It’s only been a few weeks since the premiere of Beef, and the Netflix series has already been hailed as one of the year’s best shows. Chronicling a road rage incident that forces its two participants — played by Ali Wong and Steven Yeun — into a spiral of revenge, black comedy and Burger King sandwiches, the A24-produced show has rightfully become the buzziest show of 2023, with a potential Emmy nod for best anthology series currently under consideration.
After skyrocketing up Netflix’s Top 10 charts across the globe, Beef’s climactic finale has since inspired countless fan theories — which is perhaps to be expected for a show about double-crossing and mid-life crises. Amongst all the chatter, there remains what is Beef’s central narrative fuel; a doomed parking lot feud and the numerous side-conflicts that result from it. From Amy and Danny’s infamous road rage quarrel to all the in-fighting that occurs around it, we’re sorting through all the beefs on Netflix’s Beef — and all the gloves are off.
Sibling rivalry: Danny vs. Paul
Perhaps the most enduring beef occurring all throughout Beef’s first season is the generational conflict between Danny and his younger brother, Paul (played by Young Mazino). While they are both bound by parental pressures, the sibling duo share different life philosophies, with Danny seeking the stability of a wife and business, while Paul chases after self-made millionaire status.
These tensions boil to a head when Paul is catfished by Amy — a revenge tactic that wreaks havoc on the brothers’ relationship and is only further fuelled by Danny’s shady dealings with their cousin, Issac. During a flashback scene in the penultimate episode, we learn that Danny first planted the beef seed decades prior, after discarding Paul’s college application letters — a decision that plays out in the siblings’ heartbreaking farewell in the season finale.
Beef runs deep: Danny vs. Isaac
Audiences most likely clocked Isaac’s dubious intentions from the moment he first appeared in episode one, but the full depth of his deceit was enough to inspire one of Beef’s more sinister rivalries. Proving that beef runs thicker than water in the Cho family, Isaac (played by David Choe) slyly assigns himself as the title-holder of various aspects of the family business, and masterminds a plan to launder money through the local church.
What begins as seemingly trivial cousinly favours soon descends into an all-out criminal enterprise, a feat helped along by Isaac’s shady lackeys and previous experience as a baby formula counterfeiter. The feud reaches its apex in episode six, when Danny wrongfully informs police that Isaac was the road rage driver — sending his cousin to prison and (temporarily) ending their beef. Of course, Isaac’s eventual prison release only amplifies the cousins’ feud in Beef’s final episodes, as revenge schemes and slapdash abductions ensue.
Love triangle: Danny vs. Edwin
Early on in Beef, we’re introduced to the now-husband of Danny’s former girlfriend Veronica. Leader of the local church group and avid singer, Edwin’s disarmingly good looks masquerade what appears to be a deep-seated jealousy for Danny — a fact confirmed when Edwin later mentions his wife’s compliments about her former lover. From passive aggressive comments about Danny’s handyman skills to a reluctance to involve him in the church, Edwin has it out for Danny, to the point where he becomes one of the prime suspects in the fire that burned Danny’s house down.
In a moment that all-but squashes the conflict, we learn that, in between pranking Danny with faux magazine subscriptions, Edwin is having a mid-life crisis of his own, with marriage quarrels and swirling debts. Danny reaches an understanding with Edwin in what might be Beef’s only resolved feud.
The in-law beef: Amy vs. Fumi
Taking the relatable anxiety of the dreaded in-law to a new level, Amy’s season-long feud with her mother-in-law Fumi (played by Patti Yasutake) is one of comedic gold. Fumi’s constant barbs about the Lau family’s outdated kitchen and how best to parent their daughter June is rife with cringe-inducing humour, which only amplifies the simmering in-law feud. Throughout the season, we learn that Fumi’s targeted quips belie what is an otherwise lonely existence, with her late husband’s estate quickly drying up and her calls to friends going unanswered.
After getting caught up in the failed Lau house robbery, Fumi learns of Amy’s dealings with Danny, which allows her to reach a surprising understanding with her daughter-in-law. Fumi takes the fall for Amy after her road rage incident is uncovered, and eventually encourages Amy to mend fences with her husband, George.
Boss beef: Amy vs. Jordan
Amy’s deal for the sale of her plant company to Jordan (played by Maria Bello) is the source of almost all of her anxiety throughout Beef. Dangling the multi-million dollar deal like a carrot, Jordan’s business manoeuvring leaves Amy in a perpetual state of limbo, as each interaction with her soon-to-be boss is rife with double-meaning. From quips that she could cost-effectively outsource Amy’s products overseas, to withholding the deal over the sale of a thousand-dollar chair, Jordan remains one of Beef’s more detestable characters, which makes her Parasite–level demise in the penultimate episode all the more compelling.
