Good Girls - General Discussion

[marceline]

Yeah, I'm another who isn't feeling the show they way I used to. I just keep going back to thinking that all of this is because Dean is a selfish manbaby who cut the plate. Lucy would still be alive if he hadn't. Ruby wouldn't have a hole in her leg.  I hate the fact that Beth hasn't explained to her husband that everything that has happened to them lately is because of that one infantile action. He should be forced to confront that. They all should.

[sempervivum]

46 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Can someone explain what Dean did there?  Who was he calling before Ione Skye interrupted him?  I get that he's blackmailing her, but what was he doing or trying to do?

The bald guy (Jay?)who was sleeping with Ione Skye got promoted, but apparently the company wanted to send all of his un-followed sales leads to some other office. Dean nabbed them before that could happen, and was busy selling stuff. Ione Skye tried to stop him, but he threatened to basically make a sexual harrassment complaint against her if she tried. (I think this is what's happening, but I don't really understand why Dean didn't threaten that when he was initially demoted for turning down her proposition). 

As for the skimming stuff, the girls are taking some of the funny money for themselves before they give the boxes to Rio. I think. I don't really understand why they aren't getting paid for this in the first place, but maybe Rio just told them he'd kill them if they didn't work for free?

What I can't understand is what Stan is doing with the strippers. I think one of the strippers is doing 'parties' on the side ie, hooking with rich guys who she thinks won't complain if she steals some jewelry (or something) from them while she's 'servicing' them. Stan is basically acting as her protection. Again, that's just my interpretation of the tangled plots and subplots here.

[Lovecat]

2 hours ago, kelslamu said:

So, I gathered Beth, Dean and the kids had just went somewhere for a little bit.  How does one take every single item in a house that quickly.  Yeah, I know it's all so far-fetched, but that part really took me out of it. 

Right?!?!!  If Rio's goons have those kinds of mad skills, they should go legit and start a moving company.  That place was *pristine*.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Thank you @sempervivum, that's so kind of you!

[luckyroll3]

1 hour ago, sempervivum said:

The bald guy (Jay?)who was sleeping with Ione Skye got promoted, but apparently the company wanted to send all of his un-followed sales leads to some other office. Dean nabbed them before that could happen, and was busy selling stuff. Ione Skye tried to stop him, but he threatened to basically make a sexual harrassment complaint against her if she tried. (I think this is what's happening, but I don't really understand why Dean didn't threaten that when he was initially demoted for turning down her proposition). 

As for the skimming stuff, the girls are taking some of the funny money for themselves before they give the boxes to Rio. I think. I don't really understand why they aren't getting paid for this in the first place, but maybe Rio just told them he'd kill them if they didn't work for free?

What I can't understand is what Stan is doing with the strippers. I think one of the strippers is doing 'parties' on the side ie, hooking with rich guys who she thinks won't complain if she steals some jewelry (or something) from them while she's 'servicing' them. Stan is basically acting as her protection. Again, that's just my interpretation of the tangled plots and subplots here.

All of this was correct!  Lol!

So let me get this straight.  Beth's plan was to train Max (?) to be an "assassin" and then have him kill Rio in the middle of a crowded bar while she's sitting next to them?  

 

[Grumpymonkey]

I watched the last two episodes this morning so this might be jumbled between the two, my apologies. I also read comments/recaps before I watch and my expectations are so low I usually enjoy the show more.  I actually really liked yesterday's.

I'm hoping this is actually growth for Annie, I like MW and want the character to do better and not just date her therapist.  I like that she wants purpose and to be better, just hope it sticks.

I also really like most of the side characters and the how the ladies interact with them. The loan guy, Max (sprite, no ice? I loved it), always good scenes for me. Annie giving JT his imaginary cut? Max with the pink ear muffs and target with the bird tattoo? The montage with Beth and Max with that music? I laughed. I like those more then the over arching story of girls vs Rio or Rio vs. Beth and Beth losing. Especially when it looks like neither is going anywhere. 

I like ML, but Dean  not so much and his story is so boring. I also don't know about Stan's but willing to see where it goes.

Edited March 30, 2020 by Grumpymonkey
grammar

[Empress1]

4 hours ago, sempervivum said:

What I can't understand is what Stan is doing with the strippers. I think one of the strippers is doing 'parties' on the side ie, hooking with rich guys who she thinks won't complain if she steals some jewelry (or something) from them while she's 'servicing' them. Stan is basically acting as her protection. Again, that's just my interpretation of the tangled plots and subplots here.

