Review: ‘Beef Season 2, Episode 2 “A New Starting Point for Further Desires”

Austin and Ashley are at Josh and Lindsay’s home with their baked goods. They get straight to the point and don’t sugarcoat anything: Ashley wants to get promoted to a job that can provide her health insurance. Josh thinks that they’re bluffing and says it’s their word against theirs. However, when Ashley pulls up the video, Josh immediately offers her a new position. On their car ride home, Austin thinks about other things that they could have done, could they have gotten him a better job? Ashley encourages him not to think like that as she believes that they are good people. They may have blackmailed their boss, but Ashley only wanted health insurance, she had no desire to go any further. As Josh has a little meltdown, Lindsay brings up how he can easily just quit, then the video would be no use to Austin and Ashley. Josh brushes that idea off and doesn’t give it any thought.

Ashley goes into her new office and is immediately overwhelmed. There wasn’t an orientation of any sort, and she doesn’t even have a high school degree. She finds outdated files related  to the club and brings them to Josh. He tries to let her know that she doesn’t need to put up an act for him as long as she just deletes the video. While she agrees and ends up deleting it, she lets him know that she wants to do a good job as she genuinely cares about work. Josh looks through the files and all of the work is incorrect, but he doesn’t tell her. Instead, he agrees to let her go through an orientation. 

Lindsay has lunch  with some women from the club and they bring up the infamous tennis coach who seemingly flirts with all of them. While Lindsay believes that he has a little crush on her, the women quickly correct her saying  he acts that way with all women. Later, during a tennis lesson, Lindsay tells the coach  how she wants to experience the Korean skincare all of her colleagues are talking about. Once she learns how expensive it is, she blackmails the coach into giving her a huge discount or else she will tell the club owner  how uncomfortable he makes the female members feel. They get straight to her consultation. Josh is all over the place having meltdowns. He gets a call from his long-distance sister, Sara, regarding their deceased mother. Josh has been sending money he doesn’t have to an account he shares with his mom, and Sara’s been pocketing it fraudulently.  Later, he is at a bar playing  a card game with Benny Blanco and Michael Phelps; he owes Michael huge amounts of money. He ends up having to sell some of his sacred music records and instruments to pay Mr. Phelps. 

While working and taking notes with  the club owner, Ashley mentions that her fiancé could also benefit from a new job and that he’s very talented. The owner starts speaking in English to Ashley instead of normally speaking Korean, and it’s all their little secret. When it’s revealed that the owner wants a physical therapist, Ashley lies and says that Austin is one. He’s hired. Back at their apartment, Ashley lies again and tells Austin that it was his work ethic that got him the job, even though he isn’t certified. Ashley hands fake documents about Austin’s certifications for Josh to look over. Josh doesn’t pay them any mind. 

Lindsay finds a very intoxicated Josh listening to music. In a conversation about art and assets, he confides in her that he signs the outgoing payments, and because Ashley isn’t taking the time to read and check them, she has no clue that Josh is scamming the club out of money. This is how they’ll get back on track. Lindsay seals it with a kiss. 

Austin waits  for the owner as her assistant fetches her outside. She’s on the phone with her husband who is operating on a patient. The episode ends with a dead body on an operation table. 

This episode was scandalous to say the least. All the characters are telling lies one after the other and hiding secrets. Josh is clearly in a financial struggle, but is able to hide it well by putting on a mask for everyone. The only person who can see right through him is Lindsay. Mulligan gives a good performance.  Her character’s delivery of manipulation and blackmail makes a good subplot. Lindsay is a character that knows what she’s doing which makes her very interesting. Ashley is also a very good character, knowing exactly what to say to the right person. This builds a level of trust that only she can manage. The ending worked well as a cliffhanger learning  that the owner’s husband just murdered a patient! This could affect the club negatively. Something Austin could possibly use. Solid starting point.  

7/10