Ashley Miller (Cailee Spaeny) and Austin Davis (Charles Melton) are young and in love. But when they witness a fight between their boss, Joshua Martin (Oscar Isaac), and his wife, Lindsay Crane-Martin (Carey Mulligan), the two couples start an intense feud at the elitist country club where they work.
Streaming on: Netflix
Episodes viewed: 8 of 8
The beef in Beef, Season 1, was particularly juicy: two miserable people, fuelled by hate, who couldn’t let go of just how much they despised each other. But much has changed in the second instalment of the A24 anthology comedy-drama from creator Lee Sung Jin. The original run’s stars, Ali Wong and Steven Yeun, have moved behind the camera in the role of executive producers, making way for a new conflict — which also throws love into the mix.
Season 1 took big swings, and the new episodes do in their own way, refusing to rely on a proven formula. Romance complicates the interpersonal dynamics, inspiring smaller beefs both within and between the two lead couples, played by Cailee Spaeny, Charles Melton, Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan. The discord is also more passive-aggressive, in contrast with the overtly aggressive hate of Season 1.
The result is entertaining, but also messy.
You’d think that love and workplace animosity might be more relatable, but adding these elements, including an extra third couple (played by Youn Yuh-jung and Song Kang-ho), ends up muddying the water somewhat. It’s clear that Lee has a lot he wants to say, but Season 2 trips over its own ambition as a result. This new narrative incorporates everything from class difference and intergenerational divides to Asian-American identity and how love intertwines with hate. The result is entertaining, but also messy. As the various tensions escalate, so too does the show’s absurdity. Although that was also true of Season 1, these new characters are tougher to empathise with, or even understand.
That’s through no fault of the cast. Mulligan delivers some of the best, most withering put-downs — “There is literally no reason why I would know that,” she says at one point, exasperated — while Melton proves again why he deserves more awards recognition, following his May December Oscar snub. Youn Yuh-jung, meanwhile, is so good that you’ll wish the show was focused on her and Song Kang-ho’s couple rather than the others. Failing that, we’re simply left missing Danny and Amy from Season 1.
While both seasons of Beef revolve around a different dispute, we can probably all agree that Season 2 is an amusing but unfortunate step down in quality.
