Fans of Tyler Perry have been anxiously anticipating the release of his first Netflix original series Beauty in Black for some time now. Luckily the series, which released its first 8 episode batch on Oct. 24, offers a wide array of drama and intrigue, keeping fans with their jaws on the floor in anticipation for the thrilling conclusion. Though Perry normally specializes in upbeat comedies, Beauty in Black is a straightforward drama, with few moments of lighthearted levity between its serious themes of sex, drugs and criminal violence. Given that the first half of the series has already sparked such an intense emotional response from viewers across the globe, it only seems right that we parse through the details and provide some deeper insight into the plot, themes and conclusion of Beauty in Black part one.
Needless to say, the following write-up will be rife with spoilers for the show’s first eight episodes, so please feel free to bookmark this page and return later if you’re not fully caught up with Beauty in Black. We’ll also be looking ahead and speculating on a few key details, so there may be potential spoilers for future episodes. Any way you slice it, there’s plenty of off-the-walls chaos to get into, so let’s dive right in and unpack some of the most outrageous details of Beauty in Black‘s mid-season finale.
What Happens in ‘Beauty in Black’ Part One?
Before Beauty in Black officially released on Netflix, the series was advertised as following two women who lead very different lifestyles as they cross paths in dramatic fashion. While this does explain the series, Beauty in Black has already turned out to be so much more. When the series begins, we center on Kimmie, a stripper who is trapped in her lifestyle by her controlling boss Jules. Even if she could escape from her boss, Kimmie has no support system, no resources and nobody on her side, leaving her no choice but to keep stripping in order to chip away at her mountain of financial debt. Her own mother set her up for failure by kicking her out of the house at the age of 17, choosing to take the side of her predatory boyfriend over her daughter.
On the other side of the narrative, we have Mallory, a wealthy socialite who runs a hair care business and struggles to maintain control amidst a flurry of impending controversy. Mallory seems at first to be a kind, caring,and loving pillar of her community, even offering a scholarship for impoverished women pursuing their dreams of breaking into the hairdressing industry. Beneath it all, however, Mallory is a cruel and unfeeling woman, who is actively working to cover up multiple lawsuits regarding the use of cancer-causing agents in her relaxers. On a whim, Kimmie decides to apply for Mallory’s Beauty in Black Hair Care scholarship, desperate for a cash infusion to save her from her lifestyle, though this is ultimately not how the pair cross paths.
What Brings Mallory and Kimmie Together?
Despite coming from two very different walks of life, Mallory and Kimmie find their fates intertwined through a series of surprising connections. For starters, Kimmie is being forced by her boss to sleep with a man named Roy, who, as it turns out, is Mallory’s husband. Furthermore, Kimmie’s boss Jules works as Mallory’s head of security, whom she calls upon any time something has gone horribly awry. These issues combine into a single major quagmire when Kimmie decides to call Roy’s wife to inform her of his affairs, which sends Mallory into a frenzy, causing her to drive recklessly and hit a pedestrian. In a shocking act of coldness and cruelty, Mallory leaves the body for dead in the street and keeps driving, only for Roy to stumble across the pedestrian on his way home. Unlike his callous wife, Roy stashes the body in his trunk, determined to bury it.
This conflict reaches an almost comedic point of error when the pedestrian manages to wake up and escape from Roy and Mallory, and limps to a nearby hospital. From there, we learn that the woman Mallory hit was actually Roy’s aunt Ina, who is put into a medically-induced coma once she is checked into her hospital room. In a fit of fury, Roy’s uncle Norman vows to locate the driver who struck his wife and tear them apart, setting the stage for a powerful familial squabble. This worsens the already growing tension between Norman and Roy’s father, Horace, after the pair had a massive falling out regarding their joint ownership stake in the Beauty in Black hair care company.
Norman and Horace’s Broken Sibling Relationship Explained
As we come to learn throughout the first half of Beauty in Black, Norman and Horace originally launched the hair care company before handing the reigns down to Mallory. Once close and loving brothers, the two were torn apart by disputes about money, leading them to battle it out in court for the right to sole ownership of the company. Norman ultimately won the dispute, leaving his brother miserable and bitter. To make matters worse, Norman is an outspoken homophobe, while Horace is secretly masking his own homoerotic relationship with a male stripper at Kimmie’s club. This leads to additional tension between the brothers, especially as Norman’s wife remains in the hospital.
While visiting the strip club, Horace comes to strike a deal with Kimmie, completely unrelated to his blood-feud with his brother. As Kimmie explains, her friend and fellow stripper is in the hospital suffering from the after effects of a botched plastic surgery, and Kimmie has been forbidden to visit. In exchange for keeping quiet about Horace’s homosexuality, Kimmie asks that he utilize his contacts at the hospital to keep an eye on her friend’s recovery, and ensure that she gets the best medical care possible. Horace agrees, though his frequent trips to the hospital leave Norman increasingly paranoid, believing that his brother may be the one responsible for the hit and run, and that maybe he’s there to finish the job.
