Beyond endoscopy is the strategy put forward by Langlands for applying the trace formula to the general principle of functoriality. Subsequent papers by Langlands (one in collaboration with Frenkel and Ngo), together with more recent papers by Altug, have refined the strategy. They all emphasize the importance of understanding the elliptic terms on the geometric side of the trace formula. We shall discuss the general strategy, and how it pertains to these terms.[-]