The pilot for ‘Killing It’ felt like a beginning of a conventional comedy show. Two people bump into each other due to a chance encounter, which results in a friendship. Still, Craig Robinson and Claudia O’Doherty made it seem like an unmissable affair, solely due to the fusion of their distinct comedic styles. Over the course of its first season, the show turned out to be much more. Besides their brilliant comedic chemistry, the season became memorable because of its critique of class structure and capitalism. Craig was an aspirant yet down-on-luck businessman, and Jillian was a down-on-luck Uber driver, among other things. So, there was enough to form its Eat the Rich-themed narrative. However, it went further to potently critique the lack of healthcare, wealth disparity, and the dog-eat-dog nature of the business world. Now, Season 2 of Killing It takes it a step further to show Craig making his dreams come true. But his journey is not blemish-free as aspirational narratives would make us believe.
*Spoilers ahead*
Killing It (Season 2) Recap:
What happens in Killing It Season 2?
Episode 1: What You Sow
Killing It Season 2 shows Craig (Craig Robinson) finally fulfilling his financial dreams and reaching the top of the pyramid. While the PR folks are mesmerised by his enormous wealth, he decides to reflect on the journey that led him to his place. Earlier, at the end of season 1, he realises that Camille’s (Stephanie Nogueras) plan to move to Oakland because of a job offer. So, he suddenly plans to find a reptile for the state-wide contest. One thing leads to another and Brock helps him with a huge capital. Eventually, in 2017, Craig decides to start a business of saw palmetto berries in a swampland. He partners with Jillian (Claudia O’Doherty) and gets a purchase commitment deal with Green Bounty Organics, who would use palmetto extract. Craig calls it Henry’s farm, after his father.
Months later, Craig keeps trying to get in touch with his brother, Isaiah (Rell Battle). Jillian is over the moon about her Kia, even if the model is relatively older. While they prepare their farm’s first shipment of saw palmetto berries, they face a number of challenges. Their new employee Shayla (Melanie Field) demands him to get their Port-A-Potties emptied every week. Natalie Ray Boone (Katie Kershaw), a local, intimidates Craig to tag along to their bar. Over there, he sees her brother, Ray-Nathan (Joe Massingill) injure a man. Their mother, Jackie (Dot-Marie Jones) asks him to use his business to launder their unsold saw palmetto berries. According to a regulation, one needs to have a farm to sell these berries. So, Jackie sees Henry’s farm as a way to sell them off.
Craig mentions how hard he worked to reach where he is. Jackie feels sympathy for him and lets him go. He returns to find his daughter, Vanessa (Jet Miller) after months of distance. Later, Camille arrives and surprises him. Turns out, she decided to be a surrogate mother for extra money. She didn’t think she could count on Craig to help with Nessa’s future expenses. While it breaks his heart, problems keep piling up in his life. Johnny (Beck Bennett), a local officer arrives and shuts down their farm. He says that The Florida Department of Agriculture spotted these invasive species and put the farm in quarantine.
Jonny keeps returning to the farm week after week but shares no satisfactory resolution. About a month later, he finally gives a report to declare that the land is devoid of any danger. But he does not lift the quarantine since all the other farms in their area also need to be checked. With hardly any time left to fulfil their supply commitment, Craig seeks help to extend the deadline but fails to do so. So, he decides to sneak the berries out through a shit-removal tank. But Shayla arrives at the checkpoint and ends up disclosing their secret plan. As a punishment, Craig and Jillian need to burn all the berries. With no other solution in sight, the pair decides to join hands with the Boone family to supply the berries.
Episode 2: Mallory
The Boones come to Henry’s farm and ask Craig to provide health benefits for all their team members, besides the pre-existing conditions. She understands that Craig and Jillian are helpless and decides to use it against them. Due to budget restraints, Craig plans to fire Shayla. Jillian does not accept that decision. To save Shayla’s job, she even agrees to sell her beloved Kia, which she named – Mallory. She decides to go back to using the billboard car instead of ruining Shayla’s life. Jillian empathises with this woman because she knows what it’s like to work in the gig economy.
