LaMatadita

I've suspected he had some developing feelings for a while, namely because a) he didn't kill her after she got him arrested, and b) the way MM played Rio in the bar right before their bathroom hookup seemed nervous. He wasn't shooting back flirty smiles, he was fidgeting and sucking his teeth. I don't think a guy that pretty with that much raw sex appeal gets nervous over a woman unless he wants to do more than just have sex with her. (I also don't think he ever thought anything would actually happen between them, so he was really taken aback by the hair twirling and eyefucking, lol.) But yeah, regardless of when the feelings developed, they are definitely there now! There was no need for their nervousness and awkwardness, or that whole thing with her socks, or the lack of music to emphasize the intensity and intimacy, if it was just about sex. He definitely did all of those things, and I wouldn't argue that he's a good person (though I would argue that there are significantly worse people in the world than Rio), but Beth experienced all of those things firsthand, and she still went back and asked for more. And not just once, but multiple times! I see a lot of domestic abuse comparisons when it comes to this, but they don't work for me because a) he and Beth barely knew each other and were not romantically involved until pretty recently, b) the intimidation wasn't personal, it was him doing his job, c) he didn't try to coerce or convince her to come back in Season 1 (she did it because she wanted to), and d) he has never tried to tear her down emotionally to make her more reliant on him. He's been brutally honest with her, sure, but he's never tried to make her feel like shit about herself. My point isn't that either of them is good or bad because that's kind of beside the point for me. I ship them because I find them psychologically fascinating, both together and apart. (And yes, also because their chemistry is far greater than it has any right to be!) For the most part, Beth has stubbornly refused to let him succeed in intimidating her, and in doing so, she has systematically stripped away not just his "sociopathic gang leader" mask (which is definitely a mask, because the person we've seen over the last 3 episodes is the person he actually is), but every other method he's tried to use to control her. Hell, I would even argue that his attempts to control her are usually about protecting his business, not about controlling her personally. He has been perfectly willing to let her ignore his advice and make her own mistakes--I have never seen a gang leader who seems to value blind obedience as little as he does. Obviously, their pairing is unlikely, and the psychology of it all is not something that I would say is 100% applicable to real life--I don't think we should all go out and find hot gang friends to try to psychologically disarm--but isn't that part of what fiction is for? To let us explore things that are too dangerous to explore in real life, or things that are improbable but not impossible? I've been gradually working my way through another show he was on, and he doesn't really have the same husky quality to his voice that he has on GG. I just think it's interesting because he's not making his voice deeper as Rio, he's just adding this layer of huskiness to it. Either that or something has happened to his voice in the last few years! (His character is also really different from Rio, so I hope he doesn't just get typecast as a sexy thug now.) And then there's that, lol.

Oooh, I think you are correct on this one! Seems like he and Noah are the only ones working this "case," and as someone else pointed out, he probably coerced Noah into helping him because he has dirt on Noah! Oh, I don't think they're over, either. I think this was just a way to a) make it clear that he does have capital F Feelings for her and create some sympathy for him, and b) make it seem at least somewhat justified for him to put his gameface back on. Can't have them getting too comfortable yet! It really worked for me because I didn't see his side of things coming at all. I loved how aware they both were that this was the first time she'd actually invited him into her home. The second he walked into her house, he was acting like he was pretty sure she was going to give him a present that he really, really wanted, but he was afraid that if he showed too much excitement, she would change her mind. He was trying to be calm and help her through her nervousness, and then the second they locked lips, all that just went out the window. To me, this was the writers changing the game and showing that there is actually more to them than smokin' chemistry. He sees the whole Beth package, not just the sexy crime brain and the hourglass figure, and he is into it. (It's also total audience wish fulfillment, but hey, I'm more than happy to have Beth fill in for me!)

Just going to add my support for all the things already said about how many aspects of Turner's investigation don't really add up. I am worried for Ruby. Past experience should have taught them all that nothing good can come of giving your real address to the dude who knows you robbed his place of employment. I hope the final scene with Annie is a fakeout... I will have nothing but love for her if Noah's manipulative and very obvious lie tweaked her to the fact that he might not be what he seems, so she just fed him a bunch of BS. But this is Annie we're talking about, so probably not. Even though we didn't see it, I always thought that Beth and Rio's bathroom hookup ended with her straightening herself up and walking out without a word, and now I'm even more sure that's how it went down. Their kiss scene, and the buildup to it, was definitely not what I expected. I thought he was at least going to know it was the last time before it happened, not after! I also thought it was just going to be a sexy roll in the hay, but I feel like the whole sequence was actually really awkward and sweet, and his reaction to her mismatched socks just killed me dead. On the one hand, I definitely think he let his feelings show and she gutted him. On the other hand, he's a pragmatist and he learned how to compartmentalize long ago, so I'm sure the wheels are already turning as to what this means for his business. He's definitely about to put the big scary "I'm a sociopathic gang leader" mask back on. Fun times.

