Summary
In Episode 7, Bad Monkey settles into a too-relaxed pace. There’s plenty of setup for exciting things to come, but this episode is lackluster on its own terms.
I’ll be the first to admit that Episode 7 of Bad Monkey is a little tame. At this point, it isn’t the worst thing to happen; these characters are so fun to hang around with, and their dynamics are so bedded-in, that there are worse things than spending 45 minutes with them. But in the context of a mystery series, letting off the gas to this extent is rarely smart.
Don’t get me wrong — things happen in the episode. Gracie makes a compromise that leads to the best dramatic scene of the season, and some decent turning points in the overarching plot promise some interesting things ahead. It also builds to a cool cliffhanger, almost as a consolation prize.
But there have been more dynamic chapters in this story. Still, let’s break it down anyway.
Gracie’s Dilemma
Gracie’s mysterious kidnapping at the end of Episode 6 is solved pretty quickly. I was half right in theorizing that it was Egg at the behest of Nick and Eve. As it turns out it was just Nick and Eve, since Egg’s affection for the Dragon Queen meant he wasn’t up for it.
But it’s a bit of a pointless detour since it’s just an opportunity for Eve to threaten Gracie into working with them after trying — and failing — to manipulate her into doing so in the previous episode. Gracie’s never going to go in for that, and there’s no way she’s going to be intimidated by Eve, even if the encounter does cause Gracie to reprimand herself for not taking her quite as seriously as a threat as she perhaps should’ve.
But we also know that the thing Gracie wants more than anything in the world is a way off the island. But is she going to be willing to sell her soul to get it? Well, yes. She takes an initial payment from Eve, uses it to buy Ya-Ya a mobility scooter, and tries to ignore how she feels as word of her compromised reputation spreads across the island.
Pacing Issues
Meanwhile, Yancy and Ro catch up to Mendez, who manages to shoot both Ro and Donald, who’s now working as a parking lot security guard, before finally being apprehended (don’t worry, both of them are okay.) Yancy’s satisfaction in bringing down his nemesis is compounded by the exciting news Neville has to deliver. Rosa drives him up from the airfield with a head full of evidence against Nick Stripling and a photo, sent by Dawnie that morning, of Nick alive and well on Andros.
At this point, the entire mystery unfortunately grinds to a halt. The illusion of victory having been mostly achieved justifies a settling down in each major subplot, and a lot of Bad Monkey Episode 7 is spent watching various characters have a good think about their circumstances. Yancy cracks on as restaurant inspector but continues not to do a good job; he keeps sleeping with Rosa, though neither of them know exactly what they want from the other, and he gives Bonnie some sage advice about taking responsibility for her actions when she turns up at his place.
Nick, meanwhile, tries to repair his relationship with Caitlin while not provoking Eve into another bout of complete mania, which seems like fighting a losing battle to me.
Michelle Monaghan in Bad Monkey | Image via Apple TV+
Jodie Turner-Smith and L. Scott Caldwell Steal the Show
Things do get a little more dramatic towards the end of the episode, but it’s clear all the juicy stuff is being saved for the next one. But it is worth shouting out Jodie Turner-Smith and L. Scott Caldwell for stealing the entire episode in a fantastic argument when Ya-Ya confronts Gracie about having sold the stolen land.
This is where all of Gracie’s frustrations come out; her deeply-held feeling that they make a living by manipulating the vulnerable, and her desire to escape her life and circumstances. Ya-Ya is genuinely horrified at the notion that Gracie doesn’t believe in their practices, but she never sways from her own convictions. It’s a very strong scene in a largely weak episode.
The main plot also sees some movement, but it’s the FBI taking over the Nick Stripling case and telling Yancy in no uncertain terms that even though they believe him, they’re going to be sitting on their hands for the foreseeable future. This is obviously a cue for Yancy, now reinstated, to go rogue, but it doesn’t happen here. Bonnie is also finally arrested by Agent Russell, but again it’s unclear where this is all going to lead.
Uninvited Guests
Bad Monkey Episode 7 does have a solid cliffhanger, though — two of them, in fact.
Just as Yancy and Rosa are lounging around at his place not being in a serious relationship, Jim arrives dragging Cody along. With Bonnie having left him with Jim, and Bonnie having been subsequently arrested, the kid has somehow found his way to becoming Yancy’s problem.
But the bigger problem is outside in the form of several armed gunmen sneaking up on the property. Yancy, Jim, Cody, and Rosa are all in imminent peril, but it’s up to the next episode to reveal how they fare.
