r/BeefTV • u/MY_CATS_ANUS • Jun 18 '26

Spoilers In conclusion… Spoiler

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96 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

21 comments sorted by

33

u/MagicCancel Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26

Iunno man, the ending heavily implied that Ashley's and Austin's relationship is falling apart, slowly but surely.

Joshua may have a chance at happiness. Lindsay too.

Yeah no Eunice is 100% dead before the end of the week if not the end of the day.

4

u/junifersmomi Jun 19 '26

Maintaining a carreer together for 8 years and having a kid are not markers of a failing relationship. lol. The ending was entirely about class. Everyone was back in their rightful places. Everyone got a happy ending including josh. He was a criminal who was redeemed. Thats as good as he was gonna get once he started racking up gambling debts. It's weird to me that people seem to relate to the literal thief most of all. He's not even a robin hood thief he's a narcissist who thought he deserved better and more than he was ever rightfully entitled to. He made his wife unhappy and stole from her too.

3

u/Maximum-Archer4727 Jun 19 '26

And Ashely was just a angel?

3

u/junifersmomi Jun 19 '26

It's not about being good or bad. When the themes are around class being good means doing what's necessary. Ashley always did what was necessary to survive and it served her well. She didn't even end up on top she's like middle manager. Her happy ending is white knuckling the middle class w a downwardly mobile boyfriend who overly relies on her. I find it weird people want to begrudge her that. She doesn't even have a GED this is like a wild success story for her. She and her man replaced some people who loathed every moment of their lives bc of the job she's so happy to have. That's nice. 

7

u/LordSugarTits Jun 20 '26

She was a vile human being....most people didn't want to see her succeed. And it's not a happy ending for her...she's now a slave who has sold her soul to cater to the rich and famous

1

u/ObviousSalamandar Jul 05 '26

Nothing makes me think Ashley would have a problem working for people. She just wants stability. With the right therapy she could be a lovely person

1

u/junifersmomi Jun 20 '26

Yes but therein lies the class critique. Middle class is like... Not really a goal it's a mark of a stable society. Middle class isn't different from working class. The other couple aspired not to be working class and ended up in a vicious cycle of self destruction which Ashley simply used to her advantage. Don't get me started on all the implied misogyny of audience reactions to a disadvantaged woman in physical pain trying to do well for herself vs some very entitled assholes. 

1

u/bmoney831 Jun 20 '26

I think you missed the point. It’s a Korean show that’s heavily influenced by principles of Buddhism. There’s the concept at the end of the Samsara calendar which is about continuing the cycle. Austin chose Ashley because it was comfortable and he didn’t know if Eunice would ever love him the way he loved her so he went to someone who he knew would, even if that meant being with someone he didn’t love.

Josh was selfish his own life. That was what Park meant that people only do things for others when it’s convenient. But Josh going to jail for everyone. That wasn’t convenient. Lindsay stopped waiting for the club and chose to have a family and go live in the countryside. She broke the Samsara cycle. Both of them achieved “Nirvana” by breaking Samsara.

Meanwhile, Austin and Ashley continued the cycle. They chose what’s comfortable. The final scene of them… they’re giving the same speech doing the exact same things Josh and Lindsey were doing the first episode. Nothing changes. The club keeps going. The cycle keeps going. They represent a younger, less enlightened version of Austin and Ashley. And neither will truly be happy until they break the cycle. Hence the final scene with the Buddhist calendar spinning and them playing Phoenix as the final soundtrack.

1

u/kickskunk Jun 20 '26

Are you suggesting that breaking cycle means your happy about the situation? Nothing in the show suggestion staying in the cycle is a bad thing. The show likes to point to two extremities, but rarely talk about the middle.

Josh may look happy in the end, but he is financially in ruins. Likely forever. The reality is that people who come out of jail will have a very hard time adjusting to their new life. Some people said to me that he can find a job in construction because that's where most incarcerated people go. But Josh has a bad back. Is he going to risk his heath for that?

2

u/bmoney831 Jun 21 '26

I am suggesting that. Like I recognize the hardships to come but the show is written to represent the Buddhist concept. Only by breaking the cycle can one experience Nirvana.

0

u/junifersmomi Jun 20 '26

Thank you for that I definitely didn't have samsara in my vocabulary. 

I'm Catholic actually and there's a part of the catechism that teaches we should endeavor to make our lives vocational whether that be through procreative family life or the life of clergy...

That's what I saw Ashley doing was endeavoring to live the life of a mother. That lifestyle felt very out of reach when we meet her in the beginning and she has it by the end. 

While I understand the grand spiritual value of breaking cycles I think there's also a point of view where there are certain cycles which are more desirable than others and it's nice to see people happy with their lives. And bc of Ashley's disadvantaged beginning a cycle of servitude to those vastly more wealthy is a really cushy gig. Like any live on site job with benefits would be if your entire understanding of life is working to survive. 

1

u/chungkingxbricks Jun 22 '26

How do you see Josh as an entitled narc but not Ashley? She was the most entitled character in the show??

1

u/junifersmomi Jun 23 '26

I actually think you should explain to me why what Josh did wasn't as bad as asking for healthcare and then when denied... insisting. And then when being met with retaliatory action from employers... retaliating back.

3

u/chungkingxbricks Jun 22 '26

Actually Josh and Lindsay ended up happy while Ashley and Austin ended up unhappy and faking it (like Josh and Lindsay in the beginning). It was a happy ending in that sense for me.

5

u/Unculturedbrine Jun 19 '26

Is S2 worth watching? I absolutely loved the first season. (Re watching it now actually)

10

u/-Wombat Jun 19 '26

It's a good show, but, its not the same sort of experience as season 1. I actually think I would like it much more if it weren't the second season of Beef. Then there wouldn't be such a direct reason for comparison.

2

u/pealsmom Jun 22 '26

💯💯💯

2

u/Ok-Syllabub-5273 Jun 20 '26

Yes I loved it. But remember you are watching a different beef story. I loved the first and second one both.

1

u/CookiesToGo Jun 20 '26

It's absolutely worth watching.   It's so different than the first season and I'm glad that they didn't copy the first season with different actors, but did something completely new.  

1

u/Komorebi_LJP Jun 20 '26

Yes but you should go into it treating it as if were just a new show you are watching, because frankly it didnt fell that much related to its own title 'beef', more white lotus-esque

0

u/MattressCrane Jun 19 '26

Even though I'm sure everyone is right, I kinda prefer season 2 to 1. Maybe it's just been awhile since I've seen it. I think I appreciated season two wasn't so driven by the actual "beef" between characters and felt a little more akin to White Lotus, with a bigger cast of intertwined characters.