The Beast in Me Recap: Like Father, Like Son

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Nile Jarvis’s tendency towards psychopathy likely comes from his father, Martin Jarvis (played by Jonathan Banks, known for his role as Mike in Breaking Bad). We briefly saw Martin in the previous episode when Aggie started looking into Abbott’s connection to the Jarvis case – he co-owns MHJ Real Estate Corp. with his son. It’s also revealed that Martin is Rick’s (yes, that’s his real name) older half-brother, a fact Rick shares with him when he visits Martin’s large estate to discuss Aggie’s book.

This family is deeply dysfunctional. The father, Martin, actively pits his twin sons against each other, even encouraging physical fights over things like an iPad. His son, Nile, describes him as a harsh, demanding patriarch – a bit like Logan Roy – who seems to enjoy making his children uncomfortable. While Nile wants to leave a lasting mark on New York City with his buildings, Martin’s sole focus is on having as many children as possible who carry the family name. Nile shares a disturbing story about their mother, who suffered a dozen miscarriages and nearly died during her first pregnancy. Doctors advised her to stop having children, but Martin refused, and wouldn’t consider adoption. She ultimately had five more miscarriages before Nile was born and later died of ovarian cancer. When Nile decided he didn’t want children of his own, Martin remarried and used IVF to have twins with his new wife.

This guy is seriously intimidating – he makes Nile, who’s usually so confident, seem mild-mannered. In fact, he’s the only person who can make Nile appear insignificant. Nile had been delaying telling his father about the book because he anticipated a negative reaction. While in Martin’s office, Nile actually seems frightened and even stutters when he speaks. Martin doesn’t see any benefit in letting a journalist investigate before the Jarvis Yards project is complete. And to top it all off, Phineas – a New York councilman and Jarvis’s man in City Hall – arrives with bad news. He explains that Benitez has managed to sway some votes against the second phase of construction by using Nile’s personal situation against him. Phineas, who owes his political position to Jarvis’s financial support, looks incredibly nervous, but assures them the situation is currently under control.

The dynamic between Nile and his father reveals his hidden insecurities. Nile acts entitled around his father, but clearly recognizes where his power ends. It also explains why his father claims he doesn’t want children – he’s afraid of loving them too much. Aggie questions this, and he turns the question back to her, knowing her own strong love for her son has caused problems in the past, like with her marriage. Meanwhile, Nina genuinely loved Shelley’s painting, so much so that she traveled to Bushwick to see Shelley’s studio. She presented herself as the owner of the Jacon Gallery, a place that nurtures artists before they become famous. Shelley initially suspected Aggie had sent Nina, but Nina insisted she was there solely because of Shelley’s talent.

Shelley mistakenly believes Aggie is focused on her career, but Aggie is actually investigating Teddy Fenig’s case with Abbott. They meet at Abbott’s temporary apartment – he’s been living there for six years, ever since his disastrous breakup following the Jarvis case. Aggie continues to try and convince Abbott that Nile might be involved in Teddy’s death. Everything about the case – the suicide note (“I’m sorry for the pain I’ve caused”) and the lack of witnesses – suggests Teddy took his own life. However, Madison Jarvis also left a note, leading Aggie to wonder if Nile forced Teddy to write his. She notes that Teddy’s handwriting appears unsteady. Nina has an alibi for the night of Teddy’s death, meaning Nile was free to move around unnoticed. (Aggie’s theories are starting to seem far-fetched.) When Abbott points out they have no way of knowing where Nile was, Aggie recalls that Nile wears a smart ring which tracks his location and saves the data to his laptop – a laptop Aggie has already figured out the password to.

Abbott believes Nile was intelligent enough to disable the ring before committing murder, but Aggie knows the ring activates on its own when a person’s heart rate exceeds 90 beats per minute. Considering the exertion of strangling someone, it’s likely a person would sweat. However, if Nile is truly as callous as Aggie suspects, or if he’s in good shape from running, he might not have. To find out for sure, Aggie decides to steal the data from Nile’s computer. Initially, Abbott is hesitant to get involved, but he slowly becomes intrigued. Any information they uncover wouldn’t be usable in court, but Abbott knows someone who specializes in digital forensics. This situation highlights the potential dangers of wearable data trackers. (A related article by Andrea González-Ramírez also raised concerns about this topic.)

Nile is confused about why Rick told Martin about the book. Their conversation reveals that Martin suffered a heart attack after the problems with Nile and Madison. Rick is so determined to prevent another health scare for his brother that he secretly searched Aggie’s office, which proved Nina wasn’t involved in anything shady. However, Rick’s motives remain mysterious. He has a criminal past, but what does he actually do around Nile’s house? Is he a security guard, a butler, or just a kind man who happens to look intimidating? When Aggie asks Nile the same question, he simply says Rick “takes care of the dogs.” Nile doesn’t seem concerned about Rick until he learns that Aggie has been speaking with Abbott, at which point he becomes very upset.

