Beef Season 2 is equal parts twisted and hilarious. It brilliantly showcases the generational gap between Gen Z and millennials, with a bit of exaggerating.
After the lightning-in-a-bottle success of the first season of Beef, I wasn’t sure if an anthology format was necessary. Could it capture that same energy? That is a tall order. However, after bingeing the entire season 2, I was thankful that it was made. While I love the first season deeply, Beef Season 2 just might be better than the first. And this certainly has me hoping they continue to tell these stories.
This season revolves around a young couple, played by Cailee Spaeny and Charles Melton, who witness a domestic explosion between their boss, the magnetic Oscar Isaac, and his wife, Carey Mulligan. What follows is slow-motion “can’t look away” chaos filled with passive-aggression and social sabotage.
The most fascinating element for me was the exploration of the Gen Z versus Millennial divide. The show dials these archetypes up to eleven, making them extreme, yet they remain the most grounded part of the narrative. It’s a brilliant, often hilarious, commentary on the different ways we weaponize our trauma.
While the Millennials are focused on legacy, status, and the desperate maintenance of a perfect facade, the Gen Z characters are driven by a sense of entitlement and a performative moral superiority.
Cailee Spaeny is fantastic in this show – precisely because she is so incredibly annoying. She captures that Gen Z entitlement that makes you want to reach through the screen and mute her. It’s frustrating to watch, but I’m certain that’s the point. Her character, alongside Melton’s, serves as the perfect abrasive foil to the polished, wealthy rot of Isaac and Mulligan’s world.
While the entire ensemble is top-tier, the chemistry – or rather, the combustible lack thereof- between Oscar Isaac and Charles Melton is the season’s heartbeat. They don’t share the screen as much as I wanted, but when they do, the tension is suffocating. Isaac plays a man unravelling with a terrifying elegance, while Melton proves he is a heavyweight actor, holding his own against one of the best in the business.
That said, Carey Mulligan’s arc as Lindsay is perhaps the most satisfying of the season. Watching her transition from a victim of circumstance into something much more complex left me completely captivated. Perhaps I just related to her the most as she plays a woman around the same age as me, but she really shined throughout Beef Season 2.
I cannot write this review without giving a massive trigger warning to dog lovers. The show introduces a dog named Burberry, who is absolutely adorable. Without spoiling the specifics, the writers cross a boundary that I wasn’t prepared for. It is graphic and deeply unsettling.
The final episodes of Beef Season 2 are a whirlwind of “how could they possibly go further?” moments. There are twists and turns that you won’t see coming, and that might make you sick to your stomach (or at least cause you to turn away from the screen).
While the finale feels rushed at the start, it settles in by the end, proving that the entire season is extremely well written and well paced. The parallels between the opening scenes and the final ones create a haunting symmetry that makes the entire journey feel earned.
Is it better than Season 1? It’s hard to say without feeling like I am suffering from recency bias, but I’m leaning toward yes. It leans into the eat the rich trope, yes, but it also feels extremely unique at the same time. The entire supporting cast delivers shocks as well as comedic relief when we need it.
Beef Season 2 is dark, twisted, and one of the most stressful things I’ve watched all year – and I loved every second of it.
About Beef Season 2
BEEF returns with a new cast and a new “beef,” as a Gen-Z couple witnesses an alarming fight between their Millennial boss and his wife. Newly-engaged Ashley Miller (Cailee Spaeny) and Austin Davis (Charles Melton), both lower-level staff at a country club, become entangled in the unraveling marriage of their General Manager, Joshua MartÃn (Oscar Isaac), and his wife, Lindsay Crane-MartÃn (Carey Mulligan).
Through favors and coercion, both couples vie for the approval of the elitist club’s billionaire owner, Chairwoman Park (Youn Yuh-jung), who struggles to manage her own scandal involving her second husband, Doctor Kim (Song Kang-ho).
Beef Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.
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