I agree - I'm not sure what Stan is doing either. Maybe he gets a cut of the stuff the strippers steal for acting as security? They're definitely meeting clients outside of the strip club, which I don't think is particularly novel, and stealing from them - they're not even running a Hustlers-type scam, they're just straight stealing. The stripper stole jewelry from her client (really, her client's wife) and dared her client to go to the cops; if he did, she'd out him to his wife. Which kind of doesn't seem like an even exchange. The stripper would be looking at felony theft; the guy hasn't done anything illegal. I assume she was paid for sex, but the kind of lawyer that guy could probably afford could easily spin that as "he was interested in companionship [or even stripping; stripping is legal] and one thing led to another, they were consenting adults."

Edited March 30, 2020 by Empress1

[Anela]

Beth wanted that guy to shoot Rio? And in public? 

[Kel Varnsen]

5 hours ago, sempervivum said:

As for the skimming stuff, the girls are taking some of the funny money for themselves before they give the boxes to Rio. I think. I don't really understand why they aren't getting paid for this in the first place, but maybe Rio just told them he'd kill them if they didn't work for free?

I get that they are keeping a percentage of the money they are supposed to give to Rio, but what I don't get is if they need money why not just print some for themselves on their own time. I mean they seem to spend a lot of time doing other crap and not printing money.

I did like that Too seemed to realize pretty quickly that they were stealing from him. I mean why would you accept a receipt for ink as proof of anything when given to you by a counterfeiter?

1 hour ago, Empress1 said:

I agree - I'm not sure what Stan is doing either. Maybe he gets a cut of the stuff the strippers steal for acting as security? They're definitely meeting clients outside of the strip club, which I don't think is particularly novel, and stealing from them - they're not even running a Hustlers-type scam, they're just straight stealing. The stripper stole jewelry from her client (really, her client's wife) and dared her client to go to the cops; if he did, she'd out him to his wife. Which kind of doesn't seem like an even exchange. The stripper would be looking at felony theft; the guy hasn't done anything illegal. I assume she was paid for sex, but the kind of lawyer that guy could probably afford could easily spin that as "he was interested in companionship [or even stripping; stripping is legal] and one thing led to another, they were consenting adults."

The guy hasn't doing anything illegal, but I think the catch is his wife probably won't care. At best he brought strippers into his house and at worse he was cheating on his wife with a stripper in his house. Probably grounds for a divorce, which would be more costly than any stolen jewels.

[Empress1]

32 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

The guy hasn't doing anything illegal, but I think the catch is his wife probably won't care. At best he brought strippers into his house and at worse he was cheating on his wife with a stripper in his house. Probably grounds for a divorce, which would be more costly than any stolen jewels.

Right, but if he went to the cops she'd face jail time. I guess I see that outcome as worse for her than a potential divorce would be for him. Also the jewelry is gone no matter what so he still has to tell his wife something when she notices it's missing, which means he could end up in the same place he would be if the stripper (what is her name?) outed him.

Edited March 31, 2020 by Empress1
Too many pronouns - edited to make things more specific

[zibnchy]

Beth was going to have Max shoot Rio in a crowded bar? Max? While she was sitting there?

There's asking your audience to suspend disbelief and then there's treating your audience like drooling idiots.

Also, even if I suspend disbelief infinitely, there's NO WAY I believe Max doesn't either 1) go immediately to the police and spill everything OR 2) immediately spill everything to the next human being he sees who asks him about Lucy or even just says "hi".

We're asked to believe that in the end all he wanted was the bird?

So last week Stan was a paragon of virtue and now he's planning heists? Farewell Stan's character.

Who even cares about Dean any more?! Or ever.

IMO at least 75% of ANY home is just people's crap. Why would Rio want that stuff? Why would the guys leave the place spotless? Those floors looked like they'd been washed.

So much stupid. Why am I watching? Because I'm bored and also, frankly, because I'm enjoying watching this show kill itself with its own stupid.

[helenamonster]

Why, on Max's board of thumbtacks and string, was there a sticky note that said "plane crash"? Hey Max? If a commercial airliner goes down anywhere, it is wall-to-wall news coverage for a month. You definitely would have heard if a flight from Detroit to Phoenix didn't make it to its final destination.

Also why does this boy, who buys tampons for his girlfriend and considers ten-minute power walks the entirety of his exercise routine, have a gun?

They were really planning to shoot Rio in front of dozens of people, huh?

And yeah, was there some unmentioned time jump of several weeks that gave Rio time to clean out Beth's entire house? It takes me half an hour to put away my laundry!

