Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from Beef
By the time Beef – a series created by Lee Sung Jin and starring Ali Wong and Steven Yeun ends, the titular beef has ended. But the road to the finale is a wild, exhilarating ride. It all starts when Amy (Wong) and Danny (Yeun) have a road rage incident that goes viral. After that, the two make it their life’s purpose to exact revenge. They go to insane lengths that include (but are not limited to) cheating, arson, a hostage situation and eventually, Danny winding up in the hospital. It’s a masterclass in escalation and it’s no wonder the show is having a moment on streaming with many calling it one of the best titles of the year.
In case you haven’t quite wrapped your head around the mind-boggling ending, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s unpack the final episodes of Beef to understand what really went down.
What happened at the end of Beef?
The beef starts small but a lot has happened by the time we get to the final showdown between Danny and Amy. The former has lost the house he built for his parents to a fire caused due to faulty wiring and the latter’s husband George (Joseph Lee) has left with their daughter June. Danny goes to Amy’s home to plant a glove and frame her for the house fire. When George tries to stop him at gunpoint, Danny knocks him unconscious and leaves only to discover that June and the family’s pet dog are in his car’s backseat. He panics and drives her to the motel assuming George is dead. That’s when Danny and Paul’s (Young Mazino) cousin Isaac (David Choe) who is fresh out of jail barges in and demands they return the money they owe. Isaac decides to use June to get Amy to pay him a ransom of $500,000 dollars.
Amy, who is at Jordan Fosters’ (Maria Bello) luxurious home when she gets the call, tells Isaac he can come there and steal an artifact or two worth millions. Isaac and his men with Danny, Paul and June in tow, arrive at Jordan’s home. Isaac barges in and holds Amy, Jordan and Naomi at gunpoint. Just then, the FBI gets there all guns blazing, Danny and Paul are locked out of the house during the firing and Paul makes an escape. However, a gunshot sound has Danny (and the viewers) believing that he is dead. Meanwhile, Amy is told by the FBI that her daughter is safe and has left with her husband. Having lost everything, both Danny and Amy end up back in their cars and go on another rage-filled chase.
Amy and Danny find themselves injured as they drive off a cliff and the car crashes in the desert. They switch between fighting over a gun to helping each other. They also end up eating some poisonous “elderberries” and finally have a breakthrough. In a sequence where they seem to be hallucinating, the two open up and show their vulnerable sides. It’s a culmination of their long-drawn feud and a realization that all they needed to do was communicate. The two expect to be dead after their chat. However, they do wake up the next morning and are almost out of the desert. In fact, they also get phone reception and Danny finds out that Paul has survived. The two get to a tunnel with each other’s support. This is where George, who has been looking for Amy sees them and assumes that Danny has hurt her. Without hesitating, he shoots him. The screen turns black for a very long time.
In the final moments of Beef see Danny on a hospital bed in critical condition after the gunshot. Amy is by his side as she climbs into bed and curls up beside him. Just before the credits roll, we see Danny move his arm and put it around Amy. The end!
What does the ending mean?
After all that escalation, Beef gets a fitting conclusion. Both characters have shared an honest moment in which they fully understand each other. While the end seems final and it ties up all the ends neatly, there is room for interpretation because we don’t see Danny die. The fact that we see Danny’s arm moving means there is hope. It is also safe to assume that the two have fallen in love. Their passionate hatred could’ve easily made way for affection. Neither of these is confirmed but it’s nice to think of a resolution where Danny and Amy’s catharsis has led to something beautiful even if it means they just bury the hatchet and move on.
An alternative is that the beef isn’t quite over. Danny could wake up and the two could go right back to bickering and fighting. This is the kind of ending that would open up endless possibilities for a Season 2. It would also be very on-theme for a series that’s about a relentless rivalry. In an interview with a leading news portal, creator Sung Jin revealed, “We pitched this as a limited anthology when we sold the show, so there’s a little bit of a close-ended-ness to the story,” he also said, “But you know, if the fans demanded, I certainly wouldn’t mind exploring Danny and Amy more either because I’m very curious what they do after the hospital.”
Either way, the true takeaway from the ending of Beef is Danny and Amy being able to uncap their bottled-up emotions. The show takes on a lot of heavy themes including Asian-American angst. Both characters have suppressed their rage against society for years. They are from different classes but have a lot in common when you take into account the pressure they’ve been put under by their families and as Asians in a white world. Danny struggles with his career and is miserable in his pursuit of getting his parents to the U.S. and keeping his younger brother Paul around. Amy feels the need to endlessly work and chase perfection or her husband, whose love feels conditional, won’t love her. By expressing themselves, the two felt seen and the simple act rode them of their anger.
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