The beef reaches its climax when, rather than fronting the ransom money herself, Amy suggests that Isaac rob Jordan of her ludicrous (but expensive) collection of crowns, in exchange for June’s safe return. Needless to say, the return is anything but safe for Jordan and her ill-fated torso.
Neighbourly beef: Amy vs. Naomi
Amy’s feud with Jordan’s sister-in-law turned-lover Naomi (played by Ashley Park) begins innocently enough before spiralling to its bloodied depths. Jealousy brews between the pair after Amy makes a snarky comment about Naomi being a stay-at-home mom. From there, all it takes is Danny’s drunken comment at Amy’s Las Vegas business panel to set off alarm bells in Naomi, who quickly deduces everything that’s happened between Amy and Danny since that infamous road rage incident.
After interrogating neighbours and uncovering Amy’s affair — albeit with the wrong Cho brother, Naomi has all but ruined Amy’s business deal. That is, until Fumi takes the fall for Amy and, in one of Beef’s most brutal scenes, Naomi saves herself to the detriment of Jordan’s upper body.
Imaginary beef: Amy and Miss Viola Swamp
Perhaps Beef’s most jarring moment occurs in episode eight, when Amy encounters a jarringly rugged witch through a series of flashback sequences. Lifted from the Miss Nelson children’s book series, the Viola Swamp-inspired witch arrives as an apparition throughout major milestones in Amy’s childhood and adolescence, and marks Beef’s brief tangent into the supernatural. First appearing when Amy notices her father’s infidelity and later when she seeks out anonymous casual sex, the witch serves as a metaphor for Amy’s misdeeds being constantly overseen and judged.
Burying her rage beneath a smile for the sake of saving face, Amy’s true nature rears its head after the road rage incident, to the point where the witch is forced to intervene. A symbol for decades of unreleased anger being kept in check, Amy’s generational feud with the witch is in essence a feud with herself — in all her ugly, rage-filled glory.
The beef to end all beefs: Amy vs Danny
A taxonomy of Beef’s neverending and simultaneous feuds would be remiss not to mention the incident that started it all. Shown in all its heated mess within the first few scenes and lingering well into the show’s final episodes, the central road rage incident between Danny and Amy undoubtedly kickstarted the snowball of retaliation that would soon follow. After mindlessly pulling out of the Forsters car park and nearly hitting Amy, Danny is faced with a long series of car horns and — perhaps most infuriatingly, a middle finger courtesy of Amy.
The pair then chase each other dangerously through suburban streets, launching what will be the tit-for-tat retaliations that form the show’s basic structure. Vandalised cars, arson attempts, catfishing, and negative Yelp reviews ensue, until the pair must confront their lust for revenge in the isolation of the Californian desert.
Danny and Amy vs. the elderberries
Who would’ve thought that after all their near-death revenge schemes, Amy and Danny’s season-long beef was to be buried by a handful of elderberries? After becoming stranded in the desert in the season finale, Danny and Amy resort to consuming what they think are edible wildberries. Of course, a hilarious vomiting scene and a series of hallucinogenic experiences would prove that their foraging skills are subpar, with the poisonous fruit almost spelling the end for the dehydrated and painfully lost pair.
Thankfully, the berries offer more than comic hijinks, allowing numerous monologues in which both Danny and Amy reach epiphanies in their treatment of others and themselves. By the end of their trip, Danny and Amy have reached a mutual understanding, which might’ve been a happy ending, were it not for the arrival of George.
Ending with a bang: Danny vs. George
From a show like Beef, we shouldn’t have expected all the loose ends to be tied-up neatly by a handful of berries. While Danny and Amy had become unlikely friends towards the end of the season finale, the relationship was ultimately cut short by what is Beef’s final, and perhaps most irrevocable confrontation.
As George comes to Amy’s rescue in the desert, things seem like they might go to plan, until George brandishes a firearm and, believing Danny to be the cause of all this madness, points it directly at him. After the gunshot, we pick up with Amy by Danny’s hospital bed and after embracing one of the show’s biggest tearjerkers, Danny’s once-lifeless arm wraps around Amy before the credits roll.
So there you have it, a run through of all the feuds and mini-feuds central to Netflix’s Beef, and the ultimate rivalry that kickstarted it all. All episodes of Beef are currently streaming on Netflix, with creator Lee Sung Jin recently revealing that a second season could go ahead with one “really big idea.”