Beef: Season 2

Season 2 of Netflix's smash-hit show bites off more than it can chew 

The first season of Beef was sensational and the idea was simple: two individuals caught in a road rage incident become fixated with ruining each other's lives. Certainly a novel concept - but not necessarily one with a lot of mileage. It was thus all the more surprising to see the show completely defy its own odds, unravelling into something far more complex than you could imagine from the set-up. It's the type of tele that's so good it's why they invented the 'limited series' format - yet here we are with season 2.

This time around the beef is bigger, juicer and messier. But as we know all too well at this point - bigger isn't always better. Swapping out the San Fernando Valley setting, Season 2 finds us travelling slightly further up the coastline to a luxury country club in Montecito. Though there's an absence of angry drivers - the knives are once again out. When doting young lovers and employees at the club Ashley (Cailee Spaney) and Austin (Charles Melton) accidentally witness a fight between their bosses Josh (Oscar Issac) and his wife Lindsay (Carey Mulligan) - they decide to use the fight as leverage to get a leg up at work. Meanwhile, shady club-owner Youn Yuh-jung and husband Song Kang-ho lurk in the shadows. 

Between the battle of Ashley/Austin and Josh/Lindsay - there's some fascinating commentary on the intersection of Gen Z and Millennial relationships. On the surface, Ashley and Austin are clearly the loving couple, whilst the jaded duo of Josh and Lindsay exhibit all the signs of a love turned sour. Austin proudly confesses that he and Ashley have been dating "A year and a half" and Lindsay cyclically notes "So...early? You've got a good fight coming". Season 2 really shows its muscles when dealing with this four-sided conflict - arguing how time allows us to love each other in different ways. Admittedly, neither one of these characters are as sympathetic as Season 1's Amy and Danny - but creator Lee Sung Jin has once again created incredibly tangible characters who possess so much more than meets the eye. The real grit of the story comes from seeing each of them begin to let down their defences. 

The performances are exceptional across the board - but it's really Mulligan and Spaney who steal the show. Lindsay allows Mulligan to truly tap into her British iciness like never before - delivering one-liners like daggers and showing her spikes in ways we've only ever seen glimpses of in Promising Young Woman. For day one Mulligan fans - it's a real treat to see her go full throttle here. She meets her match in Spaney, though - a performance that shows a different kind of intensity. Spaney is quietly unhinged as the devoted girlfriend who starts to crack, playing Ashley's kindness as almost sickly sweet. Between Priscilla, Civil War and this, Spaney is quickly cementing herself as one of our brightest new talents.

​There's a third couple added to the equation later on - but in its final stretch Season 2 buckles under the weight of its ambition. Lee Sung Jin makes a strong argument for the cyclical nature of relationships being indicative of capitalist aspiration - there's just so many other plates spinning as well. Ideas about body standards, the American healthcare system and cultural disconnection are all thrown in the mix and it becomes a bit of a soup. Maybe for the next season we could use a little less beef, we could even go on a bit of a diet?