Following a barrage of body horror, backstories, and literal human blowups, The Beauty finally gives fans some awaited emotional payoff through Beautiful Living Rooms. From heartfelt romantic confessions to a piercing look at the brutal realities that can push a person into desperation, and eventually to something as destructive as The Beauty, this episode does render everything in its most unaesthetic and unembellished form. 

Directed by Michael Uppendahl and written by Ryan Murphy & Matthew Hodgson, episode 7 is basically an illusion of a ‘happy ending’, which is just a strategic cover for an evil empire’s grip on a very beauty-obsessed society.

The episode begins with Jordan, now in hiding with Cooper, finally confessing her love. Although Cooper does not return that sentiment aloud, his absence of words speaks volumes. The episode cuts to Meyer at her daughter’s bedside, hands clasped in prayer in a hospital room beside her daughter, Joey, who suffers from progeria. Joey’s condition has taken a visible toll on Meyer and his wife, Juliana. It has also hollowed out their marriage from within.

Juliana herself is very insecure about her aging appearance and channels her insecurity into blaming her husband for their daughter’s state. Meanwhile, Meyer, though boundless in his love for his child, believes the struggle must end, even if it comes with a sacrifice. Lo and behold, Byron Forst knocks on their door. 

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Elsewhere, we get to know the Assassin's backstory and realize there is not one person in this chain of the infected who voluntarily chose The Beauty, though it may seem like it. They were all in some way hunted into it by their own desperation and the world’s demands.

What begins as a chill day of football and unapologetic junk-food gluttony suddenly pushes Jeremy and the assassin to start admitting things they usually bury under bravado. Jeremy describes missing his dad, wishing there was someone who had shown him how to navigate things, someone who might have kept him from feeling this "lost".

He also points out how incel culture feeds on frustration and spits out even more alienation. The assassin listens and then quietly reminds Jeremy that he is not alone. 

After a little provocation, Jeremy urges him to speak, and the Assassin finally shares his backstory along with his name, Antonio, which Jeremy realizes he had never actually known. It turns out Antonio had been an assassin even before his metamorphosis. As time passed, balancing that life with fatherhood became harder, especially after his son saw him one day washing blood from his body.

He eventually gave up the job and took the job of a bodyguard for billionaires, like the ones we saw in Episode 5, only to end up the victim of an acid attack during a protest. That is when Byron Forst (Ashton Kutcher) makes his move, as he did to Meyer and Juliana.

Even though the couple hesitates at first, they eventually agree to test the virus. In return, Meyer agrees to compromise his investigation and secretly works with Byron to have Cooper and Jordan caught. He helps the FBI duo enter the NIH and retrieve sensitive research, while secretly sending Antonio and Jeremy to follow them.

After a tense fight, Jeremy and Antonio manage to overpower the FBI agents. As they prepare to drive away with them Cooper finally returns Jordan’s feelings, with a ‘since we might die’ kind of confession, saying, “I love you too.”

At the same time, Meyer and his family complete their transformation and hold each other in relief, certain that they have found peace at last. 

From a distance, Byron watches them settle into their fragile happiness, and it becomes increasingly clear that Beautiful Living Rooms hides something far darker beneath the façade of a feel-good ending. 

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How excited are you on a scale of 1-10 for the next episode? Let us know in the comments!