Animation
The Wingfeather Saga
Though perhaps too intense for the youngest of viewers, Angel Studios’ Wingfeather Saga offers a strong story beautifully told.
Did Nile Jarvis kill his wife? Who can truly say?
Aggie, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, has her suspicions. The whole world does: Years ago, the disappearance of Nile’s wife was huge news. It’s not every day the wife of the CEO of a major Manhattan real estate company inexplicably vanishes.
The authorities could never pin her disappearance on Nile, but the world felt free to speculate for themselves.
And the man just moved in next door to Aggie.
Aggie doesn’t have evidence to convict Nile of such a crime; she does have evidence that he’s a horrible neighbor.
The moment he moves in, Nile’s dogs chase Aggie home, barking and clawing at the door. To make up for it, Nile invites her out to lunch, but then he chooses what Aggie will eat. And when Aggie reveals her next book to him, he describes it as a snore.
However, he does give her a new idea: she should write about him instead.
It’s been years since her last book, and money is tight. Aggie has writer’s block, and her current project isn’t going anywhere. And, hey, who wouldn’t want to read a profile on an accused murderer who refused to open up to reporters?
That’s the thing about accused murderers, though: There’s usually enough evidence to suggest that the accusations just may be true. Especially when, in the middle of the night, an FBI agent sneaks to Aggie’s home to warn her to stay away from Nile.
Netflix’s dramatic miniseries, The Beast in Me, quickly found fame on the streaming service, rising to the top of the charts not long after release. Is it a bit predictable? Yes—it’s not hard to discern how the that final episode will end. But Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys’ impressive acting chops nevertheless enticed millions to stick around and reach that ending.
Sticking around, however, comes with some content concerns that families will need to consider.
Violence isn’t in every episode. But when those moments do come, they get pretty grotesque, intense and bloody—male-on-female violence included. We also hear references to the death of a young boy.
As for other concerns, onscreen sex takes place, and we see a woman in her underwear. The main character is a recently divorced lesbian. The show contains frequent heavy language (including abuses of God’s name). And, just for good measure, drug use makes its way into the plot, too.
It seems as if the “beast” families will have to deal with in The Beast in Me is the show’s content.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
After Nile moves in next door, Aggie finds herself at odds with the accused murderer—but unable to stop speaking with him.
We see shots of Aggie covered in cuts and blood following a car crash—one that we are told killed her son. Aggie attacks visitors to her son’s grave. Nile breaks a woman’s phone. We’re told someone died by suicide.
We learn that Aggie used to have a wife, Shelley, but the woman left Aggie following the death of their son. Shelley talks about breaking off another same-sex relationship. Shelley and Aggie kiss each other on the cheek.
A woman encourages someone to “take an edible and get some sleep.” A man becomes inebriated. Aggie mentions watching a man buy alcohol and gummy bears. Aggie smokes a cigarette. Nile drops off wine at Aggie’s house. Aggie alleges the man who killed her son was driving while inebriated.
Nile claims Aggie needs to release her “stuck chi.” He also uses other spiritual language, like “prodigal son” and “you clearly worshipped the man.” Someone says a man “had his own demons.”
A woman urinates. Aggie’s plumbing backs up with brown sewage water, which splashes on her.
We hear the f-word 13 times and the s-word nine times. We also hear other crudities, including “a–,” “b–ch,” “h—” and “crap.” A man calls Aggie a “dyke.” God’s name is used in vain 10 times, including one instance of “g-dd–n.” Likewise, Jesus’ name is abused 11 times.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He’s also an avid cook. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
Though perhaps too intense for the youngest of viewers, Angel Studios’ Wingfeather Saga offers a strong story beautifully told.
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