Tyler Perry has been coming out with plenty of movies and shows that focus primarily on the African American community and their daily lives. His Amazon Prime Original Divorce in the Black, although not well received for the tacky presentation, the creator/writer/director is now back, this time on Netflix. Beauty in Black is a story of characters living in Chicago. Their lifestyle ranges from affluence to subsistence.
Spoilers Ahead
Who was Kimmie, and what was her future?
Kimmie was a stripper working at a strip club in Chicago. Apart from this job, she was also working as a sex worker to earn some extra cash along with her friend Rain. Rain was also a stripper who was convinced by her colleague at the strip club to enhance her body with minor surgical procedures. Rain went ahead with the procedure. Kimmie found her unconscious in her room and moved her to a nearby hospital. Kimmie, a girl in her late teens, had been abandoned by her mother. A timid Kimmie met Rain, and she got her into the stripping business, and both have been close friends ever since.
Kimmie had a regular customer, Roy Bellarie, who was the son of the strip club owner though she wasn’t aware of who he was. Roy was verbally abusive to her, and yet she was forced to submit to him for extra money. Her pimp was the henchman of the Bellarie family, Jules, and he ran the place with an iron fist. Kimmie wanted to apply for a scholarship under “Beauty in Black,” an initiative started by Roy’s wife, Mallory Bellarie. Mallory had a successful beauty business that was backed by her father-in-law, Horace Bellarie. Kimmie did not receive the scholarship, but she got sucked into the Bellarie family dynamics, which was ugly.
Why were Mallory and Roy arguing?
A frustrated Kimmie dialed Mallory when she and Roy were intimate. On hearing them together, an angry Mallory accidentally ran over someone jogging on the private road near their home. Roy came from a rich family; his father, Horace, and his brother, Norman, lived close by. Their family was not on good terms with each other, including Roy’s relationship with his younger brother Charles, who was openly gay. Roy also accidentally ran over the person. With the help of their henchman, Jules, they were able to dispose of the body, though without recognizing who it was. Roy’s infidelity was a cause for friction between the husband and wife. This was just the beginning of the clash as Roy began to feel insecure as his Mallory was becoming successful and he felt he was not in control of his professional and personal life.
Was Horace gay?
Kimmie was asked to strip for a VIP customer who turned out to be Horace, Roy and Charles’ father. Kimmie was not aware of the identity of the man she was stripping for, but she was quick to notice Horace was more into the male strippers, and asked if she could bring in the men he was looking at. An offended Horace walked out.
Why was Norman angry?
Norman was Horace’s brother, who lived in the same neighborhood. Mallory knocked out Norman’s wife Ina, who was in the hospital with multiple injuries and was taking time to recover. Norman was angry because he could not fathom a stranger running over his wife. He was sure it was someone from the family because the accident happened on the road near their home, which was a private space. Norman believed the family was after his share of wealth. No one had assumed it would be Mallory and Roy that accidentally injured their aunt.
What did Angel and Kimmie learn about Horace?
Horace and Kimmie met several times after their first encounter, and she realized he was Roy’s father. Horace was a closeted homosexual, and he could divulge this information only to Kimmie, as he found a friend in her. He revealed he’d been diagnosed with prostate cancer and wanted to live the rest of his life being honest to himself. However, he was not okay with his younger son being openly gay and living life on his terms. Angel was a male stripper who was introduced to Horace, and she hoped he would help the old man out. Angel was a bisexual man who was comfortable stripping in front of an older man like Horace. There was initially some friction as Angel stole Horace’s watch, but it was sorted.
Was Rain sick?
Rain, Kimmie’s stripper friend, after a botched body morphing surgery, was in the hospital for many days because the products used interfered with the medicines she used for her asthma. Rain was not getting any better, and Kimmi’s frequent visits began to bother her older colleagues. Kimmie eventually did not find Rain in the hospital, as she was told she had passed due to surgery-related complications.
Why were people protesting Mallory and Roy?
Roy and Mallory were successfully running their beauty business, but the ugly side of their brand was that many people had died of the cancer caused by the ingredients in their products. Mallory was sued by Lena, an attorney, backing the people who had lost their loved ones. Mallory was not happy with how the brand image was hit by the protests and was expecting Jules to investigate the matter before things got out of hand. Jules at a time was taking care of matters related to each member of the Bellarie family. He was assigned tasks by Roy, Mallory Horace, and Norman.
Did Norman’s wife survive?
