"Beef's" critical reception within the fandom is pretty polarising. Some found it entertaining in a campy sort of way. Others found it too preachy, a criticism that was not uncommon for Season 11 of 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit'. This episode left me very conflicted on previous viewings, with it having its moments while agreeing with the criticisms often cited against it. Did appreciate that it did try to cover a serious issue that is still relevant and something to be aware of.
My feelings of "Beef" are still conflicted. It is not a terrible episode, doesn't really do anything offensive and has its good things. It just left me, and always has left me, rather "ehh" and not as interested as hoped. The subject had a lot of potential, but the episode tries too hard with it while not doing enough with the case itself. So an episode regarding meat cleanliness with not enough meat to the material. There were quite a few common problems with Season 11 and "Beef" has most.
Am going to start with the good. It is a slickly made episode, with the editing being more refined than when the show first started and again intimate but never suffocating photography. The music is sparingly used and never seemed melodramatic, the theme tune easy to remember as usual. The direction is sympathetic enough without being too low key on the whole.
The acting from the regulars is fine. The running gag dog jokes were good fun.
However, "Beef" just felt lacking, not that memorable and is lacking in the subtlety department. The story tries to cram in too much, has too few twists and turns and the case just felt tired and dull. Absolutely agree with the lack of investigative work and too much reliance on baseless conclusion jumping without proof, unauthorised searches and sackable offense worthy behaviour towards suspects, a common issue with Season 11 and an annoying one.
Furthermore, the case also got lost amidst what the episode has to say about meat and its process, far too much emphasis on it and what is said is heavy handed in the extreme and very one-sided. The dialogue can sound awkward and has the subtlety of a sledgehammer. The supporting characters aren't interesting and the acting for them is as forgettable as the case. Aaron Tveit certainly went on to much better things that were much more in his comfort zone.
In summary, watchable but didn't quite do it for me. 5/10.