The story picks up in a café where Vince Vaughn’s character, Andrew Yancy, and Natalie Martinez’s Rosa are compiling notes over coffee after the events of the Bad Monkey double-episode premiere. Yancy, a former cop turned food inspector, mistakenly gets Rosa’s coffee order wrong.
As they discuss their investigation, Yancy is interrupted by the need to do his job and checks on Driggs (Crystal), who is helping himself to grapes in the café’s kitchen. The café is owned by Driggs’ sister, and her monkey, Neville (Ronald Peet), steps in to negotiate with Yancy, successfully avoiding a report that would have included the monkey in the inspection.
However, the brief convergence of the separate Bad Monkey stories ends as Yancy and Rosa head out to track down Madeleine (Nina Grollman), the girlfriend of the murdered Phinney (Brett Cormier). Madeleine works at a t-shirt shop called Chest Candy.
Despite Yancy’s warning that Madeleine might run, Rosa approaches her, and Madeleine proves Yancy right by running off, prompting Yancy’s smug remark, “Told you she was a runner.” The screen then transitions into its visually striking and atmospheric opening sequence, setting the tone for the rest of Bill Lawrence’s dark comedy, which continues to unfold its murder mystery intertwined with environmental themes.
Yancy and Rosa, now a newly formed dynamic duo, begin interrogating Madeleine about her boyfriend Phinney and his potential involvement in the murder, particularly the mysterious arm. Yancy recalls a trick used by old fishermen to fool tourists into thinking they had caught a fish.
The fishermen would pretend to reel in the tourist’s catch, but in reality, they would pull out a fish they had already caught and set aside. Yancy suspects that Phinney pulled a similar trick with the arm, suggesting that he was paid to do so, which might explain how Phinney got rich.
Yancy further comments that Phinney’s minor involvement in Nick Stripling’s death ultimately led to his own murder, instilling fear and paranoia in Madeleine. In a moment of levity, Rosa agrees to buy one of the t-shirts from Madeleine’s shop, and Yancy, naturally, picks out a phallic design.
The pair then decides to visit Phinney’s former workplace, Midwest Mobile Medical, which has since been transformed into a planned office park. To get past security, Yancy dons a tie and confidently delivers an inspirational quote, convincing the guard that they are federal agents.
Much to Rosa’s disbelief, the ruse works, allowing them access. The current theory surrounding Nick Stripling’s death involves his second wife, Eve Stripling (Meredith Hagner), who is suspected of conspiring with her new boyfriend, Christopher (Rob Delaney), to kill Nick for his $5 million insurance policy. Yancy and Rosa rummage through paperwork, hoping to find any mention of Christopher.
While they don’t find anything directly linking him to the murder, they do uncover a stack of prescriptions written by Dr. Israel O’Peele (Zach Braff), leading them to their next clue. However, Yancy’s earlier remark about the security guard being “half-decent at his job” proves true, as the guard returns with real federal agents. In the ensuing escape, Yancy suffers a bite on the behind from a savage dog—naturally adding to the episode’s dark humor.
Yancy and Rosa then head to Dr. Israel O’Peele’s residence. Before reaching their destination, they make a quick stop at Officer Mendez’s (Gonzalo Menendez) house, where Yancy takes the opportunity to trash Mendez’s mailbox. Mendez is a corrupt cop Yancy once worked with in Miami, a city that, as narrator Tom Nowicki hints, holds more dark secrets from Yancy’s past that are yet to be revealed.
When Yancy and Rosa arrive at Dr. Israel’s apartment, they find him in a complete mess. Israel, having lost his job, has let himself go, drowning in alcohol and drugs that he prescribes for himself. Yancy reassures Rosa that they’ve arrived “just past bathrobe time,” though it’s broad daylight.
Despite his disheveled state, Israel is willing to talk about his involvement in a scam with Nick, but he wants immunity in return—something Yancy, as a food inspector, cannot offer. However, Yancy’s go-to inspirational quote loosens Israel’s lips just enough for him to reveal that Midwest Mobile Medical was running a “classic ghost-patient scam.”
The company billed Medicare for equipment they never purchased and stole the identities of elderly citizens, redirecting their checks to the company. Israel’s role in the scheme was writing fake prescriptions to maintain the appearance of treating these nonexistent patients.
