Abhiroop Das
Created by Gabe Rotter, Netflix’s ‘The Beast in Me’ journeys along with Agatha Wiggs, a renowned author with only a single novel under her belt and years’ worth of writer’s block. However, that appears to change with the arrival of Nile Jarvis as her new neighbour. As the two unlikely personalities interact, they surprisingly find common ground, and amidst the infectious mystery surrounding the death of Nile’s wife, Agatha finds a story worth telling. In the previous episodes, Detective Brian Abbott figures out that Nile did not kill, but abducted Teddy Fenig. However, the FBI Agent’s fatal mistake turns out to be underestimating Nile, as he not only outsmarts but also beats him to death. However, unbeknownst to Nile, his closest confidante, Agatha, is spearheading this investigation. Episodes 5 and 6 of this mystery thriller series, titled ‘Bacchanal’ and ‘The Beast and Me,’ jump into the heart of this veiled conflict and show how both characters react when stress-tested to their limits. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Nile and Agatha Have an Unlikely Heart-to-Heart Conversation
After murdering Detective Brian Abbott, Nile pays Agatha a surprise visit, only to find out that she has been drinking on her own. Nile wastes no time joining her in the endeavour and uses that as an opportunity to ask questions. Upon being pressed about her interactions with Brian, Agatha fabricates lies about having scathing interviews with him, before shifting the conversation to Madison’s parents, who have nothing but praise. Nile is amused, but seemingly believes her words, which allows him to relax and enjoy the night. In the middle of their chat, Nile has to get up to pee, and Agatha suggests heading for the upstairs washroom, where he chances upon Cooper’s room. It appears to have been left unchanged since his passing years ago, and Agatha gets anxious when Nile enters the room and begins fiddling with its elements. However, with some encouragement, he gets her to lower her guard just enough to enter the room once again.
Sitting by Cooper’s bed and thoroughly drunk, Nile and Agatha begin discussing the past, particularly the subject of her acclaimed novel, Sick Puppy. The memoir narrative is about her relationship with her father, a con artist, and here Agatha brings up aspects of her lived experience that are not detailed in the novel itself. While recalling the constant moving and shifting locations, she explains that she bought this enormous house on impulse to create a permanent fixture for Cooper to call home. That is also why she refuses to sell the house and move on, despite her inability to fund it month by month. Somewhere during the heartfelt discussion, Agatha falls asleep, and Nile tucks her in Cooper’s bed before leaving. At home, he is confronted by Nina, who has a hard time believing that he was simply out talking. The argument nearly leads to a glimpse into Nile’s darker side, but Nina tempers the situation in time, and the two have sex.
Agatha Confirms that Nile Killed Madison
The next day, Nile leaves home early to run a list of errands, with the most urgent one being the disposal of Brian’s corpse at a local scrapyard. Elsewhere, Martin Jarvis concots a different method to get Olivia Benitez to submit to his whims, and this involves orchestrating a mob attack at one of her rallies. Rick uses his contacts in the police to his advantage, and before long, an attack on police officers is staged, with chaos breaking out left and right. Later that day, Benitez surveys all the damage done online and realizes that the integrity of her pro-housing movement has been irreparably tarnished. Refusing to give up, she holds a risky press conference, declaring the entire incident to be the handiwork of businesspersons like the Jarvises, but the plan backfires, and she is unable to take any real accountability. Nile catches the news just in time, as Martin sits back and watches in glee, knowing that he has won.
Elsewhere, Agatha makes a game-changing discovery when Madison’s younger brother, who appears to be cut off from family circles, reaches out to her. Their meeting in a park reveals a series of damning secrets surrounding Jarvis’s business operations and how those are intimately connected to Madison’s death. As it turns out, a significant portion of the loan the company took out for Jarvis Yards is cartel money, and part of this loan is still managed by Madison’s parents to this day, in exchange for 5% of the company. However, with the market sensing unease, Nile cannot afford to take any more losses, and the same applies to the parents. To top it off, Madison’s brother hands her a box full of items he had taken from her house right after her death, and inside, Agatha finds a diary where Madison had noted down every bird she saw. However, a torn page from 2017, the year of her first suicide attempt, turns out to have the same size and shape as the suicide note, indicating that Nile repurposed it with malicious intent.
Erika and Agatha Look for Brian
As Agatha seemingly cracks the code, Brian’s absence in this entire process begins to irk even more. Unbeknownst to her, Nile is busy throwing away all of Brian’s possessions at the same time, which makes her sudden phone call a complete game-changer. Although Nile doesn’t pick up the call, her follow-up text messages make things even worse, as he now knows that Agatha has been conspiring against him all along. Alarmed as much as he is enraged, Nile returns to where he has held Teddy captive and begins charting his next course of action. Meanwhile, Agatha, still unaware, decides to take matters into her own hands and heads out for Brian’s apartment. Upon finding it locked, she steals the master key from the building supervisor and steps into the apartment. The injuries he received from the dogs earlier prove to be of accidental help, as the blood strewn all over the washroom tells Agatha that something is seriously wrong.
Before Agatha can move any further, however, she hears the door unlocking from the outside, and barely has time to hide in a closet. In comes Detective Erika Breton, Brian’s supervisor and technically the lead of all his investigations, as well as an informant for the Jarvises. However, her present reason for entering his house is pure concern, and upon catching Agatha in the house red-handed, she assumes the worst. But Agatha calms the situation down by recounting her entire dynamic with Brian and how he might currently hold the key to bringing Nile down. Additionally, she also relays the proof she collected regarding the torn letter, and Erika is no longer able to deny Nile’s connection to all of this. However, with no access to Brian, the case remains vastly unfinished, save for the pendrive he hid between his drawers, which is later found by Agatha.
Nile Plays His Trump Card by Framing Agatha
When Erika plugs the drive into a computer, a live stream featuring Teddy Fenig appears, confirming that he is still alive, albeit barely. Erika takes charge immediately, directing Agatha to rush back home, while she brings this news to her supervisors. In the background, various developments take place simultaneously, starting with Nina, who finds out that she is seven weeks pregnant, despite being previously told that she could never have a baby. Although she knows Nile’s perspective on children, she calls him a, announcing that she wants to keep the baby, to which Nile shows relative indifference. Elsewhere, Martin personally invites Olivia Benitez to his house for a renegotiation, and here, he unveils his life philosophy. He states that his business choices are defined by his impending death due to old age, and as a part of the youth force, Benitez is unlikely to understand it. Nonetheless, she accepts the deal offered previously by Nile, and Martin recommends breaking the news together, soon.
On her way home, Agatha is called by her editor, who is bursting with praise and excitement about the new novel, having read its first three chapters. However, she has no idea that her novelist might be facing death in real time. When Agatha catches sight of Nile by her entranceway, she informs her editor to call back in five minutes or call the police. In the meantime, Nile ominously takes her on yet another hike through the forest stretch, pondering when he can read some of the writing. Agatha lies yet again and uses the phone call as a way to cut the exchange short and rush back home. However, more surprises lie in wait, as she discovers that her draft of the novel, titled ‘The Beast and Me,’ has been edited, with a red marker pointing out several changes, including the title, now ‘The Beast in Me.’
Agatha figures out that Nile broke into her home to read and edit the book, but a phone call from him reveals that it’s not all. As he begins recounting Teddy Fenig’s mysterious disappearance, he talks about never expecting her to be capable of drastic measures. Although confused at the start, she soon realizes, much to her horror, that Nile has not only killed Teddy Fenig but also put his body inside Cooper’s room, framing Agatha as the grand culprit. As such, the episode ends on a cliffhanger, with Nile potentially getting away with yet another crime.
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