I am surprised they actually told Max the truth. They could have easily said that Lucy ran off and left Au Jus with Beth, since apparently she considered them best friends.

When they showed that Annie was looking up EMT certification, I squealed with glee. Yes, give this girl something constructive to do!

Payday Loan Guy is welcome back anytime.

[Ms Blue Jay]

5 hours ago, luckyroll3 said:

All of this was correct!  Lol!

So let me get this straight.  Beth's plan was to train Max (?) to be an "assassin" and then have him kill Rio in the middle of a crowded bar while she's sitting next to them?  

 

Exactly!  And you are basically sentencing Max to a life in jail because he would certainly be caught and it could definitely be argued it's first degree murder as it was 100% planned!

Edited March 31, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[Ms Blue Jay]

28 minutes ago, helenamonster said:

Payday Loan Guy is welcome back anytime.

I love him too.  I just hate how the Good Girls treat him.  (Or anybody).

[Kel Varnsen]

2 hours ago, Empress1 said:

Right, but if he went to the cops she'd face jail time. I guess I see that outcome as worse for her than a potential divorce would be for him. Also the jewelry is gone no matter what so he still has to tell his wife something when she notices it's missing, which means he could end up in the same place he would be if the stripper (what is her name?) outed him.

Worse for her but not getting off Scot free for him, so it was just a matter of the stripper banking on the fact that the guy wouldn't risk a divorce just to get a stripper thrown in jail. Especially if the easier option is just to buy more jewelery.

Also speaking of dumb, if Dean and Beth are broke how did they afford the hot tub to pay off Rio's goon who helped them? Or did they just steal it for him.  It is not like Dean would get a 100% employee discount.

[qtpye]

5 hours ago, helenamonster said:

Why, on Max's board of thumbtacks and string, was there a sticky note that said "plane crash"? Hey Max? If a commercial airliner goes down anywhere, it is wall-to-wall news coverage for a month. You definitely would have heard if a flight from Detroit to Phoenix didn't make it to its final destination.

Also why does this boy, who buys tampons for his girlfriend and considers ten-minute power walks the entirety of his exercise routine, have a gun?

They were really planning to shoot Rio in front of dozens of people, huh?

And yeah, was there some unmentioned time jump of several weeks that gave Rio time to clean out Beth's entire house? It takes me half an hour to put away my laundry!

I am surprised they actually told Max the truth. They could have easily said that Lucy ran off and left Au Jus with Beth, since apparently she considered them best friends.

When they showed that Annie was looking up EMT certification, I squealed with glee. Yes, give this girl something constructive to do!

Payday Loan Guy is welcome back anytime.

Yes, the bird could easily be explained since that was the only way Max knew Beth was lying.

[Trini]

So I watched the second to last episode, a real downer but kind of appropriate since the Girls did get an innocent woman killed. Still keeping up with reactions and recaps, though - the last one had some good moments, I gather?

The problem is I can only see things getting worse for everyone involved, and I'm not really invested anymore.

[luckyroll3]

14 hours ago, helenamonster said:

Payday Loan Guy is welcome back anytime.

He was the best part of the episode.  I'm still laughing at how he was running away from the store after he got shot at. 

[SilverLake0315]

I binged this series recently and this season has been the first time I've watched live. Have to say that I agree it's not as good as it used to be.

I find myself wishing they'd left it at Beth killing Rio. There are so many storylines they could have mined from that. Bringing him back was a big mistake. 

[Grumpymonkey]

40 minutes ago, Trini said:

So I watched the second to last episode, a real downer but kind of appropriate since the Girls did get an innocent woman killed. Still keeping up with reactions and recaps, though - the last one had some good moments, I gather?

The problem is I can only see things getting worse for everyone involved, and I'm not really invested anymore.

I thought this episode had a lot of moments that were good. Some stuff made no sense like usual, but I laughed a few times. When the ladies interact with the quirky side characters its good. Loan guy doesn't disappoint.  Just my opinion tho.

[Grumpymonkey]

4 hours ago, SilverLake0315 said:

I binged this series recently and this season has been the first time I've watched live. Have to say that I agree it's not as good as it used to be.

I find myself wishing they'd left it at Beth killing Rio. There are so many storylines they could have mined from that. Bringing him back was a big mistake. 

As the season continues I do too because the direction they took is kind of dragging the show down for me. They should have brought on a new big bad that forced them to work together or something because this is same sh*t different day and its the least interesting aspect of the show for me.

