The Beast In Me Finale Recap And Ending Explained: What Happens To Rick Jarvis?

The finale of The Beast in Me goes as expected; the series never let us question whether Nile Jarvis killed his wife, it merely asked the audience to wait to see how he might have done it. In the sixth episode, “Ghosts,” it became clear that Nile was the one who killed his wife out of rage. However, Nile does kill with a compulsive urge; he just needs a reason to get the killing instincts to kick in; nobody asked him to kill Teddy. Aggie was merely venting out her share of grief, but Nile knows only one way of doing things—total obliteration in death. Nile might have even thought he was doing Aggie a gesture of goodwill, giving her a relief; however, when things went wrong with Aggie becoming aware of his trail of violence, he decided to turn the table on her instead. He placed Teddy in Cooper’s room, dead with a plastic bag over his face. Let’s see how Aggie faces the consequences.

Spoilers Ahead

What is Nile’s version of the story?

Shocked by the visual of Teddy’s demise, Aggie escapes the house and runs into the woods. She knows that trouble is going to follow her, and her accounts will not be believable. Nile would turn the story in his favor and make it look like it is Aggie’s “bloodlust” and vengeance that led her to commit a crime to kill an innocent young man. Aggie tries to reach Erica, who arrives at the spot and is shocked to see the dead body. She does not believe that Aggie has done it; Aggie calls Erika, but before she can ask her about her whereabouts, Aggie hangs up. Aggie tries calling Shelley next, who is surrounded by the police and wants to help her by giving her away to the police since she thinks Aggie needs help. Nile has a penchant for making it look like anybody that he is trying to pin blame on is mentally unwell, and he does that with the perfect prowess of a gaslighter. Aggie hangs up the call and takes shelter in a greenhouse in the middle of the woods.Nile walks home and now has one person to answer to—it is Nina Jarvis. Nina asks Nile what is going on, and Nile asks her to sit down for a moment while he narrates his version of Teddy Fenig’s murder. Nile tells Nina that on the night that he went over to have drinks with Aggie, he went upstairs to use the washroom and heard noise coming out of Cooper’s room. When he was about to walk in, Aggie stopped her, and he saw fear in her eyes. Fear of getting caught. Nile tells her that Aggie acted out of vengeance and she snapped into taking this decision. When Nina asks her why she would invite him then, Nile says maybe it was to collect his DNA and frame him. He closes all possible ways of suspicion by mentioning that Aggie was trying to frame him for this murder. It is also apparently Nile who gave police the lead about the murder, which makes it unbelievable to Erika that the events took place the way that Nile is claiming.

Does Erika Help Aggie?

Erika takes an intent look at the journal and tries to pull up the original copy of Maddie’s suicide letter to support Aggie’s claim that it is Nile who killed Maddie. However, Rick has already sent in a group of goons to “take care” of the situation after getting to know about Teddy’s murder. The group and Rick threaten Erika that if she cares for her family, she will have to stay away from this case. One thing is for sure, Erika can be pretty grey and immoral when it comes to her family. The next time Aggie seeks help from her, Erika does not even recognize her. She refuses to help her, and when Aggie asks for the journal back as proof when she is turning herself in, Erika briefly hangs up the phone. Aggie really does not have any other option open except to turn herself in, but before she does that, she attempts to have one last try to pull Nile down.

What Happens to Martin Jarvis?

Meanwhile, Rick goes to Martin to update him about what’s been happening. It does not take Martin long to figure out that Nile is behind Teddy’s murder. The old man is disappointed and fed up with his son’s murderous antics and collapses on the ground. He is rushed to the hospital, and it also gives Nile a perfect escape from his ongoing conversation with Nina. Nile is definitely a sociopath; even when his father lies in critical condition, all he can think about is how he gets to replace him in Benitez’ press conference the day after. Olivia Benitez has no other option but to accept Martin’s offer where she is offered a block of land for affordable housing in exchange for the Jarvis Yards construction. As Olivia makes the announcement, Nile walks out to meet Nina, who calmly plays a recording back to him.

How Does Nina Turn the Game on Nile?

Aggie pulls her last card by turning to Nina. In Nile’s empire, Nina stuck out like an outsider despite her status quo as Mrs. Jarvis. Nina is self-protective, and especially with a child, she is at risk of getting exposed to Nile’s uglier side. Deep down, she knew that Nile’s story did not add up regarding Maddie’s death. Aggie goes to Nina and tells her that she is turning herself in, but Maddie’s suicide note was outdated. This is only further confirmation of what Nina already knew deep down; she goes home and tells Nile that Aggie visited her. While they both engage in the conversation, Nina quietly turns the recording on. What ensues in the next minutes is what Nile Jarvis really is, and not what he pretends to be. When Nina questions him about how Maddie left a note so calm while she was spiraling the night before, Nile loses it. He admits to having killed Maddie but surprisingly makes it look like Nina’s fault. This is exactly what he does—he pins Teddy’s death on Aggie as if he were doing her a favor, and he pins Maddie’s death on Nina, saying that Nina was exasperated with her and wanted to replace her. As I had mentioned earlier, Nile is a manipulator and gaslighter of the highest order. Anyway, Nina closes the circle that she began by exposing Maddie. She turns Nile in to the police while she plays the recording back at him at the press conference. Nile faces charges for three homicides back-to-back without parole, and he accepts them without contesting. Rick exposes him for a lesser sentence, but before he does that, he gives Martin Jarvis a peaceful death lest he see his legacy going wrong (ironic!).

What Happens to Aggie’s Book?

The series wraps up in a very linear way, with Aggie at a press conference talking about her new book. She continued to keep working on her accounts of Nile and visited him in prison for a three-hour-long conversation to finish the book. Aggie admits to her trauma and her “second grief,” which turned into  a perpetual hatred towards Teddy. There is also a flashback where we get to see how Cooper actually died. Aggie was not blameless; even though Teddy was drunk, Aggie was also having an agitated conversation while driving, which led into the crash. She seems more evolved and self-aware than ever as she speaks about the book. She has also been able to move on from Shelley, who remains at the launch with her new partner, Meg, whom Aggie greets warmly. 

In The Beast in Me’s ending, Nina Jarvis gives birth to the kid, and although the progeny factor bothers her, she is sure that she would raise him to be different than Nile ever was. The series wraps up somewhat blandly, with everything falling into place. Some threads remain still open, like Erika’s arc with Frank and the revelation of Brian’s murder—assuming they take place off screen. The series had a great premise and good players to make it into something exceptional but in the end turned out to be an average crime drama trying its best to portray a sociopath—which, in my opinion, is a little too overdone!

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