I might have chanced upon a litmus test for long-form screenwriting. A majority of the shows span in the five-six hours region—they’re bound to lose steam at some point, or unable to retain the focus they begin with. As the narrative falters and the plot goes around in circles, are the characters still intriguing? Even as they merely exist? If the answer is yes, then we might be watching a show featuring some strong writing. I had this realisation while watching the recent seasons of The Bear, Riz Ahmed’s Bait, and now the second season of Lee Sung-jin’s Beef. Picking up from season one, where a case of road rage between two characters (played by Steven Yeun and Ali Wong) morphs into a petty and increasingly hideous game of revenge, the second season sets itself around three couples from different strata of society.Josh (Oscar Isaac) and Lindsay (Cary Mulligan) are the ‘it’ couple at a country club in Montecito (California), where he’s the General Manager. As Josh tends to his multi-millionaire/billionaire clientele, it’s Lindsay, who accompanies the wives and girlfriends, ensuring that Josh’s club offers them the excellent service they’ve been promised. She doesn’t get paid for it, but it’s her part in maintaining their high-flyer lifestyle. They’re good at keeping up the facade of a ‘power couple’ in front of their country club audience. However, behind closed doors, they are both an incredibly dissatisfied and bitter couple – who have harboured dreams of starting their very own bed and breakfast. One evening when things get ugly during a marital dispute, Lindsey picks up Josh’s golf club in a huff, and is about to attack him. The commotion is seen – and recorded – by Austin (Charles Melton) and Ashley (Cailee Spaeny) – a younger couple who work at the club. They had driven by after Josh forgot his wallet, and Ashley took out her phone to record what she first imagined was a domestic violence episode. As all four characters find themselves embedded in this uncomfortable scene, it triggers an avalanche of bad decisions, just like season one.The third couple of the series is billionaire Chairwoman Park (Youn Yuh-jung) and her Dr Kim (Song Kang-ho). She has just bought the country club, and wishes to use it as a front to launder money, to pay bribes. A patient has died on the operating table because of Dr Kim’s involuntary hand tremor (an early sign for Parkinson’s). Dr Kim, 20 years younger than Chairwoman Park, is also one of the leading plastic surgeons in South Korea.All three couples are codependent in one way or another: Lindsay feeds off Josh’s high-value clientele, using it as a way to feel important. Hailing from the British upper-class, marrying Josh (a Hispanic) was probably a form of rebellion. It’s evident she regrets giving up the pleasures and comforts of her previous life. Hanging out with wives of superstar athletes, Hollywood celebrities, is the only way for her to belong – even though she knows how empty it all is.A still from ‘BEEF: Season 2.’Ashley grew up with parents who couldn’t spare two minutes for a phone call with her, so she latches on to the slow and kind jock, Austin – the one who showers her with undivided attention. However, most of her life is spent in dread, imagining circumstances where he will leave her.Dr. Kim, despite his condition, can’t stop working because he knows Chairwoman Park could leave him on any day, and he would be forced to fend for himself. He knows she could wake up one morning, and feel differently about him. As her third husband, he’s nothing but a toy for her.All couples are hiding their own secrets, and projecting their mistrust onto those around them. They channel their life’s unhappiness by choosing to dive into the pettiest of squabbles, or ego clashes with those around them. Ashley and Austin start blackmailing Josh and Lindsay using the video, trying to get her a promotion at the club. Ashley submits a fake certificate saying Austin is a licensed physical therapist, so he can be employed in the club gym. Josh and Lindsey have been skimming money off the club, to pay for their bed and breakfast venture, which Chairwoman Park finds out about. Also, Chairwoman Park’s companies are being watched closely by Korean authorities for suspected tax evasion. As one domino tips another, chaos begins.Beef S02 might be closer to White Lotus, in the manner it looks under the carpet of polite civility. It tries to tear the mask of ‘normalcy’, and showcase its characters at their most fallible. How does one react, when they’re cornered and when no one might be looking? Not as graceful as anyone might expect. It’s just human tendency to tap into our stubbornness, pettiness; when it’s about proving a point. It’s only an add-on that the ensemble of gifted actors are able to switch between being emotionally-sincere and stereotypes turned to the volume of 11. Isaac and Mulligan are in on the joke most of the time, so they satirise their ‘serious actor’ image to bits.A still from ‘BEEF: Season 2.’Lee Sung-jin’s show casts a cynical eye on modern relationships, where ‘love’ is a component that can be summoned magically, with enough material comfort to support it. But it disappears with a similar ease, as soon as this comfort is threatened. “We’re all meant to serve ourself, that’s why capitalism works,” Chairwoman Park says in the finale. Alternating between profound and a dark, slapstick comedy – Beef S02 swings for the fences, trying to emulate life’s abruptness. In its final episode, the heft of a stunning monologue by Dr Kim is punctured with a gag straight out of British sitcom Mind Your Language. By now the show lies in the debris of its mayhem. However, I wasn’t mad. Unlike the characters in the show – I’d forgiven and moved on.*All episodes of Beef S02 are streaming on Netflix.