Does Norman’s Wife Survive?
Throughout the first eight episodes of Beauty in Black, Norman is driven entirely by anger and paranoia, as his wife remains comatose in the hospital. All the while, he never suspects that his favorite niece is actually the one responsible for his suffering. Mallory’s perfect outward-facing image cements her as a trustworthy figure to Horace, which is why he allows her to run Beauty in Black in the first place. Still, Norman makes it clear that he will literally murder anyone in his path to solve Ina’s hit and run. Meanwhile, Jules, who has business with both Norman and Horace, attempts to patch things up between the brothers, knowing that Mallory is the one who nearly killed Norman’s wife. In the final episode of part one, Jules informs Horace that his sister-in-law has been making great strides in her recovery in the hopes that it will mend fences.
Instead, Horace arranges for a woman on his payroll to pose as a nurse and sabotage Ina’s recovery, leaving her clinically braindead in her hospital bed. In a fit of rage, Norman concludes that the hospital is not safe, and attempts to have Ina transferred somewhere where his brother has no influence. In a cruel twist of fate, Ina dies during the ambulance ride to the new hospital, making her death equal parts Norman and Horace’s fault, and run by Mallory, in a macabre reflection of the Beauty in Black business. Needless to say, this sends Norman over the edge, and sets the stage for a blood bath, especially after he shoots and kills all the nurses and EMT’s in the ambulance.
All About Norman’s Revenge
After massacring the hospital staff, Norman resolves to hit his brother where it hurts, by slaughtering Horace’s youngest son, Charles. Norman has always taken issue with Charles because of the latter’s out-and-proud homosexuality, which makes him a convenient target for Norman’s twisted revenge plot. One night, after Charles goes on a major bender at the local strip club, his distinct yellow Lamborghini pulls onto the family’s private road headed toward their sprawling estate – the very road where Ida was run down and left for dead. As the car pulls up, several armed men emerge from a blind spot and riddle the car with bullets until it explodes, surely killing anyone inside.
While most viewers were shocked to see Charles seemingly die a horrible death, some have speculated that this is actually a clever misdirect, as we never fully confirm that Charles is inside the vehicle. In fact, there are several clues to suggest that Charles, who was last seen fall-down-drunk at the strip club and giving his address out to potential hookups, may have been the mark for a robbery. If this is the case, it would mean that a stripper stole his keys, made his way to Charles’ house to loot the place, and ultimately went up in flames at the hands of the unforeseen family drama. For now, there’s no way of knowing the truth until the second half of Beauty in Black finally premieres.
How Does ‘Beauty in Black’ Part One End?
While Mallory’s family meltdown takes center stage throughout most of part one, the true core of Beauty in Black is the dynamic between the hair care extraordinaire and Kimmie. Kimmie spent most of the first season looking for a way to leave stripping behind, all while being targeted by Jules and the strip club owner Body. Body hates Kimmie for her attempts at rallying the girls to demand better wages and a safer work environment, and tries many avenues to break her spirit over the first half of the season. Ultimately, Body resolves to hit Kimmie where it really hurts, by kidnapping her teenage sister Sylvie. Sylvie idolizes Kimmie, and thinks that she works as a nurse rather than a stripper. Enraged by Body’s attack on her family, Kimmie loses her cool, and runs down Body in a motel parking lot, pinning her between two cars.
While speaking to Netflix’s Tudum, Tyler Perry outlined his intention with this thrilling twist, stating, “I’m always trying to write these cliff-hangers, where people are going, ‘Wait, did you see this?’ I want people talking about it around the water cooler, and on [social media], and trending, and just loving it.” Clearly, Perry got his wish, as fans are currently obsessed with Kimmie’s act of revenge, especially as it parallels Mallory’s reckless driving incident at the beginning of the series. With the second half of Beauty in Black season one still forthcoming, there’s no telling how the consequences of these actions will come home to roost.
When Will Part Two of ‘Beauty in Black’ Premiere?
Right now, there’s no confirmed release date for Beauty in Black part two. As fans continue binge-viewing the first half, Netflix is sure to continue teasing out the tension before hyping us up for the next installment. In the same Tudum interview referenced above, Tyler Perry offered a quick glimpse into the future of the series, explaining “I don’t think anybody’s going to be able to figure out where it’s going and how that rise of power happens with Kimmie. It’s going to be mind-blowing for people. Like, ‘Wait a minute, how does she get into power?’ ”
If Perry’s foreshadowing turns out to be true, it seems that the second half of Beauty in Black will see Kimmie not only surviving the run-in with Body, but thriving, perhaps even taking over the strip club. With any luck, the young woman will have the chance to save her sister, escape from her fast lifestyle and maybe even reconnect with her long-estranged mother. Still, we’ve yet to see exactly how Kimmie and Mallory cross paths, as the two could be extremely powerful allies, or bitter enemies, depending on the circumstances. For now, we’ll just have to sit tight and wait for part two to be released.
