Life and Beth Season 2 Feels Like a Warm Hug
Much like Amy Schumer’s brilliant stand up, her original series Life and Beth offers the same hilarity, but with a softer, subtle introspective look into Amy’s childhood and how it shaped her into the woman she is today. The series explores the life of Beth, a seemingly successful Manhattan saleswoman who has it all — from an outside perspective. The first season introduces us to Beth while she is at a crossroad in her life and she has come to terms with facing her childhood trauma and the effects it’s had in her adult life, all while trying to figure out who she really wants to become. Throughout season one, we get to grow with Beth as she navigates a newfound life and discovering what once made her happy. With constant flashbacks to significant moments in her childhood and teenage years, the audience is forced to reckon with the reality that we lose what once made us happy as kids at the sacrifice of “growing up.” Beth challenges that and tries to rediscover her love for life.
The series is based loosely off of Schumer’s real life and there’s something so deeply comforting about a successful woman admitting she hasn’t been so her whole life. She has imperfections — plenty of them — and she isn’t afraid to show that. Fresh off the heels of the first season, we follow the same ol’ Beth in season two, anxious about every decision she makes. I often relate to these scenes. We also see her fresh relationship with her carefree boyfriend John, played by the delightful Michael Cera. As this season carries on strong, so does Beth and John’s relationship. There’s a marriage, a baby on the way, and a lot of tough conversations.
This is a new role for Michael Cera, and he does it so perfectly. You understand his character and are comforted by his presence on screen, all while also being slightly jealous that he truly lives his life with no constraints. Schumer allows us to get intimately close to her character Beth, utilizing her comedic dialogue and a glimpse of the life altering moments in her childhood, beautiful played by Violet Young.
The first season felt like I was alongside Schumer as her friend for her journey in self actualization and the second season is an enjoyable continuation of that. This season felt poetically like a love letter to her husband, showing how he’s made her comfortable in her own skin. This season also explores themes of mental health and it’s effects on relationships, but in a light undertone that makes it feel like we’re not intruding on Beth and John in their therapy sessions — We’re along for the ride with a couple we’ve grown close to and are rooting for.
There’s a nuance to this series that other shows haven’t quite perfected yet — all of the performances along with the writing feels real and raw. It portrays what real friendships, relationships, and traumas really look like. This season is a warm hug from Schumer, for all of us just figuring life out along the way.
Life and Beth returns with all ten episodes on Friday, February 16 on Hulu.