Considering that Dean was dumb enough to think those two turds were capable hit men AND take them to his home AND show them where the money was buried, I'm not really willing to give Dean credit for being smart enough to withhold information from them. And while I understand that he feels like he and his family are not safe because of the things that Rio has done, it's infuriating that he cannot seem to accept any responsibility for the fact that his own actions started Beth down the path towards Rio in the first place! (Not that Beth couldn't have chosen to NOT rob a grocery store, but Dean still got that ball rolling by being a liar and a cheat who took his wife for granted.) It's funny to me that despite the things Rio has done, I still like him more than I like Dean, and many other viewers seem to feel the same way. The fact that Manny Montana is charismatic and extremely easy on the eyes probably plays no small part in that, but most of us are more than capable of hating characters played by good-looking actors, so that's not the whole story. I think another part of the explanation is that the writers want me to like Rio more--I've seen flatter characters than Dean, but Rio definitely has more layers, and on top of that, many of his layers are sensed but not known, if that makes sense. He's just more psychologically interesting to me because his livelihood relies on people being afraid of him, but we've seen him be vulnerable and kind with Beth, and he rarely (not never, but rarely) makes good on his threats or does actual physical harm to the people on the show. Some of that may be the writers holding back so that he can remain a palatable (to some) romantic interest for Beth, but I also think Manny Montana makes many of us think there's a backstory there that we don't know, and may never know. In fact, I think he puts a lot of effort into Rio's body language and facial expressions, to the point where there's sometimes an entire story being told without words. So yeah, Rio is not what I would call a good person, but since this is not real life, I can like characters who are by no means good people, especially if I find them more interesting than other characters who hold more moral currency. If this was real life, I would think Dean was a dick, but I would be terrified of Rio. (Just FYI, I'm not trying to change anyone's mind about Rio. I just started thinking about why I like him more than I like Dean, even though Rio's clearly got a lot more black in his grey than Dean does.)

They definitely both suck, but I think Dean taking supposed hit men to their house AND showing them the money was dumber and more dangerous. These people now know where they live, whereas the guys Beth was dealing with do not (though she obviously thought they did when she couldn't find her daughter). ETA: I also noticed that the infidelity was apparently the only reason Dean gave those kids for wanting Rio dead, which says a lot. I'd give him the benefit of the doubt that maybe he said more but they just latched onto that part, but Rio shot him and held a gun to his wife in the backyard, and he didn't consider having him killed until he realized he'd also banged his wife, so that's clearly his main motivation.

I wish Rio had said that! "It's too high risk, so there's no money in it for them" or something along those lines makes more sense than there just being no money in it, which isn't universally true. I think the whole purpose of the line was to minimize his coming off like an asshole, so that way at least he didn't just ignore the possibility of her daughter being hurt, but I wish the writers had phrased it more carefully. Thoughtless mistakes on details like that are part of what keeps the show from being great, IMO. I do wonder if all his time with Annie was acting, or if Agent Turner is the one he's really putting on a show for, but it would probably be a bit much for him to actually fall for Annie and have her get in the way of doing his job. (I feel like we kind of already have that storyline with Rio and Beth, just on the opposite side of the law.) I guess I'm a sap, but I actually teared up when Annie got into that nasty birthing tub with Nancy. Maybe it was just pinging memories of some of my more intense female friendships and mutual catharsis moments over the years, but it worked for me. Also loved the flashbacks. I think many viewers have wondered how Beth and Ruby met, so it was great to see that and gain more insight into the depth of their friendship. I do think they will patch things up. As Annie said, you don't throw that away over "almost." I think that's the only time we've ever seen them relaxed with each other, as opposed to angry or afraid or guarded like they usually are. They were just sharing a laugh and enjoying each other's company. And yet just a couple of episodes ago, they were only a few feet from that exact spot and he had a gun to her chin. Their relationship is odd, to say the least, but it's theirs... ETA: Rio offering to get the money back was awfully nice of him, especially given how hard he was on her in the previous episode, but I guess he felt bad for her because it was out of her control--her dumbass husband did something she didn't see coming at all. I'm a little unclear on whether he knows that all of this happened because Dean tried to have him killed--their conversation was kind of vague on that point, so she could have told him Dean thought the kids were gonna landscape the backyard for cheap for all we know. If she did tell him the truth, he seems pretty chill about it! Also, in rewatching that scene to make sure their convo about Dean was as vague as I remembered, I noticed that Beth was barefoot, which was an interesting detail. And that picture of Rio on Turner's desk had to be a Facebook profile shot or something, right? Because whose mugshot looks that amazing?! And Dean. Dean Dean Dean. He's ruining your life? You ruined your own life. Beth wouldn't even know Rio if you hadn't run your business into the ground and kept it from your wife. She also probably wouldn't have slept with him if you had treated her with actual respect and valued her intelligence and competence. Even his taking the kids annoys me because him bringing those two idiots/"hit men" to their house put their kids in more danger than anything Beth has done, including her blankie shenanigans last week. Ugh.

