Roosters Season 2 Recap And Ending Explained: How Does Ivo’s Speech Sum Everything Up?

Netflix’s “Roosters” Season 2 premiered this week and it has got us glued to our seats as we see the four friends – Greg, Ivo, Mike and Danny – get back together for a whole new chapter of their lives. Mike has left his toxic masculinity course, Danny now regrets cheating on Pam, Greg is trying his best to keep Merel happy and Ivo is happy with Desiree. While Mike searches for a new life, he gets interviewed by Kristel, who works in a content company. As Greg finds peace in life, his long-time partner, Yucel, suffers from a major heart attack. While Greg tries hard to focus, his life faces a different level of crisis.

Spoilers Ahead

What Is Wrong With Merel?

Both Merel and Greg are struggling with parenthood while trying to mend their relationship. Apparently, Jason gets bullied at school by a senior girl named Koos and Merel teaches her son to hit her back, without knowing that his bully is a girl. When Jason does that, Merel comes off with a very egoistic approach that sends a bad lesson to her kid, which ultimately backfires on her. The class teacher, Esther, lets her know that Jason has hit Koos very hard and instead of ending the matter, Merel complicates it further. After Jason says sorry, Merel breaks out in a physical fight with Koos’s mother, leaving Greg in a panic. Merel’s toxic nature comes forward when she suspects Greg and his new work partner Nadja to be having an affair. Merel fails to understand that Nadja is only there after Yucel’s heart attack and is only trying to improve Greg through early morning CrossFit routines. 

Why Does Ivo Leave Desiree For Roos?

Ivo has mended his relationship with Desiree in a bit of a rush, without thinking much about the things that separated them in the first place. He thought Desiree was the perfect partner for him after nine Tinder dates because she was best at intimacy, which has always been a big factor for Ivo. But unfortunately, Ivo has never tried to understand the key to Desiree’s energy, which was daily cardio, something that he hated to the core. Ivo has also missed the fact that he wanted to split with Desiree because she forced her desires onto him, which made the relationship really claustrophobic. When we see Ivo wanting to break up with Desiree, we empathize for her situation, just like Tess stands up for her. There’s nothing wrong in feeling for her, because after all, Ivo is the one who gives her hopes and keeps on living his life like that. On the contrary, Ivo cannot keep living with a wife who behaves like a penguin parent, sticking around everywhere he goes. That’s why Ivo gets along so well with Roos – after a bit of initial hesitation, which of course, comes from his past trauma. Ivo and Roos get intimate, things go very well, and Ivo even records her verbal consent video, as a proof, all thanks to Bram’s course on “How To Become A New Man”. Ivo likes Roos a lot because she gives him freedom and does not make him feel suffocated, something that he has missed in years. 

Why Does Stevie Stop Being An Influencer?

It is clear that Mike and Stevie were both putting up an act of being influencers, because “Good Life With Stevie” and “Roosters” were not realistic. It’s common knowledge to us that perfect life is basically an illusion and being a toxic masculine figure only costs you your peace. Mike stops his course, enrolls in a content office and starts his job under Kristel, a boss who later makes him regret so hard. Stevie is aware of her career shift but ignores her husband at the book signing event as she is scared to get cancelled. Deep down, I also feel for Stevie because gaining Instagram followers is one heck of a job and being independent is tough, too. At the influencer awards, Stevie sees her dream crashing down when she does not win any title despite working so hard. She gets drunk, curses at people and slowly loses those brand deals that have mattered to her so much. Stevie’s reaction proves that she is done with being an influencer and her falling into a pit of depression is pretty normal – after all, she has also faked feeling good, right? She hates those acai berries, and that skincare regime gives her acne. Stevie becomes that influencer who gets paid to not use products and expose them in the market.

Did Mike Get Harassed By His Boss?

