In BEEF, Danny’s parents lose their business because of Danny’s cousin, Isaac. Danny then betrays Isaac to get back the life he had lost because of him. David Choe plays the role of Isaac.
Danny’s parents had to leave the US and go back to Korea because they lost their motel. Since they lost their business, Danny and his brother, Paul, have been struggling to live a decent life. Danny now works as a contractor.
On top of that, Danny has to put together enough money to bring his parents back to the US. He wishes to buy them the land that they always wanted and build a house for them.
Danny’s family lost their motel because his cousin, Isaac, was running an illegal business there. Danny did not know what exactly he was doing at the motel, but he never questioned him. Due to this, Paul even blames Danny for their current state.
Isaac’s influence on Danny
Danny meets Isaac when the latter comes out of prison. Isaac does not take responsibility for his actions and their consequences. He claims that he was not fully involved in the illegal business of counterfeiting baby formula. He tells Danny that he was just the middleman.
It has been three months since he has been out of prison. He has now started an import-export business, which he claims is completely legitimate, but that does not seem to be the case. He feels bad about what happened to Danny’s family, so he loans $20,000 to Danny.
When Amy leaves bad reviews online and Danny’s business suffers, Isaac advises him to start a new business. He tells Danny to get a new license under someone else’s name.
Initially, Danny plans to get a new license under Paul’s name, but due to their disagreements, he decides to get it under Isaac’s name, even though he knows that Isaac always ends up in trouble with the authorities. Isaac even claims that he was a part of the K-town riots that took place in LA in 1992.
The more Danny stays with Isaac, the more he gets influenced by him. Danny tries to do the right thing all the time, and it makes no difference to his life. Isaac disregards the law, and he gets to live a comfortable life.
Danny decides to take Isaac’s advice and changes his ways. He plans to steal from the church he has recently started attending. The church needs to be renovated, and Danny offers to do it for them.
The church will have to take a loan for the renovations, which will be given to Danny to buy the materials needed. Isaac uses his connections and helps Danny steal the materials, which allows them to pocket the money that the church is giving them.
The weakening partnership
When Paul takes Danny’s truck, which has the stolen material in it, to Vegas, Danny and Isaac, still somewhat drunk, chase after him. There, the three of them get into an argument.
Paul, who does not like Isaac, tells Isaac how he feels about him. Isaac and Danny bully Paul, and Isaac reveals that he was sent to LA when he misbehaved as a child.
In Vegas, Isaac and Danny create a scene at Amy’s event and get arrested. Isaac gets charged with crossing state lines, grand larceny, and assault.
It is Isaac who goes to prison, not Danny, because they had also stolen a fridge that was found in the truck, which was under Isaac’s name. He is then put under house arrest.
When Danny proposes a new plan, Isaac slaps him and insults him in front of everyone. He tells Danny that he is going to take the money from the church while Danny does all the hard work. Isaac is going to use all that money to get a lawyer who would keep him out of prison.
Later, Isaac gives Danny a small share of the money, but not without taking credit for the whole scheme. He takes the lead and expects Danny to do as he says, but it is clear that his behavior bothers Danny, who even plans a heist behind his back.
The betrayal
As Danny and Isaac have been working together, Isaac shows Danny where he keeps his cash. Isaac trusts Danny because they are cousins. He even tells him about his lawyer’s plan to keep him out of prison and his own plans to expand the business.
Danny then betrays Isaac and sends a tip to Naomi; he tells her that Isaac was the one who was involved in the road rage incident. Isaac’s parole gets canceled, and he is sent back to prison.
He tells the cops the truth about Danny’s involvement, but they do not believe him because of his past record. Isaac asks Danny to come clean, but Danny never does that.
In fact, in his absence, Danny takes over his business and uses his cash to reverse the damage done by Isaac in the first place. He even starts dating the girl Isaac liked and wanted to date, Esther.
Danny gets his parents to the US and builds a house for them. Danny’s family no longer needs to struggle, thanks to Isaac’s business and money.
The kidnapping and robbery
Amy decides to make things right and tells the police that she and Danny were involved in the road rage incident, not Isaac. The police let Isaac go, who plans to get back at Danny.
This is also the time when Danny accidentally kidnaps Amy’s daughter, June. Before Danny could leave and disappear, Isaac returns and demands his money back.
Isaac is in danger, as the Filipinos will kill him if he does not pay them back, but Danny has already spent that money. Isaac then decides to tie up Danny and Paul, keep June, and demand ransom from Amy.
Amy cannot pay him $500,000 cash in a few hours, so she gives him the idea to rob Jordan’s house, which has a room full of precious crowns. Those crowns would fetch Isaac at least a million dollars.
Isaac goes to rob the house with his two dimwitted companions, Bobby and Michael, and takes Amy, Naomi, and Jordan hostage. However, things do not go as planned because George informs the police about the robbery.
Isaac decides to put the blame on Danny and Paul, but things continue getting worse, and Jordan dies a painful death. Isaac cannot back out now because he will be killed anyway if he does not leave the house with the crowns.
Amy tries to convince him not to kill her, and for a while, it seems like he might listen to her, but when the police arrive, he starts shooting. Michael dies in the shooting, but Isaac survives.
He gets arrested and is taken away, but he is not going to be safe in prison with the Filipinos targeting him. It is never revealed if Isaac survives in prison or not.
