’s true love has and always will be Josh, even if they can’t be together.
What Does the Final Scene of Beef Season 2 Mean?
The very final shot of the show sees Chairwoman Park at the gravesite of her first husband, mourning him and speaking to him about her own life and regrets. As she lies down on his grave, speaking about how she always feared being her own mother, she now sits in the winter of her years, having her fears realized. As she sits there, the camera switches to an overhead shot, slowly zooming out with a drone to reveal a recreation of Samsara artwork, signifying the Buddhist and Hindu concept of birth, death, and rebirth.
“Saṃsāra” comes from Sanskrit and literally translates to “wandering through” or “cyclic existence,” according to EBSCO. It’s often depicted in art as a circle with small vignettes inside, broken down piece by piece, depicting different stages of life, all under the eye of the god of death. According to the show’s creator, Lee Sung Jin, that shot almost didn’t even make it into the finale. Why? Because that shot almost didn’t happen at all.
Initially, the plan was to end the show with the slow zoom out from above the Korean gravesite, something they considered to be an Easter Egg connected to how Season 1 ended, Sung Jin and director Jake Schreier said during an episode of Beef: The Official Podcast. Hesitation quickly set in, however, as they realized that the last shot would be someone outside of their four leads, but also of the billionaire character, which might not be received well in this “current climate.”
It was only after Schreier went back to Sung Jin and producers and asked if they were sure that it was the right way to end the season that the idea of Samsara came to mind. Sung Jin said it felt like the perfect symbol for a season that explored couples at different stages in their lives and relationships.
“Somehow, through our collective brains, we came up with this like minimalist version of Samsara,” Sung Jin said as Schreier noted that “Beef certainly has the latitude to be surrealist.” During reshoots, they pulled off building the recreation practically, pulling out furniture from storage to recreate the different homes of each of the couples.
The duo said that the idea was to reflect the ever-changing nature of life, while also depicting the four core couples to Season 2’s story, and how each represented a different season. In the photo below, you can see that the couples — Troy and Ava (bottom left), Park and Kim (bottom right), Ashley and Austin (top right), and Lindsay and Josh (top left) all hold their own space around the central circle, which holds both life and death.
In the end, the pair agreed that even though it became a hassle to pul off, it was the right way to close out this chapter of Beef.
All episodes of Beef Season 2 are now streaming on Netflix.
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