Episode 3 of The Beauty opens inside the Condé Nast building in New York, where Manny and Brittany—Vogue staffers played by Ben Platt and Meghan Trainor—are seated at a table discussing plastic surgery. Their conversation is interrupted when their friend, Harper, approaches, visibly unwell and dripping with sweat. Without warning, the encounter turns violent: she lashes out, throwing, shoving, and kicking them before ultimately hurling Brittany out a window. As everyone stares at her in shock, she combusts, with a drop of blood landing in Manny’s eye.
Back in Venice, Cooper is questioned by local police about the ambush from the night before. He is eventually released by a detective, who informs him that Jordan has disappeared. Cooper attempts to call her but gets no answer. The detective also reveals that the two men who attacked him tested positive for the virus, confirming that Cooper has been exposed. Moments later, two men in hazmat suits arrive to escort him into quarantine.
Concurrently, inside a hotel room somewhere in Venice, Antonio prepares to kill another runner who has been spreading around the virus. Just before Antonio can kill him, he receives a call from his boss, Byron Frost. Frost instructs him to go to Indianapolis to find a plastic surgeon who had been in contact with a Venetian runner. It is also revealed that Frost and his associates sent the two men to ambush Cooper in an effort to halt the FBI investigation, although the operation failed. Frustrated, Antonio presses Frost to bring in additional help, but Frost refuses.
In Indianapolis, Antonio locates the doctor at A NU U and holds him at gunpoint, demanding to know Jeremy’s whereabouts. The doctor calls Jeremy, catching him in the middle of sex. Jeremy discloses that he is staying at the Hilton hotel nearby. Getting what he needed, Antonio ends up killing the doctor anyway.
In the middle of showering, Antonio sneakily turns off the water and points his gun at Jeremy. Jeremy quickly reacts, pushing Antonio back and putting up a fight. When Antonio reveals that Jeremy’s new appearance is the result of a sexually transmitted virus, the mission shifts: they must track down the woman whom Jeremy just had sex with.
On the way there, Antonio sings along to a song by Christopher Cross. He explains to Jeremy that Cross once dominated the charts. He adds that after balding and gaining weight, Cross’ career fizzled out, remarking, in his own words, “The world is cruel to people who aren’t beautiful. To normal people.”
Antonio and Jeremy arrive at the woman’s house. Breaking inside, they find blood splattered around the house. Suddenly, she sneaks up behind Jeremy, throwing him aside. As she attacks Antonio, Jeremy beats her to death with a frying pan. But in a sudden turn of events, Antonio forces Jeremy into the other room, where he plans to finish him off as well. Jeremy doesn’t beg for his life, which sparks a shift in Antonio’s emotions, leading him to take Jeremy out to eat.
At an Applebee’s, Antonio and Jeremy talk like friends. He reveals to Jeremy that he’s taken a purified version of the virus straight from the lab and is in fact, 65 years old. Sensing a dark side in Jeremy, he recruits him to assist in killing—to which Jeremy responds with a devious smile.
The episode concludes with Cooper, now being released from quarantining, being escorted down a hallway by another agent, who fills him in on the events in New York. Through a window, they spot a group of people quarantined in a room. The agent explains that they are Condé Nast staffers exposed to the virus through the combustion. Finally, he adds that Cooper’s interviewee has not tested positive—at least, not yet.
This episode surprisingly shifts focus from Cooper to Antonio and Jeremy, giving Jeremy’s story more depth and purpose. Anthony Ramos dominates this episode as Antonio, making his portrayal of the sinister hitman increasingly captivating with every darkly humorous and absurd line reading. However, given the shocking ending of the previous episode, Jordan is disappointingly nowhere to be seen in this episode. Cooper also takes a step back this episode, his storyline being noticeably more inactive. Additionally, Ashton Kutcher returns as the mysterious boss Byron Frost, still aboard the same yacht from the previous episode. However, little is still revealed about his character, leaving him far from being a compelling antagonist. The most notable detail this episode uncovers in regards to his character is that he has a son, who, according to his wife—played by Isabella Rossellini—has relapsed once again. Albeit, a disappointing follow-up to last episode’s shocking ending, this episode still manages to reveal more information about the world in interesting ways. Perhaps, the most compelling moment of this episode takes place during a conversation between Antonio and Jeremy at an Applebee’s. Jeremy admits that before his transformation, he despised how the world made him feel about himself. Despite his current attractiveness, he still harbors deep rage—rage that Antonio is now able to manipulate. This exchange highlights a grim reality: society’s harsh treatment of people can foster an endless cycle of violence.
Rating: 6/10
Photo credit: Courtesy of FX Networks