The 3rd episode of The Beauty relies heavily on shock value to keep us waiting for next week. The episode focuses on the aftermath of Jordan’s disappearance after she “converted” from an STD virus that she was, in fact, investigating. It’s all getting only too crazy, and Cooper, despite having the appearance of a Great Dane, seems to be a lost puppy on the inside. On the other hand, it’s interesting to note that all the main characters of a show titled “The Beauty” are men, no? Ashton Kutcher showed up in the last episode for a bit, but honestly, the appeal is not there at all. Also, yes, it was very meta to see Ben Platt and Megan Trainor discuss Ozempic and Botox. Only Ryan could make this happen, no? Anyway, with that said, let’s dive straight into the 3rd episode.
Spoiler Alert
How Did Harper Die?
The Beauty episode 3 opens with a man and a woman discussing plastic surgery and other procedures to fix their appearance. The man instantly says he’s had work done, and she replies it doesn’t even look like it. When he brings it up to her, she says she made a massive mistake with the whole Botox lip injection thing, and then another woman named Harper joins them. She’s coughing and looks like there’s something wrong with her, which makes the other two worry a little bit, but Harper says she’s all good, until she needs water. This time around, things seem to happen in seconds, and there isn’t even any time to process what’s going on before Harper literally explodes in the middle of the cafeteria in front of everybody, one tiny drop of blood landing right in the eye of the dude from the start. I guess we’re left wondering if he’s contaminated too, though I’d imagine he’s not. But also, it looks like this “disease” is spreading like wildfire.
Where Is Cooper?
Back in Venice, Cooper gets arrested for killing a couple of people and causing mayhem, I guess. These people were likely sent by Byron, because they seemed to be extra strong (like steroid heavy), though I guess Cooper is still very skilled? He tells the people of the Italian police (their version of the FBI, maybe?) to be careful, because this could become a recurring incident. They make fun of him before he asks to get out of there in a rage. When Vincent Seraphine, the boss lady, shows up, he’s taken to another spot where they discuss Jordan being missing. Cooper’s really stressed, but he has to continue working while everyone promises him that they’ll find Jordan. Finally, Cooper is tested for the virus and released when he tests negative.
Where Is Jordan?
Jordan’s been missing for a few days by now, but there’s no chance of anybody being able to find her, because she looks like a completely different person. Would a DNA test work? We don’t know yet. Why is she in hiding, though, and why hasn’t she reached out to her partner yet? Cooper and Jordan share a great friendship; she even thanked him for being her best friend before they did the deed in the last episode, so why is she not trying to fix things with his help now? There’s a chance she feels embarrassed for what’s happened and thinks Cooper will judge her for it, maybe? But of course, if Cooper does end up finding her, he might also find a solution to get her back to her old self, or at least keep her alive, so they would get their ultimate happy ending. There’s a long way to go for that, though, because she needs to show up first.
Who Created The Virus And Why?
While we don’t know what lab the virus/drug/treatment (substance) was created in, we know that the boss man is Byron Forst. Forst seems to be the kind of guy who was always handsome and wanted to maintain this into his old age. Judging by his wife, he must be at least 70 years old. So basically, as a rich man, he created a fountain of youth to keep him and his close ones youthful forever. But then an early trial version was stolen, and now there’s a variant of it out there that nobody wants, because it’s killing people. Byron may have wanted this youth concoction for his sake, but now that it’s out in the open, it can become so much worse than just a “beauty” treatment. There’s a chance that Byron gets arrested for fueling bioweapon warfare, too, though that wasn’t his intention.
Why Does The Assassin Take Jeremy In?
In the meanwhile, the assassin is torturing somebody before he gets a call from his boss, Byron Forst, who tells the assassin to go to Indianapolis, where Claire had contaminated one more subject, Jeremy, before her death. The assassin makes it to the doctor’s lab and threatens him to tell him what he’s done with the STD virus. The doctor tells the assassin that he only ever used it on one person, and that was Jeremy. Claire is dead anyway, making me think that was also the assassin’s handiwork. We do know that Claire was the one who stole the virus from Byron, or she has an accomplice. After the doctor’s given him all the information, the assassin kills him right there, making sure this doesn’t happen again. Next thing you know, he comes for Jeremy, who is having the time of his life with his new body. When the assassin shows up, Jeremy is showering and immediately tries to fight the man.
The assassin doesn’t want to kill him immediately, though, because he needs to find the girl he slept with and passed on the virus to. On the way to her place, where, by the way, she already has a fever, the assassin plays a popular 80s track. He tells Jeremy that the man, Christopher Cross, was an 80s sensation, and everyone was obsessed with his song, “Sailing,” but when the world saw his appearance, they realized he was just an ordinary man, and he lost all his appeal. This is why the title of this episode is this man’s name, because it’s a reminder of how irrelevant you become if you’re not “beautiful enough.”
When they arrive at the date’s house, she’s nowhere to be seen, but there are some noises coming from upstairs. When they go up, she tries to attack Jeremy immediately. Between Jeremy and the assassin, they try to take her on, but ultimately it’s Jeremy who kills the woman and doesn’t even hesitate to do it. Apparently, this makes Jeremy more appealing to the assassin, though, because instead of killing him, as Jeremy requests, he decides to keep him as a pet project. The incident invokes something parental in the assassin, because he never saw that drive in his own child, who was spoiled because of a rich father who neglected his kid and only focused on himself. Both Byron and the assassin have this in common, and probably teamed up because of their fake regret of not looking after their kids properly. The assassin reveals to Jeremy that he was one of the early adopters of the procedure, and is actually 65 years old, though he looks 35. He says he’s got a son who needs help, just like Jeremy, but for some reason, the assassin doesn’t really want anything to do with his own son. He tells Jeremy that he wants to take him on as a killer apprentice, and the latter, completely losing it, gives the whackiest smile, probably agreeing. What else would an incel with exceptionally good looks want, no?
Will Jeremy die?
But considering all that, Jeremy still has the wrong variant of the virus in him, which means he’s going to die soon. Or should I say, “blow up soon?” While Jeremy doesn’t really seem to care, considering he told the assassin to immediately kill him because his life was not worth living. Jeremy didn’t have the best relationship with his mom, who continues to nag him till he leaves for Indianapolis. But, since he’s now useful to the assassin, he might as well be given the right thing and “fixed” so he can take over and properly work for them. So no, I don’t think he’s going to die very easily.
Who Is The Mysterious Interviewee?
In The Beauty episode 3’s ending, Cooper is in a lab yet again, minus his partner, because he has to keep working if he wants to find her. While he’s walking through the lab, he’s shown a room full of people dressed in nude bodysuits because they’ve tested positive after some of the fluid from the Conde Nast incident got in their orifices; guess it does spread that way too. Finally, we’re just told that Cooper’s new interview subject is cooperative, but we have no idea who it is. They’re apparently not positive. I have a feeling that it could be either the man or the woman we saw in the cafeteria; considering they knew Harper, they could lead Cooper to where she got contaminated, helping him get to the bottom of the mystery. But I could be wrong about this mysterious interviewee. Guess we’ll really have to wait to find out.
The Beauty so far has been quite entertaining, despite the madness. At least there’s something fun about it because of all the gore and the complicated plot. Will this be a bioweapon? Who else is going to get hooked on this treatment? What is this treatment? Where did it really come from? Who is Byron, what does he do, and how did he get so rich? There are just so many questions in my mind, but we’ll have to wait to find out the answers. Also, where the heck is Jordan, and if she’s gone into hiding, when will she reveal herself? Shame Rebecca Hall’s not on the show anymore, though.