On the other hand, Craig accepts that he needs to make some difficult decisions while being a boss. While they argue about it, Jillian’s car gets stolen. The police officer provides no help. But she still needs the car to claim its insurance. So, she manages to look at the security footage from the car wash and learns that Donnie (Kale Clauson) stole her car. She meets him and confronts him in person. Since he refuses to cooperate, she beats the shit out of him and his men. Turns out, he sold the car to a used car place. Their employee does everything apart from actually helping her find the car. Eventually, Jillian takes a Kia from their shop for a test drive. She scares their employee to death and makes him return the car to her. She accepts desperately wanting that car i.e., better things even if it makes her seem selfish. After this, she and Craig finally get their first check. On the other hand, Isaiah finally answers Craig’s numerous texts. It makes him feel that he isn’t a terrible person.
Episode 3: It Follows
The third episode follows Isiah’s story between the time he ghosted Craig. To protect himself from Rodney Lamonca (Tim Heidecker), he changes his identity. He has a new life as Todd and a fake job as a doctor. He is also in a relationship with Maya (Fatimah Taliah), who does not know that he is lying. She thinks they are a picture-perfect couple. Back home, he sees Dame (Martin Bats Bradford) spending exorbitant amounts on stupid things. So, he plans to return his recent purchase to his dealer – Bugs (Kyle Mooney). Bugs refuses to refund his money but suggests helping in another way. Since Todd does not have a medical background, Bugs offers Isaiah another identity – Mr. Marty Symkowitz.
Because of this, Isaiah manages to get a job to earn money. But Maya keeps feeling that there is a wall between them. He talks about his okay relationship with his brother and about his dad’s death. After the dinner, a man follows him. This man assumes Isaiah is Marty and expects him to pay back Marty’s debt. Isaiah soon realises that Marty is severely debt-ridden. He confronts Bugs for selling such a problematic identity. Isaiah ignores these debt collectors and believes it will solve his issues. But they soon reveal his fraud to Maya. Since he lied to her for so long, she leaves him. Finally, he returns to Rodney asking for help. That’s when he called Craig and recorded their conversation. Rodney uses it to blackmail Craig and get Henry’s farm in his name.
Episode 4: Help Me Pay My Bills
In exchange for the farm, Rodney decides to pay nothing to Craig and Jillian. But, Isaiah gets Craig and Jillian on a payroll. Craig decides to negotiate the salary with Rodney but ends up losing even the job. Later, he goes to the baby shower party of the couple, who got Camille to be their surrogate. Blythe (Ayden Mayeri) and Tate (Tommy Dewey) put on a fancy celebration for the baby. The couple’s rich & entitled friends invade Camille’s right to privacy, which annoys Craig. He does not want them using his ex as a prop. But Camille does not object to any of it. Craig gets angry for feeling needed by her. He ends up ruining the name reveal that the wealthy couple planned.
While Craig walks out, Tate thinks Camille and Blythe need to spend some time together. Eventually, they all get in a sprinter. Tate reveals that he is in financial trouble due to fraud claims. So, he decides to escape while taking Camille with them. Craig refuses to get Camille to be treated as their property. Eventually, Tate stops the car outside Tiffany’s (Patty Guggenheim) house to retrieve some cash to pay off Craig and Camille. Craig also realises that Blythe could have a baby. But she does not because Tate does not want her to lose her shape. Amidst the chaos, Craig gets in Tate’s car and drives away with Camille. On the way, she reveals that she lost her job. She believes they should take the money even if they feel exploited. So, Craig gets some cash and valuables in exchange for agreeing to take Camille out of the country.
However, the FBI soon catches up to them. They arrest the couple, who give Camille the charge of deciding what she wants to do with the baby. Since she will soon give birth, Craig goes back to Rodney for work at Dominine.
A still from Killing It (Season 2).Episode 5: Lying Flat
Rodney Lamonca launches Dominine’s new supplement line – Predator Power and gets his daughter Prada (Anna Mae Quinn) to oversee the production at the farm. He sends Craig, Jillian, and Isaiah on a first-class business trip to San Diego. Rodney plans to battle their competitors by claiming their supplements cure cancer. Craig objects to it. But Rodney puts it bluntly – ‘People want to be lied to.’ In short, lies sell, and he wants to use one to advertise his product. To make it work, he brings in Pitbull and sends Craig and Jillian to brief him. The duo soon realises that the man is Pitbull’s duplicate. It leads them to learn about ‘Mr Worldwide Organisation’ that gets duplicates to work on projects instead of the pop star, to protect Pitbull’s brand.