Edited March 31, 2020 by Grumpymonkey
errors

[qtpye]

38 minutes ago, Grumpymonkey said:

I thought this episode had a lot of moments that were good. Some stuff made no sense like usual, but I laughed a few times. When the ladies interact with the quirky side characters its good. Loan guy doesn't disappoint.  Just my opinion tho.

 

1 hour ago, luckyroll3 said:

He was the best part of the episode.  I'm still laughing at how he was running away from the store after he got shot at. 

I would totally watch a show about loan guy with the Good Girls being side characters

[luckyroll3]

1 hour ago, qtpye said:

I would totally watch a show about loan guy with the Good Girls being side characters

[PsychoDrone]

This show sucks.  Of course, the "good guy with the gun" was inept.  What's the point of the therapy?  Does anyone really care about Dean, either?  We want to see believable (meaning minimal suspension of disbelief) suburban women dipping their toes into crime and the pitfalls that entails.  The first season pulled me in, but now my interest has waned significantly.

Rio cleaning out the house made no sense.  Why would he do that?  The object of punishing someone is to not punish oneself.  That's a lot of work to make a point.  Plus, it puts him at risk.  Neighbors would notice the activity at the house.  A gun to all their domes would have been just as effective.  Or, threatening their families.

This show wants to be non-network level quality (think Breaking Bad or Ozark), but it isn't even in the same universe.  It contrives events and insults the audience. I will finish the season (which will be shortened due to Wuhan), but I will be on to something else.

Edited April 2, 2020 by PsychoDrone

[scowl]

On 3/30/2020 at 4:41 PM, Anela said:

Beth wanted that guy to shoot Rio? And in public? 

I've been charitable to the writers for the entire series, but why on Earth couldn't they have written this scene for a location where it would have made some bit of sense? A public execution would have pushed them into several more layers of shit that they're already drowning in. This show is reminding me why I don't watch much television.

Of course this time the bullets would have ended up in Rio's appendix and his gall bladder anyway.

[Trini]

3.09 episode synopsis

Spoiler

"INCENTIVE"

04/19/2020 : Beth decides to find a solution to her Rio problem once and for all after he backs her into a corner. Meanwhile, Ruby enlists Sara's reluctant help to replenish supplies after a key component of the women's counterfeiting operation dries up. Annie spirals after a particularly vulnerable session. TV-14

 

[Trini]

Final episode of Good Girls is May 3; which means that Season 3 may only have 11 episodes.

[Rahul]

I just marathoned season 3 over the past few days. The writers really should have killed off Rio because listening to the crazed Rio fangirls has put them in a rut with repeating stagnant story lines from last year. 

This show is at its best when it leans into the comedy. Killing off poor, sweet Lucy was so unpalatable I didn't want to watch anymore. It's as if the producers are purposely taking every conceivable wrong turn, but to what end I do not know.

The character of Beth has always annoyed me. Christina Hendricks is a capable actress, but I find her portrayal a bit insipid and one note. I wish they had never recast Kathleen Rose Perkins; she was wonderful in episodes and I suspect would have inspired the writers and producers to infuse more much needed levity into the series.

The writing has always been absurd and inane when it comes to the criminal plots. Did none of them think twice about removing the SIM card and immediately turning Lucy's phone off after it was left at the print shop? The police could have easily triangulated the signal and tracked down the phone, had they chosen to.

Can someone also please explain their counterfeiting process the girls devised? From what I gather, they have to obtain legitimate single dollar bills to use as the actual paper to start the process?

[zibnchy]

7 hours ago, Rahul said:

The character of Beth has always annoyed me. Christina Hendricks is a capable actress, but I find her portrayal a bit insipid and one note. I wish they had never recast Kathleen Rose Perkins; she was wonderful in episodes and I suspect would have inspired the writers and producers to infuse more much needed levity into the series.

I had no idea Kathleen Rose Perkins was originally cast to play Beth. Now I hate this show even more. I would have loved to see what KRP could have done with the role. She's underrated and she was very funny in Episodes. I think she'd have possibly brought a more down to earth warmth than CH is capable of. And she'd have brought the funny. I guess they thought they needed a "name".

[Rahul]

10 hours ago, zibnchy said:

I had no idea Kathleen Rose Perkins was originally cast to play Beth. Now I hate this show even more. I would have loved to see what KRP could have done with the role. She's underrated and she was very funny in Episodes. I think she'd have possibly brought a more down to earth warmth than CH is capable of. And she'd have brought the funny. I guess they thought they needed a "name".

