Movie: Wicked: For Good (2025) Caution Spoiler Alert

 

Wicked: For Good

Came out; 2025

Time; 2 hours 17 Minutes

Watched: Peacock

Rated: PG for action/violence, some suggestive material and thematic material

IMDB Rating; 6.7/10

Rotten Tomatoes:

Tomato Meter 66%

Popcorn Meter 92%

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Cynthis Erivo as Elphaba

Ariana Grande as Glinda

Jeff Goldblum as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible

Jonathon Bailey as Fiyero

Ethan Slater as Boq

Marissa Bode as Nessarosa

Story Line;

After challenging the Wizard's totalitarian regime in Oz, Elphaba must grapple with her identity as the "Wicked Witch of the West." Meanwhile, the Wizard has given Glinda the title "Glinda the Good" and a public status as the nation's defender against Elphaba. The two witches must make decisions that seal their fates in this second musical installment.

Thoughts:

I actually liked this one better than the first. I just wasn't thrilled with the first one and I'm not sure what exactly it was.

This was more movie than theater so maybe that's the difference, there was less singing which I'm a fan of musicals.

The costume design is amazing!

CAUTION; Spoiler Alert

Five years after defying the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Elphaba Thropp, who has been branded and is now widely known as the Wicked Witch of the West by Madame Morrible, continues to battle for Animal rights from a forest hideout. The political landscape of Oz is also fully established. Meanwhile, Glinda Upland has become the Wizard's spokesperson and is engaged to Fiyero Tigelaar, who is now the Captain of the Gale Force. During Oz's celebration of the Yellow Brick Road's grand opening, Fiyero reveals that he's attempting to find Elphaba, but Glinda insists Elphaba doesn't want to be found.

Whilst hiding in the western forest, Elphaba encounters some animals leaving Oz, including her former caretaker and nanny Dulcibear. She encourages them to fight against the Wizard. The Cowardly Lion exposes her as the reason for the Wizard's flying monkey spies and blames her for his cowardice after she freed him as a cub. Elphaba visits her younger sister Nessrose, who is now the governor of Munchkinland following their father's death. Nessa prohibits the Munchkins and her servant Boq from leaving without her approval to prevent Boq from abandoning her. Nessa complains to Elphaba about her not using magic to make her feel better. This prompts Elphaba to enchant Nessa's silver shoes, which give her the ability to fly. However, this convinces Boq to believe Nessa no longer needs him so he attempts to leave after learning of Glinda and Fiyero's wedding. Nessa becomes enraged and attempts to cast a love spell from the Grimmerie, but it fails after she reads the words wrong, causing his heart to shrink. Elphaba attempts to save him but ends up turning him into a tin man.

Elphaba returns to the Emerald City to free the Wizard's monkey slaves but is caught by the Wizard. He and Glinda convince her to join him. She accepts under the condition that the flying monkeys will be freed. One of the monkeys, Chistery, reveals several imprisoned Animals in the Wizard's lair, including Dr Dillamond, who has lost his ability to speak. Elphaba strongly states her resolve to fight the Wizard and frees the Animals, interrupting Glinda and Fiyero's wedding in the process. Fiyero decides to help Elphaba escape and joins her. This devastates Glinda. She concludes they are having an affair and decides to suggest to both Morrible and the Wizard to lure out Elphaba by spreading a rumor that Nessa is in danger. After she leaves, Morrible instead proposes "a change in the weather."

In Elphaba's forest hideout, she and Fiyero confess their mutual love for each other. When Morrible realizes a simple rumor would not fool Elphaba, she creates a tornado that takes a house from Kansas, which fatally crushes Nessa. Elphaba senses that Nessarose is in danger and leaves. Fiyero lets her use an abandoned castle his family owns, called Kiamo Ko for shelter.

Glinda gives Nessa's shoes to the house's resident, Dorothy Gale and sends her to the Wizard via Yellow Brick Road, promising that he can help her get home. Elphaba angrily confronts Glinda, starting a fight before the Gale Force arrives. Fiyero intervenes and holds back the guards by threatening to kill Glinda, who finally accepts that he loves Elphaba. He is dragged into a field by the guards and savagely beaten while Elphaba escapes with the monkeys.

Elphaba and the monkeys escape to Kiamo Ko, where she casts a spell from the Grimmerie to save Fiyero. She believes she is failing and laments all her previous failed attempts to do things right, so she decides to embrace herself as the Wicked Witch of the West. Back at the Emerald City, Dorothy and her companions, Boq the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion and a Scarecrow meet the Wizard. He instructs them to kill Elphaba and bring back her broomstick. Boq rallies the citizens of the Emerald City to form an angry mob against Elphaba. Glinda realizes that it was Morrible who created the tornado and laments that her public image is based on lies. She confronts Morrible who tells her that she's just as responsible because she's been on the Wizard's side to be a beloved figure, making Glinda feel remorseful. Realizing she must do the right thing, Glinda rushes to Kiamo Ko to warn Elphaba about the mob.

