Ever since Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness premiered on Netflix, it feels like no one can stop talking about it. The documentary has been treated more as a reality show with Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin and Doc Antle caricatured as the people everyone loves to hate. In response to the unexpected fame, all three have been upfront about their views on the show, with Exotic enjoying the fame and the other two feeling it was misrepresentative.

Despite being three of the biggest players, none of them appeared in the reunion special, which premiered April 12 and focused primarily on those who worked for Exotic. This allowed them to further expose the things he did and how it took a toll on those around him.

By all accounts, the filmmakers started the documentary with the goal of profiling big cat sales and captivity in America. Instead, their attention was drawn to the wild story and the wilder character at the center of it. Not only did the filmmakers push the animal abuse to the background, they propped up Exotic as a larger than life character that too many people have fallen in love with.

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Exotic is interesting and entertaining, but this fascination has caused a lot of people to overlook all the wrong he’s done. Even if one doesn't believed he hired a hitman, he’s abused his employees and executed several of the big cats he owned. However, since the series premiered, petitions for his pardon have popped up online.

Furthermore, Antle and Baskin's presence would've been unreliable and a distraction. Like Exotic, viewers are aware that Antle and Baskin come off as charming even when what they’re doing doesn’t sit right. Their appearance would’ve felt sensationalized given their screen presence and long-standing feuds with Exotic. While it’s important people know about Exotic’s abuses, these two would’ve been unreliable sources for it.

Instead of the sensationalism and reality show atmosphere viewers were used to, host, Joel McHale, asked questions of Exotic’s former employees and let them speak. Through these one-on-one interviews fans learned the real extent of Exotic’s actions, which included Joshua Dial never receiving counseling after witnessing Travis Maldonado kill himself accidentally. The special also sheds new light on Exotic’s crimes with the revelation that he killed animals in order to make room for more.

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It further illustrates what the documentary showed; Exotic doesn't care about people or the animals. The filmmakers do too good of a job of turning Exotic into a sympathetic character, and it doesn't help that many of his wilder actions are at the expense of Baskin, who many people never liked. The desire to see Baskin fall ends up turning Exotic into someone people root for.

This leads to the next reason Exotic’s absence is good: he gets too much enjoyment out of it. The series makes it clear Exotic craves attention, and he's still honest about that. Despite being in prison, everyone who’s talked to Exotic says he’s aware of the fame and enjoys it. However, Antle and Baskin both insist the filmmakers sensationalized facts and defended themselves against their portrayals, but Exotic leans further into his.

Despite everything he’s done, he manages to get a victory out of this. The series confirms his belief that he can entertain and charm America if there are enough cameras on him. He knows if he wasn't in prison, he’d be doing rounds on talk shows and enjoying his celebrity status.

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This special may have started the important process of having people fall out of love with Exotic. By getting unfiltered remarks from those who knew him best, viewers get a better look at the man without the eccentrics. Pop culture has gotten used to fans praising morally corrupt, over the top characters like Tyler Durden from Fight Club or Rick Sanchez from Rick and Morty; however, the biggest difference is that Exotic is a real person, and his victims are real people and animals.

Showcasing Exotic for entertainment pushes his actions to the side while he’s made no attempt to make up for them. Propping up his status as ‘The Tiger King" rewards what he’s done, and by exploiting his misdoings, there’s a responsibility to also mention the actions that made him famous. This episode takes a step back from Exoitc in order to refocus on the victims and his immoral actions.

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