Natalie Martinez Addresses That Surprising Split During 'Bad Monkey' Finale

Bad Monkey ended its finale with a surprising split — but is it truly over?

During the newest episode, which started streaming on Wednesday, October 9, Yancy (Vince Vaughn) and Rosa (Natalie Martinez) return to Florida to presumably pick up where they left off, however, things take a turn when they decide to part ways instead. Rosa initiates the breakup because she’s not in a place in her life where she feels settled.

“With Rosa and Yancy, it’s hard because he comes in and gives her that push that she needed to find the motivation. She found what really mattered to her in life and stepped outside of her comfort zone. It just opened the gates for her,” Martinez, 40, exclusively told Us Weekly. “But there were moments where Yancy is Yancy and he’ll do anything to get to the bottom of something — to the point that it will block him from having relationships.”

Martinez pointed out that both Rosa and Yancy still need to work on themselves.

Nace! Choni! Devastating Fictional Breakups TV Fans Still Can't Get Over

“He needs to handle himself. But when Rosa finally goes out into the world and sees all these possibilities, she also questions herself, ‘Am I going to get stuck in this comfortable place with someone? Or am I going to keep on this journey to figure out what is my truth?'” she explained. “What is it that she needs?”

Despite Rosa and Yancy parting ways, there is still hope for them.

“There’s a lot of love between Rosa and Yancy. He’s helped her in so many ways and there’s definitely this great friendship there. They’re very fond of each other and at that moment he says, ‘It’s not a goodbye, it’s a see you later.’ So I think the possibilities are kind of endless there — where they’re a part of each other’s pivotal moment.”

Martinez continued: “For Yancy, he realized how he’s been and who he is and what he’s doing in this new era of his life. For Rosa, she stepped outside of her comfort zone. So they’re forever going to be those people to each other that helped that transition. You never forget that person that aided you into the next stage of your life. That’s what they are for each other. So they’re always going to have that special moment.”

Fall 2024 TV Couples That Need to Get Together: '9-1-1,' 'Tracker' and More

Based on the novel of the same name by Carl Hiaasen, Bad Monkey follows former police detective Andrew Yancy who gets demoted to a restaurant inspector before getting sucked into a murder investigation when a severed arm is pulled out of the water. Martinez, meanwhile, plays a medical examiner from Miami who helps Yancy on the case.

“Rose is someone of value, morals and ethics. She needs to be into something that is purposeful in her life. So I still see her in this line of justice and truth seeking investigative kind of work,” Martinez told Us about where Rosa’s journey could go from here. “It’s just in her nature. She’s just a curious person and she’s a strong independent woman. Whatever she is going to do, she’s going to excel at and push those doors open with all of her might. Whatever she gets into next, it’s going to have to be full of purpose and make a difference somewhere. That’s what she needs and what she was looking for. She needed something a little bit more that she could seek her teeth into.”

While Bad Monkey seemingly wrapped up every story line by the end of the finale, viewers have questioned whether the show could be renewed for another season.

Which TV Shows Are Renewed, Which Are Canceled in 2024-2025?

“It’s hard to say. We don’t know anything about a second season — that hasn’t been talked about at all,” Martinez shared. “I think the possibilities are endless here.”

Martinez is just thrilled she had the opportunity to work on a show like Bad Monkey.

“Every job teaches you something different. With this one, it showed me a very liberating way of acting. Watching Vince just spew out these witty things and just kind of letting it go. It showed a lot of freedom [because] there’s something to these comedies where it’s just so easy and there’s a flow to them,” she continued. “Watching Vince and [creator] Bill [Lawrence] work is something that I feel has changed my view on a couple things. As Vince would say, ‘Just let it go. Throw everything at it and something might stick. Don’t get scared, don’t hold back and just keep moving forward.’ That’s one of the things I learned from this.”

Bad Monkey is currently streaming on Apple TV+.