From the blackmail plot against Kimmie to the burgeoning romance that Mallory denies, there are a lot of bombshell revelations in the ending of Beauty in Black season 1. Beauty in Black is the latest project that Tyler Perry has created in his multi-year first-look deal with Netflix. The Beauty in Black cast is led by Crystle Stewart and Taylor Polidore Williams, playing two very different women whose very different lives collide in unexpected ways. Season 1 dropped on Netflix on October 24 and consists of eight hour-long episodes (with another eight on the way in spring 2025).
The series revolves around Kimmie, who’s struggling to get by after being kicked out by her mother, and Mallory, who’s running her own successful hair care business. Kimmie desperately wants to escape from the seedy underbelly of the strip club where she works, while Mallory’s empire is threatened by family secrets and a pesky lawyer. These concurrent storylines lead to a bunch of shocking twists and turns in the finale: season 1, episode 8, “Killing Karma.”
Why Horace Really Lets Kimmie & Angel Go
When He Heard About The Corrupt Judge, He Realized He Had Bigger Problems
The Beauty in Black season 1 finale gets off to an explosive start as a band of masked gunmen hold Kimmie and Angel hostage as they attempt to rob Horace’s safe. Horace pulls out a gun and kills all the thieves before they can leave. He initially suspects Kimmie is behind the robbery, but Angel takes the fall. As Horace presses them for the truth, they reveal that they both planned to rob him so they could get enough money to escape the club and start a new life.
When Kimmie explains that Jules is their pimp and he used a corrupt judge on his payroll to get their criminal charges dropped, Horace decides to let them go. Horace tells them to leave and never tell anyone that they met him. When they mentioned the judge, he realized he had much bigger problems to worry about. He later mentions Harold Wiscollins, a judge he and his brother used to know, and asks Jules if Harold is still on the bench and if he still speaks to him. Jules says he doesn’t, but Horace doesn’t trust him.
Mallory’s Feelings For Calvin & Hesitation In Their Romance Explained
It All Ties Back To The Show’s Central Theme Of Classism
Throughout Beauty in Black season 1, Mallory has been sleeping with her driver Calvin. But when he confesses that he’s in love with her, she’s reluctant to face her romantic feelings for him and kicks him out of her house. Mallory’s hesitation to get serious with Calvin ties back to the series’ overarching theme of classism. She’s an elitist who doesn’t want to take her relationship with Calvin seriously because he’s a chauffeur. When the show returns in spring 2025, Mallory might finally confront her feelings for Calvin and enter a serious relationship with him.
Who Tried To Rob Horace?
Jules Determines It Was The Safe Company (But May Have Been Covering For Himself)
After Horace kills his would-be robbers, Jules comes down to clean up the crime scene, like Winston Wolf in Pulp Fiction. Jules finds that one of the thieves has a business card for a safe company in his wallet — the same company that installed the safe in the first place. Jules determines that the guys who delivered the safe came back to rob it. However, Jules never shows Horace the business card, so he could be making it up to cover for his own role in the planned robbery.
Why Mallory & Roy Both Offer Lena A Job
They Were Trying To Buy Her Off
Lena is a lawyer whose discoveries about Mallory’s hair care empire could spell trouble for the Bellarie family and bring the company down. In the season 1 finale, Roy meets Lena at a restaurant and offers her a job in the legal department. Then, Mallory confronts them, pulls up a chair, uses her connections to force Roy to leave the building, and makes Lena the same offer. When Lena tells her that Roy just offered her the same position, Mallory seems genuinely impressed that her usually dim-witted brother-in-law came up with the same diabolical scheme as her.
They’re both trying to buy her off, hoping that if they give her a job at the company, she’ll stop trying to destroy the company. But Lena insists she can’t be bought and that “it’s not about the money.” Mallory laughs this off and doesn’t think that’s possible. This is one of the core themes of the show; rich people think all their problems can be solved with money, but that’s not the case when they’re dealing with someone with integrity.
Who Destroyed Charles’ Car?
It Looked Like The Same Guys Who Tried To Rob Horace (So They’re Probably Connected To Jules)
The penultimate episode of Beauty in Black season 1 ended with Charles’ yellow sports car being destroyed. Towards the end of the finale, Mallory is shocked to find Charles’ car on fire on the private road, with police investigating a possible attack. In the last episode, Charles’ car got shot off the side of the road and blown up by a group of masked gunmen. These masked assailants looked like the same group that tried to rob Horace, who were seemingly hired by Jules, so it could all connect back to Jules.
Why Body Kidnapped Sylvia
Body Wanted To Blackmail Kimmie (But The Plan Backfired)
In the shocking final scene of Beauty in Black season 1, Kimmie and Angel are confronted by Body. Having wildly misconstrued recent events, Body thinks that Kimmie is trying to usurp her place at the club. Body reveals that she’s had Kimmie’s teenage sister Sylvia kidnapped, which she’ll use to blackmail Kimmie into getting out of her way and doing whatever she wants. However, the scheme backfires as Kimmie just attacks Body and starts beating her up.
This ends the season on a jaw-dropping cliffhanger and begs a bunch of questions. Is Body dead? Will Jules come after Kimmie? Will Sylvia be okay?
When Body pulls a knife on her and threatens to get Jules to kill her, Kimmie gets in her car and drives into Body. This ends the season on a jaw-dropping cliffhanger and begs a bunch of questions. Is Body dead? Will Jules come after Kimmie? Will Sylvia be okay? One thing is clear: Kimmie won’t take this blackmail plot lying down. She’ll do whatever it takes — and hit whoever she has to with her car — to get her sister back.
The Real Meaning Of Beauty In Black Season 1’s Ending
It Contrasts The Desperation Of Financially Struggling People With The Desperation Of Wealthy People
The ending of Beauty in Black season 1 is the culmination of the show’s Saltburn-esque themes about class. It’s all about the rich trying to exercise power over the poor. Both Mallory and Roy think that Lena can be bought, because she’s a “broke motherf***er,” but Lena has an unexpected amount of integrity. The finale contrasts the desperation of financially struggling people with the desperation of wealthy people. The financially struggling characters, like Kimmie and Angel, are desperate to scrape enough money to survive, while the wealthy characters, like Mallory, are desperate to hold onto their wealth.
