Mad Dogs Pilot Recap – The Pitfalls of Ideal Manhood [Spoilers]

Mad Dogs is the Amazon Original series bringing up questions of male fantasies, regret, and conformity. For four friends Gus, Joel, Lex, and Cobi new to Belize the all-expenses paid trip just feels like a bad weekend.

But then that goat corpse floats up from the bottom of Milo’s pool. Leading up to when Milo exits the story, it’s hard to tell if inviting his friends to his villa is part of a bigger ploy. Milo knows how to manipulate each and every one of his life-long friends. Milo takes a minute to take Cobi aside and asks him, “Do you regret not getting into business with me?” He also asks Lex the same question. Clearly, Milo doesn’t have any regrets or fears from his shady business dealings. He calls out each and every one of his friends on how they supposedly compromised on their ambitions. Gus from his recent divorce, he had it all and lost it. Joel on how he’s obviously still in love with Cobi’s wife. To Milo, all of his friends’ life stories seem like a bad joke. How did they stray so far from the perfect picture of manhood?

Cobi stands out among the four friends, as he seems to know a little more than he’s letting on. Cobi invites a pretty girl back to the villa, Cobi is the voice of reason, and Cobi knows exactly how to come up with a logical explanation for Milo’s fortune.

For Milo his untimely departure almost seems anticipated. He’s prepared even, as he leaves his villa to Gus, Joel, Lex, and Cobi. Milo was probably aware this would implicate his friends in any crimes he’s committed. But now Milo’s gone, and our four middle-aged, underachieving men have to fend for themselves in a foreign country. This gets real with the introducing of the shows’ first female character (that’s not a sex object). The unnamed female detective, that’s not a housekeeper, is clearly one of those people that’s smarter than she lets on. Unnamed Detective knows how to manipulate these naïve American men. Is she in league with the terrifying little man in a cat mask? Probably. This Amazon Original gives the impression that Mad Dogs is more than just a petty comedy/drama. These guys have to survive the crime lord of Belize. Good luck fellas.