This specific Pitbull 6 complains about their manager Linda. Craig and Jillian make him realise the unjust treatment he receives and he ends up leaving without any message. So they try to acquire another Pitbull for the conference. After a call with Linda, they find Pitbull 6 at a bar. Isaiah makes this double feel terrible about missing his duties. It all ends in a controversy where the real Pitbull himself speaks out against the terrible working conditions of his doubles. Since any of Pitbull’s doubles cannot be their spokesperson, Craig walks on the stage himself. He makes up a personal story that the supplements helped his father cure cancer. Jillian gets upset that he chose to exploit his family in that way. Meanwhile, Prada fires the Boones without notifying Craig.
Episode 6: Predatory
Jackie gets furious since their job loss also leaves them with no health insurance. Ray-Nathan kidnaps Jillian to blackmail Craig to rehire them within 10 days. So, Craig requests Rodney to get the Boones back on the payroll. Rodney refuses to agree with it and later fixates on an event that is supposed to satisfy his ego. He plans to fight with a shark in his swimming pool. Meanwhile, Craig tries to find other ways to scare the Boones and save Jillian. Eventually, Prada pitches in to help rescue his friend in exchange for destroying her father. She wants to take over the throne. So, she expects Craig to get proof of Rodney’s heavy spending on his mistress. That can help Prada make a case against Rodney to the board.
Craig attends an influencer party for the launch of Predator Power Pills. While Rodney fights with a Shark, Craig is supposed to get the contents from Rodney’s phone on a dongle and give it back to Prada. At the party, he bumps into his old acquaintance – Brock (Scott MacArthur). He asks for his money back even if he once considered it a charitable deed. Craig leaves Brock on his own to finish his task. Meanwhile, the shark injures Rodney, which ends in a bloodbath. Influencers start screaming and crying about Rodney’s deadly accident. Turns out, Rodney got someone else to fight the shark. After the accident, he panics in trying to find a solution. He walks back and assumes people will think he rose from the dead. But they all realise he ruined another man’s life.
Then, Rodney panics about his missing secret phone. Prada tells Craig to dump the phone in a houseplant and sneak the dongle out. She planned all of this only to seek her father’s approval in their crooked ways. Anyhow, to hide the dongle from the metal detectors, Craig seeks Brock’s help. Brock agrees to keep it under his eye patch and get out. But right outside, he falls unconscious. In the hospital, Isaiah sneaks in as a neurologist and steals back the dongle.
Episode 7: On the Inside
Brock panics since he does not have enough funds for his treatment. Meanwhile, Prada orders Craig to recover the stolen dongle before it’s too late. With Brock and Corby’s (Wyatt Walter) help, Craig tries to find his brother. Suddenly, Isaiah calls him and says that he won’t give the dongle to Rodney. He asks Craig to meet him at a diner. Craig refuses to return any money to Brock since they did not sign any document. Corby laments how it affects his education plans. But Craig calls it Brock’s mistake.
Isaiah thinks Craig should not have gotten in business with the Boones in the first place. Meanwhile, Jillian makes a plan to escape from the kidnappers. She drives Jackie to the hospital for her surgery. Soon, Jackie learns that the hospital staff need someone to be physically present to discharge her afterwards. So, she gets Jillian to tag along under the promise that she won’t tell say anything about them. While Jackie lies on the bed, Jillian gets a chance to sneak out. On her way out, she learns about Jackie’s possible cancer diagnosis. While driving Jackie back home, she stops by a fast food place. Jackie vents about her situation and how the capitalistic society keeps her at the bottom of the pyramid. Jillian convinces her to tell her children about the colonoscopy.
