In the first episode of Beef's rollercoaster second season, Carey Mulligan’s Lindsay takes a golf club to the pictures in her husband Josh’s (Oscar Isaac) shed. She moves on to his guitar and other precious sports memorabilia, as he claps and eggs her on. “You are an empty, selfish woman!” he barks. “Thank God we didn’t have kids.” Lindsay quickly whirls around, golf club raised, advancing toward Josh. He grabs the club, yanking it away. “That’s enough,” he commands. She screams; their dachshund barks. They lift their heads to spot a pair of young, petrified faces outside the window. “S***,” Josh mutters.
In its much-anticipated return, the Emmy-winning drama anthology from Netflix and A24 swaps strangers for spouses, asking whether screaming matches are healthy outlets or simply destructive forces that can fracture relationships. Lindsay, an interior designer, and Josh, a manager of an affluent country club, are a couple whose marriage has left their dreams unrealized: no children, an unfinished home and a crippling amount of debt. Convinced their dysfunction is normal, Lindsay reassures herself: “Couples fight, it’s normal. We’re normal.”