Interestingly, Israel also describes Nick and Eve as being deeply in love, which adds a layer of confusion as to why Eve would be dating Christopher simultaneously. This detail is important for the investigation but also raises further questions.
Despite Israel’s willingness to share information, he refuses to say more without immunity. Fortunately, Yancy finds a brochure for Curly Tail Lane, the mall Christopher plans to build after demolishing Neville’s shack. While Rosa contacts someone to run a background check on Christopher now that they have his full name, Yancy continues to hide the investigation from his friend Rogelio (John Ortiz).
Meanwhile, Israel, feeling increasingly vulnerable, calls Eve about the murders, concerned for his own safety. Realizing that she doesn’t care about his fate, he considers calling Yancy instead.
As Yancy’s investigation continues, his personal life also heats up. He receives a phone call from his ex-girlfriend Bonnie/Plover (Michelle Monaghan), who is on the run while tanning on a beach. During their conversation, Bonnie casually admits to sleeping with one of her students who was three months shy of eighteen.
Rosa, overhearing the conversation, labels Bonnie as a “child-fucking sociopath” but insists she’s not interested in Yancy’s romantic entanglements. Despite the tension, Yancy and Rosa share some comically romantic moments, including an ice-cream date and Rosa stitching up Yancy’s bite wound—a task she admits she’s more accustomed to performing on corpses.
Towards the end of the episode, Rosa finally admits that Yancy did get her original coffee order correct; she had been drinking black coffee just to prove him wrong—a small, yet endearing, revelation.
The episode takes a more serious turn when Rosa receives lab results confirming that the bones found at Eve’s house match Nick’s DNA. However, Caitlin had already signed off on Nick’s death as an accident, prompting Yancy to visit her and inform her otherwise.
Sickened by the surrounding corruption, Yancy tries to reconnect with Dr. Israel, who is now willing to talk in more detail. Despite being a crooked doctor, Israel seems ready to reveal more about the murder case. But by the time Yancy reaches Israel’s apartment, Israel has been shot dead, and a witness sees Yancy leaving the scene.
This unfortunate turn of events makes Yancy reluctant to drag Rosa back into the mess, but a previous paranoid phone call from Madeleine, in which she expressed fear of being followed, leaves Yancy worried for her safety.
Determined to find Madeleine, Yancy enlists Rosa and Rogelio—who Yancy pulls away from a paella dinner with his husband—to help track her down. Yancy shows a softer side as he becomes genuinely guilty about not taking Madeleine’s earlier concerns seriously.
Fortunately, they find Madeleine safe. This gentler side of Yancy is also on display when he scares off a couple interested in buying the house next door to him by exaggerating the wild dog situation in the neighborhood, using his recent bite as proof. Though his method is unorthodox, it reveals Yancy’s small but genuine efforts to preserve the local ecosystem.
Meanwhile, Neville’s storyline takes a mystical turn as he returns home from his sister’s café, still stinging from Samara’s (Aba Arthur) comment about him not doing anything meaningful with his life. Determined to prove her wrong, Neville heads to the Dragon Queen (Jodie Turner-Smith) with money in hand, eager to accelerate the curse on Christopher.
However, the Queen is at a funeral for a client whose life she had temporarily extended. The client’s daughter, however, is skeptical of the Queen’s powers, leading to a discussion between the Queen and Ya-ya (L. Scott Caldwell) about the lack of respect from younger generations. This scene subtly touches on the theme of fading traditions, linking it to the broader ecological themes in Bad Monkey.
When Neville finally meets with the Queen, after being shot at by Christopher for trespassing, the magical duo asserts that the curse cannot work without faith—a stipulation driven by Ya-ya, who is still upset by the disrespect shown to the Queen and their practices.
To prove his faith, Neville is asked to sacrifice something he cares about deeply. In a shocking and heartbreaking moment, Neville decides to give up Driggs, the monkey he loves.
Impatient to see results, Neville decides to take matters into his own hands. He breaks into Christopher’s office to exact his revenge. The guard dog that had previously attacked Yancy is not there this time, likely traumatized by its encounter with Driggs, giving Neville easy access to the office. There, he discovers a mysterious USB that could be key to his plans.