I think my issue with the scene was that she didn't do a good enough job of explaining why she was essential to their dealings--she didn't really go beyond the "mule" role in explaining herself, even though she's actually more important than that. So yeah, I was also a little confused as to why they backed down. The reality is that Rio is moving the pills through the Boland car dealership, whether Beth knows about it or not, and she does kind of need to be alive in order for him to use her dealership. He would not have been happy if they had killed her and forced him to renegotiate with Dean or find a new way to move the pills and cash, but these guys had no way of knowing that from what she said. All I can think of, and it's pure conjecture, is that she was trying to reveal as little personal info as possible, but if they hadn't backed down, maybe she would have spelled out a clearer picture for them? Ultimately I think it's just sloppy writing, like Rio saying there's no money in kidnapping little girls. But I don't watch this show for its realism--I watch because it's a fun guilty pleasure. I try not to think too hard about the plot and just enjoy the character relationships. This show makes me laugh, the cast has great chemistry, and it's a decent palate cleanser after heavier shows like The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones.

I hadn't thought of this until I read the above, but I think the point was that all along it's been obvious that the crime life shouldn't bleed into the home life, but this situation, and Rio's words, made it clear to her that the opposite is also true--she also can't let her home life and her role as a mother interfere with her crime life. The compartmentalization goes both ways, which is part of why you don't see Rio throwing his kid in her face all the time. He did bring his son to the park a couple of times when he was meeting with Beth, but that was a sound judgment call--it was a public place in broad daylight, Beth did not pose a threat to his son, and besides that, he was making a wordless point of the fact that he also has a child. Beth bringing her kids with her to make a drop did put them in a dangerous situation, and going back for the blankie even more so.

I'm just afraid the writers will bring that story full circle and the season will end with a reversal in which Dean shoots Rio and we have to wait until next season to see the result. Rio is one of those characters that I probably could have lived without and still enjoyed the show if he had been killed off early or if the writing had taken a different direction, but as things stand, I've grown pretty attached to the guy despite his many flaws. You're probably right, though! I think my mind is just going to a "worst possible end to this storyline" kind of place, especially since there are only 2-3 episodes left. There's an IA investigation into the removal of the pen cap from evidence, and Stan tells Ruby toward the end of the last episode that he was interviewed while attached to a lie detector. I suspect that Turner is sensing Ruby's reluctance and is going to attempt to blackmail her into cooperation ("I can make this interview disappear if you get me some evidence I can use against Beth..."). If that's how it goes down, though, I could see Ruby and Beth anticipating the move and Ruby recording her convo with him about it, because I don't think his actions would be lawful and could get everything dismissed?

Annie probably doesn't, at least not consciously, but that just supports the undercover idea more, IMO! It seems like a waste to introduce a recognizable actor to be nothing but a hookup for Annie, so it must be plot-related.

I think it's going to at least be one of Rio's associate's and it will get back to him. If that happens, I wonder if he'll assume Beth is involved? I also wonder where they're going with this storyline, especially since they seem to be dragging it out. There have to be repercussions, otherwise what's the point? But killing Rio would be really stupid from a ratings perspective, and killing Dean leaves a widowed Beth with 4 mourning kids and no free childcare. I wonder if this will end up being our season-ending cliffhanger--whether or not one of them is dead. I think I'm jumping on the undercover law enforcement theory. If he was a legit love interest, I think the writing would have moved a little slower...