Nile urgently calls Aggie, insisting they meet at Jarvis Yards. Abbott warns her against going, but Nile pressures her until they all agree to go, Abbott reluctantly included. He provides Aggie with a disposable phone and says he’ll stay close by. What follows is the most suspenseful scene of the series so far. Nile leads Aggie up over 20 stories in an unfinished building to a dangerous ledge overlooking Manhattan, with no safety barriers. He questions her about speaking with Abbott, who she reveals has been one of her sources for two years, investigating Jarvis for financial crimes – a man deeply invested in the case and key to the story. Nile feels he’s overstepping by interfering with her work. When he suggests the book might not be a good idea, Aggie’s anger visibly rises. She warns him that if he won’t cooperate, she’ll write the book based on accounts from people like Abbott, who are determined to prove Jarvis’s guilt. Nile seems to forget that despite her seemingly fragile demeanor, Aggie isn’t intimidated by him; he can’t control her through threats. Eventually, she agrees to let him review the first hundred pages in private and to attend a party for Nile’s twin brothers the following day.

Aggie was trembling when she returned to Abbott’s car, but they both found humor in the fact that the Jarvises were renting an elephant for their party. Abbott had also begun using “we” and “us” when talking about Aggie going to the party, suggesting she was now part of his plans. Aggie, caught up in her own goals, didn’t realize how damaging this behavior could be for Abbott. Only Erika seemed to understand the situation and called him as he was about to break into Nile’s house. Abbott lied to Erika about how involved he was and even called in sick to work. It didn’t seem smart to ignore her concerns, especially since she was busy with her own important tasks – like remotely guiding someone to their daughter’s EpiPen – and might not always be available to protect him from the consequences of his actions.

It’s funny, if people acted logically, we wouldn’t even have television! Aggie waits until Nile and Nina are gone before signaling Abbott to head to the party. Abbott disables the security system – he drugs the guard dogs and covers the cameras – then expertly breaks into the house. Aggie did a great job figuring out Nile’s computer password, allowing Abbott to download the information onto a thumb drive. It’s remarkable how, no matter how advanced technology becomes, these kinds of shows always seem to involve a thumb drive! We might be watching TV with our eyes closed someday, and crime shows will still use them. As the download finishes, Abbott sees a photo of Madison and Nile, which brings back a painful memory of when she challenged him during Nile’s arrest, years ago.

The twins’ party is still going strong, though it’s less of a safari theme and more like a group of British people pretending to be in Africa – the kids are playing cricket and dressed as characters from Tarzan. Watching them all brings back a memory for Aggie of scolding Cooper when they were getting ready to leave, and it upsets her so much that she slips away to smoke a cigarette. A party worker tries to stop her, but Nile arrives just in time to let her have a few puffs. When Aggie tells him she hasn’t been around children since Cooper’s death, Nile seems truly touched. He tries to cheer her up by making jokes about the party and the guests, and shares a story about when he was a kid and jumped out of his bedroom window just to see what it felt like.

Nile introduces Aggie to Martin, but Martin is clearly upset. Things get worse when Phineas arrives with surprising news: he’s changing his vote on the Jarvis Yards development to try and save his own political career. He admits they’ve lost the public relations battle, and is visibly stressed. After Martin points out their long-term financial support, Nile angrily orders Phineas to leave. Later, while picking up Nina, Nile learns that Nina has offered Shelley an art show at her gallery. Nina is taken aback by Aggie’s lack of enthusiasm. It’s clear there’s more going on – likely jealousy or resentment – but Aggie is right to point out that Shelley working with Nina creates a potential conflict of interest for the book, as it could appear the Jarvis family is trying to manipulate her perspective. Nina’s expression is particularly cold, and she makes it clear she won’t let this go. Back home, she tells Nile they need to discuss Aggie.

Their conversation was interrupted by barking dogs. Abbott had just jumped over the wall, injuring his leg while escaping the Shepherds. Although the dog was acting aggressively, Nile felt bad when Abbott ended up hitting it. Abbott could have avoided the whole situation – getting bitten and hitting the dog – if he’d left when Aggie first asked him to, right after Nile and Nina left the party. (Nile also wonders if she should change Abbott’s name in her phone.) By the time Nile called, the download wasn’t finished yet, stuck at 72%. He waited for it to complete, and though it cost him an injury to his thigh, he managed to escape with the thumb drive.

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2025-11-13 21:56