Beef
Lee Sung Jin
Painful stories of rage and jealousy and love and the entirety of the human condition. Worth a watch if you can deal with an endless parade of well-acted and cringeworthy scenarios.
Home · Dark Comedy · 18 Episodes @ ~40min
Beef is an anthology series. So two seasons in now and both are excellent (with no connective tissue between the two other than intangible vibes). The series mainstays are excellent writing, brilliant direction, and perfect music choices.
I cannot help but liken Beef to The White Lotus. Bad things are being done by (mostly) bad people and you want to see a comeuppance. And even though the bad people are humanized and well developed, you revel in seeing the misery and the sadness while sympathizing with the imperfections of the human condition that are being so well displayed . At least that's what I try to do. Some of you root for the treacherous villains (see: Breaking Bad, et al). But I believe all folks can be forgiven, while still being judged harshly.
Note: I didn't really enjoy White Lotus after season 1. In part because it broke the anthology promise, and in part because it got lost on where the gold was and just kept digging the same hole. The plotlines didn't change facets and it didn't offer anything new other than a location. Beef seems to have successfully recreated itself season-over-season.
Season 1
Fury and retribution. Holding grudges against people you barely know, because you need a place to vent out your own anger with all the frustrations and failures in your own life that are plaguing you.
Well acted, well written, and well directed. And I love that theme of projection to the point you forget your own failures. It's the current way of life for so many of the narcissistic amongst us.
Season 2
Romantic relationship dynamics to the max. Always pointed. Inescapably painful. But bounded by love and fear and the strength of each of those determines so much.
The season is again hilarious and painful to watch. You cannot help but crave something like that from time to time. The imperfections it showcases with all-too-true scenarios are so incredibly well done. And again well acted and well directed.
Worth a watch if you can deal with cringe, because this season has it in even bigger heaps. But I didn't really enjoy the ending. It wrapped things up nicely but it diffused too cleanly instead of the messy implosion I was hoping for.
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