Feed the Beast Season 1 Episode 10 Review: Fire
Lee Jutton
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Like a tasting menu of a dozen courses consisting solely of Big Macs, the first, and likely only, season of Feed the Beast has come to an end, leaving us feeling overstuffed and yet still not very satisfied.
On Feed the Beast Season 1 Episode 10, titled "Fire," everyone on the show finally realizes that they all know each other.
Because while the Hell's Kitchen of Marvel's Netflix shows is way larger (and more dangerous) than its real life counterpart, the Bronx of Feed the Beast is apparently home to only about a dozen people who all know each other but don't know they know each other. (Confused yet?)
First, Marisa tells Dion that Detective Giordano, the dirty cop who tried to coerce him into killing the Tooth Fairy, is her father. Or should I say, was, as the Tooth Fairy got to him first.
Then, Tommy and Pilar find out that they both know the Tooth Fairy – albeit very different sides of him. Whereas Tommy only knows him as a nefarious gangster who has made his and Dion's lives pretty hellish, Pilar knows him as a thoughtful and sensitive man with a passion for the restaurant business.
Of course, little do they know, the Tooth Fairy's real passion is for Dion. Ziggy vaguely references his son' proclivities when he berates him for overcompensating at every task he has ever been giving, noting, "It's as if you are compensating for some defect of character." The Tooth Fairy's sensitivity and closeted homosexuality are viewed as weaknesses in such a rough, tough world.
When you finally carry out an order, you screw it up. My own son!
Ziggy [to the Tooth Fairy]
In the end, the Tooth Fairy's love for Dion isn't enough to keep him from wanting to kill him for refusing to do business with him.
We don't see the face of the person who started the gas leak at Thirio, but one has to assume it was Gekko, the trusted lieutenant of the once-again prison-bound Ziggy.
This is just one of many loose ends left dangling at the end of Feed the Beast's debut season.
Tommy: Don't do something stupid, like getting killed.
Dion: Yeah, I won't.
Tommy: It's just, if anyone kills you, it should be me.
Throughout, the show's invisible MVP has been Harold Dieterle, the winner of Top Chef's first season and the main food consultant on Feed the Beast. He's the reason why served up by Dion and company are by far the most appetizing part of the program.
Jim Sturgess deserves recognition for his charismatic performance as Dion. He elevated an incredibly stereotypical antihero whose very first scene – having hot sex with his lawyer before he'd even left prison – summed up the brash tone of the entire series.
For once, Dion, you are not the center of the universe. Now, do you mind?
Aidan
Sturgess' emotional speech to Tommy about his reasons for starting Thirio was one of the highlights of "Fire." After Tommy accused Dion of manipulating his feelings and convincing him to launch the restaurant solely to pay off his debts to the Tooth Fairy, Dion confessed that the Tooth Fairy had threatened to kill everyone he loved if he didn't pay his debts.
Dion's devotion to Tommy – the one person he has always been able to rely on – is touching, even if, you know, it didn't keep him from having a passionate affair with the man's wife.
You saved my life. It's why I can't let anyone hurt you. I had to think of something.
Dion [to Tommy]
The finale's other big moment was TJ finally speaking again. Not only that, it was to reveal a big secret he had been keeping about the day Rie died.
Watching TJ weep over the disturbing little animated flipbook he made to jog his memory of the day his mother died was positively heartbreaking. Elijah Jacob has been wonderful to watch in this very difficult role, conveying the depth of emotions TJ found himself floating aimlessly in without ever saying a word.
When he finally cried out "Daddy!" in a voice hoarse from lack of use, I wanted to hug him until he squeaked. Then, instead of letting us linger in this moment, Feed the Beast blew up Thirio.
In "Fire," the show came full circle – fitting, as I imagine it's low ratings make it unlikely to be renewed by AMC for a second season. Feed the Beast began with Dion being released from prison after he set the Tooth Fairy's restaurant on fire, and it ended with Dion's own restaurant dissolving into flames.
Tommy: Dion got us into some bad business that involves some dangerous elements.
Aidan: Speak English. What are you talking about?
Tommy: The Woichiks.
As Dion no doubt would know, sometimes the best meals are the simplest. They might not have a lot of fancy sauces and frills of garnish, but they're made with the best, freshest ingredients and with the utmost care.
Feed the Beast is the opposite of this. It's as though showrunner Clyde Phillips just kept haphazardly throwing whatever ingredients he had in his pantry into a pot until it boiled over. Throughout the entire first season, there has just been too much here, and all of it has been lacking in quality.
I am somewhat curious as to where Feed the Beast would go in its second season. I especially want to know how Tommy would react upon earning that Pilar was never a widow. But, none of these questions are compelling enough to leave me wanting more.
So, what did you think? Do you want to see Feed the Beast get picked up for a second season? If Rie's death wasn't an accident, who do you think was responsible? Will we ever find out?
If you're hungry for more, you can watch Feed the Beast online via TV Fanatic.
Lee Jutton was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She went into retirement in July of 2017. Follow her on Twitter.