Elphaba catches and imprisons Dorothy to get the shoes back when Glinda arrives. After Elphaba is warned of the mob and after Chistery informs her and Glinda of Fiyero's apparent death, she decides to surrender, promising Glinda not to tell anyone what truly happened and gives her the Grimmerie. The two tearfully say goodbye. Glinda hides and watches from the shadows as Dorothy throws a bucket of water over Elphaba, melting her. Chistery, who has his voice back, leads Glinda to the bottle of green elixir which belonged to Elphaba's mother and what Elphaba showed her back at Shiz.

Glinda confronts the Wizard with the elixir. This causes him to realize that he is Elphaba's biological father and the reason for her powers. Distraught and ashamed of his actions, he leaves Oz via hot air balloon after being forced to by Glinda. She becomes Oz's new leader and allows the monkeys to arrest Morrible for her crimes. She also finishes telling her story to the Munchkins and reestablishes Animal rights, as Elphaba would have wanted. This results in them getting their voices back. Meanwhile Fiyero, who is now a Scarecrow due to Elphaba's spell and who joined Dorothy on her quest to the Wizard, arrives at Kiamo Ko, at the same place where Elphaba melted. He knocks on the floor and opens a trapdoor. He discovers Elphaba inside, who faked her death to ensure that no one in Oz will ever see her again. The two leave Oz together while the Grimmerie opens up for Glinda.

Sources

IMBD

Rotten Tomatoes

Wikipedia

Movies: Ready or Not (2019 & Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (2026) Caution Spoiler Alert

 

Ready or Not

Came out; 2019

Time; 1 hours 35 Minutes

Watched: Hulu

Rated: R for violence, bloody images, language throughout and some drug use

IMDB Rating; 6.9/10

Rotten Tomatoes:

Tomato Meter 89%

Popcorn Meter 78%

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Samara Weaving as Grace

Adam Brody as Daniel

Mark O'Brien as Alex

Henry Czerny as Tony

Andie MacDowell as Becky

Melanie Scrofano as Emilie

Kristian Bruun as Fitch

Elyse Levesque as Charity

Nicky Guadagni as Aunt Helene

John Ralston as Stevens

Story Line;

All of us have made certain efforts so our in-laws will like us, but Grace is going to have to give it her all if she wants to fit in with her brand new husband's wealthy dynasty, who require her to follow a brutal tradition: for the bride to try to survive her wedding night while the rest of them hunt her down. The class struggle stuff hits the proverbial fan in this extremely black satire starring a brilliant Samara Weaving and including an uncommonly perverse Andie MacDowell

Thoughts:

This was a movie we caught on TV one day. One that we had completely missed when it came out. This is a super fun horror comedy movie!

Everything starts off normal, the wedding at the families large home. They keep talking about “What will you do if she pulls that card”. There is no context until later

At midnight, everything is explained. Grace pulls “Hide & Seek” thinking it's a joke she goes out to hide and quickly learns that it's anything but a joke.

This movie is well made, the acting is great and it's a fun movie to watch.

CAUTION; Spoiler Alert

Young brothers Alex (Mark O'Brien) and Daniel Le Domas (Adam Brody) witness the killing of a man on the night of his wedding to their Aunt Helene (Nicky Guadagni). Daniel is confronted in his family's mansion by Charles (Andrew Anthony), a wounded man who begs him for help. Instead, Daniel alerts his family, who arrive in ceremonial masks and robes. Despite his bride Helene's pleas, Charles is shot with a spear-gun and dragged away into a locked room. The family tells Daniel that they are proud of him.

Thirty years later, Alex has returned home to marry his fiance, Grace (Samara Weaving), a former foster child eager to finally have a family. Alex is the estranged son of the owners of the successful Le Domas Family Games company. Grace is nervous as Alex comes from a rich family. She believes that Alex's dad hates her, and his brother Daniel keeps hitting on her. Just before the wedding Alex gets really serious and asks Grace if she wants to run away and just elope. Grace insists that she is committed and wants to know the family of the man she loves.

On their wedding night, Alex tells her that, as tradition, every outside addition to the family must play a game. The game starts at midnight. Grace doesn't have to win but she has to participate. Grace has to draw a random card, and the game they have to play will be written there.

The family includes Alex, his alcoholic brother, Daniel, and drug-addicted sister, Emilie (Melanie Scrofano); their father, Tony (Henry Czerny) and mother, Becky (Andie MacDowell), Daniel's snobbish wife, Charity (Elyse Levesque), Emilie's whiny husband, Fitch (Kristian Bruun), and the somber Helene, their aunt. Emilie has 2 kids Georgie and Gabe (Ethan Tavares). Becky is thankful that Grace brought Alex back into the family fold.

It is explained that their ancestor, Victor Le Domas, used to run a printing press. He made a deal with a man named Le Bail whom he met on a passenger ship. Tony says that a power watches over the family and its wealth. Today, Tony owns 4 professional sports team and a sprawling gaming empire.

Le Bail was a collector of exotic antiquities which he sold to Americans. Le Bail and Le Domas shared a passion for the game of chance. Le Bail shared a mysterious box to Le Domas and asked him to solve its puzzle before morning, which Le Domas did. Le Bail says that he would build the Le Domas fortune in exchange for the Le Domases observing this tradition. Now, every time a new person joins the family, a blank card is inserted into the box and Le Bail picks which game to play. Grace draws a card labeled "Hide and Seek." Unaware of the truth, she hides while the Le Domases arm themselves with antique weapons to hunt her down.