Did anyone else have a "Woah, so inappropriate..." reaction to Annie's new boss saying she's hot on their first day at work together? And then next thing you know they're going at in the back of the store. Of course. Would Turner need a warrant to dig in her yard, or is it just to enter the house? That was the first thing I thought of--he could go snooping around and find it without even having to go in the house. I was so distracted by the weird way Rio writes his E's that I didn't see the blankie return coming. That was actually... kind. I saw it as more of a parent-to-parent kindness than a romantic gesture, especially since he seemed to have backed off and was acting like her boss in this episode. *The above "spoilers" only touch on things that have been shown in pre-season promos and in the promo for next week. 🙂

I'm really trying to hang onto the fact that Ruby naively went to Turner thinking she was just turning herself in to save Stan and clearly was not expecting to have to rat on anyone but herself. Which just goes to show how little she thought about what she was doing (and probably also how little TV she watches, lol), but it also gives her some wiggle room as far as how big of a betrayal we're really looking at. I definitely think she's going to try to string Turner along with silly meaningless things ("Oh gosh, I'm so sorry this picture is blurry, I really thought I got a clear shot..."), but he's going to pick up on that ASAP, so she's going to have to get clever quick. And hope Rio doesn't find out. Aside from what he did to Dean, he's been mostly all bark and no bite, but given that he presumably offed one of his own guys for talking to the FBI in the first season, I'm not sure Beth's affection for Ruby would keep her safe if Rio finds out she's doing the same. Clearly Rio is capable of violence or he wouldn't be where he's at, but I don't think he would hurt any of their children directly (though obviously the kids would suffer emotionally if something happened to one of their parents). In the most recent episode, he put the gun away the second he saw Beth's daughter come out in Dean's arms--I don't think he was hiding it from Dean, considering that he shot him a few weeks ago! I didn't read too much into the lawyer--I just assumed the scene was there to remind us that he got arrested and is out on bail, so that's still hanging over his head, and obviously he'd have some crooked lawyer handling that side of things--but it could definitely be more than that! It hasn't been explicitly stated, but I'm going with no on both of those, because they've already had two arguments about this issue and none of that came up. If Dean had tried to talk to her about it before, especially if it led to counseling, I think he would have brought that up in his defense. "I tried to talk to you about it and you blew me off" or "The counseling wasn't working and I was lonely" are both better defenses than just "I was lonely." I'm also really curious why we never saw the conversation about him faking cancer. He's not pretending to go to appointments about it anymore, so they must have talked about it. It was such a big part of the first season, so it feels weird that the writers just swept that whole storyline under the rug.

I figured that was what you meant, and I thought I included that in my comment, but I must have deleted it when I took a paragraph out! I have seen so many people elsewhere indicate that he cheated on Beth with that woman, though, which makes no sense at all, regardless of when he started seeing her.

I thought we would actually find out who that woman is in this episode, but since we didn't, I'm reserving judgment. He's clearly involved with her, but we don't know how long it's been happening or how committed they are. If he did wrong anyone, it was definitely her, not Beth, who is actually married. Not saying I don't think Rio has never been the type to see multiple girls at once--a guy that pretty with that much game, there's no doubt in my mind, lol.

I feel completely blindsided by this development. I know they teased it at the beginning of the season, but it seemed resolved when Stan got on board. When Mary Pat sold out Stan last week, I thought it would go the way of most of the other storylines that put heat on them--it would get rough for while, and then they'd find a way out. I have a hard time seeing how this gets resolved in a way that maintains the friendships and chemistry between the women. I'm assuming he wants Beth because he thinks she's his path to getting Rio, so she's not the ultimate target, but she's the one he knows Ruby has access to. I'm not sure how much he knows about how the "business" works structurally, but it's possible that he's aware of the fact that Beth is the one who negotiates with Rio, while Annie and Ruby have very little direct contact with him, and never without Beth present. I'm honestly unsure whether Beth screwing Rio over was revenge or a bid for his affections, but I'm leaning towards it being the latter with her letting Ruby and Annie think it was the former. Nearly every time she has stood up to him or challenged him, his positive opinion of her has increased rather than decreased, so from her perspective, maybe she was thinking, "I didn't get his attention in the first place by cowering and obeying his every demand." If that was her aim, I guess she was right, considering that he still wanted to bang her on the desk after their negotiation. With different characters, I would think that "You'd look so much better on top of it" line was a way of diminishing her accomplishment and her power, but with those two, I think it was exactly what she wanted and he knew it. I was also very intrigued by their scene at Beth's house, because he started out being the one in control with a gun in her face, but by the end of it, I think he was the most vulnerable we've ever seen him. There was a huge power shift in that scene, and it was very well-played by both actors.

