Beef Recap: Rough Air

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In my previous review, I pointed out that everyone in the show Beef is trying to get something from someone else. Even those who seem powerful, like the club chairwoman, have their own needs – her plan to bribe people only works if her staff cooperates, which is why Woosh ended up being killed. But what does Eunice want, and what does she need? Throughout the series, Eunice often feels like a tool used to move the plot forward, appearing when the story requires it. The latest episode, “The Hour of Separation,” doesn’t quite succeed because it relies heavily on a character who doesn’t seem to have much depth or inner life.

I keep focusing on Eunice’s relationship with the chairwoman because all the other connections in the show are complicated by personal feelings. Beef really emphasizes how personal desires and work responsibilities can become mixed up, and that’s central to the Troy and Ava storyline. The power dynamics within the club make us naturally see the characters’ interactions as based on what they can get from each other. Eunice is unique – she acts as a bridge between Austin and Ashley, lets us see the club from an outside perspective, and represents Korean culture within the group – but she doesn’t seem to have any personal agenda. Or, to put it another way, she appears to be genuinely selfless, motivated only by what she believes is right.

I’m completely fascinated by Eunice, but honestly, I’m left wondering what she’s really after. Is she using her connection to the chairwoman to get ahead? And what are her true feelings about Austin? I also keep expecting her to be more bothered by Ashley, but it never seems to happen. It’s a shame, because all this interesting character stuff feels a bit lost in the plot. I struggled with how to rate this episode. Even though I really wanted to see more depth with Eunice, the writers created such a brilliantly tense situation! Trapping a bunch of people together on a long flight is a perfect way to force conflict. It’s clever because as long as Austin and Ashley are just going between work and home, they can avoid dealing with their problems, but on that plane, they’re cornered!

Austin wasn’t planning on joining Ashley’s trip to Seoul. Ashley had been invited by Lindsay and Ava on a sponsored getaway, and Austin needed space to decide how to end their engagement. It was the right decision, but terrible timing – they’d already begun IVF treatment with Dr. Aliabadi. While Ashley hoped their embryo would develop, Austin, hoping to delay things, deliberately contaminated his sperm sample with hand sanitizer. Ashley was right to sense a growing distance between them; they’d grown so far apart they no longer shared the same goals. When Ashley left for the airport, their goodbyes felt awkward, requiring two hugs – the first felt like they were strangers.

Austin panics and calls his mother, who urges him to end things with Ashley before they have a baby, fearing it will lock him into the relationship forever. His mother reveals a painful truth, admitting she used to abuse him as a child and apologizing. While his childhood trauma has been mentioned before, it was always treated as a joke, making it difficult to understand its significance. Beyond Austin’s tendency to try and please everyone, there’s a serious issue: Ashley knows he faked his personal trainer certification, and she’s not a trustworthy person – his mother even claims Ashley killed his former boss’s dog! Despite appearing small and innocent, Ashley is volatile and extremely jealous.

Eunice, responsible for greeting a group of women at the airport, seeks Austin’s assistance with a problem. The chairwoman, traveling to Seoul to organize Woosh’s funeral (and seemingly taking charge of everything!), accidentally left her unlocked phone at her home in Montecito. While checking the phone, Eunice discovers evidence of a cover-up regarding a patient’s death and a bribery plot. Eunice is now unsure what to do with this information. She realizes the situation is wrong, but feels powerless to confront the chairwoman, who, as Eunice later explains to Austin, wields considerable influence on international affairs.

Eunice is deeply troubled by her discovery and feels she has to act. She turns to Austin, known for being calm and practical, and is showing him the phone when the chairwoman calls, asking for it back. Eunice assures her she’ll bring it to Korea, and Austin immediately volunteers to accompany her, wanting to support her. He consistently steps up to help women in need, whether it’s for medical reasons or a difficult situation like this. Their plan is to copy the phone’s data to a computer, then onto a USB drive that Austin will deliver to the police in Seoul. This way, Eunice can return the chairwoman’s phone without anyone suspecting she was the one who revealed the information.

Seriously! The chairwoman is a master strategist, always thinking several moves ahead. When she realizes she can’t access her phone – Eunice accidentally put it on airplane mode – she subtly suggests to her chief counsel that Eunice might be unreliable and gives him the signal to move forward with a previously discussed plan. He then calls for Josh, who has just spent the afternoon being persuaded by Troy, Billie Eilish’s brother Finneas, and Finneas himself, to start dating. After some prodding, Josh agrees to let Finneas introduce him to Jamie, a Latina bass player. However, Josh is still harboring feelings for Lindsay. He’s just finalized a contract extension and amended their divorce agreement to give her half of his future income, telling her it’s the right thing to do with genuine emotion. Their hug feels real and heartfelt. The most poignant moment is when Josh gently reminds Lindsay to pack her night guard.

Lindsay, flying to Seoul for business, signs her divorce papers while trying to focus, but Ashley relentlessly peppers her with trivial questions, like whether the airline slippers are complimentary. Ava joins the conversation, complaining to Troy over speakerphone about forgetting her lucky bracelet, and Troy’s reply paints a bleak picture of what Ashley’s future might hold. Ashley is used to having Austin completely devoted to her, always available to soothe her anxieties. She worries about what will happen when Austin starts prioritizing his own needs. Lindsay, having just read her own husband’s new contract, warns that men only make an effort when they have to, or when it’s too late. Ashley’s strategy is to make Austin feel indispensable, and she impulsively promises to call him every hour via the plane’s satellite phone since there’s no WiFi. Just then, Austin unexpectedly appears, claiming he couldn’t bear being apart from her. This is exactly what Ashley needs to convince herself that her relationship is special – and even better than others.