As mentioned above, Jules was helping Horace with hiding his sexual preferences from his family. Jules was also helping Mallory and Roy with the Ina Bellarie case, making sure their names never showed up in any kind of investigation. Jules was a Horace loyalist, which was why he pretended to help Norman find out who hurt his wife. Norman’s wife was attended to by a nurse who changed the drip and had a good conversation with him about the work he and his family did for the hospital. A happy Norman was looking for this nurse, but she was nowhere to be found. The next day, his wife Ina was declared brain dead, and his plan to move her to another hospital did not work as she succumbed in the ambulance on the way, which angered Norman. In a fit of rage, Norman killed the doctors and the ambulance drivers and ran away. His plan to investigate the death of his wife led him to Horace’s younger son, Charles, and he was hell bent on killing the young boy.
Was Mallory having an affair?
Mallory was having a hard time dealing with Roy, and both were slowly drifting apart. Since Roy was unfaithful to her, Mallory wanted to get back at him. She did that by having an affair with her driver/bodyguard, Calvin. Calvin and Mallory initially began as a fling, but he soon became protective of her as Roy started being physically abusive. Mallory and Calvin eventually slept with each other, and he developed feelings for her.
Was Horace attacked?
The last two episodes of “Beauty in Black” had Horace meeting Angel frequently at this point. Angel and Kimmie had decided to hold Horace hostage at his vacation home, where he was planning to spend time with the stripper. Angel and Kimmie were in desperate need of money, as they were not getting any from Jules. The money they made from tips at the strip club would straight go to the people managing the place. Angel and Kimmie were frustrated. They figured Roy, Mallory, and Charles would be willing to part with the money from their million-dollar company. Horace was unaware of this for obvious reasons, but on reaching his vacation home, all of them were attacked by gunmen. It was not clear who sent them. One assumption could be Norman, who was still angry at his brother’s family for overlooking Ina’s injury and death. Norman may be wanting to exact revenge on his brother, and sending gunmen to kill him was one of them.
Horace was smart enough to grab one of the weapons and openly fire it on the men who attacked him, Angel and Kimmie. Horace was under the impression Angel and Kimmie had hired these men to kill him. Angel and Kimmie revealed their plan to keep him hostage for money, but said the gunmen were not their doing. Kimmie and Angel were too petrified at this point, as they had almost encountered death. Neither were bold enough to carry out an execution-style attack on Horace, who was known to be powerful and influential. Horace let them go on their way, for he believed their words, which were a relief to Angel and Kimmie. Horace was helped by Jules; this was the latter’s way to show his loyalty to the man who gave him everything. Jules was shocked to find Angel and Kimmie at the scene of the crime and had to let them go on the instructions of Horace. Jules came to the rescue for the Bellarie family.
Who was killed in the car explosion?
Part 1 of Beauty in Black ended with several incidents that took place simultaneously. While Horace was attacked by a bunch of gunmen. Charles’, who used to drive a yellow Lamborghini, was targeted with a bomb. It was not clear if Charles was driving the car or if his boyfriend Varney was in the car. This was most likely Norman’s retaliation for the untimely death of his wife Ina. The end of Part One was a mess, as too many things took place at the same time, and the disjointed screenplay ruined the impact. There were not many scenes between Norman and Horace to explain why the rivalry was deep-rooted. Norman attacking Charles would be seen as a sign of brothers going to war and possibly the ensuing long legal battle. Both Norman and Horace did not think twice before brutally killing people. Such was the effect of people becoming rich and having no control over their inhibitions. Calvin let Malcolm know about Roy’s meeting with Lena. Mallory realized her husband was after another woman and sabotaged the evening by arriving at the restaurant. To Roy, the plan was to sleep with Lena and bring her to his side. Lena, on the other hand, had no intentions.
For Lena, Roy and Mallory were evil. Lena was a levelheaded woman who wanted to provide justice to people she was fighting for. Roy and Mallory were happy being in denial about the effect of their brand on people and busy bickering with each other. On reaching their property, a bickering Ron and Mallory were in shock to find a burning yellow car. Both were in shock as they learned Charles may have died in the explosion and had to inform Horace about the same. At this point, there was no conclusion about who committed a series of attacks on their family. This set-up was built up to get the audience to watch the next set of episodes, which would be out soon.
Angel and Kimmie had barely survived an attack only to find their accommodation, a shady motel, to be hijacked by their colleagues. Body was one of the strippers who was under the assumption Kimmie was trying to take over. Body was also livid at Kimmie for having rescued Rain, who was not dead after all. Angel was not aware of the power dynamics in the strip, as she wanted to help her friend. As revenge, Body forced Kimmie’s younger sister to get into the same field. This was Body’s way to get back at Kimmie even without knowing her real intentions. Body might regret her move in the next part and eventually will let go of Kimmie’s sister. Body’s jealousy was uncalled for as Kimmie was trying to do the right thing. However, she must be afraid since Kimmie was the only person who knew of Rain’s botched body enhancement surgery because of Body and her friend. Out of anger, Kimmie ran her car into Body with the intention of killing her. Only the part of Beauty in Black will reveal the status of all the characters.