LOL, I see your point--I probably should have italicized "Girls" for emphasis! I think they started out as "good girls," for the most part, but at this point, I think every character resides somewhere in the moral grey area, so the "Good" part of the title is definitely questionable.

I think most of the men do have redeeming qualities. In fact, I think most of the characters of both genders have positive and negative qualities--no one seems cartoonishly evil or cartoonishly good to me. I mean hell, even Boomer loved his Nana, even if he was also stealing from her. Dean cheated with multiple women, lied about having cancer, and sucks at his job, but he also loves his kids, wants to make things right with his wife, and stood up to Rio even after Rio nearly killed him. And even Rio, who we are told is murderous thug, has been all bark and no bite, for the most part--Mary Pat technically has a higher onscreen body count than he does, and he's given Beth so many chances to get out of the game and she's never taken them. I think Greg is the most questionable to me because I can't decide which is worse, staying with the pregnant wife that he doesn't love just because she's pregnant, or still wanting to be with Annie even though his wife is pregnant. Likewise, I don't think the female characters are without flaws. Beth has a reckless streak and a tendency to make decisions that affect other people without consulting them. Annie is... Annie. And I'd say Ruby's biggest flaw is sometimes being emotionally dishonest with herself (and Stan) about her motives. But the show is called Good Girls, so yes, it's definitely written with the intention of having the audience root for the women!

So funny story, I've been living at home for a while, and my parents actually watched the show about a year before I did. Sometimes if I was around and walked through the room when it was on, I would end up lingering for a couple of minutes if Beth and Rio were on the screen. I think the first scene I ever saw with them was the one where Beth comes homes and Rio is in the backyard helping her son with his homework, and I remember being intrigued enough by that one detail to want to stay and watch the rest of the scene. I'm pretty sure that was only the second episode, and their chemistry was pretty smokin' even then, to the point where that was pretty much all I remembered about the show when I decided to watch the first season almost a year later. Even now, my mom still texts me after the show and usually ends up wanting to talk about Beth and Rio, and this woman is 65 and almost never cares about the 'ships on the shows she watches. So yeah, Brio is some pretty powerful black magic, IMO! I've heard this, too, and also heard that he was originally supposed to hook up with Annie, which I just cannot imagine. I'm so curious as to whether they figured out the chemistry in advance of shooting, or if they just started filming and Manny changed it up on the fly and Christina was like, "Oh, I'm the one getting the sexy looks? Okay then, let's do this." I was also very surprised by that turn of events, but I'm glad they're striking while the iron is hot, especially when we're not even sure we'll get a third season! I've seen too many shows where the tension was needlessly dragged out to a point where it just became ridiculous (I'm looking at you, Chuck), and either the audience stopped caring, or the chemistry fizzled out, and either way the consummation ended up being a total let down. I wholeheartedly agree. I like all three of the women on the show, even Annie, but I've always enjoyed Beth the most, and this last episode just ratcheted that love up several notches. Loved the vibrator scene, loved her taking out her rage on that poor unsuspecting piece of meat, loved her trying to play hard to get with Rio, loved her finally owning her inner Boss Bitch and telling Dean to keep his lame ass at home. (I also have to say that while the Walter White comparison is pretty accurate, I hated Walter White with the passion of 1000 suns, but I adore Beth in all her fucked up glory. Not that I think Bryan Cranston didn't deserve all those awards--he was amazing--I just REALLY hated Walter!) I rewatched that moment last night, and I agree. What's funny to me is that I don't think the way he was talking to Beth was anything new--I think they had similar interactions before they slept together--but I can see how it would be new to Annie. I believe the only time Annie has even seen Beth and Rio interact this season, prior to this episode, was at the end of the premiere when he was giving them the gun to kill Boomer. He and Beth were not on the best of terms then, and they've interacted a lot since then, but Annie was never around to see it.

