I am super interested in the mechanics/art of storytelling and am always looking for quality writing in my shows/movies to pick apart and hold up against others as "crown jewels". Some shows are style over substance, some have good dialogue with pretentious "big ideas", interesting ideas with poor execution, great conception dragged down by crappy performances, etc. When everything culminates to create something magic and true and riveting, though, it is special and doesn't come around often.

I think this show is perfect. A perfectly told, fresh story that has never been told before (at least in this way), where all the characters are real and nuanced, none are completely villainous or completely innocent, big themes slowly reveal themselves in different ways and through different people, surprising plot turns that still make perfect sense in terms of character logic, the pacing and presentation (like the alt rock cliffhangers) keeps you thrilled and engaged throughout, and we all get to learn so much about these specific personalities' unique despairs, in a way that feels like what all great writing does - brings something into focus about the human experience in general that we all can kind of pick up on in a subtle way and have maybe never spent too much time thinking about or "putting the pieces together", but we recognize it as true and authentic when we see it. Anyone can make a thrilling show/movie about road rage that spirals out of control, but what this show did was much deeper and complex. It was this whole perfectly calibrated tapestry of shame, rage, denial, identity, family, relationship, mental health, class, influence, hierarchy, generational trauma... that used road rage as a vehicle (no pun intended) to collect and categorize truth in a modern, untapped way and will help many younger people (particularly gen X/millenials) understand their own inner anxieties better and find a way out from the weight of their own misery.

Parasite, Better Call Saul, The Leftovers are some other examples of these types of pieces that come across once in awhile that just completely blow you away with the scope and clarity of the storytelling. Just perfectly constructed little jewel boxes of finely tuned, layered meaning for us to enjoy and dissect for years to come. Shout out to everyone that worked on this show I really loved it.