Here’s where “Roosters” season 2 executed a crazy thing to expose how unsafe a lot of workplaces are. Every time Mike enters Kristel’s office, he gets those crazy eyes drooling all over his figure. Kristel offers him to ride in her own car and while they are on the way, she touches his thigh as if it is a professional thing to do. Mike hesitates but clearly, he is under a lot of pressure and does not want to disappoint Kristel as this job is all that he has got. He does not want to restart his course because Mike is all done being a macho. The way Kristel intentionally spills coffee on his shirt and later offers him a new one, urging him to change in front of her is absolutely unacceptable. Although Danny finds it as a perfect opportunity to be intimate with Kristel, if the roles are reversed, this is a perfect harassment case that is enough to land the office on the trending tab. Mike, who still thinks that there’s a way out of it, goes to Kristel’s house to discuss work-related stuff but she tells him to give a foot massage. Mike is also at fault for accepting her gestures but do consider how manipulative Kristel is – when he confronts her, she twists the whole thing, making it seem like it’s Mike who makes her uncomfortable. Yes, the only reason Mike sticks around is because Kristel has approved his short film, “Roosters,” a script that was shelved by the previous boss, Joost (Season 1) and the current content team.

How Does Jason Cause A Fight Between Ivo And Greg?

Greg and Merel have not been open about anything at all, as they have been busy proving themselves to be the better parent. Amid their struggles, Greg notices some explicit search terms on his home browser, and Merel does too. Merel thinks that those are Greg’s fantasies and vice versa but both of them are wrong; it is Jason, their little son, who has searched them. Things get worse after Jason shows some videos to his classmates at school, leaving his teacher, Esther, fuming. Greg and Merel find it out from Esther, but they don’t understand that there will be bigger problems. When Merel and Greg are out, they assign Tess as a paid babysitter. Just when Tess is asleep, Jason touches her inappropriately because he cannot control his urges due to lack of sex education. Ivo confronts Greg right away; Tess threatens to press charges and labels Jason closer to a freak, which hurts Merel’s ego, making her snap, instantly. Although she has been giving Tess driving lessons, her comments drive her angry as she has never focused on the main problem, just on the consequences alone. Greg also cuts corners in parenting, too, because distracting your child’s bodily urges with violence (he promises to buy Jason Call Of Duty if he stops watching explicit content) is not at all the right thing.

Does Pam Want Kids With Armand Or Enzo?

If we blame Danny for his decisions, then we shall also blame Pam, too. She wants to keep her distance with Danny, ghosts him, finds love in an older guy named Armand – everything is alright because it’s her life. However, being intimate with Armand’s young son, Enzo, just because he is cute and invites her to have a drink is not something to be proud of. Pam looks so sorted on the outside that even makes Merel jealous – she is a lawyer, lives in a lavish household, looks like a model, and also a fitness freak. However, she is in dire need of hysterectomy, and her emotions are all over the place for the last few weeks. Pam could have backed out of the relationship much earlier when we saw her rejecting Armand’s marriage proposal. But after what she did with Enzo, there was no option for her to stay with Armand, because living in constant panic and guilt is hard. Pam ends up leaving both of them because she has committed a crime by responding to her stepson’s explicit urges. Pam knows only Danny loves her and that’s the sole reason why she makes the hospital call him once he surgery is done.

Mike’s world falls apart despite him being a CEO

Mike becomes a CEO once Kristel quits her job following his harassment report to the top brass, but he never reveals it to Stevie. She celebrates it, thinking that it is a promotion and also plans to be a mother. Everything becomes tough for Mike all of a sudden the moment he finds out that his sperm count is so low that he can be considered infertile. Quite obviously, Mike hides that report since he does not want to spoil it for Stevie and she decides to throw a party. Stevie invites Mike’s colleagues, who give Kristel’s contact information to her. At the party, when Kristel arrives, Stevie learns all about the harassment case and confronts Mike, blaming him for taking away her job – as if Kristel is innocent. During quarrelling, Mike admits being sterile and as all of this is unfolding inside their bedroom, Danny, who is checking the records, mistakenly plays the live feed and the guests leave.

Does Danny Still Love Pam?

