“On a scale from one to ten, how screwed am I?” Vince Vaughn’s character Andrew Yancy anxiously asks his lawyer in the latest episode of Bad Monkey. His lawyer replies, “A million,” to which Yancy fittingly rolls his eyes and responds, “You don’t think I understand that ten is bad?”
This dry and comedic exchange kicks off the trailer for the episode, setting the tone for Yancy’s increasingly complicated situation. By Episode 6, we finally see how Yancy’s troubles came to fruition.
In Episode 5, Apple TV+’s Bad Monkey shows Yancy on the news as a wanted man for the murder of Dr. Israel O’Peele, played by Zach Braff. The show takes a wacky turn into legal thriller territory as Yancy tries to stay ahead of the law while continuing his investigation.
While Yancy deals with his dramatic issues, Bonnie, portrayed by Michelle Monaghan, goes into a storyline that finds the show’s subtle ecological message. This subplot offers stunning visuals of natural beauty that leave a lasting impression.
After facing disapproval from Rosa’s (Natalie Martinez) mother, Yancy needs a new place to hide, so he calls his dear friend Rogelio (John Ortiz). However, Rogelio is under immense pressure from their boss, Chief Sonny (Todd Allen Durkin), who warned him in the previous episode.
With his job and livelihood on the line, along with the responsibility of supporting his family and paying his mortgage, Rogelio makes a tough decision. He sets Yancy up by informing Officer Mendez (Gonzalo Menendez) about the meeting.
As a result, Yancy is promptly arrested, and Mendez begins building a murder case against him, hinging on the eyewitness introduced in Episode 4. Rogelio faces heavy criticism for his decision; Yancy, Rosa, and even his own boyfriend Montenegro (Victor Turpin) express their deep disappointment. Yet, despite their disapproval, at least Rogelio has Sonny’s approval.
Yancy’s case looks bleak, despite the lack of concrete evidence against him. His straightforward manner, often perceived as disrespectful, does not help his situation. There is an eyewitness who places him near Israel’s apartment during the gunshot, and Yancy has Nick Stripling’s (Rob Delaney) finger in his possession, which he used to unlock Nick’s phone.
As a dirty cop, Mendez turns the situation in his favor by hiding Nick’s phone, making Yancy’s possession of the finger even more questionable. With Montenegro representing him, Yancy’s story that Nick is alive becomes difficult to prove, especially since there appears to be no evidence that Nick, his private plane, or the hangar even exist. Montenegro makes valiant efforts, but Yancy remains in deep trouble — a solid ten on the lawyer’s scale.
Meanwhile, Neville (Ronald Peet) is still on the run from the relentless Egg (David St. Louis). With nowhere else to go, Neville decides to seek shelter and assistance from the Dragon Queen (Jodie Turner-Smith). However, when he peeks through her window, he witnesses a shocking scene: the Dragon Queen is intimately bonding with Egg.
Tom Nowicki’s narration captures it well: “his hunches were as bad as Yancy’s.” During this time, Driggs (Crystal the monkey) seeks vengeance for being abandoned and screeches when he sees Neville, exposing him to Egg. Although Neville manages to escape, he is wounded in the shoulder, and Egg grows increasingly anxious to catch him again.
Always ready to take action, Rosa steps in to help Yancy’s legal case by trying to prove the existence of the plane that Nick and Eve Stripling (Meredith Hagner) used to escape. While she snoops around the hangar, she encounters a group of drug smugglers disembarking from the plane.
It seems the pilot is experienced at providing his passengers with the utmost privacy. Rosa is nearly caught by the smugglers but decides to pause her investigation and wait them out. Toward the end of the episode, she finally gains access to the plane and hears noises coming from inside.
Suddenly, the door bursts open, and Neville emerges, injured and barely conscious. He recognizes her as the woman he served at his sister’s cafe — she ordered coffee with milk and two sugars. This is the first tangible crossover of storylines in Bad Monkey so far, adding a layer of excitement.
As the case against Yancy unfolds and he sinks deeper into trouble, Rogelio’s guilt steadily rises over his betrayal. It reaches a tipping point when he sees his boyfriend’s children’s stuffed turtle, a gift from Yancy, triggering a powerful memory.
