Warning: The following post contains spoilers for Netflix's The Rain.
Beatrice (Angela Bundalovic) could've been a contender for protagonist of The Rain, Netflix's newest Original, but she died in episode six. She is the show's first major death — though Jean (Sonny Lindberg) is assumed to be dead in episode four, his death doesn't appear on screen — and her death sets off a rapid set of events that propels The Rain to its truly bananas finale. It's not clear, though, how Beatrice died.
Let's do a post-mortem. Sorry, Beatrice.
Beatrice dies, predictably, after having sex with Rasmus (Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen) in an abandoned cabin. They're in love, and he's just so damn excited to be out of that bunker. Before they kiss, though, a raindrop falls on Beatrice's face. As of episode six, the rain is believed to be dangerous. When the main group sees rain, they run for shelter. This detail has a lot of ramifications: It means that most water sources are contaminated. It would also mean that the air is contaminated — if the rain is poison, then the atmosphere is, too. However, none of the characters protect their skin, although they do protect their feet with waterproof boots. In episode two, when Martin (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard) sees a woman fall into a stream, he immediately shoots her. She's contaminated, he explains, and the virus is so contagious that he can't afford to let her live.
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The rules of the poison rain are very confusing until they're not. For the first half of the show, we believe the rain to be dangerous, as do the characters in the show. The minute Patrick (Lukas Løkken) pushes Simone (Alba August) into the rain, it becomes clear the rain is not dangerous.
"We don't really know if the rain is dangerous," Lea (Jessica Dinnage) argues when Martin struggles with shooting her. I mean, if he killed the woman in episode two, he should have to kill Simone, too. But Lea boldly steps into the rain with Simone. Later, they all go into the rain and dance around, celebrating the newly innocuous rainfall.
This doesn't mean the rain was never dangerous — it's just that the rain was only dangerous once, and that tragic incident left everyone fearful of the rain for years. (You'd think they would figure out sooner that the rain isn't dangerous, but okay. Minor quibbles for what is otherwise a deliciously soapy drama.)
So, how did Beatrice die? She's hit with a raindrop. She immediately begins to cry, screaming that she doesn't want to die. By the show's own definition, rain-death is immediate and pretty freaky. Victims begin seizing and frothing at the mouth. There's usually some vomiting. This doesn't happen to Beatrice — because, remember, the rain isn't dangerous. Instead, she has time to sleep with Rasmus, who goes the Romeo and Juliet route here by kissing Beatrice and offering to die with her. It's all very romantic and lovely until Beatrice dies and Rasmus survives.
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There are now two options as to how Beatrice died: She contracted the disease from the dog, or she contracted it from Rasmus.
This is where it gets confusing.
The death occurs in the wee hours of the post-coitus morning. Before they wake up, a dog sniffs around their bedding — it's possible the dog also licked Beatrice's face. Earlier in the episode, Martin and Patrick encounter the same dog, and point out that it's probably sick. Presumably, this also means the dog is contagious. Martin doesn't kill the dog (stupid Martin) at Patrick's behest, and look where that led us.
Rasmus awakens and immediately shoos the dog away. He looks over to nuzzle Beatrice, and discovers she's dead. The dog killed her. I think. Later, when Simone asks Rasmus for the full story — minus sex details — he says that he can't remember if the dog touched him. Surely, that's a sign the dog licked Rasmus?
The complicating matter is that Rasmus is immune to the disease. The Rain's biggest reveal is that Rasmus holds the cure to the disease making its way around Denmark. Apollon is searching for Rasmus, actually. When Apollon does find Rasmus, they interrogate him. How did Beatrice die? Apollon wants to know. Rasmus (and Apollon) attribute her death to the dog, which licked both of their faces.
That's two counts for dog death. The only reason Rasmus might be the killer is because he's immune — he might have been a carrier for the disease for years. It's just that, well, now he's having sex. Later, he inadvertently kills an Apollon worker when the worker comes in contact with his blood. He might have also killed Beatrice this way. And my money? It's on the sex-transfer method.
The big reveal of this show — that Rasmus is immune — is meant to resolve any unanswered questions. It's the reason Simone and Rasmus spent years (five or six, depending on which part of the show you watch) underground. It's the reason the disease exists in the first place! It would make sense for Beatrice's tragic death to fall in line with this reveal. Rasmus, you accidentally killed your first love. But, er, don't worry! At least now you know you're contagious.