The 3 maids of the house are Clara (Hanneke Talbot), Tina (Celine Tsai) and Dora (Daniela Barbosa).

When Grace witnesses Emilie accidentally killing Clara believing it to be her, Alex confesses that the "hide and seek" card is the only game that requires the family to kill the recipient. They believe that if Grace survives until dawn, the entire family will die, as per the agreement with Le Bail. He kept the truth from Grace, knowing she would leave him if she knew. The last time someone pulled that card was thirty years ago when Helene's husband Charles, who was then found and murdered.

Shocked, scared, and angry, Grace becomes determined to survive. She is discovered by Daniel, who is disillusioned with the bloody family tradition and gives her a head start. To prevent his family tracking Grace, Alex destroys the security monitors to allow Grace to escape. Emilie accidentally kills Tina in the chaos. Grace's escape is blocked by the family butler, Stevens. She, in turn, splatters the hot tea he was preparing on his face and runs away. Daniel and Tony restrain Alex after he attacks the latter. Grace is seen by Dora who accidentally crushes herself in a dumbwaiter while yelling for the family. Grace escapes the mansion and hides in the barn, only to be shot in the hand by Emilie's young son, Georgie (Liam McDonald). Furious, she knocks Georgie out but accidentally falls into a pit filled with the decaying corpses of the previous sacrifices, including that of Charles.

She climbs out, though not without more wounds, and is pursued by the butler, Stevens (John Ralston). She escapes in his car. But the car is quickly reported stolen and shut down. Stevens catches up and tranquilizes her. While being driven back, Grace awakens and attacks Stevens, causing the car to crash.

As he is driving Grace back to the house, she awakens and attacks Stevens, causing the car to crash and kill him. Near the crash, Daniel captures Grace after realizing that his father is secretly watching. The Le Domases prepare to complete the ritual sacrifice. Grace is restrained on the symbol of a pentagon as the family prepares to sacrifice her. They drink from a ceremonial cup and start to vomit blood. Daniel releases Grace, revealing he non-lethally poisoned its contents.

Charity, however, shoots Daniel in the throat, causing him to bleed to death. Grace thanks Daniel for helping her after pistol-whipping Charity and bludgeoning Tony with an oil lamp, inadvertently starting a fire.

Becky attacks Grace. Having had enough, Grace snaps and bludgeons Becky to death with Le Bail's wooden game box. Alex finds Daniel's body before finding Grace and his mother. Realizing that Grace no longer trusts him and will not be with him after all this, Alex subdues her. The group hails Satan as Alex prepares to stab her.

At the last moment, Grace twists, taking the stab to her shoulder and freeing herself. Dawn breaks, but when nothing happens, the family believes their tradition was a lie, and all of this was for nothing. Despite Grace winning the game, Helene attempts to attack her, but explodes mid-stride as a result of the curse. The rest of the family explodes, leaving only Alex, who tries to convince Grace to forgive him. She refuses and tosses her ring back, declaring she wants a divorce; Alex then succumbs to the curse and explodes. Le Bail briefly shows himself to Grace and nods in approval.

As the police arrive, Grace sits on the patio steps, exhausted and traumatized, her wedding dress turned red from blood, and smokes a cigarette. Upon being asked what has happened, she replies, "In-laws."

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come

Came out; 2026

Time; 1 hours 48 Minutes

Watched: Theater

Rated: R for strong bloody violence, gore, pervasive language and brief drug use

IMDB Rating; 7/10

Rotten Tomatoes:

Tomato Meter 75%

Popcorn Meter 90%

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Samara Weaving as Grace

Kathryn Newton as Faith

Elijah Wood as The Lawyer

Sarah Michelle Gellar as Ursula Danforth

Shawn Hatosy as Titus Danforth

David Cronenberg as Chester Danforth

Dan Beirne as Kip Danforth

Olivia Cheng as Wan Chen Xing

Antony Hall as Wan Chend Fu

Varun Saranga as Madhu Rajan

Nadeem Umar-Khitab as Viraj Rajan

Masa Lizdek as Martina Rajan

Nestor Carbonell as Ignacio El Caido

Maia Jae as Francesca El Caido

Juan Pablo Romero as Felipe El Caido

Kevin Durand as Bill Wilkinson

Story Line;

After surviving one deadly game, Grace and her sister Faith must now outrun four rival families competing for a powerful throne - winner takes all.

Thoughts:

Holy Crap is this a good sequel!

Not only is it just the right length, it starts where the first movie left off, literally at the steps with rescue showing up

This is an extremely well put together sequel. Everything is explained as it goes along and you're never left wondering.

CAUTION; Spoiler Alert

Seconds after surviving the Le Domas' attempted sacrificial ritual, Grace MacCaullay collapses outside the property and is taken to a hospital. She reunites with her sister Faith, who she abandoned several years prior.

Meanwhile, the Council, an order of six elite families—the Danforths, the Wans, the Rajans, the El Caidos, the Wilkinsons, and the Le Domas—are notified of the latters' demises and promptly reunite at the Danforth complex for another game. The head members include siblings Ursula and Titus Danforth, Wan Chen Xing, Viraj Rajan, Ignacio El Caido, and Bill Wilkinson.