While on the plane, Eunice secretly copies data from the chairwoman’s phone to her laptop, becoming convinced everyone is watching her. She has to stop the transfer when the plane takes off. Afraid of being discovered, she asks Austin to finish the download on his computer, but he refuses, worried his wife, Ashley, would get suspicious. Desperate, Eunice asks him why he can’t just be honest with Ashley. Austin essentially tells Eunice to be courageous, and at that very moment, Ashley happens to pull back the curtain, revealing the situation.

Ashley prepared for a confrontation. Austin suddenly accused Chairwoman Park of murder, but Ashley was too upset to think clearly. He managed to pull her into a bathroom for a private conversation, and someone captured it on video. Ashley had worried they might become like Lindsay and Josh, a couple who’d lost their focus, but it was too late – they already had. Lindsay came near the bathroom, hoping to overhear the argument, looking like she’d been in similar situations before. Then, she heard Austin claim Ashley was responsible for Burberry’s death, and her expression changed – this wasn’t just a professional issue anymore, it was deeply personal.

Lindsay repeatedly calls Josh, but he ignores her. He’s busy talking to Troy about his date with Jamie, which was a bit strange but ultimately nice. Josh is rusty at dating, but Jamie is friendly and understanding, even after he insists Lindsay will always be his best friend. She’s especially charmed when he tells the story of how he adopted his dog, Burberry 2. Troy thinks the date went so well that Josh is ready to try dating Raya. While Josh is still trying to reach Lindsay, he starts connecting with other women on a dating app. During the kiss with Jamie, someone was seen running outside, and Josh heard noises while on the phone with Troy. Suddenly, the power goes out. Josh lights candles and takes Viagra, expecting a woman named Alexis, but when someone rings the doorbell, it isn’t her. Instead, he’s shot with a tranquilizer and pulled inside.

Everything goes completely wrong right after that. During a quick argument, Ashley grabs what she thinks is the chairwoman’s phone, but Lindsay suspects it’s a secret device Austin and Eunice are using to talk to each other in Korean. Lindsay quickly takes the phone and offers Ashley a drink. While Austin makes a desperate move, confessing his love to Eunice and trying to kiss her (but she brushes him off, focused on their immediate danger), Lindsay does something truly awful. The plane’s bathroom is shockingly filthy – seemingly dirtied on purpose by Lindsay. She dips toilet paper in waste, smears it around the rim of Ashley’s Shirley Temple glass while visibly nauseated, and then deliberately flushes the chairwoman’s phone down the toilet.

Everyone struggled to remain calm when Lindsay revealed to Austin, Eunice, and Ashley what happened to the phone and why. She angrily accused Ashley of killing her dog, then followed it with a surprisingly witty insult. When Ashley took a drink, Lindsay immediately threw up. After being picked up from the airport by a lawyer, Lindsay texted Josh with news from Eunice: the chairwoman was hiding a death at Trochos. This was terrible timing, as Josh was currently being held by the chairwoman’s people. Eunice told the lawyer she’d left the chairwoman’s phone in Montecito, but she was a terrible liar and everyone knew it. Security guards searched everyone (“I love how safe this is,” Ava said enthusiastically). Everyone exchanged looks, as if sensing this was the end of the line. They were all connected now, and facing the consequences together.

To Add Insult to Injury

Okay, so before things really hit the fan on the plane, Ashley was trying to play matchmaker and get Lindsay talking to this guy behind her. Lindsay briefly got into it, even faked an American accent for like, two seconds, but quickly got bored and went to find Ashley. That’s when she stumbled upon the awful truth about what happened to Burberry.

A particularly annoying trait of Ashley, brilliantly portrayed by Cailee Spaeny, is her incredibly specific taste in food and drinks, which highlights her immature side. She once ordered every dessert on the menu, momentarily transforming the flight attendant into a version of herself. It’s unclear whether this is Ashley imagining herself in the woman’s place, or Austin seeing a different side of Ashley. Regardless, she asks for a soft chocolate-chip cookie. With Lindsay, she requests a Shirley Temple, but only if Sprite is available—apple juice is an acceptable substitute. This fussiness echoes earlier instances with Gatorade and teacups. Ashley’s pickiness seems to stem from her parents’ absence; perhaps having these small requests met comforts her and fulfills a need for care.

The funniest part of the episode was Ava, completely out of it on Xanax, dramatically revealing her fear of dying alone mid-flight – she even had a face mask, chin straps, and hair rollers on! At the same time, Troy was giving Josh a strange lesson on relationships while also making an awkward comment about a flight attendant. These moments showed that Troy and Ava aren’t the perfect couple everyone thinks they are – they’re just as lost and confused as the other couples.

I’m really looking forward to seeing how the bribery plot resolves in the finale. I also suspect the truth about Austin’s professional license will be revealed, and his conflict with Ashley will somehow connect back to Josh and Lindsay, possibly putting them in danger. Considering the show’s overall themes, I doubt the chairwoman will face consequences – it seems likely the people who are already struggling will end up taking the blame. I just hope everyone survives! I’m secretly hoping Josh and Lindsay will reconcile, even though they’re a bad match. Maybe going through all of this will help them learn something?

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2026-04-17 02:56