Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Bad Monkey Episode 9
As Bad Monkey nears its finale, the penultimate episode drags a shotgun through Andrew Yancy’s (Vince Vaughn) carefully laid out plans to arrest the show’s diabolical couple. Episode 8 ends on a feel-good note, with Yancy celebrating with his accomplices and playfully trying to get Dawnie (Reese Antoinette) to see Neville’s (Ronald Peet) charm. Eventually, the day winds to a close, and Yancy and Rosa (Natalie Martinez) bid the other couple farewell. But they sneak back to witness Dawnie kissing Neville, despite Yancy’s awful wingman attempts. As they stand around laughing and smiling, happy that the end of the case is drawing near, an uneasy feeling takes over when we hear Eve Stripling (Meredith Hagner) asking Rosa to come visit before she leaves for Miami.
Rosa’s Cover Is Blown in ‘Bad Monkey’ Episode 9
Eve feigns wanting to meet Rosa before the hurricane truly hits to discuss business. However, the line of conversation turns sinister, as Eve asks personal questions about Rosa’s love life. Soon thereafter, the truth is revealed and Eve whips out the picture of Rosa, Yancy, and Claspers (Bob Clendenin) from the bar she went to the night before. With her identity exposed, Rosa tries to escape, but Egg (David St. Louis) saunters in and kidnaps her. Awaiting Rosa’s return, Yancy and Neville return to the bar and spy Gracie (Jodie Turner-Smith) sitting forlornly at a table. Even though Yancy doesn’t believe in magic, and Gracie’s belief is flailing, he insists she tell him of any feelings or instincts she might be having about their mission. She warns them that Eve knows who Rosa is, claiming that someone she knows informed her (likely Egg).
Panicked, Yancy and Neville rush over to Eve and Nick’s (Rob Delaney) mansion, intent on rescuing Rosa. However, she isn’t there. Instead, Yancy is met by an enraged Nick, who is boasting a loaded shotgun. Nick points the gun to Yancy, but hesitates when the quick-thinking detective holds up Tilly, Eve’s beloved dog. While Nick doesn’t particularly harbor any love for the blood-lapping canine, he is completely beholden to Eve, who is shouting at him to hold back. Meanwhile, Yancy is also trying to tug at Nick’s heartstrings by invoking his daughter’s name, Caitlin (Charlotte Lawrence). As the three go back and forth, no one sees Neville sneak up behind them with a fishing rod, shoving it into Nick’s back. Amid the bloody chaos, Neville and Yancy escape.
Bonnie Escapes Prison in ‘Bad Monkey’ Episode 9
After setting fire to Yancy’s neighbor’s house, Bonnie (Michelle Monaghan) is somewhat enjoying prison life, already seducing a guard into doing her bidding. Agent Johnna (Ashley Nicole Black) comes to visit Bonnie, admiring her for the absolutely bonkers way she took accountability and forced some sort of justice. However, Bonnie isn’t content with the eight years she’s been sentenced to and asks Johnna if there is any way it can be reduced. But if we know anything about our girl, it is that she doesn’t play by the rules and always gets what she wants for however long she wants it. As such, the last we see of Bonnie is with her hair streaming out of a convertible, alongside the married prison guard she easily manipulated into helping her escape. Life on the run suits her.
‘Bad Monkey’ Episode 9 Sees Trouble in Rosa and Yancy’s Romance
Coming up empty-handed after their hare-brained and unplanned rescue mission, Yancy and Neville are completely clueless about their next move. Suddenly, Rosa barges into the house breathless, panicked, and most importantly, safe. She recounts how she managed to flee: Egg had taken her to Nick’s office but wasn’t going to hurt her at all. The plan was to use her abduction as bait to get to Yancy — the brain behind the relentless persecution. Since she gets peckish whenever she is stressed, she asks Egg if she could grab a protein bar from her purse. When she does so, she finds out that Yancy snuck the gun she didn’t want into her purse. Hesitantly, she had grabbed the gun and intended to use it only to scare and threaten Egg, but she accidentally panic-shoots Egg’s leg. Making her escape, she throws away the gun near the creek on her way back to Dawnie’s place.
Yancy and Rosa need to lie low, but they stick out like a sore thumb on the island. Getting off the island proved harder than they thought since all the planes were grounded in preparation for the arriving storm — but they had an unlikely connection. They approach Claspers and strike a deal via blackmail since Rosa knows that he is carrying drug smugglers on his plane. The deal is sealed with a final picture of the three of them — all the poor man really wants is friends. When the time comes, Yancy insists that Rosa should go home while he sticks it out on the island as this is the perfect opportunity to nail down Eve and Nick. Like many characters in the series, Rosa pleads Yancy to let it go and choose her instead, but the storm is precariously close and the decision needs to be quick. She finally proposes an ultimatum: if he doesn’t come, they will be over. The screen cuts to the plane flying over the ravaging sea, dodging lightning, but we don’t know who is sitting in it.
‘Bad Monkey’ Episode 9 Hails the Dragon Queen’s Return
Gracie’s storyline goes to a transformative place, but it begins with her sleeping on a bench outside the airport waiting for her flight off the island. When she finds out that they are all grounded, Ya-ya’s (L. Scott Caldwell) prophetic words ring in her ear: “The island will not let you leave.” Sullen, she finds herself at the bar to hopefully wait the storm out, which is where she speaks to Yancy and Neville. With her belief in her cultural magic wavering, Neville’s parting words also resonate with her: “You ain’t so scary anymore.” Later, she spots Asia (Lauren F. Walker) drinking her sorrows away and promptly joins her. They talk about magic, faith, and purpose, and gradually wind up at Gracie’s mother’s grave. When Gracie turns back to look at Asia, she has disappeared — was she even real in the first place? Apparition or not, she led Gracie back to her roots.
Meanwhile, Ya-ya happens across Lulu (Amina Massai), who can sense that the trees are angry. Ya-ya detects magic in the young girl and lingers curiously, promising to teach her and guide her once she is older and ready. She had returned the electronic wheelchair and refused to leave the island when Gracie invited her, but needed to quickly visit her house to retrieve her walking cane. While she is rummaging through Gracie’s things, Eve abruptly runs into the house, demanding to know where Gracie is. After Neville stabs a fishing rod in Nick’s back, Nick is, naturally, in bad shape. Eve finally takes on the role of a caregiver and runs to Gracie’s house to obtain painkillers while Nick bleeds out horrifically on the kitchen bench (and Tilly is licking his blood). Ya-ya informs Eve that Gracie is at her mother’s grave, then turns around to satisfyingly see that Gracie’s altar is now back in its glorious state.
Eve reaches the graveyard, but doesn’t see Gracie: she finds the Dragon Queen. Adorned with white markings and a proud stance, the Queen fiercely claps back at Eve’s pleads in the pouring rain. With all the power and menace she can muster, she warns Eve that she will get what’s coming for her. With the hurricane well underway and the Queen’s eyes burning with fury, we are left with this awe-inspiring shot before Bad Monkey‘s credits roll.
Episodes 1-9 of Bad Monkey are available to stream on Apple TV+, with subsequent episodes dropping every Wednesday.