Prior to their arrival, Ursula and Titus kill their elderly father Chester, the current "High Seat" of the Council, so they can enter the game themselves. Bill attempts to murder Grace at the hospital, but he and the Wilkinsons explode into blood due to failing to wait for the game's ignition. Moments later, Grace and Faith are kidnapped and brought to the complex. They awaken tied and gagged while Le Bail's representative, the "Lawyer", explains their new situation: due to Grace's unplanned victory at the Le Domas' hide-and-seek game, the four remaining families must kill her before dawn to acquire the "High Seat" and a ring with seemingly infinite worldwide power will be provided to the winner. Grace initially refuses to participate, but agrees when Faith's life is put at stake. The eldest members sign a blood oath and the game begins.

Grace and Faith are handcuffed together and put on a golf course, where they run away from oncoming danger and flee around the property. After evading numerous life-threatening scenarios, the sisters manage to kill Viraj using an industrial washing machine. They are confronted by Chen Xing, who reveals an open bypass in the game's rules: if Grace marries one of the elite's family members, the game would immediately cease, granting her husband the High Seat and she would be allowed to live. Ignacio interrupts them, and Chen Xing unintentionally plunges a katana into his throat, killing him. Due to a now-broken game rule, the Wans explode into blood; Faith criticizes Grace's refusal of the opportunity, yet they continue towards the main gate.

Viraj's sister-in-law Martina, forced to play due to her husband Madhu's surrender of family head status and assets after Viraj's death, drives off from the hunt and destroys the gate in the process. Ursula nearly kills Grace, but the sisters flee. Grace lambasts Faith's clumsiness and wishes they had never reunited, leading a heartbroken Faith to leave her alone. Titus attacks Faith and kidnaps her while Ignacio's daughter Francesca targets Grace, though she eventually acquires a shotgun and kills her. Through an intercom, Titus taunts Grace and forces her to come to the main lounge where Faith is held captive.

Grace storms into the lounge where the surviving families quickly corner. Using Chen Xing's aforementioned law circumvent, Grace agrees to marry Titus to ensure her and Faith's safety, effectively handing over the High Seat to the Danforths and concluding the game. Before the wedding, Ursula privately warns Grace about Titus' psychopathy and fears what could transpire under his order. Titus overhears the conversation and kills Ursula, mentioning there is no rule against killing family members. At an underground altar, the marriage ensues to a crowd of Satanic cult members as well as the remaining families, despite her tearful reluctance.

After they sign their intertwined familial blood pacts, Grace stabs Titus with a fountain pen, throwing his own statement of there being no rule against killing family members back at him, and kicks him into an open circular pit full of decompsed bodies, killing him. Now housing ownership of the High Seat, Grace announces her removal from the organization and throws the ring into the pit. With the rules now proclaiming that whomever wears the ring first at dawn obtains the High Seat, the remaining Danforth, Rajan, and El Caido relatives jump into it for a chance at acquisition, murdering each other as they do; no one succeeds before dawn and the entire Council, minus the Lawyer, erupts into a torrential blood explosion amidst the area.

Le Bail's spirit briefly appears and nods to both Grace and Faith as they are finally free. The sisters leave the premises holding hands, with Grace promising never to leave Faith again.

Sources

IMBD

Rotten Tomatoes

Wikipedia

Sol De Janeiro Review

 

www.soldejaneiro.com

I've smelled the sprays, I know people who wear nothing but the sprays and I really like them, but I wanted to try other products also.

I placed an order directly through the website. I ordered

Delicia Drench Shower Oil

Delicia Drench Lotion

Delicia Drench Body Spray

Brazilian Joia Strengthening + Smoothing Shampoo & Conditioner

Cheirosa 59 Delicia Drench Scent Description: Vanilla Orchid & Sheer Sandalwood

Shampoo & Conditioner Scent Description: Cheriosa 62: Pistachio, Almond, Heliotrope, Jasmine Petals, Vanilla, Salted Caramel & Sandalwood

I tend to not go with the hype, but I've been obsessed with the scents as I use the dupes in my wax melts, so I made the jump. The scent is long lasting. The lotion is super thick like body butter

The Shower Gel isn't my favorite, but it's more than the Gel part than the product. It has lasted me forever! I don't think I would re-order this again simply based on the also sell sugar scrub

The Shampoo & Conditioner is amazing! Not only does it smell good, but it makes my hair feel super soft and silky.

Chronic Pain Thoughts: Weaponized Grief

 

Dear Reader,

I remember growing up with the DARE and MADD being formed. I always knew these were programs started because someone somewhere went through something bad and wanted to raise awareness. I'm now aware that this was really weaponized grief.

I'm not saying “Drugs” are bad or that drunk driving is bad, because they are, what I am saying is just because you know someone that took things too far doesn't mean the rest of us will

It's how the CDC Guidelines started. Oxycontin was released to the market, addicts starting getting their hands on black market pills or from actual bad actors in the pain community and OD which made the rest of the pain community, those that were doing everything right, not be able to get the help they needed.

