What happens to Rain in “Beauty in Black”? Unpacking whether she's dead or alive

Rain's wild arc is arguably the most bonkers twist in Tyler Perry's hit Netflix series.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Beauty in Black.

If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it one thousand times: Do not get a BBL surgery in a scuzzy motel room. It’s rarely worth the risk, but the character Rain (Amber Reign Smith) in Tyler Perry’s new Netflix series Beauty in Black had to learn that lesson the hard way. The first part of Perry’s over-the-top thriller series features many unbelievable twists and turns throughout its eight episodes, but none match the absolute delirium of Rain’s arc.

As the show rockets up Netflix’s television charts, Entertainment Weekly is taking a closer look at what happened to Rain in Beauty in Black and whether she survived the operation.

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What is Beauty in Black about?

Beauty in Black follows Kimmie (Taylor Polidore), a down-on-her-luck sex worker and dancer who works with her friend Rain at a sketchy strip club overseen by Jules (Charles Malik Whitfield). Kimmie soon figures a way out of her humdrum existence when she wins a scholarship to a prestigious beauty school, overseen by Mallory (Crystle Stewart).

Mallory built her business from the ground up with a little help from her husband Roy’s (Julian Horton) family, the Bellaires. Kimmie finds herself in over her head with the dastardly dynasty, whose patriarch, Horace (Ricco Ross), is a frequent patron of her club — often in search of anonymous male hookups. Meanwhile, the steely matriarch, Olivia (Debbi Morgan), is hiding a few secrets of her own.

Who is Rain on Beauty in Black?

Rain is Kimmie’s lifelong friend who works at the strip club and goes on outside calls with her. In episode 3, Kimmie says Rain is “the only girl that ever loved me besides my sister...Rain and my sister were it for me.” Rain helped Kimmie overcome a disastrous childhood in which her mother abandoned her after her abusive stepfather lied that the teenager had come onto him.

After being shut out of her family, Kimmie found shelter with Rain and the two have been inseparable ever since. But their activities on the fringes of the law have their share of hurdles. Through some shady dealings, they’ve become indebted to Jules, a fearsome figure who owns the nightclub and is also a key player in the Bellaire’s dynasty, seemingly working as something of a fixer/bodyguard for the family.

What happens to Rain in Beauty in Black?

Tempted by all the money her, shall we say, more well-endowed co-workers rake in at the club, Rain makes the ill-advised decision to get a black market BBL. “Rain, if you go puttin’ that s— in your body, you don’t know what’s gonna happen,” Kimmie tells her in episode 1, to which Rain exhales deeply and rolls her eyes.

Well, Kimmie was right. Rain gets incredibly sick from the surgery, which was organized by some of the club’s less-than-reputable mean girls and performed in a motel room. Kimmie has no choice but to take Rain to the hospital.

Jules later picks Kimmie up, berating her for going to the hospital where her face has doubtless been caught on camera. Because it could reveal their illegal activities at the club, Jules barrs Kimmie from going back to see Rain.

Does Rain die in Beauty in Black?

Does the audience think Rain is dead for a solid episode or two? For sure. Does Kimmie think she's dead? One hundred percent. Is she actually dead? No.

Here's what happened: Following Jules’ decree that she cannot return to the hospital, Kimmie devises a plan to learn about Rain’s condition over the phone. After a scuffle with the club’s mean girls over her friend's botched surgery, Kimmie returns to the hospital with an exaggerated limp from the fight. When the nurse isn't paying attention, Kimmie slips into the patient area and locates Rain.

“I should have listened to you,” Rain says. She explains to Kimmie that the doctors have told her she has blood clots. “A lot of ‘em,” Rain adds. “They’re huge. They’re gonna go to my lungs. I’m gonna die.”

Kimmie becomes upset and tells Rain she needs answers from the hospital staff. Rain begs her not to go, but Kimmie leaves. Before doing so, Kimmie shares that she believes Jules is actually running things for the Bellaire’s.

At the end of episode 4, Kimmie returns to the hospital to see her friend but finds only an empty bed. “Where did she go?” Kimmie asks no one in particular. “She died,” offers the helpful patient in the bed next to Rain’s.

Where is Rain at the end of Beauty in Black?

Believing Horace to be responsible for Rain’s death, Kimmie allows Angel (Xavier Smalls), an acquaintance from the club, to sucker her into kidnapping and robbing Horace. Angel poses as a young man interested in hooking up with Horace and entices the Bellaire patriarch into a bedroom of his mansion. At any moment, men with guns will storm the room, tie up Horace, and steal his money.

Meanwhile, Kimmie is in the kitchen waiting to hear from Angel. Her phone buzzes, but it's Rain, and she wants to know why Kimmie hasn’t been visiting her. “Why you ain’t come to see me yet?” Rain asks her. “They told me you were dead!” Kimmie says, understandably shocked. “Dead? S—, that’s news to me,” Rain tells her. “They moved me to this nice hospital.”

Just as Rain says this, Kimmie sees the armed men breaking into the house via CCTV and races to stop them from hurting Horace. After a standoff and shoot-out in which Horace kills the crew, Kimmie admits to going along with Angel’s plan to rob him. Of course, that was before she knew her wealthy benefactor switched her friend to a better hospital out of simple generosity, rather than some murderous scheme.

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While driving home with Angel, Kimmie gets a call from Rain asking if she can visit her. Despite Angel’s protests, Kimmie agrees. At the hospital, Kimmie sees Rain for the first time since she thought she died and rushes to hug her.

As Angel pulls Kimmie from the hospital room, promising her she can return tomorrow, Rain tells her friend, “You know I gotta find that fine-ass sugar daddy that got me in here, right?” Kimmie scoffs nervously, visibly anxious at having to explain the Horace connection to Rain. “Yeah, you do,” Kimmie tells her before leaving and promising to return the next day.

Will Rain still be at the hospital when Kimmie returns? Does Rain still have blood clots? Did she ever have blood clots? How will Kimmie’s shared relationships with Horace and Rain collide? Will Horace make Kimmie pick up Rain’s hospital bill after the whole robbery mess? You’ll have to wait until next spring when part two drops to find out.

Beauty in Black is streaming on Netflix.