Hey all you cool cats and kittens! Netflix just dropped another episode of Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. The seven-part docuseries has blown up on social media this lockdown season for its craziness and meme-ability. The show centers around Joe Exotic, who is as he says,  “the Tiger King, the gay, gun-carrying redneck with a mullet”. The show was an immediate hit; people were intrigued by Joe Exotic, from his throuple to his affinity for blowing stuff up to his country music career and even his unadulterated hatred for Carole Baskin (who totally killed her husband, by the way). The demand and the popularity were so large that Netflix decided to bless us with an eighth episode. Now the series already documents Joe’s life and his ultimate downfall, and the cast of characters who accompanied that journey. This final episode dropped this past Sunday, Apr. 12, is an after show.
Netflix asked Joe McHale to host virtual video interviews with the cast, as due to COVID-19 there are still mandated stay-at-home orders. The episode starts with an introduction by McHale where he talks about the show, its newfound popularity and what Tiger King has evolved into. All the main players in the show are asked questions about the show’s impact in their lives and of course, Joe Exotic himself. McHale interviewed everyone except Carol Baskin, her husband Howard and Joe’s husband Dillon Passage. Although the release of the episode was highly anticipated, the fan response to it has not been as great as expected.
Fans thought the interviewer did not take the interviews very seriously, and thought he was far too joking throughout. He also only asked each person 2-3 questions, oftentimes reusing the questions on multiple people. The episode was called out for its shallow nature, and not as in depth as the episode was advertised to be. Not many answers were offered, though their updates on the character’s lives at this point were given. Despite the pitfalls, there were some highlights within the episode. Reality television producer Rick Kirkham’s interview shed light on some of Joe’s tendencies. He revealed that Joe was actually scared of the big cats he worked with. Another big revelation was on Joe’s character by Saff. He said that he did things out of the kindness of his heart, and that he was a good person at heart. This was a major contrast to the Joe Exotic we see develop over the course of the season. A major point of the interview was John Finlay’s (Joe Exotic’s former husband) new teeth, as they were not included in the show itself.
Overall, the episode was not what the fans were expecting. Despite the hype around the release, it left many questions from the show unanswered and unaddressed. Viewers enjoyed seeing the cast again and gathering what they could from the interview questions. Even with this episode not doing as well, Netflix is rumored to be planning a second season with footage that did not make it into the first. With all that being said, Tiger King is a trip from start to finish, and that spirit is definitely presented in this interview. Even with this episode, the whole series is worth a watch.
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