Clare Danes as Aggie looks scare in The Beast in Me
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Dani Kessel Odom
Published 9 minutes ago
Dani Kessel Odom (they/them) is an autistic lead writer on the New TV team, focusing on writing and content planning for streaming shows. They often assist with Classic TV coverage, as well.
They have covered events, such as Denver Fan Expo. Their articles have also been shared by professionals in the field, such as Damien Leone and Lucy Hale.
In university, they majored in English Writing with a minor in psychology. They have always had a passion for analyzing TV and movies, even taking filmography and scriptwriting classes in university. They also studied and participated in onstage and onscreen acting extensively from the ages of 7 to 18.
Aside from working at Screen Rant, Dani has worked as a freelance editor and writer over the past decade, often in a ghostwriting capacity.
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This article includes discussions of physical abuse, mental abuse, and murder that could be disturbing to some.
Spoilers for The Beast in Me are ahead!
Netflix’s new thriller, with an 84% RT score, has officially given us the most terrifying TV villain of the year, beating out contenders from both the thriller and horror genres. Heroes might get the spotlight, but let’s be real – most of us who watch horror shows and thrillers love a good villain.
There’s something so enjoyable about a twisted character who can scare us to death. Luckily, 2025 has presented us with some truly memorable TV villains. We have heavy hitters, like It in Welcome to Derry, Evelyn Wade in Wayward, Vecna in Stranger Things, and a certain character in Alien: Earth who will remain unnamed for those who haven't watched it yet.
With so many options to choose from, it’s surprising that they’re all dethroned in just six episodes by Nile Jarvis, the villain in Netflix’s The Beast in Me.
The Beast In Me’s Nile Jarvis Is Absolutely Bone-Chilling
Nile Jarvis (Matthew Rhys) sitting at a desk looking serious in The Beast in Me
At first glance, Nile Jarvis appears to be a high-class, well-groomed jerk with a peculiar charisma. He’s cold, brusque, and degrading towards women. Nothing feels too out of the ordinary, though. However, halfway through the first episode, the fear sets in. It doesn’t matter that Nile doesn’t kill anyone until halfway through the series. There’s always the eerie sense that he could snap at any second.
There’s an inscrutable yet terrifying look in his eyes when he looks at Aggie. His statements about the missing boy have an undercurrent of sinisterness. Nile tears a chicken apart and devours it in an almost animalistic way. It’s easy based on his early behavior to believe that he murdered Madison long before the reveal.
Much like real abusers, he isn’t always threatening, though, which makes his terrifying moments even scarier. One minute, he can take Aggie up a skyscraper in construction, seeming like he’s going to push her. Later, he can joke about his dad being terrible, and he can dance around to Talking Heads. The push and pull means the audience always has to be on edge.
Nile Jarvis Beats Out Every Thriller & Horror TV Villain This Year
Nile Jarvis looks over his shoulder while wearing all black at night in The Beast in Me.
2025 has offered audiences some scary TV villains, but most are non-human or cartoonishly bizarre. They don't feel like they would exist within our world. Nile Jarvis outranks them all as the most terrifying TV villain of the year because his form of evil is sickeningly realistic.
Nile is the kind of evil that exists in the world without stretching the imagination. He’s calculated and manipulative. It feels like he’s playing a chess game with real people. He presents himself as ordinary to the public and then commits atrocities behind closed doors. On top of that, he has enough privilege to hide his crimes.
The real-life prevalence of women getting killed by intimate partners just makes the fear of Nile even more palpable.
Ultimately, it’s painfully easy to picture Nile Jarvis as a real-life predator, which is why he’s such a good villain. And, it makes it all the more satisfying to see him taken down at the end of The Beast in Me.
How Matthew Rhys Creates A Terrifying TV Villain With Very Little Violence
Nile Jarvis sits in a chair in The Beast in Me
Matthew Rhys deserves so much credit for The Beast In Me because it’s not easy to play a character like Nile. It’s easy to under- or overact with this kind of villain, and both would result in him not really being scary. Luckily, Rhys got the balance just right.
Even though it feels like more, Nile only has about three scenes of physical violence, which is a relatively small amount compared to other villains. However, Rhys still expresses the threat of harm in non-physically violent scenes because of the way he holds his body and the small changes in facial expression. He’s constantly posturing in The Beast in Me.
What’s more, he’s also emoting through his eyes. It feels like there’s rage bubbling under the surface at all times. In the end, it’s the small choices Matthew Rhys made that add up to an incredible performance.
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The Beast in Me
10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed Mystery Drama Thriller Release Date 2025 - 2025-00-00 Network NetflixCast
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Claire Danes
Aggie Wiggs
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Matthew Rhys
Nile Jarvis
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The Beast in Me
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