Review: ‘Beef Season 2, Episode 3 “The Increasing Flimsiness of Any Certainties About the Future”

Episode 3 picks up right where episode 2 left off: there is a dead body on an  operation table. Chairwoman Park’s husband, a  surgeon, revealed in their phone call that he just killed a woman due to underlying health conditions that cause him to shake and be exhausted all of the time. Chairwoman Park explains how they must cover up this accidental murder by hiding videos and spending much money. Chairwoman Park gets on her private jet to Korea to meet her husband. 

Josh and Lindsay talk about wanting to fulfill some dreams of theirs: be parents and open up their own bed and breakfast. One major problem: they don’t have enough money for either of those things. After Josh reassures Lindsay that he can get the money by embezzling, they decide to get out of town for the weekend and visit  a 20 million dollar resort owned by a couple. Lindsay reminds Josh that comparison is the thief of joy. When they arrive at the resort, they are dumbstruck. They can’t believe their eyes as everything is gorgeous. They wouldn’t even be able to afford the pens in the rooms. Josh needs more money and Lindsay needs blueprints on a different budget. They immediately check out the next day.    

Austin is still faking being a physical therapist, and Eunice is his guinea pig as Chairwoman Park is in Korea. Austin leads her through many stretches. When Austin comes back home after his first day on the job, Ashley can tell something is up. She decides to make a gift basket for Eunice and invite her out to dinner. At dinner, there is a lot of romantic tension between Austin and Eunice, which Ashley is determined to get to the bottom of. When they return home, Austin explains how guilty he feels about the fake documents and tells Ashley to get them back from Josh’s office. Ashley is confused and upset as Austin just went straight to bed mad. 

The next day, Ashley sneaks around the club and arrives in Josh’s office. When looking for the fake certificate in the drawers, she comes across letters that are addressed to Josh and contain grievances and condolences for the person under the name Marta Lucretia Diaz. Austin has the gift basket ready for Eunice and kindly asks to have his application withdrawn. Eunice of course questions this, but Austin explains how there could be other roles for him at the club other than physical therapist. He then presents her with the club’s budget, and how there is a lot of money in a category named miscellaneous. That money could go to positions. 

Back in Korea, Chairwoman Park is talking to her colleagues about Josh and money. Josh’s signature is lining up with missing money from an account in his mother’s name — miscellaneous. Chairwoman Park and her husband then sit down to eat. He blows up on her and questions everything. Does she love him? What is he to do without her? Who is stealing money from them? Chairwoman Park lets him have his moment before she tells him that she loves him.

Josh gets a notification that Chairwoman Park wants to meet with him about his contract extension ASAP! Josh tells Lindsay and they both think that Josh could get an extension, a good opportunity for him. He could keep working and earn money. Once Josh gets on the call, Chairwoman Park immediately asks who his mother is and if she’s still alive. When Josh provides this information, Chairwoman Park brings up the missing money in the shared account that his dead mother shares with him. Josh immediately confesses to everything. Chairwoman Park agrees to extend Josh’s contract, but he must follow everything that he is told moving forward. 

Back at the club, it is announced that a wellness center is opening up. Austin looks very happy, almost too happy. He revealed to Ashley that he went ahead and took that physical therapy gig, even though Ashley went through all the trouble getting his fake certificate back. It doesn’t add up, they hired him after he rescinded. When Ashley accuses Austin for having romantic feelings for Eunice, he tells her that he loves her more than anything, but is he attracted to this woman? Yes. They decide to drive home, and Ashley has a panic attack and jumps out of the car. She then runs into a nearby forest before she tumbles down a hill. Cut to black.

This episode had many twists and turns involved with our two main couples. Now, a new couple has been introduced: Chairwoman Park and her husband. They are twisted in their own way as Chairwoman Park clearly wants all of the money she can get her hands on. This makes her character interesting because in one piece of dialogue, she told Josh that she actually speaks English and Korean. She then tells him that he’s the only one who knows, just like she told Ashley in the previous episode. This proves that she knows how to play with her puppets. Josh finally gets busted for embezzlement, which worked very well because it’s still really early in the season, so this storyline isn’t going to drag on and on. Ashley is going through many emotions, and Austin being wishy-washy isn’t helping her at all; this does add a nice dynamic to the plot though. 

7.5/10