Danny’s life significantly changed ever since he started working in the new restaurant, surrounded by gay waiters. He was in a very tough spot after Pam left him in the dirt, and avoided him at times. Being in a circle of gay work friends was not easy for Danny and he did his best to keep it together until one night, he got a little too drunk. Danny did not want it, but when Marcel started his act in the bathroom, he gave into his pleasures but that was only once. After Pam’s hysterectomy, she finds Danny on her bed because he really loves her. Danny is completely a new man who makes breakfast in bed, prepares everything for Pam and helps her recover from the surgery. He knows that illicit affairs and open relationships are toxic for their bond and considering how much he wants Pam, Danny will never want to be in any of those. 

Does The Vacation At Ibiza Help The Group To Get Together?

Danny and everyone plans a vacation to repair their broken bonds but everything goes wrong from the very first day. Stevie and Mike discover on CCTV that Andrea, who is pregnant with house maid Hristo’s child, is being cheated on. In their boat ride, Merel receives a call from the school – turns out that two boys at her daughter Sky’s school have fought over her. One of them lost their eye since the little girl wanted to be in an open relationship like her parents (Sky overheard their conversations). In the meantime, Andrea, upon finding out Hristo’s affair, jumps in the water but gets rescued by the boat driver just in time. In the evening, Tess’s failed attempt at getting a driving license comes to light and Ivo blames Merel for her intoxication habits, something that we will address soon. To ease the rising tensions, Stevie suggests everyone to watch Mike’s iteration of the series, “Roosters,” to calm down. However, she doesn’t know that this very series is basically a documentary of their lives. Everyone falls out to see their raw versions get exposed on the big screen. Apart from Ivo, everyone starts exposing others – Danny reveals that Mike wants to inseminate Stevie with his brother, Patrick’s help since the “genes match”, Pam leaves Danny after Merel reveals that he was intimate with Marcel. Greg gets embarrassed after his mother finds out about her open relationship with Merel and the whole group gets disbanded immediately. 

Is Merel’s Drinking Problem Damaging Everything?

Well, Merel’s drinking problem has been a serious issue all this time, no wonder. She was drinking like crazy, ever since she came to Ibiza. Tess crashed the car during her driving test because Merel advised her to chug a few beers before the exam so she could handle the pressure. Merel was drunk and kissed her drama club friend a bit too hard in the rehearsal and ultimately ended up getting arrested. Merel is unhinged for sure but does that make the others better? Danny cannot control his urges, Greg almost kisses Esther while suggesting Bram’s course for school kids, Ivo has blown his chance with Roos, Tess acts like an adult but thinks like a toddler, Stevie and Mike barely understand each other. The whole group is sort of a chaotic mixture from the very beginning, and the blame cannot be put on any one of them. All of them lack accountability and despite the lessons they learn, nobody seems to get how to be responsible enough for their actions.

How Does Ivo’s Speech Sum Everything Up In The End?

We have seen how Ivo got everyone in trouble by speaking a bit too much at the Russian oligarch, Victor’s house party. Ivo, who got his job at the architectural company, found out that Roos was actually his boss’s daughter. Ivo tried to delete the consent video but it was hard as he lost his phone until one late night in the office – he mistakenly uploaded it to the shareable cloud. When confronted, Ivo was so shaken that his words got misread. Everyone at the room thought that his weird behavior stemmed from the side-effects of transitioning into a woman. In court, Ivo’s long speech to the judge is actually a confession of how hard it is to adhere to the modern standards of the society. It reflects all difficulties that men from the older generation, like Danny, Mike, Ivo, and Greg face – this messy speech proves that they are no longer trying to be perfect. Despite what their partners think about them or the society, Ivo makes it clear that they may be occasionally wrong but they are trying hard to learn and become better versions of men, even after getting certified by Bram. It is unclear if Roos will come back to Ivo, Merel will stop drinking, Danny will be forgiven or Mike will be fertile. But, we know that the four men will not stop playing pickle ball and there’s enough material for another season.

...