'Feed the Beast' Recap: 'The Wild West'

​Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

After spending weeks exploring the finer points of the human psyche and all of its flaws, AMC's Feed the Beast seemed to take a break from all that this week and give us what really we've all been waiting for, a chance to see Thirio in action. Last night the show featured 'opening night' if you will, with a soft open that brought together friends and family for one grand feast and well...one would think that such an event would give our characters cause for reflection on their accomplishments and their progress in life.

But let's be honest, this ain't that kind of show. 'The Wild West' essentially featured a disaster in the making when it came to Thirio's first night since nothing quite went to plan and all of the messes on display last night came about for one simple reason...we reap what we sow. Yes, the accomplishment aspect of the story was nothing more than a ruse. There was still plenty to explore about the human condition because let's be honest, despite the wonderful things we have learned about Dion and Tommy they haven't grown much on the series. They are still locked in their bad habits and anguish respectively and consequences are finally starting to come from their actions and now their dream is about to be threatened because of their inability to address their flaws.

Take Tommy for example. He has completely closed himself off to anyone around him, including his best friend and son. While it's understandable that he's hurting, and badly at that, closing off to the people that need him most is a costly gamble to say the least and now it is costing him opportunities at happiness, and his inability to open up, especially to his son may cost him dearly. After all, a visit from Child Protective Services was the first monkey wrench thrown into Thirio's soft open and while it was admirable to see Tommy try and plead his case to the state representative, it was Aidan's intervention that saved the day, further speaking to the fact that Tommy hasn't a clue what to do following Rie's untimely death and well, with the spotlight on him now from the state, that's going to have to change and quickly.
 
But truly, the grandest messes of the night came from Dion, whose push toward opening the restaurant at all costs is finally coming back to haunt him. The money he just handed over to The Tooth Fairy is now on Pilar's radar and one has to wonder if she will cover for him following her unexpected tryst or reveal the truth that he's doing shady stuff with Aidan's money, but his past indiscretions coming around full circle didn't end there. The cocaine that he's been selling is on recall now from the Tooth Fairy, meaning Dion has to figure out how to replace what he's sold...but what's worse, his relationship with the man in general is becoming quite the problem since a quick shootout after Patrick's visit to Thirio has led to cancellation upon cancellation reservation wise, putting the restaurant at risk before it even opens and who knew that Dion's hand in destroying one restaurant so long ago, would put another one's sheer existence on the line.

For the first time this season, it feels as though everything is ready to crumble on a moment's notice and well, considering the investment we've all put into these characters, one cannot help but be furious at both Tommy and Dion. These are two men capable of great things, in fact they're crazy talented at what they do...but their lunacy and selfishness is about to bring this grand dream crashing to the ground and to make it worse...Dion's inability to keep it in his pants may create an incredible rift between he and Tommy. Especially considering the mounting evidence that Dion slept with Rie. Either way, this was a wonderful episode through and through. It was simply a brilliant stroke to bring every single story element together in seamless fashion like this and give the characters a wake up call on their ignorance. What they do with it past this point however, is what matters most. Until next time. 

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