When I first saw Beef on Netflix, I thought that I would be watching an intense cooking show that involved stressed chefs and ornate dishes. Although Beef was very different from my expectations, I was instantly drawn in by the first episode. I love this show because of its quick pace and hilarious dialogue. Beef follows the lives of Danny (Steven Yeun) and Amy (Ali Wong) and their encounter in a parking lot that sets off a chain of events. Neither character initially views the face of the other as they chase each other through the streets in their cars. By memorizing one another’s license plates, Danny and Amy cross paths and set out to ruin each other’s lives.

The episodes escalate quickly, but not in the way you would predict. Throughout the series, a road rage incident causes Danny and Amy to seek out revenge on each other. Their actions and decisions spin out of control until their personal lives become inextricably linked.

At first glance, it appears as though the two characters have nothing in common. Danny works as a contractor who is barely making ends meet. He is trying to save up to afford a home for his Korean parents while simultaneously looking after his brother, Paul. Their cousin, Isaac, has been released from prison and becomes involved in the messy situation between Danny and Amy, creating more havoc.

On the other hand, Amy is a business owner who married the son of a famous sculptor. She is desperately trying to sell her business. Her stay-at-home husband looks after their daughter. While Amy works, her mother-in-law, Fumi, also helps to look after Amy’s daughter. Fumi creates an uncomfortable presence in Amy’s home, as she seems to disapprove of Amy’s decisions, such as those that concern Amy’s daughter or her remodeled home.

Both Danny and Amy are grappling with difficulties in their personal lives when the road rage incident occurs—an event that culminates into a wild chase, crushed flowerbeds, and soft drinks flying through the air. We see that both have an emotion that has been brewing deep inside of them for a long time: anger. The examination of what the characters do with their anger was most interesting about the show.

Danny and Amy both reach their breaking point and choose to act on their anger. To their family, friends, and people they interact with at their jobs, Danny and Amy attempt to hold it all together and swallow their emotions. However, their anger is eating away at them from the inside, leaving them in a pit of emptiness and despair. The road rage incident serves as a catalyst for this anger to be unleashed. As a result, Danny and Amy are more alike than it appears. They deal with their emotion of anger by clashing with each other, which puts them on a level playing field for revenge despite their different backgrounds, issues, and flaws.

Their feud creates a space for both characters to break free from other people’s expectations of how they should live their lives. One of the reasons why both characters struggle is their tendency to not express how they truly feel. Danny acts as if everything is fine when he talks to his parents, while he is mistreated at his odd jobs and barely has any clients. It was interesting to view his character in contrast to Paul, who spends his time playing video games and “helping” Danny with odd jobs.

Paul seems to have accepted his life for what it is and isn’t trying to pretend. He avoids Isaac while Danny still meets with Isaac despite his shady past. Even though Paul seems to have an apathetic attitude towards working, he is free from any expectations that others may have set up for him. Paul chooses how he wants to live his life while Danny feels unfulfilled in his own life.

The scenes of Danny and Amy portraying wide grins parallel each other. The smiles are a substitute for the anger that they hide behind a curtain. In real life, we only see the sides that a person wants to show. People can create characters of their own selves so that they are perceived in a certain way. This is what Danny and Amy do. However, viewers also get to see all facets of the characters, which makes the show even more compelling. Beef provides a “birds-eye view” of the personal lives of these characters, and we get to see their imperfect aspects and the repercussions of their decisions.

This dark comedy show, created by Lee Sung Jin, reminded me of White Lotus. I would rank Beef as one of my favorite shows of all time. It will be exciting to see what the second season reveals. Lee is a Korean-American writer and director who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in economics. Lee has also worked on shows such as Tuca & Bertie and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. He gained inspiration for his show due to a road rage incident he experienced.

The second season of Beef will follow “a young couple who witnesses an alarming fight between their boss and his wife, triggering chess moves of favors and coercion in the elitist world of a country club and its Korean billionaire owner,” according to Tudum.