Media volunteer, Natalie Doyle, gives us the lowdown on the new Netflix favourite: ‘Tiger King’.
If you’ve not seen the show already, then you’ve definitely seen the memes. The global revolution. The man bringing us all together in isolation, Joe Exotic.
Now, for those of you who haven’t seen the show yet, I’m going to make sure that I don’t spoil it for you, because it is a must watch. I will, however, focus in on some details that if you have seen the show will make you question everything you thought you knew.
Self-described as a true crime documentary don’t let that fool you. Though technically correct, it isn’t the usual who done it Netflix have been churning out of late. Tiger King is so much more.
Watching the first episode, “Not your average Joe”, I was sceptical. I felt like the show really was just going to be about some big cat sanctuaries. It was a slow start, but dear reader you must push through. We meet our titular character, Joe Exotic, and his archnemesis, Carol f***ing Baskin. Every detail in this first episode comes back around, so don’t let it pass you by.
Episode 2 gives us further insight into the world of these individuals and their respective teams. We start to see the real madness of the show coming through. From polygamy to murder, it all starts in episode 2.
The next 5 episodes depict the absolute insanity that their lives become, as they chase each other in some game of cat and mouse (pun intended). If it wasn’t so often reminded to us, we couldn’t be blamed to think this was someone’s incessant drunken ramblings. But no, everything discussed is by real people, depicting real experiences.
One of the highlights of the series is the mystery surrounding Carol Baskin’s second husband, Don Lewis. We hear from Don’s family who are convinced that Carol had a hand in his disappearance, with Joe Exotic chiming in with the idea that Don was fed to the cats. Absolute insanity, but as is the world of the Tiger King.
A suicide, a failed murder plot and a hostile takeover, the show really depicts a fall from grace for our new favourite redneck, Joe. In this crazy world, we find ourselves laughing in disbelief at some of the people and their attitudes towards life, their ethics are questionable at best and by the end of the series we are left wondering who the bad guys are. What we do know is that the real victims here are the cats.
With so much press coverage, it’s no shock that Netflix have just announced a follow up episode “The Tiger King and I” which will air world-wide on Sunday 12 April. God knows that I’ll be sat at my computer pressing refresh until it is released!
Featured image by Natalie Doyle.
