The Beast Must Die - General Discussion

[Quilt Fairy]

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"The Beast Must Die,” a six-episode miniseries that premiered its first episode this week on the AMC+ streaming service (episodes will show up on AMC the following week) is more of a slow-burn mystery-thriller where it's not at all clear who the "beast" is. It’s based on a 1938 novel written by Nicholas Blake, which was an alias for Daniel Day-Lewis’ father, Cecil, of all people.

The action takes place on the Isle of Wight, a picturesque and forbidding island in the English Channel, all sunny beaches and craggy cliffs. The terrific Cush Jumbo (“The Good Fight,” “Deadwater Fell”) plays Frances, a grieving mother whose 6-year-old son was killed by a hit-and-run driver on one of the island’s remote roads six months earlier. The local police, who seem more concerned with keeping the peace than solving crimes, haven’t made any headway, so Frances takes extreme measures to find out who is responsible.

 

AMC+ premier date: July 5, 2021   /  AMC premier date: July 12, 2021

[AngieBee1]

Saw it during its initial Britbox run.  Started out very strong, but sadly, didn't stick the landing.   But I'd watch Cush Jumbo in anything.

[Crashcourse]

I watched about 15 minutes.  Never heard of Cush Jumbo (is that her real name?) but I was not impressed with her.  Looked her up and saw she'd been in other stuff, but I'm still not intrigued.  Too bad, because I do like Jared Harris. 

[BusyOctober]

The first ep didn’t grab me, but I will give it a few more episodes because I like Jared Harris so much.  I never liked Cush Jumbo’s character on The Good Wife, so I am trying to get over that association.   I can empathize with her character in this, but so far the show is using too many tropes…the mom with a vigilante revenge story, the world weary tortured soul policeman, the (probably) abused young model (probable) girlfriend of the (probable) villain.  I will watch some more, so I hope it picks up by the 3rd one.

Edited July 13, 2021 by BusyOctober

[Crashcourse]

I switched back and forth between channels before I gave up, so I missed the part where she shaved and dyed her hair.  Did she think that would make her some kind of badass?  🙄

[Starchild]

I suspect it's about changing her look (and her name) so she isn't immediately associated with the hit-and-run victim while investigating the crime.

[BusyOctober]

I guess I’m not the only one who gave up on this show.  

[tomorrowgirl]

I'm still watching it.  It's okay, and since it's just 6 episodes, I'll stick with it until the end.  There is very little else on to watch (I don't do streaming) and I'm mildly interested to know who the hit and run driver was.

[dshgr]

On 7/23/2021 at 5:05 PM, tomorrowgirl said:

I'm still watching it.  It's okay, and since it's just 6 episodes, I'll stick with it until the end.  There is very little else on to watch (I don't do streaming) and I'm mildly interested to know who the hit and run driver was.

I'm starting to think it was Lena.

[tomorrowgirl]

22 hours ago, dshgr said:

I'm starting to think it was Lena.

That's certainly a possibility.

[I Want My MBTV]

On 7/23/2021 at 2:05 PM, tomorrowgirl said:

I'm still watching it.  It's okay, and since it's just 6 episodes, I'll stick with it until the end.  There is very little else on to watch (I don't do streaming) and I'm mildly interested to know who the hit and run driver was

it certainly is slow.  I also know I'm supposed to feel sympathy for Frances and I do but I don't like her.  Like at all.  I don't understand what she thinks is going to happen.  Does she think she's going to come across a diary somewhere in the house "dear diary I was out driving too fast and hit something that could have been a small child...."  I don't get the family either and Lena must be dense to be like "hey lady I just met that seems to be obsessed with me and might have drugged me but hey I need a friend so come stay at my creepy BILs house with me".

 

As for the driver - it can't be George that just seems too obvious.   There's been way too much time devoted to the son of late and we've seen he can go off the rails so that's where my money is.   I just don't know that he realized he hit a child.  I don't think George would cover for him but I could see the mom covering for him.    I just need it move along show.  

[tomorrowgirl]

1 hour ago, I Want My MBTV said:

it certainly is slow.  I also know I'm supposed to feel sympathy for Frances and I do but I don't like her.  Like at all.  I don't understand what she thinks is going to happen.  Does she think she's going to come across a diary somewhere in the house "dear diary I was out driving too fast and hit something that could have been a small child...."  I don't get the family either and Lena must be dense to be like "hey lady I just met that seems to be obsessed with me and might have drugged me but hey I need a friend so come stay at my creepy BILs house with me".

 

As for the driver - it can't be George that just seems too obvious.   There's been way too much time devoted to the son of late and we've seen he can go off the rails so that's where my money is.   I just don't know that he realized he hit a child.  I don't think George would cover for him but I could see the mom covering for him.    I just need it move along show.  