I'm consistently saying “You can't blame the everybody for what the 1% did” and that's very true in this case

The Doctor Patient Forum is an amazing group of people who fight everyday for the rights of pain patients. Please support them with their links below

When Grieving Parents Become the Moral Shield

Chronic Pain Advocacy & Rights | The Doctor Patient Forum

The Doctor Patient Forum with Claudia A. Merandi and Bev C. Schechtman | Providing education and resources to patients and providers | Patreon

The Doctor Patient Forum | Groups | Facebook

TV Show: All Her Fault (2025) Caution Spoiler Alert

 

All Her Fault

Came out; 2025

Episodes: 8

Where to Watch: Peacock

Rated: TV-MA

Rating 7.5/10

Rotten Tomatoes

Tomatometer: 80%

Popcornmeter: 73%

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring:

Sarah Snook as Marissa Irvine

Jake Lacy as Peter Irvine

Dakota Fanning as Jenny Kaminski

Jay Ellis as Colin Dobbs

Abby Elliott as Lia Irvine

Michael Pena as Detective Alcaras

Thomas Cocquerel as Richie Kaminski

Daniel Monks as Brian Irvine

Sophia Lillis as Josephine “Josie” Murphy/Carrie Finch

Kartiah Vergara as Ana Garcia

Johnny Carr as Detective Greco

Duke McCloud as Milo Irvine

Premise:

When Marissa Irvine goes to pick up her young son Milo from his first playdate with a boy, Jacob, at his new school, the woman who answers the door has never seen or heard of either Marissa or her son—beginning every parent's worst nightmare. As Marissa and her husband Peter begin a desperate search for their son, their family starts to come apart at the seams. With new friend Jenny Kaminski, the only person that Marissa can count on, the two women form a close and unlikely alliance. Together they hunt for Milo, uncovering deep family secrets that alter the course of both their lives forever. Charged with finding Milo and bringing the kidnappers to justice, Detective Alcaras unravels the complex and frightening web of deception and lies that has ensnared both the Irvine and Kaminski families, but his moral code is stretched to breaking point

Overall Thoughts:

This sucks you in. The first episode starts at the jump, and you immediately know something is different about the situation.

This show has very high ratings and it deserve them. It was well put together and the acting is great; the characters have the chemistry needed to make a good show.

The twists and turns in this and all the secrets that come out are shocking. This is a really a “Can't stop watching” show

Episode 1:

In Chicago, Marissa Irvine arrives to pick up her son Milo from a playdate with classmate Jacob Kaminski. Esther, the homeowner, explains that she must have the wrong address; the phone number used to arrange the playdate has been disconnected, and they discover Jacob is with another parent, Sarah Larsen. Marissa finds the real number for Jacob's mother, Jenny, who never arranged the playdate. Rushing home, Marissa and her husband Peter confirm that Milo is missing. Detectives Alcaras and Greco lead the search, as the wealthy Irvines assume Milo was taken for ransom, comforted by Peter's younger siblings Lia and Brian, and Marissa's friend and business partner Colin. Their nanny, Ana Garcia, is cleared of suspicion, while the Kaminskis' missing nanny, Carrie Finch, is discovered to have picked up Milo from school. Having bonded with Marissa as a fellow working mother, Jenny ignores the warnings of Sarah and other parents and arrives to support her friend. Twenty-seven days later, the detectives' investigation now includes murder.

Episode 2:

On Day 2 of Milo's disappearance, Jenny and her husband Richie learn that "Carrie" faked her identity in order to be hired. Jenny comforts Marissa as the Irvines work to publicize Milo's abduction, but their press conference spirals out of control when reporters accuse the couple of staging the kidnapping. Peter admits he tried to bribe a reporter to kill the story, and Marissa realizes he lied about a work trip, accusing him of an affair with Carrie. He explains that he was exploring an experimental surgery for Brian, who struggles with a painful disability after a childhood accident caused by Lia, who is now a recovering drug addict. Noting that Peter financially supports both his siblings, the detectives deduce that Carrie is not working alone. Ana lies to conceal her friendship with Carrie, but Jenny and Marissa discover concurrent credit card charges at the same malt shop, revealing the nannies spent time together. Carrie is keeping Milo in hiding at a rented lake home, where she disguises herself and waits for her accomplice.

Episode 3:

Ana explains to the Irvines and the police that she became friends with Carrie, who took an unusual interest in Milo. At the Chicago Marathon weeks earlier, she and Milo were approached by Carrie, who had a suspicious argument with an unknown man. Jenny, a marketing executive in the publishing industry, succeeds in signing a major client, but remains deeply frustrated by her unsupportive husband. On Day 3, Peter receives a ransom call from an unidentified man, and prepares a bag full of cash, choosing not to tell Marissa or the police. Their family and friends come together to arrange door-to-door canvassing with a crowd of volunteers, including Esther, but to no avail. Unbeknownst to Marissa, Colin, a recovering gambling addict, has been moving their firm's money around, including Lia's accounts. Combing through social media, Alcaras finds a picture of the man from the marathon. In Esther's home, the same man is shown in a framed photo with Esther.

