Beef ending explained: The moment that changed everything

The series begins with a simple road rage incident between two strangers, Amy (Ali Wong) and Danny (Steven Yeun).

However, their argument soon spirals into a long-running feud that threatens to upend both their lives, sending them into a pit of despair and self-destruction.

Beef leads up to a dramatic conclusion, which has likely left many viewers scratching their heads.

If that's you, then read on for everything you need to know about the ending of Beef on Netflix, including what happens to Isaac and whether Amy and Danny get together.

Beef ending explained

After Danny's brother Paul informed Amy's husband George of her infidelity, fuelled by his own anger towards her, George walked out of their family home with their daughter June in tow. He later asked for a divorce following Amy's warts-and-all recounting of the whole sorry saga, including the road rage incident.

And Danny's life was continuing to fall apart after the house he had painstakingly built for his parents had burned to the ground. They had flown over to America to enjoy their son's handiwork, but instead the couple were met with smoke and rubble.

Paul suspected Amy was responsible, retaliating after the breakdown of her marriage, while Danny believed church goer Edwin, who had serious problems of his own, could be to blame. But it later emerged that Danny was responsible, albeit unknowingly, after wiring the house incorrectly.

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Determined to save face, Danny headed over to Amy and George's home to frame his arch-nemesis for arson, but as is tradition his plan went horribly wrong when he accidentally knocked George out. As he fled the scene, with police sirens wailing in the background, matters were complicated further when it emerged that June had crept into the back of his truck.

Danny took her back to his apartment and was planning to have Amy pick her up while he laid low, but that plan was scuppered. His cousin Isaac, who had just been released from prison after Danny had dobbed him in, busted in with his associates Michael and Bobby, demanding the money which Danny had spent building his parents' house.

Amy, who was at Jordan's lavish hillside mansion at the time, had been notified of her child's "abduction" and contacted the detective who had been investigating the road rage incident. But while reporting her missing daughter, she received a call from Isaac, who demanded a vast sum of money. If the conditions weren't met, he threatened to kill June.

What happens to Isaac in Beef?

Unable to deliver the cash he wanted in such a short space of time, Amy suggested Isaac rob Jordan, particularly her sacred headdresses. But Isaac's scheme crashed and burned in spectacular style. He was arrested alongside Bobby, while Michael was shot dead by the authorities.

Fortunately, Paul survived, although Danny was in the dark about that for quite some time, but Jordan wasn't so lucky. The billionaire was crushed to death by the door of her panic room after she had made a dash for it with her partner Naomi – a form of karma, some might say.

What happens to Amy and Danny in Beef?

Unbeknownst to Amy, George had collected June and taken her home, and he had also won custody of their daughter, with Amy prohibited from contacting either of them. Danny, who had also managed to escape unharmed, just happened to be driving by when Amy received the crushing news and once again, they were caught up in another road rage incident, except this time she was chasing him.

But unlike their first altercation, which they escaped from physically unscathed, this time they very nearly died when they careered off the road. On surviving their latest ordeal, the pair continued to spar with one another, verbally and physically, but were eventually incapacitated by poisonous berries.

But their state of delirium was something of a blessing for them both, providing the optimum conditions for their emotional walls to come down, in turn allowing them to bare their deepest, darkest fears and anxieties to one another, something they'd never been able to do, even with their loved ones.

It was a painful, confronting experience but when the sun rose the next morning, a colossal weight had been lifted – even with the carnage awaiting both of them on their return home.

Together, they hobbled back to civilisation and almost made it when George suddenly appeared, gun in hand.

"Get your hands off her," he screamed, before shooting Danny.

In the final moments of Beef, we see him on life support, with Amy, of all people, by his side. She hesitates before climbing onto his bed and lying beside him, holding onto him for dear life, silently willing Danny to pull through. It's an exceptionally tender, well-earned moment, and a million miles from their myriad moments of madness.

There's also a flashback to their first encounter in the Forsters' car park. When it unfolds in real time, we see Danny's face, but all we see of Amy is her middle finger. But as her mind drifts back to that pivotal moment, we get a close-up of Amy and the incident is cast in a new light, feeding into what we now know about her.

Before her expression hardens and she chooses to unleash her rage on Danny, the mask slips and we see a woman who has the weight of the world bearing down on her. She's defeated, disconnected and deeply unhappy, and she doesn't know how to break the cycle, so she leans into it, full-throttle.

Like Danny, her anger is borne out of living in constant fear, unable to quell the storm raging within. But their collective breakthrough in the finale signals brighter days ahead – if Danny pulls through, that is.

Sure, the road is long, and there's a hell of a mess to mop up first, but the thousand mile journey begins with the first step.

Do Danny and Amy get together in Beef?

The final scene of Beef leaves a lot for its audience to interpret, including whether there’s any hint of romance between Danny and Amy.

“Yeah, I knew that some would [see that] for sure,” the creator told ELLE about whether he thought viewers would see the closing shot - in which half-conscious Danny seemingly moves his arm to embrace Amy - as romantic.

He continued: “I think any time two people have that deep of a connection, it’s easy to extrapolate that. But I honestly don’t know. I’m very curious what would happen to Danny and Amy once they leave that room. I have my own feelings on the romantic side of their relationship, but I certainly welcome all interpretations.”

However, Joseph Lee, who plays George, has said he saw the closing shot as more spiritual in nature.

"It really is a reconciliation—and more so a recognition," he told Esquire.

"They both see themselves in each other, and so there's these moments of genuine embracing of who they are with all of their flaws. There's a real vulnerability and transparency for them to drop all of their guards and egos, just to be able to be with each other."

Beef is available to stream on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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