Yep. This might be of interest to you: Why NBC's 'Good Girls' Recast Kathleen Rose Perkins

On 3/3/2020 at 6:12 PM, Cementhead said:

I had never seen Retta in anything prior to this show but she is an awesome actress.  I appreciate her subtle, laid back comedic skills vs. the usual, typical over-the-top shtick.  She kills me every time. 

Example: When the trio are in jail visiting the idiot they hired and they are looking to her to get the info about his van and she was doing the whole "don't look at me!" thing -- her delivery and expressions?  So good.

Mae Whitman is killing it, too, and I seem to be the only fan of Annie here.  I think she is hilarious.  Would I want to know somebody like that in real life?  Hell, no.  But the things that come out of her mouth are crazy and I am here for it.

 

I have enjoyed Retta's comedic genius for many years now. She is a master of comedic timing as well as facial expressions.

Mae Whitman is also an excellent actress in her own right. She can do comedy quite well, but really excels in drama.

Have you ever seen Mae Whitman cry? She will absolutely ravage your heart. (Mae Whitman Has Been The Best Crier In Hollywood For Nearly Two Decades). I can't tell you how many times I've ended up crying because of Mae's performance, especially in Parenthood. 

On 3/9/2020 at 8:27 PM, helenamonster said:

I think the reason this season has been dragging for me is that I got used to the girls having more villains to deal with than just Rio: Turner, Boomer, Mary Pat, etc. Turns out there's a lot of empty space that needs filling when they're not juggling antagonists.

This is an astute observation. There have not been as many foils for the girls this year, so there has been an increasing shift to their banal domesticities. One thing I will say the writers have improved upon this year in comparison to past seasons is pacing. We are no longer racing through plots at breakneck speed, which is nice.

 

On 3/19/2020 at 5:58 AM, LaMatadita said:

This did absolutely nothing to fix, and in fact even highlighted, what is for me the show's biggest flaw: It relies on a problematic white feminist narrative that insists that a white suburban housewife can do crime the "good" way if the evil brown man would just get out of the way. At best, it's unrealistic, and at worst, it's offensive. I was really hoping that Rio would be out of commission for longer so we could see that a) there are other criminals out there who are just as bad as/worse than Rio (some of them might even be women!) and coming up against them is inevitable, and b) there is no such thing as a victimless crime--someone will always get hurt. Instead, she had one incident with that convict and then solved it using a nonviolent solution, further reinforcing the notion that doing crime Beth's way is a viable option, and now we're already back to Rio being Beth's biggest problem.

Another really thoughtful analysis. Thank you for pointing this out. Even though I'm a (model) minority in the US, the inherent racism in the criminal narrative was not self-evident to me from the beginning as it should have been.

Edited April 5, 2020 by Rahul

[Guest]

I picture the writers sitting around talking “hey, this season has been an absolute mess. How can we make it even worse?” One of them says “I know! Boomer!”

Because that is the only reason it makes sense to bring him back at all.

[Trini]

What?? No! In tonight's episode, you mean? Definitely not watching the rest now.

[LaMatadita]

On 4/4/2020 at 10:52 PM, Rahul said:

The writers really should have killed off Rio because listening to the crazed Rio fangirls has put them in a rut with repeating stagnant story lines from last year.

I realize the fangirls are loud, but they're not listening to fangirls. In fact, they're doing the exact opposite of everything Rio fangirls want--he still has the same amount of minimal screen time, he has no PoV, he has no sexy scenes with Beth, he had a woman shot in the head, and Beth has been trying to rekindle things with Dean.

He was also supposed to be killed off around the 4th episode of S1, but the showrunner thought he was fun to watch and had good onscreen chemistry with Christina Hendricks, so they kept him. That entire season was written and filmed before they ever got any fan feedback, and it was the same for S2--the conversation with Turner at the end of the S2 finale strongly suggested that he would be back, and again, that was written without any fan feedback outside of knowing he was a popular character in S1.

Sorry, I'm just tired of fans being blamed for the writers' lack of imagination--even if those fans are annoying, they are not the problem. Even with Rio still around, they could have taken the story in multiple directions (imagine if Rio has a boss, and that boss is a woman?), and instead they've chosen to go around in circles, with this latest episode regurgitating the FBI plot once again. I'm appalled that these writers get paid so much to do little more than plagiarize themselves. Or as you said: 

On 4/4/2020 at 10:52 PM, Rahul said:

It's as if the producers are purposely taking every conceivable wrong turn, but to what end I do not know.

 

9 hours ago, Rahul said:

Another really thoughtful analysis. Thank you for pointing this out. Even though I'm a (model) minority in the US, the inherent racism in the criminal narrative was not self-evident to me from the beginning as it should have been.

