SPOILER ALERT: The next story comprises plot details from Season 2 of “Beef,” now streaming on Netflix
Netflix’s “Beef” is back for a second season, and the anthology series is wild, revolving around two couples, Josh (Oscar Isaac) and Lindsay (Carey Mulligan) and Austin (Charles Melton) and Ashley (Cailee Spaeny). One of the intense scenes is available in Episode 5 when Lindsay’s beloved dog, Burberry, has gone missing after Ashley snuck into their house and by accident left the back door open. After hours of searching, Lindsay comes upon a coyote attacking Burberry and, and not using a second thought, kills the coyote along with her bare hands.
“That was mainly what made me need to do it,” Mulligan says.
Creator Lee Sung Jin had not yet fleshed out all eight episodes of “Beef” when Mulligan sat down with him over Zoom, but there was one thing he knew for certain. Mulligan says, “He was like, ‘but I do know exactly what happens in Episode 5.’ He pitched the entire episode around losing the dog and ending with that coyote.”
“Shooting it was form of crazy,” she adds. “But I used to be very motivated by the thought of that scene.”
This season of “Beef” takes place at an upscale Montecito country club. Isaac plays the club’s general manager, and Lindsay, is an interior decorator there. Gen Z couple Ashley and Austin work on the club, but are on the lower end of the pay scale.
The “Beef” kicks off when Austin and Ashley witness Josh and Lindsay in a heated, violent argument, and capture it on video, suddenly finding themselves with some leverage to blackmail the older couple. Things quickly spiral into an online of lies, power dynamics and desperation. The conflict between Josh and Lindsay escalates, and the coyote scene marks a turning point for Lindsay and her marriage.
“In that whole time, she had never really found out anything that she cared about or was particularly good at,” Mulligan says of Lindsay. “I believe that was a giant a part of what I discovered interesting about her — that with all she had built her life on with this marriage, she didn’t really have an identity that she could hold on to.”
Courtesy of Netflix
Killing the coyote could be an unhinged moment, but Mulligan says: “It’s the conclusion that the wedding is totally over, and that the one thing on the planet that she feels has reciprocal love and understanding for her is that this dog. So killing that coyote in defense of the dog is that this enormous act of affection, but additionally realizing that you just only have that an animal — that you just don’t have with people in your life.”
In the subsequent episode, Lindsay has modified. “She cares less about what people think,” Mulligan says. “Much of the primary half of the show, she’s being so consumed by how she’s perceived. After she kills the coyote, she’s like, ‘Fuck it. I’ve just got to win someway. I’ve got to search out my path to survival. So I believed it was quite liberating thing for her.”
Before shooting, Isaac sat down with Lee to work out who Josh is, and where he’s in his profession and marriage. “We began constructing the character together based on an initial idea of circumstances that happened within the show, and that was it was an incredible thing to do.”
The exploration process with Lee was helpful to each Mulligan and Isaac in understanding their respective backstories and understanding who their characters were and what drove them.
When it got here to Josh, who appears to be bad with money and eager to hold on to his youth. Isaac says: “He got this vibe. I’m the young, cool, hip guy — every part’s wonderful. After which what he does at home, and the strain between those things was really fun to explore.”
Josh’s attempts to attain that young vibe is reflected at home. He’s got a mancave stuffed with memorabilia, and even owns a Moog synth that when belonged to his favorite band, Hot Chip. In Episode 2, he plays it — and he’s not great at it. Just a few episodes later, he’s up on stage, jamming with the band.
Courtesy of Netflix
Who Josh desires to be can also be reflected in his hair — yes, that’s a mini-mullet he’s rocking. Issac worked along with his hair stylist Tim Nolan who suggested that style. “It’s an ideal thing that again, speaks to any person that’s attempting to hold on to a specific image of youth,” Isaac says. “And one which shows a way of leisure and of energy — despite the fact that he’s just being strangled your complete time.”
Josh starts stealing money from the club with a purpose to maintain his lifestyle, and hold onto his image. “He cares more about identity and he wants enough money,” Isaac says. “He’s never going to give you the chance to be a member of this club, but that is the closest he can get to it.”
Josh, who’s surrounded by extreme wealth, feels a way of entitlement — and he’s also been stealing money from his late mother’s checking account, “So he’s already smudging the road there out of desperation,” Isaac says.
“He feels he has the best to, like all of the wealthy people, to get his own,” Isaac says. “Whatever meaning.”