I agree that George is too obvious of a suspect to be the driver.  Unless they're trying to fake us off and have us dismiss him as the culprit by making it look too obvious.   There are certainly signs that it could be the son, but I wonder if that's just to fake us off too.  I also think it's too slow.  I just watched the latest episode and I know I was tired to begin with, but I nodded off for a second or two during the show.

[BookThief]

I'll finish this season but, oof, I'm always relieved when an episode is over and a few times during any episode I always wonder if it will ever end because OMG the episode is taking forever. I want to sympathize, but just...don't. I don't know if we didn't get enough back story or what, but the whole thing leaves me cold and uninterested. Maybe the end will surprise or at least intrigue me...

[tomorrowgirl]

At least something happened this week, unlike the previous episodes. 

[Starchild]

When is the finale being aired? Wasn't ep 5 just this Monday? I don't see ep 6 in the guide for next week or even the week after.

[tomorrowgirl]

Episode 6, the finale, is listed as airing Tuesday, August 17 at 12 am Eastern on AMC.

 

https://www.amc.com/schedule?tz=ET&from=2021-08-17

The strange thing is that imdb.com doesn't list a 6th episode, and the synopsis they give for episode 5 is the same that amc.com gives for episode 6.

Edited August 12, 2021 by tomorrowgirl

[BusyOctober]

I just watch this week’s episode.  Boy, this series sucks.  I hate everyone.  I admit I haven’t been watching with my full attention, so any plot questions I have are my fault, I guess. But then I blame the writers and the actors for making me lose interest. I don’t know what Strangeways’ issues are that cause his panic attacks. Do his superiors know about it?  I don’t get why the long suffering wife let herself suffer so long.  Yes, she’s married to a cheating son of a bitch and it’s awful he slept with her sister, but she was pretty young herself when she married him, so his asshole behavior and preying on young women shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise. Why is she catatonic all the time?  Is she an addict? Is George’s sister in love with him?  Frances is stupid and her revenge plot is stupid.

[AngieBee1]

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I don’t know what Strangeways’ issues are that cause his panic attacks. 

PTSD from seeing his partner killed in front of him. 

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Do his superiors know about it?

Yes, that's why he has a transfer to a sleepier and less dangerous locale.

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I don’t get why the long suffering wife let herself suffer so long. 

Unstable and weak under the strong, overbearing presence of George and his equally controlling sister. 

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The strange thing is that imdb.com doesn't list a 6th episode, and the synopsis they give for episode 5 is the same that amc.com gives for episode 6.

There's only five episodes. The same thing happened with the listing for Sky/AMC's "Gangs of London". There were only 9 episodes in the UK run, but because the first episode was longer, AMC split it thus becoming an extra episode so IMDB has it at the correct 9 episodes but Wikipedia at 10. But all BEAST MUST DIE eps are near in length so I would just chalk it up to an error.

[Starchild]

Who knew that the ones who would come out of this the happiest would be Phil and his mom?

[tomorrowgirl]

I assumed I was the only one who watched the finale, since there had been no other comments until now.  I was hoping that this would be an interesting little mystery/suspense show, but the writers evidently had other thoughts.

[BookThief]

On 8/25/2021 at 1:14 PM, tomorrowgirl said:

I assumed I was the only one who watched the finale, since there had been no other comments until now.  I was hoping that this would be an interesting little mystery/suspense show, but the writers evidently had other thoughts.

I watched and....I'm just glad it's over.

[cinsays]

On 8/25/2021 at 1:14 PM, tomorrowgirl said:

I assumed I was the only one who watched the finale, since there had been no other comments until now.  I was hoping that this would be an interesting little mystery/suspense show, but the writers evidently had other thoughts.

I have not seen the finale, don't think it was shown here in the Atlanta area, unless it just did not record.

[tomorrowgirl]

1 hour ago, cinsays said:

I have not seen the finale, don't think it was shown here in the Atlanta area, unless it just did not record.

The finale was shown August 17 at 12 am and again at 4 am.  If you're interested in seeing how it turned out, it's probably on the amc website or maybe On Demand if you have that.  The whole series was unsatisfying, but I wanted to see how it ended.

[cinsays]

2 hours ago, tomorrowgirl said:

The finale was shown August 17 at 12 am and again at 4 am.  If you're interested in seeing how it turned out, it's probably on the amc website or maybe On Demand if you have that.  The whole series was unsatisfying, but I wanted to see how it ended.

huh

i looked at the preview of this episode and i DID see it

it just didn't seem like much of an ending, but ok

the series was kind of annoying and, yeah, unsatisfying