Major spoilers are ahead for Bad Monkey Season 1, Episode 4 – “Nothing’s Wrong With It, I Just Don’t Need It Anymore.” Read with caution, and get caught up by streaming the show with an Apple TV+ subscription.
So far, the book-to-screen adaptation of Carl Hiaasen’s Bad Monkey has been full of wild twists and fun action. However, Episode 4, which just aired on the 2024 TV schedule, kicked that all up a notch as we got the bloody backstory behind how Nick (Rob Delaney) lost his arm. Now, Zach Braff, who plays the doctor who sawed off Nick’s arm, is opening up about how they shot it and just how bloody it was.
Despite Braff’s character getting shot in Episode 3, he’s actually heavily featured in the next episode, because it’s a massive flashback. In it, we learn that his character Izzy is great friends with Rob Delaney’s Nick, and they were running a scammy business together. However, things took a turn, and that led to Izzy cutting off Nick’s arm.
I asked Braff about filming this episode, and he spoke so highly of his co-star, specifically referencing the extra bloody scene:
Yeah, just brilliantly written, you know, it's such a hard novel to crack, as you can imagine. But Bill loves Carl Hiaasen. And, you know, Bill [Lawrence] and Matt Tarses are such good writers, and I love the way they did that whole sequence. You know, it really just, it was so exciting. And I think it's really unexpected. There's a lot of things in the show that my character does in the episodes I'm in, I think, that are pretty shocking, including the sawing off Rob's arm in the living room. I mean, that was crazy to shoot that.
It was also crazy to watch. Seeing the house covered in clear plastic and Nick on a makeshift operating table was jarring. Then, watching Zach Braff’s character saw off his arm while getting splattered with blood was wild.
Continuing with his story about the scene, the Scrubs star rightly namechecked one of the best horror movies of all time while breaking down how they filmed this moment:
Well, it was crazy to shoot it. And, you know, a lot of the blood in the show is practical. I mean, there's a there's some of it is, of course, augmented in post. But during that particular sequence, I mean, I've never been in a horror movie, but it was like being in a horror movie. I mean, there's just blood, just blasting on my face. I felt like I was in the movie Carrie.
Considering Nick got legitimately covered in blood while cutting off Nick's arm in the show, I totally get the Carrie reference. This scene was gruesome and shocking, because the last thing I expected to learn in the mystery of how Nick lost his arm was that it was his and Eve’s idea and they asked Izzy to do it.
However, considering the show is based around the comedic genius of Vince Vaughn, Braff, Delaney and the impeccable cast of Bad Monkey, whacky turns like this make total sense. They're also wicked fun to watch too.
Overall, this pivotal scene in Bad Monkey not only revealed vital information about Nick and Eve’s plan and past, but it also served as an action-packed and fantastic sequence that involved some cool practical effects. So, it was so fun to hear Zach Braff’s perspective on shooting it all.
To go back and see Nick and Izzy’s origins and this super bloody moment in Bad Monkey, you can stream Episode 4 on Apple TV+ and catch new episodes in the same place every Wednesday.
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