Warning: Massive spoilers ahead forBad Monkeyseason 1, episode 10, “We’re in the Memory-Making Business.“One big character death in theBad Monkeyseason 1 finale came at the wrong time, and it could have been so much more effective if it had been moved just a little bit.Bad Monkeyseason 1’s ending included more than one character death, but it arguably should have featured just one less. While the mass exit of several members of theBad Monkeycastaligns with Carl Hiaasen’s literary source material,Apple TV+ mishandled one specific momentwhen finishing the inaugural run of Vince Vaughn’s dark comedy detective show.
AlthoughBad Monkeyis shot in Florida, the show is set in the Bahamas as well as the Sunshine State. As a result, the show’s collection of brilliant characters spans and combines two different cultures, which makes the story even more compelling.Bad Monkeyhasn’t shied away from violenceand gruesome injuries, and while most have been well executed, one character’s gory happened just slightly too late.
The Dragon Queen should have met her end before the finale
Grace reclaiming her Dragon Queen moniker and facing off against Eve Stripling at theend ofBad Monkeyseason 1, episode 9, “You Really Don’t Want to Kill This Scrumptious Little Puppy,” was the perfect opportunity for one of the women to meet their end. Unfortunately, the opening minutes of the finale, “We’re in the Memory-Making Business,” reveal that it’s Grace who the writers have chosen to kill off. The shocking moment sets the drama bar incredibly high, but"We’re in the Memory-Making Business” fails to reach that level of shock again, which hurts the episode.
If “We’re in the Memory-Making Business” had started after the title sequence, then the whole episode would have been more relevant to closing out the story.
Gracie’s death takes up the entirety of the finale’s cold open. If “We’re in the Memory-Making Business” had started after the title sequence, then the whole episode would have been more relevant to closing out the story. With the installment the way it is,the fall of the Dragon Queen feels more like unfinished business from the episode beforethat didn’t quite fit in. Sure, it gave episode 9 a brilliant cliffhanger, but Gracie being quite obviously murdered would have been equally effective as a stopping point - if not even better.
Gracie being aware of Egg’s injury can only be explained by her boasting genuine powers
Bad Monkeyseason 1 was incredibly ambiguous throughout about whether Gracie’s powers were genuine or whether she was just scamming people out of their hard-earned cash. However, her spectral farewell tour provided the strongest piece of evidence yet thatthe Dragon Queen was not a phony. While two of her three visits could be argued to be hallucinations caused by her dying brain, Gracie’s conversation with Egg is a little different.
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When theDragon Queen speaks with Egg one last time, the Striplings' hired muscle is nursing a gunshot wound to the leg given to him by Rosa in the previous episode. Since the injury, Egg and Gracie hadn’t interacted, so she wouldn’t know that Egg was hurt. If the exchange was entirely in Gracie’s mind, then Egg wouldn’t have this wound at all, as she would have no reason to visualize such a specific deviation from her last memory of him. Unexpectedly, this makes it difficult to deny thatBad Monkeydelves into the world of the supernatural.
Bad Monkey
Cast
A former Miami detective turned health inspector, Andrew Yancy, discovers a severed arm while working in the Florida Keys. Determined to solve the mystery and reclaim his former position, he navigates through a web of quirky locals and corruption, all while dealing with a troublesome monkey.
