It was far from certain that Beef, created by Lee Sung Jin, would get a second season following the conclusion of the first. But the string of awards, at both the Golden Globe Awards and the Primetime Emmy Awards, paved the way for a sequel that ultimately felt inevitable. Much like series such as Fargo and True Detective, Sung Jin and Netflix have chosen to treat the seasons as standalone anthologies on the same theme, conflicts, or indeed 'beefs'. With an electric soundtrack by Finneas O'Connell and exquisite cinematography by James Laxton, we as viewers are once again drawn into an absurd drama, heightened by top-class performances.
In the new season, we meet a brand-new cast in a tense relationship drama. A young Gen Z couple at an absurdly exclusive country club are drawn into their boss's crumbling marriage. What begins as an uncomfortable row quickly escalates into a game characterised by power, manipulation and social climbing, in which everyone is vying for the favour of a ruthless billionaire. Even she, with her own scandal threatening to tear everything apart.
With the success of the first season, Sung Jin has clearly found himself in a completely different position. The director and screenwriter has assembled an impressive cast, giving the impression that Netflix has essentially given him free rein to work with whoever he wants. He admired James Laxton's cinematography in Barry Jenkins' Moonlight, so he hired him. He was taken with Finneas O'Connell and his sister Billie Eilish's Oscar-winning song 'What Was I Made For', so he let Finneas handle the music.
Alongside Korean legends Youn Yuh-jung and Song Kang-ho, the cast features established names such as Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan. Playing the younger couple in the series are Charles Melton and Cailee Spaeny, the former known from Glee and American Horror Story, and the latter appearing in Alien: Romulus. All deliver absolutely fantastic performances that move, provoke revulsion and, at times, elicit laughter amidst all the darkness.
I'm completely blown away after binge-watching the entire season over five days. Beyond the season's central conflict between the young couple (Austin and Ashley) and the older one (Josh and Lindsay), we also gain an insight into the couples' internal relationships, marked by relationship troubles and personal shortcomings. Furthermore, both couples are pitted against the ruthless owner of the private members' club, who himself is grappling with his own, increasingly unpleasant problems, which he tackles with unconventional solutions.
Layer upon layer is peeled away, as seemingly trivial details are set against life-altering decisions with potentially disastrous consequences for everyone involved. The TV series builds and builds towards its inevitable climax. Lee Sung Jin, together with his ensemble, manages to make everything feel natural, believable and, at times, painfully cringe-worthy in just the right way. Youthful ambition is pitted against shattered dreams and greed, all packaged into a cohesive whole that could very well pave the way for yet another successful awards season for everyone involved. Beef's second season takes what the first season did well and pushes it all the way to the finish line. This is a full house.