untangling the meaning of every necklace in 'beef' season 2
đ§żđđblink and youâll miss it symbolism
The difference between Season 1 and Season 2 of Beef is this: while the former was contained in its regional scope, i.e. âwhat happens in LA stays in LA,â the latter pops the bubble, forming a red-string whiteboard of connections between the manicured golf courses of Montecito and the sleek urban fortresses of Seoul.
I loved Beef Season 1 for its spot-on characterization of Southern California Asian-American archetypes (read my S1 costume design newsletter here). Like, what other show was giving us MOMA grandmas in Pleats Please and Noguchi nepo babies in Marni cardigans??! Season 2 just landed on Netflix and I binged the whole thingâtwice, for research purposesâover the weekend.
This time, our motley crew is made up of three couples, each representing a different generation and set of cultural attitudes towards money and status:
Gen Z Ashley and Austin, employees at a country club in Montecito, AKA where Meghan Markle and Prince Harry live IRL
Elder millennials Lindsay and Joshâsheâs a freelance interior designer and heâs the general manager at the country club (sort of a hetero Armond from White Lotus)
Billionaire boomers Chairwoman Park, who accounts for 2% of South Korean GDP, and her younger plastic surgeon husband
Costume designer Olga Mill made each character feel sharply realistic. What really stood out to me though, wasnât the clothes, but the intentional use of jewelry.
Almost every single character wears a necklace. Set against the showâs exploration of class tension and capitalist critique, these necklaces seemed to function as amulets or talismansâsignaling the charactersâ inner motives and desires.
In this newsletter, Iâve catalogued and analyzed every noteworthy necklace in the entire showâall 24 of them.
In some cases, I figured out who makes it and linked the item, or found a similar vintage style. Unsurprisingly, writing this letter gave the jewelry bug and I ended up ordering two things from the Laura Lombardi sample sale which ends today: a box chain choker and a flat bar links chain.
****WARNING!!!! LIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD!!! FINISH WATCHING THE SHOW IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED!!!****
Lindsay
Between her floral print Doen dresses and breezy Cord Studio printed sets, Lindsay reads as a California boho-riche woman. She has the kind of financial dysphoria where sheâs actually very well-off, but feels poor because sheâs always surrounded by people who are richer than her (and her husband spent her entire inheritance, so thereâs thatâŚ). She wears Adanola sets to tennis, Isabel Marant coats for desert rat cosplay, and the Monastery red light mask for her nighttime ritual of drinking wine and micro-cheating with an ex in her DMs.
She also has the best necklaces in the show. This is how we first meet her character:
The necklace and earring set, an old design by ORA-C, features a fish-shaped pendant and floral-shaped earrings. The fish is known to symbolize prosperity and abundance in many cultures, so this necklace represents her relationship with material wealth. (In Episode 1, her husband Josh also wears a fish pendant, which Iâll get into later!). Theyâre both after a generational bag, the kind where you can drop $300K on a country club membership.
Lindsayâs dress also resembles the dusky Dutch and Flemish oil paintings in the showâs title cards. In totality, her outfit has fruits, flowers, and fishâall symbols of the abundance she wants to attract or obtain through a little white-collar crime.
Lindsayâs most-worn piece of jewelry is this blue evil eye pendant on a choker chain. Canât find the exact one but this $86 one is very similar, and I also like Chan Luuâs version with the fish and pearls!
The evil eye is meant to protect its wearer from the jealousy and envy of others. In a way, it says âIâm sooooo successful/beautiful/blessed that I need to be protected from your envy.â But the kicker is that the country club women are not envious of Lindsay, itâs really the other way around!
She wears this necklace when sheâs feeling status-insecure around people who are richer and more powerful. Ex: she wears it at the country club during the first meeting with Chairwoman Park.
Then, during her little teatime chat with country club queen bee Ava and her posse, Lindsay wears two evil eye pendants. Similar version of the longer gold necklace here.
This is a moment where she feels small and embarrassed, after realizing that Woosh, the young hot tennis coach, was not just sending flirty texts to herâŚhe was working every woman at the country club in hopes of shilling Korean sunscreen (#affiliateking).
Next up, my fave Lindsay outfitâan Ozma alpaca cardigan & Nasty Gal green ribbon trim satin tank. Itâs sort of Practical Magic, no?
When I saw this necklace onscreen, I knew the show was leaning into overt thematic symbolism.