While Jackie explains her situation to Natalie Ray, Ray-Nathan hits his own mother with a bottle. The episode also reveals a secret about Isaiah. Turns out, he joined hands with Agent Burton (Timothy Simons) from the FBI against Rodney to clear the charges against him. That’s why he stole the dongle so that he can offer the data from Rodney’s second phone to the FBI. But Agent Burton learns that Rodney has an embarrassing photo of a senator. So, he expects Isaiah to give the dongle back to Rodney, sell out his brother to prove his loyalty and continue being the FBI’s personal advisor by staying close to Rodney. After this, Isaiah meets Craig – for the dongle-related meeting we saw before. So, the brothers only playact in front of the agent. Afterwards, Isaiah offers the dongle to Craig to give it back to Prada and saves Jillian. But Craig reaches Boones’ strip club to find neither of them, nor Jillian, but a pool of blood on the floor.
Episode 8: Timber
After her job loss at Craig’s Farm, Shayla starts working at Lil’ Piggies. Jillian turns up there with Jackie. So, Shayla takes a break and follows them in her car. Turns out, the pool of blood in the club was Jackie’s after her son attacked her. While the siblings keep arguing, Jillian worries for Jackie’s life. Jackie tells Jillian to run and stops Ray-Nathan from following her. Outside, she sees Shayla and asks for a lift. Shayla tries to attack Jillian with her Kia but ends up bumping it into Ray-Nathan. Jillian thanks her for saving her life. Finally, Jillian and Craig meet in the hospital and hug each other. Craig offers Shayla her old job back.
Killing It (Season 2) Ending Explained:
How does Craig finally become filthy rich?
Ever since Sheriff Boone got fired, the family members did not have any protection. So, they end up in prison. Jackie considers her imprisonment good since now, the state has to provide treatment for her. She considers it her happy ending. Jillian confesses that she did not leave Jackie alone at the hospital since she felt bad for her. Jackie tells her to toughen up and not get pushed around. On the other hand, the Lamonca board asks Rodney to step down, because of the questionable contents on his second phone. Since it ruins Agent Burton’s plan, he threatens to find Isaiah and jail him.
Prada returns the sole ownership of Henry’s farm to Craig and Jillian. Rodney still keeps working for Prada and actually feels proud of how she tricked him. Back at the farm, Brock sues Craig since he refused to pay him back. He hires Dean Trovia to get Craig into trouble. Now, Brock asks for 5% of the farm. While Craig argues back, Jillian signs the deal. Then, the two speak in private about it. Craig accepts that he may have verbally agreed to the deal. Brock gets it on record to use against them. But Dean drops the phone and Craig decides to delete the recording.
Todd/Isaiah returns to Maya to learn that she has moved on and has a new partner. Meanwhile, Craig and Jillian meet the Green Bounty Organics employee to sell their berries. While he agrees to it, they realise that the berries are infested with giant snails, which can be dangerous to the consumers. Jillian points out the potential threats, but Craig is unsure what to do. The employee tells them their company is about to be bought by a bleach-producing MNC. So, they plan to use it since they won’t face any legal actions, but the new bosses would. Craig finds it too enticing to lose equity in the company, even if people might die.
Craig justifies his stance with a crooked logic of exploitative practices that several brands engage in – including the ones Jillian also uses on a regular basis. Besides, he does not want to miss out on a chance to prove himself to his loved ones. But Jillian refuses to potentially kill people through their products. So, Craig lies to his employees that he will burn down the berries. Instead, he secretly meets Brock to get him on his side. In exchange for being a part-owner and having a controlling interest in the company, he asks Brock to back him certain decisions. This includes the sale of infested berries.
Two months later, Isaiah gets on a plane with a one-way ticket to the Maldives. Jillian starts working again as an Uber driver. The bleach company’s OTC supplements, which used raw palmetto berries from Henry’s farm, cause meningitis in several consumers. However, it does not affect Craig’s life. The ending of Killing It Season 2 shows Craig gloating over his success, which brings him closer to Camille and Vanessa. He enjoys the luxurious life he always wanted to have with his family. Through that, he also counters Camille’s belief that he is destined to be a failure and cannot be trusted to take care of them. But it makes us wonder – Craig achieved wealth and glory, but at what cost?
Read More: Everything Coming to Peacock in August 2023
Killing It (Season 2) Trailer
Killing It (Season 2) Links: IMDb
Killing It (Season 2) Cast: Craig Robinson, Rell Battle, Claudia O’Doherty
Where to watch Killing It