It wasn't really evident to me until the S2 finale, when Beth refused to accept any responsibility for her own choices and just laid everything at Rio's feet. I loved Beth up until that point because I thought they were aware of her privilege and were making a deliberate social commentary (i.e. "only a white lady would think she could get involved in a counterfeit currency ring and not have to get her hands dirty"), and I also thought that we were going to watch her slow descent into villainy, with trying to kill Rio being the first step. But after the finale, the showrunner and the head writer did an interview where they said they thought Beth was still a good person because she loved her family, and I was just flabbergasted. After that interview and the way this season has continued to push the same tired, problematic narrative, I'm pretty frustrated and I'm about to just start using the R word. Love or hate Rio, I don't enjoy seeing him forced into a gangbanger stereotype with no point of view of his own while simultaneously being presented as the white protagonist's biggest obstacle. It's like there's an elephant in the room, but the writer's aren't ignoring it, they somehow don't even know it's there.

Edited April 6, 2020 by LaMatadita

[Joimiaroxeu]

I feel like the people running this show are trying extra hard to get the audience to hate Rio. It's too late, IMO. They banked hard on Manny Montana's natural charisma and now they can't turn that off as easily as perhaps they want.

Loved Ruby and Stan's karaoke to Push It.

Good Girls seems extremely unlikely to come back for another season to me. It's as if the showrunners reached a certain point in storyline development and all but gave up. Then the forced production shutdown took most of their options away from them. Too bad because I think this show had a clever concept.

[dubbel zout]

My favorite part of the show was Ruby tooling around Beth's empty house in her electric wheelchair.

[Lovecat]

On 4/5/2020 at 1:52 AM, Rahul said:

Can someone also please explain their counterfeiting process the girls devised? From what I gather, they have to obtain legitimate single dollar bills to use as the actual paper to start the process?

As I understand it, the overall process is:

• Strip the ink off of legit $1 bills (I think this is where the solvent Ruby was stealing from the nail salon comes into play)
• Break down the remaining paper in some way (unclear to me) to make a slurry 
• Make "new" paper sheets from the slurry (this is what we see Annie and Ruby doing at the end of the episode--spreading paper slurry in a screen with a squeegee)
• Once the paper sheets are dry, print a sheet of $10 bills using the plates Lucy made

Details are somewhat sketchy, but the key is that each Girl brought something to the table - Annie gets tipped in ones from her valet job, Ruby brings chemicals from the nail salon, and Beth got the plates made, plus provides access to the printing press in the card shop, and takes the money home to wash and dry, presumably part of the aging process to add authenticity.  Though we don't know whether Rio's goons took her washer and dryer 😉 

[EtheltoTillie]

41 minutes ago, Lovecat said:

As I understand it, the overall process is:

• Strip the ink off of legit $1 bills (I think this is where the solvent Ruby was stealing from the nail salon comes into play)
• Break down the remaining paper in some way (unclear to me) to make a slurry 
• Make "new" paper sheets from the slurry (this is what we see Annie and Ruby doing at the end of the episode--spreading paper slurry in a screen with a squeegee)
• Once the paper sheets are dry, print a sheet of $10 bills using the plates Lucy made

Details are somewhat sketchy, but the key is that each Girl brought something to the table - Annie gets tipped in ones from her valet job, Ruby brings chemicals from the nail salon, and Beth got the plates made, plus provides access to the printing press in the card shop, and takes the money home to wash and dry, presumably part of the aging process to add authenticity.  Though we don't know whether Rio's goons took her washer and dryer 😉 

How do they handle serial Numbers?  

[Lovecat]

2 minutes ago, GussieK said:

How do they handle serial Numbers?  

I have told you everything I know.  I don't believe that part has been addressed.  Shocking, I know, since this show is soooooo realistic! 😉

[zibnchy]

I can only assume the writers all hate their jobs (and paychecks and viewers) and want this show to die because, after killing Lucy, they decided to bring back the rapist, make him even more unlikable (a herculean task), and then waste half the episode on "funny" hijinks involving said rapist. Then we don't even get to see Rio kill him. (I'm not convinced he's dead. If this show survives, and I don't see how it can, they'll probably plan some more hijinks for the rapist and the girls.)

On a positive note: there was very little Dean.

I'm only watching now because I find it fascinating in a trainwreck kind of way. Also I'm quarantine bored.