This episode might be my favorite of the season so far. I usually find the show funny, but I feel like I laughed even more than usual throughout this one, and it also had some things that I've missed, like Annie spending time with Sadie. And as much as I enjoy Beth and Rio's chemistry, in real life, Ruby and Stan are definitely the more desirable relationship goal. I'm wondering if there's more to how Rio found the body, or if that's just going to be glossed over. I'm guessing that the money was not actually for him to keep, but rather for him to pay off some dirty cops to hide the body or give it to him. Could Stan actually have something to do with it? I'm not sure how that would be possible, but it seemed like there was a quick fakeout where we were supposed to think that maybe Stan found the body and got rid of it, but then it turned out that Rio just came through with that they paid him to do. It made me think that Stan will turn out to be involved after all. I was so glad that this scene was included, although I did laugh through most of it because I found it hilarious that a fully-clothed Rio smashing a lamp is a bigger turn-on for Beth than her toad of a husband. My mother and I both watch the show, and we have had several conversations along the same train of thought as your above musings, so I'm glad the writers finally spelled it out. My take at the moment is that Rio is more into Beth as a person than Beth is into Rio as a person. I think part of that is because Rio's thug persona was already fully developed when they met, so he is very enigmatic and there's not much for her to hold onto other than his physicality (which, let me just say, is quite a package on its own) and his power. Beth is only just starting to put together her boss bitch persona, so I think he has a much clearer picture of the whole Beth than she has of the whole Rio, if that makes sense. From her perspective, he's ridiculously hot, dangerous, looks at her like she's the sexiest woman alive, and gives her his full attention when she talks. Already a vast improvement over Dean, but still not much to base real feelings on. I do think he's given her a few peeks into what's behind the armor, but not enough for her to feel like she really knows who he is. Also, just as Beth is turned on by his thug routine, I think Rio has his own little fetish about Beth's mommy of the year act. I still remember the way he made "mama van" sound kinky last season, and when he was messing with her at the car dealership after their hookup, he called her "ma." I think there may be more examples, but those are the ones that come to mind. That scene where Annie and Ruby find out about Beth and Rio hooking up has been around in promos since before the season began, so it was nice to see it in full. I love that Ruby had no judgment and got stuck on wondering what it was like. And for what it's worth, I don't think Annie's judgment of Beth was comparable to Beth's previous judgment of Annie's choice of sexual partners. The married guy that took the receipt did put them at risk, but I don't think that compares to Beth banging the guy who shot her husband as payback for getting him arrested. For once, Annie is right. I also feel like I need to watch the "Do you trust me?" scene again to figure out what it was about that particular exchange that finally helped Annie tweak to what had happened between them, because I feel like I would have figured it out just from the "You're lucky I'm even speaking to you right now" way Rio was acting toward Beth the first time they all met him in the bar. He's usually either all business or gleefully messing with Beth, but he was reaching pretty deep into his hurt manfeelings in that first scene.

I think her biggest mistake has always been not taking any of the chances he's given her to get out of the game. He's given her an out at least 3 times, and she's come back to him on her own every single time. Having said that, I do understand what you mean to some extent. I would really like to see Beth actually, I dunno, question Rio? Demand a real explanation? Set some boundaries? Create a little more dialogue when he tells her to do something? I understand that he and Beth have their own language that consists of mutual mindfucks and revenge schemes, and most of the time I can parse what's going on between them pretty well even when it's not explicitly stated, but there are times when I would like to see them communicate like actual humans. I do recall Beth telling him not to put a gun in her face again in the first season, and (so far) he has respected her wishes on that point. For a long time I wanted her to tell him to stop calling her "bitch," and she never did, but then he started calling her "boss bitch" in a complimentary way, so I got over it. I've wondered why she's never asked him to stop entering her house uninvited, or at least changed the locks and installed a security system, and I can't decide if it's because the writers just enjoy having him pop up unexpectedly, or if Beth actually gets a thrill out of it but won't consciously admit it to herself. "What makes you think it's okay to just come into my home whenever you feel like it?" "You've never changed the locks." But really, I would like to see Beth say something along the lines of, "Yes, we hooked up in a bathroom, and I enjoyed it while it was happening, but what did you expect? For me to leave my husband, who now knows all about my criminal activity and would most certainly use it to get custody of my children? For me to be your gangster queen? Because now all you've got is an unwilling partner, so you better fix it." On another note... as much as I can't stand Dean, I must admit I'm actually impressed that he not only stayed in the same room as Rio in that last episode, but even tried to stand up to him, considering that Rio is the man who missed killing him by, what, an inch? Half an inch? I think that's literally the ONLY time I've ever been impressed by Dean, but that did take some bravery.

