Byron rehearses his grand speech to sell The Beauty to the world. It is pompous, self-congratulatory, and by now exhausting. The series keeps trying to “educate” viewers about the beauty industry’s backstage as if we still hadn’t grasped the game, turning a sharp premise into repetition.

The commercial aimed at the general public is even more ruthless. The promise is to prevent incurable diseases, but the warning about side effects flashes by at absurd speed and under technical jargon — “ignition ketosis.” Technically, the truth is there: there is a risk of internal explosion. In practice, no one can understand it. A perfect way to disclose danger without truly informing anyone.

At the laboratory, survivors of the New York explosion are isolated, gravely ill, and being used as test subjects for possible antidotes. When they believe guards have come to rescue them, they are executed. Any moral ambiguity evaporates; the horror is absolute.

Meanwhile, Jordan and Cooper communicate in Morse code, confusing Jeremy and infuriating Antonio. They try to warn Jeremy about what is coming, but Antonio prevents them from explaining fully. Even so, what Jeremy hears is enough to make him confront the assassin. Matters worsen when, upon arriving at the lab, he and Antonio are also captured on Byron’s orders.

The tycoon faces equally disturbing domestic problems. At a family dinner, his sons pitch a digital platform and ask for investment — shallow, immature opportunism. We learn his wife’s name is Amanda, and although she recognizes the boys’ flaws, she supports them. Byron “solves” the issue by injecting both sons with The Beauty without consulting her. Even in their enhanced bodies, they show no moral improvement. Amanda is horrified and, pressured by husband and sons to transform as well, refuses. Her response is unmistakable: vengeance.

When Antonio wakes in the same cell as Cooper and Jordan, he realizes he has been betrayed. Jeremy also feels manipulated, but Cooper insists the four must stay united to escape. Antonio reluctantly agrees. Soon, the armed men responsible for earlier executions enter. Instead of killing them, they take only Cooper, who promises to return for Jordan.

He is brought to a new character: a scientist who has broken with the Corporation and seeks revenge. Cooper is taken for interrogation — or torture — and learns Meyer betrayed him. Still, he interprets Meyer’s earlier advice — “do what they tell you” — as a possible attempt to help. It may be naïve or unexpectedly shrewd; the series leaves it ambiguous.

The execution squad returns, builds tension… and once again does not kill them. This time, all are transferred to an unknown location. The narrative deliberately clouds who controls whom and who might still be trying to save them. The episode ends without answers, only the promise that the fate of Cooper, Jordan, Antonio, and Jeremy will be revealed next week.