Spoilers are ahead from Beef season 2 episode 2!
The first episode of Beef season 2 saw Ashley and Austin witness their boss and his wife get into what looked to be a heated physical altercation. Josh and Lindsay appeared to have the upper hand at first, with Josh intimidating Ashley and warning her against talking about what they saw.
However, the power dynamic might end up shifting based on how the first episode wrapped up. At the very end of the episode, Ashley and Austin unexpectedly arrive at Josh and Lindsay's doorstep. Remember, they do have video footage of the fight. Could they possibly be planning to use it as leverage? Let's move on to episode 2 of Beef season 2 to find out!
Ashley and Austin blackmail Josh and Lindsay
The second episode picks up right where the first episode left off. Josh and Lindsay invite Ashley and Austin into their home, and the young couple tries to blackmail them into giving Ashley a promotion at the country club. While their first attempt doesn't go well, Ashley switches gears and pulls out the big guns by showing Josh and Lindsay the video footage of their fight on her phone. Josh then has no choice but to listen to their demands.
After the opening credits wrap up, we're then shown Ashley and Austin driving back home. During this scene, we learn that Josh agreed to promote Ashley to a new position at the country club, which pays 45k a year and includes health insurance. She's also given ten days of paid vacation. While Ashley is excited about everything, Austin tells her they should've asked for more. He tells her that they should've asked for something for him. Ashley then asks Austin if they should go back, but he basically tells her to drop it.
Meanwhile, Josh and Lindsay can't believe they've just been blackmailed. Josh believes that everything will be okay once he promotes Ashley, but Lindsay tells him that the young couple will continue to hold the video over their heads. She then suggests to Josh that he quit the country club. That way, they can remove themselves from the situation entirely and also have a fresh start. However, Josh reassures her that they still have control of the situation.
The next morning, Ashley arrives at the country club happier than ever. She immediately gets started on her new job duties and then heads to Josh's office because some of the paperwork needs to be signed. However, Josh tells her that the paperwork that she found is old. Ashley tries to speak again, but Josh cuts her off. He tells her that she doesn't need to do anything because she already won. All he wants is to make sure she deleted the video.
While Ashley does delete the video in front of him, Josh knows that she probably backed it up on another device or saved it somewhere else. He even mentions this to her, and she doesn't deny it. The conversation ultimately ends with Josh telling Ashley that he'll get an orientation set up for her. Once Ashley leaves his office, Josh slams his head on his desk. Now, he believes Lindsay when she said that the situation isn’t something they can simply smooth over or control with promotions and promises. Since it benefits them, Ashley and Austin will continue to hold onto the leverage they have.
Later on, Lindsay learns from Ava and a couple of other club members that Woosh doesn't actually have a crush on her. Apparently, he sends flirty texts to all the female club members and/or staff to reel them in before trying to sell them skincare. Although Lindsay plays it off as if she's not affected in front of the other women, she walks away with a frown on her face.
Meanwhile, Josh receives a phone call from his sister (Sara) while in his office at the country club. During this scene, we learn that Josh had been sending Sara money to help pay for their late mother's old hospital bills and funeral costs. Sara then tells Josh that some of his mail was sent to their mom's house. It's mail from a debt collector.
Josh quickly comes up with a lie, telling her that he’s already cleared the debt, but Sara immediately sees through it. She tells him that she knows about the joint account he shared with their mom before she passed, along with the overdraft charges on it. Cornered, Josh then abruptly ends the call and rushes her off the phone.
Back at Lindsay and Josh's house, Lindsay decides to spend time with their dog (Burberry) outside while scrolling on her phone. She unblocks her ex-boyfriend, Desmond, and responds to his last text message. Now that she knows Woosh wasn't actually trying to flirt with her, she's decided to shift her attention elsewhere. Later on, she finally meets with Woosh for her free tennis lesson.
During this scene, Lindsay learns from Woosh that there's a skin clinic in South Korea that offers immediate results. It's called Trochos. However, it's really expensive. Lindsay tries to get a significant discount from Woosh, but he doesn't budge. This is when Lindsay blackmails him. She essentially pressures Woosh into giving her what she wants by threatening to report him to Chairwoman Park for alleged misconduct with female club members and staff.
Ashley lies to Chairwoman Park about Austin being a physical therapist
Elsewhere at the country club, Josh hangs out with a few celebrity club members. He learns from Troy that Chairwoman Park has been interviewing candidates for his general manager position. Josh even plays a card game with the celebrity members, but loses and ends up owing Michael Phelps money. To pay off his debt, he then sells some of the pricey items in his shed.
Meanwhile, Ashley shows Chairwoman Park and Eunice around the country club's gym. Chairwoman Park consistently finds issues with the various pieces of gym equipment around the room. Ashley then speaks up and tells her that if she ever needs help with the machines, her boyfriend can help her out since he's a trainer there. However, Chairwoman Park brushes her off at first until she mentions that her boyfriend is half-Korean. This catches her attention.
Chairwoman Park then shares that her husband is in need of a physical therapist, and Ashley quickly lies and tells her that her boyfriend is a physical therapist as well. This thrills Chairwoman Park, and Eunice then tells Ashley they'd like to set up a session with her boyfriend to see if he's a good fit.
Later that night, Ashley returns home to inform Austin that he's up for a full-time position at the country club's gym. However, she tells him that he has to be a licensed PT. Austin immediately responds by saying that there's no way he'd be able to get his license that quickly, but Ashley has a plan.
Elsewhere at Lindsay and Josh's house, Lindsay and Woosh speak with Dr. Kim at the Trochos office in Seoul via a FaceTime call. Dr. Kim gives Lindsay all his recommendations and shares what he'd do for her skin when she comes to his office before hanging up. During this scene, we also learn that Dr. Kim is Chairwoman Park's husband.
The next morning, Josh sits in his office chair at Monte Vista Point. He calls up the bank to tell them to change the security questions for the joint account he shares with his late mother. His mother's name was Marta Lucretia Diaz. It looks like he doesn't want Sara to have access to the account anymore. While talking on the phone, he signs off on an expense approval form. This is what a GM's job entails, but what's weird about this particular expense approval form is that the person listed as being paid for their "misc services" at the country club is his mother.
That doesn't make sense because Marta is dead. It looks like Josh is up to some illegal financial scheme. A nervous Ashley then walks into the office and hands over a fraudulent physical therapist license for Austin. Josh briefly looks it over and stores it. Ashley is then able to breathe a sigh of relief. Before she can leave his office, Josh gives Ashley a bunch of invoices to mail off. One of them is the one with Marta's name on it.
Later, Josh informs Lindsay of his plan to scam the country club. Basically, his plan is to skim thousands of dollars from the club by funneling payments through fake “miscellaneous services” tied to his mother’s name. This will allow him to quietly pocket the money without raising immediate suspicion. He tells Lindsay that with the money they get, they'll finally be able to open the bed-and-breakfast they've been trying to launch for years. They then sleep together.
Elsewhere at Chairwoman Park's house, Austin arrives for his physical therapy session with the country club owner. However, he ends up having the session with Eunice instead because Chairwoman Park is busy on the phone with Dr. Kim. The second episode ultimately comes to a close with Chairwoman Park learning from her husband that he just accidentally killed one of his patients in surgery. Dun dun duuun!
Beef season 2 can be streamed on Netflix right now.
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