How many people can you bear to witness explode before it starts to get tedious? I must admit that I worry that *The Beauty* might be leaning a bit too heavily on this gimmick. Since Episode 3, “Beautiful Christopher Cross,” opens much like the premiere, with a woman getting very thirsty and violent before eventually combusting in the midst of a crowded restaurant. While it still works to some extent, one can imagine it won’t hold for much longer.
Perhaps Ryan Murphy sensed this too, which is why the investigation of this case, technically passed to Cooper and Jordan, takes a back seat. We do catch up with Cooper, who’s being interrogated after his narrow escape in the previous episode, but there’s barely any follow-up on Jordan, and the focus is largely on a character we’ve only glimpsed thus far – The Assassin, Forst’s one-eyed contract killer lapdog.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The Assassin provides a window into the Corporation, the virus itself, and the enigmatic Forst, who, despite being played by Ashton Kutcher, is clearly much older than he appears. This is made clear through a few lines of dialogue and his wife, who’s considerably older and sick of his bullshit. The implications are pretty clear. The virus was created as a kind of bottled fountain of youth to keep the extremely wealthy alive indefinitely, but what has been stolen was a trial version with a pretty fatal flaw – it makes people explode. That’s bad for business, and is why the Assassin has been dispatched to cover all of the tracks, making sure Forst can’t be exposed and the value of the true Beauty can’t be tanked.
The Corporation was, of course, responsible for the failed hit on Cooper. The Assassin is also sent to kill the doctor who introduced Jeremy to Claire, which he does, but only after he forces the doctor to find out Jeremy’s current location. Jeremy is enjoying his new appearance, but he’s still fundamentally broken inside, which turns out to be to his benefit. Even though he’s supposed to kill him, the Assassin takes him on as a protege, curious about his lack of fear of dying. We already knew Jeremy was capable of murder, since he went on a killing spree in the first episode, but it’s still eerie to see his eyes light up at the prospect of becoming a contract killer. He even proves his bona fides when he and the Assassin track down the woman he was sleeping with, who is now infected, and he beats her to death with a frying pan.
The third episode of "The Beauty" references the '80s sensation Christopher Cross, whose meteoric rise was abruptly halted when his fans discovered he didn't quite fit the mold of beauty and perfection that society had constructed. This revelation derailed his career, leaving him irrelevant. The Assassin, a character with an amoral nature, learned a valuable lesson from Cross's fate. Beauty, he realizes, is the most potent force in the world.
The Assassin's relationship with Forst is intriguing, as it doesn't appear to be a standard employer-employee dynamic. He also has a estranged child whom he doesn't seem interested in seeing, yet he continues to pay for his upkeep. The Assassin is a compelling character, a monster who knows exactly what he is, and I suspect there'll be more to learn about him in the future.
As for Cooper, at the end of the episode, he's preparing to interview someone - perhaps Manny, the man from the opening who received a drop of Harper's blood in his eye - in hopes of shedding more light on the case and Jordan's disappearance. That's likely where we'll pick up next week. Beyond that, it's impossible to predict where "The Beauty" might go. And that's a good thing in my opinion.
This passage aims to provide a detailed summary of the third episode of "The Beauty," focusing on key plot points and character developments while maintaining the original meaning and ensuring a more expressive and vivid narrative.