[Rahul]

11 hours ago, LaMatadita said:

I realize the fangirls are loud, but they're not listening to fangirls. In fact, they're doing the exact opposite of everything Rio fangirls want--he still has the same amount of minimal screen time, he has no PoV, he has no sexy scenes with Beth, he had a woman shot in the head, and Beth has been trying to rekindle things with Dean.

To me the fact that Rio has been kept around and alive throughout the entirety of the series is indicative of the writers' fan service. It is clear to the non-fangirl contingent of the audience that his character is only hindering plot progression.

It is interesting to note that the writers took the time to develop Rio's character a bit deeper by showing us his paternal side and involvement in his son's life and super tidy almost OCD-ly organized loft in season two, only to revert to a two-dimensional portrayal again. From what I've read, the change in direction of the primary antagonist's character partially stems from tension between Christina Hendricks and Manny Montana

Quote

Sorry, I'm just tired of fans being blamed for the writers' lack of imagination--even if those fans are annoying, they are not the problem. Even with Rio still around, they could have taken the story in multiple directions (imagine if Rio has a boss, and that boss is a woman?), and instead they've chosen to go around in circles, with this latest episode regurgitating the FBI plot once again. I'm appalled that these writers get paid so much to do little more than plagiarize themselves. 

The writers lack of imagination is a distinct and separate problem from the fan service they have (in part) been performing. The concept of suburban moms unwittingly being pulled into criminal enterprise is inherently rife with many possible and captivating stories to tell, but the people behind this show have been spinning their wheels and rehashing the same overarching stories from one season to the next. Rio being the big bad boss and the FBI catching to the ladies' criminal activity are prime examples.

This show is in need of a new show runner with original thoughts--that is if it survives. Ratings for Good Girls are at an all time low, whereas numerous other shows have seen sizable upticks and benefitted from lockdowns nationwide.

Edited April 6, 2020 by Rahul

[Joimiaroxeu]

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From what I've read, the change in direction of the primary antagonist's character partially stems from tension between Christina Hendricks and Manny Montana

From what I've read, that tension is mainly coming from Christina's direction. It would seem she felt her character was being upstaged by a secondary character. Whatever, I hope if this show does survive they don't make the mistakes The Good Wife did to try to solve an ego problem.

Edited April 6, 2020 by Joimiaroxeu

[Grumpymonkey]

That first scene with Annie/therapist was so cringey. Yikes. Not going how I wanted it too. And I feel bad for Ben.  Ruby riding the scooter around Beth's house was hilarious as was her entrance into the Nursing home. I wonder if Retta injured her leg in real life? Boomer sucks but I do like DH and the tattoos made me laugh.  Stan and Ruby was ouch but interesting development for the two. I have no idea what they are doing with Beth and Dean. They don't make sense to me.  I liked last week's episode better, more humor to me.

[tennisgurl]

Please tell me that Boomer has a handgun and a chain saw in his immediate future, because I never want to see his nasty wormy ass self on my TV ever again.

This show seems to be really struggling to figure out what its purpose is, it just seems to be hitting the same notes over and over again. The Girls get in over their heads, they manage to find a way to weasel out of consequences (legally or with their criminal connections), someone dies due to their actions and its shocking for an episode or two before they move onto the next score, rinse and repeat. 

Ruby on the little scooter was a hoot though.

[helenamonster]

I, too, am not convinced that Boomer is dead. They kept things vague enough by not actually showing him get killed, and he has a habit of turning up like a bad penny.

The scene with Beth being friendly with the cop reminded me of this show's original potential, how the girls' roots in normal society can help them navigate the criminal underworld. Beth has a way to get out of things that Rio doesn't...his interaction with the cop would have gone a lot differently. Her value has more to do with that than her ability to print better counterfeit. That's the kind of thing I'd like to see more of.

I feel like an entirely different group of writers does the Ruby and Stan scenes. Their stuff never feels stale and gets explored in very interesting ways.

I didn't realize until I was on Instagram later that Megan Thee Stallion was playing one of the strippers. I remember her casting being announced and assumed she'd have gotten a more featured role. She kind of just blended in and Not Nasim Pedrad is the focal point.

9 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

My favorite part of the show was Ruby tooling around Beth's empty house in her electric wheelchair.

It's gone now because it was on her story, but Retta posted an edit where every time Ruby would scoot into frame, "Ridin' Dirty" would start playing. It was hilarious.

[LaMatadita]

7 hours ago, GussieK said:

How do they handle serial Numbers?

Considering that they only have one plate, I assumed that the serial numbers are all the same, which is probably what caught law enforcement's eye again. 