Episode 4:

A week earlier, Alcaras is faced with the choice to cover up a rich kid's crime in exchange for getting his developmentally disabled son into an exclusive private school. On Day 4, with the photo of the man from the marathon circulated in the press, Esther comes forward to identify him as Kyle Smit, her former foster son. Kyle was recently released from prison, and his cellmate reveals a visit from Carrie a week before his release. Alcaras and Greco track down Kyle's old workplace, but his former coworker refuses to talk, despite recognizing Carrie from a photo shown by Alcaras. Alcaras informs Marissa of their findings, and after confiding in her about his own fears as a parent, he tampers with evidence to secure his son's enrollment. On Day 5, a gas station clerk recognizes the photo of Kyle, leading the detectives to find Carrie's empty rental house nearby. They discover blood inside, and a body is pulled from the lake.

Episode 5:

The body is identified as Kyle, shot in the back of the head. Milo's favorite toy, lost during Easter vacation before Carrie was hired by the Kaminskis, is found in the lake house. Colin, Lia, and Brian were the only other people at the Irvines' vacation home, and Marissa realizes they lied about leaving the house that day. Brian admits that he was visiting an assisted living facility, hoping for independence from Peter, while Colin reveals that he and Lia have secretly been dating. With a television interview crew soon to arrive, Brian drunkenly confronts his brother, having discovered Peter lied to keep him from pursuing spinal surgery. As the family turn on each other, Peter is caught in another lie, and confesses that he was responsible for Brian's accident but allowed Lia to take the blame, leading to her addiction fueled by lifelong guilt. Lashing out at Peter with her own resentments, Marissa receives a call that a boy is at the police station.

Episode 6:

Left unharmed in a motel parking lot, Milo is reunited with his parents. Alcaras and Greco determine that he was briefly kept at the motel, where they discover the body of Rob Murphy, Colin's bookie. After the detectives suggest Milo was likely released because a ransom was paid, Marissa discovers Peter's bag of cash, and he admits to receiving the ransom call but no arrangements were made. Standing up to the manipulative Sarah, Jenny discovers Richie has been lying to avoid his parental duties; she confronts him, and asks for a divorce. The detectives interview Rob's ex-wife Irene, Kyle's former coworker, learning that Rob and Irene are the parents of Carrie, whose real name is Josie. With Colin, Lia, and Brian at the Irvines' home, Marissa confronts Colin for his financial malfeasance, and he admits that he relapsed and lost the money gambling. As she accuses him of being involved with the kidnapping, Josie enters the house with a gun.

Episode 7:

Six years earlier, Josie and Kyle are happily in love but struggling financially, expecting their first child. After Kyle is sent to prison for drug dealing and their infant son is killed in a car accident, Josie falls into a downward spiral, forced to live with the abusive Irene. In the years following, Josie reconnects with Rob, accompanying him as he collects money from delinquent clients. While her father confronts Colin at the Irvines' Easter vacation, Josie meets Milo and discovers they both experience synesthesia, taking his forgotten toy. Obsessed with Milo, Josie is kicked out by Irene and adopts the identity of Carrie Finch to be hired by Jenny, befriending Ana to get close to Milo. After Kyle's release, Josie convinces him to start a new life together with the kidnapped Milo. They enlist Rob's help, but he secretly makes the ransom call to Peter instead; unbeknownst to Josie, he kills Kyle at the lake house. Bringing Milo to Rob's motel, Josie later returns to find him gone and her father dead, with a recording of his murder captured on his phone. Taking her father's gun, Josie arrives at the Irvines' home.

Episode 8:

Colin grabs the gun and is fatally shot, and Josie allows Lia to call an ambulance as Marissa sends Brian to comfort Milo. Warning Marissa to protect Milo from Peter, Josie is overpowered and shot dead by Peter, who is forced to reveal the full truth. Six years prior, while driving with her infant son, Josie was in a head-on collision with Peter, Marissa, and their own newborn son, who was killed. Peter switched the two babies, raising Josie's son as Milo, but Josie realized the truth and devised her plan to take him back. Marissa listens to Rob's recording, which reveals that Peter killed him and left a blindfolded Milo to be discovered by the police. Peter convinces her to give him the phone for Milo's sake, and she confides in Jenny, trapped between losing Milo by telling the truth, and the danger Peter poses to them both. At Colin's funeral, Marissa orchestrates Peter's death by allergic reaction, and Lia lies to protect her. Deducing the truth about Milo, Alcaras assures Marissa that the case is closed, with no moral qualms about the outcome. Both free of their husbands, Marissa and Jenny watch their sons play together.

TV Show: The Beauty (2026) Caution Spoiler Alert

The Beauty

Came out; 2026

Episodes: 11

Where to Watch: FX, Hulu or Disney Plus

Rated: TV-MA

Rating 6.5/10

Rotten Tomatoes

Tomatometer: 71%

Popcornmeter: 65%

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring:

Evan Peters as Cooper Madsen

Hudson Berry as Cooper after Transformation

Anthony Ramos as Antonio The Assassin

Jeremy Pope as Jeremy

Rebecca Hall as Jordan Bennette

Jessica Alexander as Jordan after transformation

Ashton Kutcher as Byron Forst

Vincent D'Onofrio as Byron before Transformation

Isabella Rossellini as Franny Forst

Nicola Peltz Beckham as Franny after Transformation

Rob Yang as Dr. Ray Lee

Ari Graynor as Dr. Dina Sterling

Premise: A drug known as "The Beauty" grants its users physical attractiveness through physical and genetic alteration. Though the drug is prepared to be distributed as a treatment, a sexually transmitted variant spreads rapidly, while the forces behind the drug work to conceal its spreading and the drug's lethal side effects. As deaths and public panic escalate, an FBI investigation and competing interests converge on those behind the drug and the epidemic it sparks

Overall Thoughts: You have been warned: You have to read the screen for certain scenes as they are speaking Italian. It's also a bit graphic so if you can't handle blood & guts this isn't the show for you

I wish they would have explained early on why some people blow up and other's don't.