On Benito’s (Xander Mateo) birthday, Yancy gifted him the turtle, explaining how the red lights helped baby turtles use the moon as a guiding light to reach the ocean. This memory underscores the importance of the recurring turtle story in Bad Monkey. It not only hints at the show’s ecological themes but also symbolizes Yancy’s friendship with Rogelio, whom Yancy calls his “guiding light.”
The heartfelt memory spurs Rogelio to try and make things right. He decides to gather more information from Mendez’s witness, who then reveals a critical piece of information: she actually saw another one-armed man near the apartment before the gunshot.
Mendez had pressured her to leave this detail out of her statement in an effort to frame Yancy, due to his personal vendetta against him. Rogelio brings this information to light, leading to Yancy being cleared of the charges, especially as Mendez flees the building when his role in the setup is exposed. Rogelio’s last-minute intervention redeems him in Yancy’s eyes, and their friendship is restored.
At the end of Episode 5, we see Bonnie confronted by a figure from her past — Cody (Alex MacNicoll), an underage student with whom she once had an affair. Cody tracked Bonnie down after seeing the viral video of Yancy pushing her husband off the pier.
At the beginning of Episode 6, before Yancy was arrested at Rogelio’s place, he returned home to find Bonnie and Cody reuniting. While Yancy questions her choices, he tells her to hide out at his dad’s cabin since the feds are still looking for her.
At the cabin, Bonnie meets Yancy’s dad, Jim (Scott Glenn), who shares Yancy’s laid-back attitude and deep respect for the environment. As Bonnie begins to question her relationship with Cody, Jim encourages her to seek clarity beneath the tranquil waters of the nearby lake, which is home to manatees.
This leads to one of the most striking and memorable scenes of the series, as Bonnie comes face-to-face with a manatee. Although she mistakenly interprets the encounter as a sign to rekindle her relationship with Cody, the underwater scene conveys the idea of surrendering to nature and finding wisdom in its beauty.
Bonnie’s delusion about rekindling her romance with Cody is soon shattered when she reads the novel he is writing about her. The book reveals his thoughts and descriptions of their relationship, making her realize just how childish and immature Cody is. She shares this revelation with Jim, who also encourages her to take responsibility for fostering Cody’s obsession with her.
Bonnie had taken advantage of Cody when he was still in his formative years, making him highly vulnerable — while she may have moved on, Cody had not. Despite this sobering realization, Bonnie remains a free spirit, so when the feds track her down, she steals Jim’s boat and sails away.
At the start of the episode, the Dragon Queen receives a property as a gift after helping a dying man find peace. After his funeral, the property is officially transferred to her name, despite his daughter’s objections and Ya-Ya’s (L. Scott Caldwell) concerns about charging clients too much.
This property is also one that Nick has been eyeing, as it is situated on land and is ideal for expanding his beachside mall. When the Dragon Queen learns of Nick’s interest, she uses her connection with Egg to arrange a meeting with the developer, aiming to sell the property and gather enough money to leave the island.
Nick and Eve are hiding out in their luxurious corner of the world, hoping the case against Yancy sticks so they won’t have to deal with his interference again. When the Dragon Queen approaches them, they offer her a low price they reserve for locals, prompting her to respond with fiery, yet controlled anger.
She lives up to her name in a powerful monologue — her carefully chosen words dripping with malice and a magnetic presence. She scolds them for disrespecting her and storms off, leaving a strong impression.
However, her display of power gets her into trouble in the closing scenes of Bad Monkey Episode 6. As she walks through a secluded area, a burlap bag is thrown over her head, and she is dragged away, ending the episode on a suspenseful note.
As Episode 6 of Bad Monkey draws to a close, the intricate web of conflicts and alliances among the characters becomes even more entangled. Yancy’s journey through betrayal, legal battles, and unexpected alliances reveals the complexity of his character and his relationships.
Rogelio’s redemption highlights the strength of friendship, while Bonnie’s misguided attempts to rekindle old flames reflect her inner struggles and growth. Meanwhile, the Dragon Queen’s fearless demeanor and strategic maneuvers show her resilience in a world of deceit and danger.