I also put it together earlier to today that Beth and Rio had not interacted for several weeks before she went to that bar looking for him. They meet at the same bar at the beginning of the episode, she rejects his offer and leaves the key on the counter, and Dean continues to blow up their life. It's made clear when Beth brings the other ladies to the storage locker that she's known about it and the money for several weeks, meaning she also hasn't had contact with Rio for several weeks.* She knew Rio liked that bar because they met there before, so she was definitely looking for him, and they were clearly both feeling a little thirsty for each other after their time apart. I guess if he hadn't been there, she might have made due with someone else, but she was definitely out to seduce Rio. *Unless she met with him briefly to get the key back, but we never saw that, and I've never had the impression that things happen with Beth and Rio off screen. I also thought maybe she made a "just in case" copy of the key before she gave it back to him, but I'm not sure if that's actually possible? I would think you wouldn't be able to get copies of those made. Maybe just sloppy writing? I'm 100% sure she found out, but I don't remember if she found out in the S1 finale or in the S2 premiere when he was in the hospital after getting shot. I'm a little confused about that storyline because I had been thinking in the back of my mind that she was just saving it up because she didn't want to throw it in his face right after he got shot, but it's odd that his cancer has not been mentioned on the show this season, and we've also never seen them have that conversation onscreen. Sloppy writing again? Their scene at the beginning of the episode was very flirty, at least on his part, but I still assumed that the bathroom scene they showed in the trailer was a misdirect. I thought it would seem sexy at first because they have so much sexual tension but end up being about business. That was definitely NOT the business I was expecting! I'm pretty impressed that they managed to make a clothes-on sex scene with no kissing and no direct eye contact into something that hot (but definitely NOT romantic). I think that, more than anything, is why Rio went back on his word. I had wondered if maybe he was playing her, giving her all that money and then seeing what she did with it before he decided if he was really done, but all three of them had their hands on the money for quite a while and Rio still left them alone... until Beth sought him out. Again. From his perspective, she rejected his offer, then changed her mind about the money while avoiding him for weeks, then showed up and seduced him into mind-blowing no kissy no looky sex, then wanted to act like it never happened. That stunt with the crowbar certainly scared the shit out of Dean, but I think the intention was really to call Beth out. Just to be clear, I'm not disagreeing that he's a violent criminal, because he is! He could have just come to Beth honestly and let her know that he thinks she's smart AF and the sex was incredible, so can they please partner up again, but he knew Beth would say no even if she wanted to because she has always been dishonest with herself and everyone else about her attraction to him. But while I think Rio's reasoning was spot-on because he genuinely does see all of her, he still doesn't get to make her decisions for her, which is why I'm pissed that he forced her hand, and also why my feelings about their relationship hinge upon how that emotional blackmail is handled going forward.

As things stand right now, I have mixed feelings regarding Rio and Beth, but I’m still intrigued. My main reason for this is that he’s given her 3 very clear opportunities to be out and cut ties with him, and she has not only refused but actively sought him out again every single time. And it wasn’t just for money. For whatever reason, Rio makes her feel powerful, and that makes him very attractive to her. I don’t think someone like Rio would make *me* feel powerful, but I’m not Beth, and there’s a reason why she sought Rio out and seduced him after her complete loser of a husband babied and belittled her. And Rio, being who he is, took notice of the fact that she sought him out and seduced him and interpreted that as her not wanting to let go, so he obliged her. Dean was scared at the end when Rio was busting up that car, but I don’t think Beth was afraid of him. She was pissed that he was putting on a performance and busting up the merchandise as a cover for emotionally blackmailing her into working with him again. Beth and Rio are both “performers” in their own ways, and the episode called attention to that trait with both characters. First Rio called out Beth for her “wife and mother of the year” persona with his little jab about her drink of choice, then showed her that he sees what's underneath by ordering the correct drink. And at the end of the episode, Rio was putting on a big scary show, and she saw it for exactly that. I think Beth and Rio understand each other just fine, and their language involves a lot of fucked up head games and emotional dishonesty. I’m not arguing that it’s the romance of the century, or that it’s healthy, but I do find it immensely watchable. As things stand right now, I don’t see Beth as an innocent housewife in over her head, or as a victim. I see her as a woman finally making her own choices (maybe not always good choices, but they are hers), and I see her as Rio’s equal, or at least his potential equal. Hell, she’s probably superior to him because she doesn’t go around busting shit up with crowbars. God yes. The man has one of the most "talk dirty to me" voices I've ever heard. I refuse to watch interviews with Manny Montana because I wonder if he talks like that all the time, and I just can't know the answer to that. This is where my reservations come in. It's not the crowbar and the brash talking, because that was mostly BS, it's the fact that what was being said under the surface was "He thinks you're saying yes because you're afraid of me, but we both know you're not. You're saying yes because you're afraid of him finding out the truth, which I can tell him any time I want." How that's handled will definitely factor into how I feel about their relationship moving forward. Before the season began, I was worried that the writers would smooth off Rio’s sharp edges and turn him into a misunderstood bad boy “woobie” type this season in order to make him more palatable, and I respect the fact that they’ve avoided doing so because it makes things more problematic and thus more interesting (to me, anyway).