The acting was fine (Love me some Evan Peters) and the story line was decent and it was definitely something different

The sound on this was hard to hear, FX shows are hit or miss when it comes to sound. I watched this on Disney Plus and it wasn't even close to hear able on Hulu

Episode 1: Beautiful Pilot

Amidst a Balenciaga fashion show in Paris, supermodel Ruby Rossdale suddenly goes on a rampage throughout the city, during which she exhibits erratically violent behavior, superhuman strength and resilience, and a fixation towards water before spontaneously combusting. While investigating the case, FBI agents Cooper Madsen and Jordan Bennett discover Rossdale, among other models who died under similar circumstances, all began their careers two years prior, had no social media presence beforehand, and all tested positive for a highly virulent sexually transmitted virus. Meanwhile, a lonely and directionless young man named Jeremy seeks to become more attractive, leading him to follow an internet chatroom recommendation for a mysterious "solution". He heads to a plastic surgery center called ANUU, where a specialist named Dr. Dilegre gives him a new facial structure. After being tricked into paying three women's bar tab, an incensed Jeremy returns to ANUU and shoots several employees until Dilegre agrees to give him an experimental treatment. Traveling to a hotel, Jeremy has intercourse with a mysterious woman named Claire, after which he undergoes a violent transformation and gains a new body.

Episode 2: Beautiful Jordan

Cooper and Jordan head to Venice to investigate a death connected to the virus. There, they find the Egyptian hieroglyph "Nefer", meaning "beauty", painted in blood on a wall near the victim, who they theorized was killed as part of an organized operation. They later uncover a video posted by a previous victim in which she repeatedly says "Don't do it" before learning an assistant editor for Vogue combusted in New York. During their last night in Italy, the pair discuss their sexual relationship, with Jordan clarifying her desire for it to remain casual and Cooper expressing his nihilistic belief that all human behavior is driven by sex and his disinterest in traditional monogamy or commitment; offending her. Later that evening, she has a sexual encounter with a mysterious man. Afterward, she undergoes a similar transformation as Jeremy; gaining a new body. Elsewhere, Cooper prepares to leave for New York. Though he is attacked by two unknown assailants, he eventually kills them. Meanwhile, in Rome, an assassin eliminates people on behalf of billionaire tech mogul Byron "The Corporation" Forst.

Episode 3: Beautiful Christopher Cross

In New York City, Harper Rose, an assistant editor for Vogue, goes on a rampage at Condé Nast before infecting numerous bystanders while combusting. In Venice, Cooper is detained by Italian police before FBI Supervisor Meyer Williams has him released and sent to New York after he tests negative for the virus. In Croatia, Byron tasks the Assassin with killing Dilegre for treating a contaminated client. Soon after, his estranged wife, Franny, informs him that their son Tig relapsed and is in a methadone clinic, but Byron refuses to visit him. Upon reaching him, the Assassin forces Dilegre to help him locate Jeremy before killing the former. The Assassin captures Jeremy and forces him to help him locate Marcy, a maid Jeremy had infected. While driving to her home, the Assassin tells Jeremy his belief that the world is cruel to those who are not beautiful before revealing he was hired by Byron to kill people for spreading the virus before his company's IPO. Upon their arrival, the pair subdue Marcy before the Assassin prepares to kill Jeremy. Seeing the latter's submissive behavior, the Assassin decides to recruit him as an apprentice instead.

Episode 4: Beautiful Chimp Face

In a flashback, Cooper and Jordan go on a date in Rome, during which they hint at sharing romantic feelings for each other. In the present, Cooper probes two survivors of Harper's rampage: her boyfriend Ashley Sanders, who is believed to have had unprotected sex with her beforehand and is potentially infected; and Manny, who Ashley claims is a sexual predator. Manny takes an interest in Cooper before going on his own rampage. Cooper pursues him to a high-security room containing full human skins donated by "beautiful" people before their deaths, where Manny transforms and attacks Cooper, blaming him for what happened. Cooper gains backup and subdues Manny. Sometime later, Jordan reunites with Cooper. Concurrently, the Assassin coaches an eager Jeremy while Byron takes booster shots to maintain his body's stability and declares "World Beauty Day" will be the official public launch of his new drug, dismissing concerns from a scientist named Dr. Ray Lee about lack of testing and third-party mutated variants, and orders production to be doubled.

