Beef S2 REALLY Went There with That Dog Twist
Beef made a triumphant comeback recently, with the second season of the anthology series dropping on Netflix. This time around, the story surrounds two warring couples navigating the politics of a Californian country club with blackmail, embezzlement, deceit, and various other nefarious schemes.
The season has a stacked cast, including Charles Melton, Oscar Isaac, and Carey Mulligan, among others. However, the breakout star of the show is indisputably Jones, a chocolate dachshund who even had her own red carpet moment at the Beef Season 2 premiere, complete with a swanky golden chain. In the show, Jones plays Burberry, the adorable four-legged, sweater-wearing companion of one of the central dysfunctional couples: Josh (Isaac) and Lindsay (Mulligan).
Within two seconds of him being on-screen, I was personally obsessed — but a particular plot twist concerning the pooch had me taken aback. So, if you haven’t seen Season 2 yet, be warned — there are spoilers ahead.
What Happens To Burberry the Dog in Beef S2?
After suffering a health crisis, Ashley (Cailee Spaeny), a former cart girl who blackmails Josh into giving her a better job, blames the country club manager for what transpired. This leads to her going to Josh and Lindsay’s home to exact her revenge. While I’ll spare you the details (trust me, you’ll thank me for this), she ends up making the ultimately fatal error of leaving the door open so Burberry can run out.
In the days that follow, a devastated Lindsay does everything she can to bring the dog home, but is horrified to find him being mangled by a coyote. While Lindsay ultimately kills the coyote, a visibly bloodied Burberry’s injuries end up being too severe, and he ends up dying at the vet's. It’s a sudden and surprisingly brutal end to the beloved pooch.
Why Did the Beef Writers Do This?
When it comes to killing off animals, especially those we view as pets, there is a simple rule to follow in the film and TV world: don’t.
Sure, there isn’t exactly a blanket ban on fictional animal deaths, and we’ve seen them happen before, but we’ve also seen just how emotional audiences can get over them. Arguably, you’ll find plenty of people who don’t flinch at bloody torture scenes in horror films, but will cry like a baby at the end of Marley & Me, where, spoiler alert, it ends up being just Me.
For some people, this upset can help make the film feel even more emotionally resonant. But for others, this upset turns into outrage, and they react by boycotting said film or TV show altogether. A writer from I Am Legend recalled how, for example, people straight up walked out of cinema screenings of the film in droves after Will Smith’s dog met their demise.
Websites like DoesTheDogDie.com that warn viewers of potential animal deaths in movies and TV shows further add to this pressure, as they mobilise more people than ever to choose to avoid parting with their money for a cinema ticket or Netflix subscription first.
So, arguably, studios are often left weighing up whether killing off a beloved on-screen pet is really worth it because, in practice, this means potentially alienating a section of potential viewers. By deciding to kill off Burberry — especially in such a violent, and arguably unnecessary way — Beef’s writers are taking a huge risk. The question is, does it pay off?
All in all, while Burberry's death is difficult to watch, that's the whole point. It’s neither a gimmick nor an attempt at shock value — it is just designed to show how cruel and unforgiving a world governed by late-stage capitalism can be. Figuratively, countless characters in the show are chewed up and spat out by the system. Burberry is just a physical manifestation of this.
I hate to say it, but in the most literal sense, his death really demonstrates a dog-eat-dog world.