I binged this show last week because it had been on my to-do list for a long time and I knew S2 was starting soon. Definitely enjoyed the first season. It requires a hefty dose of suspension of disbelief and a barrel of moral hand-waving, but as long as I look at it as guilty pleasure with a great cast and stick to over analyzing the characters and not the plot, it works for me. And now for Season 2... While the scene with the rape kits was happening, I was thinking "Damn, they aren't even gonna try to have them walk the line this year..." so I was very pleasantly surprised that they did not go through with it. I overlook a lot for the sake of enjoying the show, but I don't know if I could have hand-waved that one. I have complicated feelings about Ruby's husband. I get that he's a cop, and he's shocked and appalled and hurt by what she did, but at the same time, if she hadn't done it, THEIR DAUGHTER PROBABLY WOULD HAVE DIED. When he was saying that "everybody needs money," all I could think was that it was an unfair comparison because not everyone has a terminally ill child, and the US health care system is genuinely pretty shitty. Not at all surprised that Rio has a kid. Like, not even a little bit. I feel like they hinted that right from the beginning of the first season with little things like him making sure Beth's dog got let out to pee and helping her son with his homework. He always struck me as someone who "knows how to human" and has a life outside of his work, but he pretends to be a sociopath on the business end because it makes the job easier. He's still scary AF to me, though, and I felt like the writers really resisted softening his edges in S1, so I hope they don't go too far with that this season. All of my thoughts and feelings about how things went down with Rio and Beth and Dean are still pretty jumbled, so I think I'm going to save those musings for later. As for the possibility of Beth and Rio hooking up, I can say I'm not entirely opposed. On paper, the attraction makes almost zero sense, but I think the actors really sell the idea of a gang leader wanting to bang the hell out of a cute full-figured housewife, and vice versa, so based on chemistry alone, it definitely works for me. But I can't shake the feeling that it's out of character for him to mix business with pleasure, especially after she got him thrown in jail for trying to break things off *before* anything physical happened between them. Most of what he does seems pretty calculated, so is Beth really that irresistible?

I just binge watched this show over 3 days and enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to. I ignored it for a long time, and I'm not sure what made me decide to give it a try, but I'm glad I did! I wouldn't say it's great television, but it's campy and fun, and I think they get a lot of stuff right in terms of sexuality and female characters and not slut-shaming those female characters. Sometimes I lose the plot because the writers are trying to show rather than tell, which is normally a great choice, but they're a little clumsy at it. I can follow it well enough to avoid being completely lost, though, and I think the character relationships are more compelling than the plot anyway, so it's not a deal breaker. I've seen a lot of ambivalence and even dislike for Dolls, but I actually like him a lot! It's almost a running gag on the show that he's boring, I just don't actually think he is. His character is a very tightly controlled person who expresses himself through micro-expressions (sometimes it really is “blink and you'll miss it”) and short bursts of “Eh screw it, I can't have a stick up my ass 24/7.” He both amuses and intrigues me. I also noticed a couple of scenes in the first couple of episodes where the actors playing Wynonna and Dolls looked like they were on the verge of breaking into giggle fits, like they were having so much fun with the snarky dialogue that they could barely contain themselves. Even though I felt like I was seeing the actors struggle to remain in character, it sold me on Dolls and Wynonna's chemistry as friends and partners right away. I had no problem with the romance angle either, and I don't feel that it came out of nowhere (although their kiss did). Even the love triangle doesn't bother me because it feels a lot less angsty and gross and possession-based than most of the others I've seen. I dread the return of the Stone Witch (and her horrible acting) waaaaay more than the inevitable love triangle. They didn't kill her, so I feel like she's going to come back at some point, but I beg you, show, please don't.