Episode 5: Beautiful Billionaires

In a flashback, Byron joins a group of fellow billionaires in gathering for an exclusive trial of an experimental gene therapy developed by Ray. After transforming, Byron kills the other billionaires and witnesses before kidnapping Ray to ensure he becomes the sole proprietor of Ray's work. In the present, Cooper verifies Jordan's identity and embraces her. Upon learning what happened to her, he promises to help her avert the infection's side effects, insisting she eschews contact with the authorities to avoid being quarantined. Meanwhile, the Assassin and Jeremy torture a man named Nate for information, who contracted the virus from a sex worker and spread it to several people, before Byron orders the Assassin to eliminate Cooper. As Cooper and Jordan return to the former's apartment, they find Nate's corpse and the "Nefer" hieroglyph on the wall.

Episode 6: Beautiful Patient Zero

In a flashback, shortly after kidnapping Ray, Byron notices side effects and agrees to let him live to perfect the formula while killing anyone who has the virus to prevent it from becoming a street drug. Byron later attempts to convince Franny to take the drug, outlining his plan to use himself and the extreme cosmetic appeal it grants to amass power and circumvent the FDA's laws, but she declines and threatens to expose him. Ray discovers the virus causes "ignition ketosis" after 855 days and promises to find a treatment that Byron can sell alongside it. Meanwhile, Ray's colleagues Mike and Clara bond over insecurities related to their appearances and social confidence. Following an experiment with a chimpanzee, Mike steals two vials and administers them to himself and Clara. Two years later, the Assassin executes Mike in Rome to prevent the virus from spreading beyond Byron's control.

Episode 7: Beautiful Living Rooms

Cooper takes Jordan to a safe house, where she confesses her love for him. Byron visits Meyer and his wife Juliana, offering to cure their daughter Joey of her progeria using the Beauty, plus doses for them and financial compensation, in exchange for shutting down the FBI investigation and handing over Cooper. They accept Byron's deal. Elsewhere, Jeremy pushes the Assassin to reveal his history and name, Antonio, and the two bond over similar family trauma. Meyer arranges for Cooper to access the NIH and collect a DNA sample before the Assassin and Jeremy ambush him and Jordan at the hospital. The Assassin forces Cooper to surrender by threatening Jordan, whom he reciprocates feelings for as they are both taken captive. Subsequently, Meyer, Juliana, and Joey all undergo the Beauty procedure and reunite as a newly transformed family, as Byron watches on proudly.

Episode 8: Beautiful Brothers

As Byron prepares his presentation for the Beauty's upcoming launch, he cuts down his company's budget and disbands its other divisions to reinvest the drug, disaffecting roboticist Dr. Diana Sterling. He later uses the Beauty procedure on his estranged sons, Tig and Gunther, to save them from drug overdose; for which Franny swears vengeance on Byron. Elsewhere, the Assassin is betrayed by Byron before he, Jeremy, Cooper and Jordan are taken to an NIH quarantine facility, where the survivors of the Condé Nast incident had previously been killed by mercenaries. Jeremy and the Assassin clash over the latter not informing the former about the Beauty's side effects, before Cooper stops them. He is then summoned by Meyer, now an NIH supervisor, and told to follow orders. Upon his return, Cooper and the others are extracted from the quarantine zone.

Episode 9: Beautiful Evolution

Believing her "Deacon" robots are superior to Byron's drug and wanting to regain the rights to her own work back from his corporation, Diana joins forces with Franny to formulate a plan to assassinate him. After masterminding Cooper, Jordan, the Assassin, and Jeremy's escape, she asks for their help. As Byron knows what they all look like, Cooper must take the Beauty and use his new appearance to get close to him. Cooper agrees as long as he contracts it through sex with Jordan rather than injection so that he can spend more time with her first, despite Diana's warning that the drug is more stable. Jordan, the Assassin, and Jeremy are alarmed as Cooper's transformation, unlike their own, turns out to be longer and more painful and are shocked when Cooper emerges as a healthy adolescent.

Episode 10: Beautiful Beauty Day

Following Cooper's transformation, he, Jordan, the Assassin, and Jeremy devise a plan to assassinate Byron, but are too late as the Beauty is suddenly launched and released all over the world a day earlier than anticipated. A week later, high school student Bella Grant becomes fixated on the Beauty after her best friend Ruthie, who had a botched nose job, undergoes the Beauty procedure with successful results, and is treated to a luxurious high-end experience her parents paid for. However, since Bella cannot afford "the shot" officially and her parents do not approve of it, Ruthie gives her a card with a number to call for a backdoor method of obtaining the Beauty for free.

Episode 11: Beautiful Betrayal

Tig and Gunther dose Franny with the Beauty against her will in an attempt to please Byron, leading her to attempt suicide, though Byron has doctors keep her body stable with the Beauty's regenerative properties. Meanwhile, Bella undergoes a Beauty transformation via sexual transmission from a man named Conor, who had taken a second dose beforehand to increase the strength, leading Bella's mother to find her with grotesque mutations. After Byron learns the public and government no longer support the Beauty due to widely reported side-effects, he halts sales and closes down the operation to reinvest in cures and fixes, while providing boosters for free. Diana convinces Byron to allow her to "improve" the Beauty using AI. Wishing to continue distributing the drug and inherit Byron's business, Tig enlists Diana, Cooper, Jordan, the Assassin and Jeremy's help to assassinate him. In exchange, Cooper is given an untested drug developed by Diana's AI systems, building upon Ray's research, to reverse the Beauty's effects, and the others are stunned when he emerges from his offscreen transformation.