If you thought The Beauty did not need a whole episode for its origin story, the show has just doubled down with another. Episode 6 of the show is basically an extended cut of the origin story that goes even deeper into how it all began. After breaking down the origins of the formula and the mystery surrounding the Corporation, the show now explains how the virus spread despite Byron’s tight security. Turns out, the threat was closer than he thought. 

Someone from his own team stole the vision, both figuratively and literally, by breaching his high-tech retinal security. 

Beautiful Patient Zero opens with a flashback featuring Byron Forst, now in Ashton Kutcher’s body, flying in the high of his transformation. Dr. Ray is still a hostage, forced to watch Byron’s reckless indulgence with his secretary, while repeatedly warning him that the long-term consequences and side effects of the formula are far from understood. 

It takes Byron a few minutes to snap out of the intoxication of his newfound 'beauty,' but he eventually realizes that sparing Dr. Ray during the massacre may have been the smartest decision he has made thus far. It could also be the reason he alone seems immune to the drug’s side effects while everyone else grotesquely bursts and melts. 

Then comes a sing-songy, whimsical montage of Byron getting dressed, and all you can think is, why aren't they playing Roy Orbison’s ‘Pretty Woman’ over this? Once suited up, he heads off to show off his new skin to his wife, Franny, played by Isabella Rossellini. Franny, though briefly taken aback, is anything but impressed by Byron and his antics. Turns out, Byron did not even need the formula to get burned. His wife roasts him far worse.

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Not only does she absolutely ridicule Byron and his hollow ambitions, but she also rejects the Corporation’s business proposal. After finally presenting a character, the first and likely the only figure resistant to beauty’s temptation, the show pivots to two new characters who march, almost inevitably, down the same careless road to self-destruction. 

We are introduced to Mikey and Clara, two scientists working for Byron, who are clearly oblivious to the true nature of what they are helping build. During a mid-shift rant, they open up about their insecurities. Clara, who is transitioning, feels thrown off by the hormonal changes to her body and mind. Mikey, on the other hand, just wants attention from a female coworker and, ignoring the fact that she is already committed, assumes her rejection must be about his looks. 

Soon, the locked-off chambers begins to intrigue both Clara and Mikey, especially after a series of strange, unnatural incidents at the facility. They start to suspect that whatever is hidden down there has the power to transform bodies, which they figure out after seeing a chimpanzee experiment.

Mikey takes the risk, breaches the security system, swipes two loaded syringes of The Beauty, and injects himself, turning into what we would call 'Beautiful Patient Zero'. But he does not forget his friend, Clara, and injects her as well.

For a moment, it feels like a rebirth. However, the duo overlooks the Corporation’s long arm. It does not take long for the assassin to find Mikey and erase him from the picture. As for Clara, look like we will need another episode to find out where she even is, though hopefully not through another origin story episode. 

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What do you think about The Beauty episode 6? Did you miss Jordan and Cooper? Let us know in the comments!