By Grace Gorsline
Staff Writer
Ever hold a grudge against a neighbor for playing music into the late hours of the night? Ever disagree with a landlord for never fixing the sink? Ever been annoyed by a rival who constantly looks for a feud? You could say you have beef with them.
The idea of having beef with someone is heightened exponentially in Netflix’s dark drama thriller series, “Beef,” especially in the newest season, released on April 16 starring Oscar Isaac as Joshua Martin, Carey Mulligan as Lindsay Crane-Martin, Charles Melton as Austin Davis, Cailee Spaeny as Ashley Miller and Youn Yuh-junh as Chairwoman Park.
Season 1 followed Danny Cho, played by Steven Yeun, and Amy Lau, played by Ali Wong and their chaotic feud sparked by an intense road rage incident while navigating their personal lives and work-life struggles. However, what’s interesting about their story is that while they stood as rivals for a majority of the season, their characters were similar in more ways than not. It was chilling watching them unravel each other’s lives, only to discover that they had been leading similar lives all along.
Season 2 was similar in that the hatred between beefing individuals ran deep, but also offered more characters, more complex themes and a bit more confusion on who really despised who. Instead of a rivalry between two strangers, Season 2 was a rivalry between two couples.
Ashley and Austin, two young and straining employees of the Monte Vista Point country club, catch Josh and Lindsay, their wealthy bosses, in a heated fight on film. Using the footage to their advantage, the young couple blackmails Josh and Lindsay to increase their status, power and income. From then on, the two couples continue their battle in efforts to gain brownie points with Chairwoman Park, the new owner of the country club. While the two pairs are fighting each other, cracks begin to form — deepening in Josh and Lindsay’s case — within their relationships, making the audience wonder if the beef shifts within each pairing.
As tensions continue rising and acts of hatred keep occurring, a common enemy for the two couples seems to arise in Chairwoman Park as she attempts to cover up a death at her husband’s skin clinic. Despite great efforts between each party and the riveting climax that takes place in Seoul, South Korea, Park walks away essentially unscathed while the couples succumb to their materialistic ways.
The only characters who displayed a glimmer of hope and goodness within them were Austin and Eunice, played by Seoyeon Jang. The whole time viewers are watching them, there is hope that they will be the ones to step up and do the right thing, but in the end, even Austin gives in to the power struggle, leaving Eunice behind.
To add to this, throughout the series there were a couple scenes in which the camera displayed a close up of ants marching along a path, only to get stepped on by a human. This served as a metaphor for the characters’ tendency to fall into line with the corporate demands of Chairwoman Park. They are an analogy for the idea of a “hive-mind;” each character ends up repeating their selfish actions, and the ants mirror that repetition unable to think for themselves, simply following in the footsteps, or missteps, of those that came before them.
Overall, the second season of “Beef” was unsettling, suspenseful and complex. Lee Sung Jin, the creator of this series, was inspired by some of his real-life experiences and offered much insight into the flaws within society through the show. The stark divisions between socioeconomic classes, the shortcomings in the medical industry and the ups and,sometimes dangerous, downs of relationships are all issues he intends to highlight through “Beef.”
While some of the messages can be bone-chilling, the show itself keeps audiences engaged and on the edge of their seats, waiting to see just how far each couple will go to get what they want. How deeply will they hurt each other? What more are they willing to sacrifice in their hunger for power? And will they ever reach a point of reconciliation?