4 hours ago, Grumpymonkey said:

I wonder if Retta injured her leg in real life?

I didn't even think of that, but I do remember reading somewhere that she has a slight limp due to an old injury, so it's possible that she was in pain and they wrote this in to try to make her life a little easier for a while.

5 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

From what I've read, that tension is mainly coming from Christina's direction. It would seem she felt her character was being upstaged by a secondary character.

Manny's wife has also engaged in some pretty immature, jealous, and downright strange social media behavior regarding Brio, though I'm not sure if this was before or after crazed Brio fans went after her. He's routinely backed her up and has even gotten bristly with fans over it a few times. I used to think it was all from Christina's side, but given his wife's behavior and their negative run-ins with fans, he may have been just as happy with them pulling back on the romance. It seems like maybe it wasn't handled well by anyone involved.

6 hours ago, Rahul said:

To me the fact that Rio has been kept around and alive throughout the entirety of the series is indicative of the writers' fan service.

 

6 hours ago, Rahul said:

Ratings for Good Girls are at an all time low, whereas numerous other shows have seen sizable upticks and benefitted from lockdowns nationwide.

These two things are related. I'm sure some viewers stopped watching because they didn't kill off Rio, but more people stopped watching because they burned the Brio relationship to the ground, yet they've continued to tell the same needlessly circular, repetitive story between the two of them and let that drive the main story. It is indeed getting old, but I just don't see him as the problem, but rather as a resource they refuse to tap because of behind-the-scenes politics and a stubborn insistence on using Beth's power struggle with Rio as metaphor for Beth's addiction to crime. They used Rio's sex appeal to sell the show, yet they've given Rio so little development that the actor is basically writing his own character arc at this point, so I just don't think it's fair to say that the problem is that they didn't kill off his character when they could have written it all differently in the first place (and still could), and the actor is clearly capable of a lot more than what they give him to work with. 

To be honest, I'm not sure it would all bother me so much if he wasn't a PoC. I've seen so many shows that revolved around white criminals who were portrayed in a multifaceted way that often invited viewers to empathize, or at least appreciate the psychological complexity of those characters--Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, Sons of Anarchy, Weeds, The Sopranos, and even this show when it comes to Beth, because they were obviously influenced by those other shows--but here we have a Latin criminal, and he's simultaneously dangled as steamy housewife fantasy bait and written as a one-dimensional stereotype (that barely even works because the writers clearly know next to nothing about gangs) while white male characters like Dean, Boomer, and even Max, who was not even a main character, get their own point-of-view scenes or even redemptive character arcs. It's especially galling in contrast to Beth, because the writers keep supporting the idea that if she could just get rid of Rio (which is itself a violent solution), she'd be able to pull off being a sweet cookie-baking criminal who solves all of her problems nonviolently and with no negative repercussions, yet the writers are simultaneously ignoring the fact that the only reason that Beth can even entertain such delusions is because she's white. 

And as I was writing, this was posted:

42 minutes ago, helenamonster said:

Beth has a way to get out of things that Rio doesn't...his interaction with the cop would have gone a lot differently. Her value has more to do with that than her ability to print better counterfeit. That's the kind of thing I'd like to see more of.

I feel like the writers just completely ignore the lack of equity between Rio and Beth, or even Beth and Ruby, and it's at the heart of what bothers me about the show now. I just can't unsee it. Would this show even be possible if Beth and Ruby's roles in the story were reversed?

Edited April 6, 2020 by LaMatadita
Fixed typos.

[Kel Varnsen]

9 hours ago, Lovecat said:

As I understand it, the overall process is:

• Strip the ink off of legit $1 bills (I think this is where the solvent Ruby was stealing from the nail salon comes into play)
• Break down the remaining paper in some way (unclear to me) to make a slurry 
• Make "new" paper sheets from the slurry (this is what we see Annie and Ruby doing at the end of the episode--spreading paper slurry in a screen with a squeegee)
• Once the paper sheets are dry, print a sheet of $10 bills using the plates Lucy made

Details are somewhat sketchy, but the key is that each Girl brought something to the table - Annie gets tipped in ones from her valet job, Ruby brings chemicals from the nail salon, and Beth got the plates made, plus provides access to the printing press in the card shop, and takes the money home to wash and dry, presumably part of the aging process to add authenticity.  Though we don't know whether Rio's goons took her washer and dryer 😉 

Has anyone figured out why they can't just print their own money for themselves. They keep talking about not having money of their own and stealing what they owe Rio but instead of coming up with dumbass plans in your empty house just go to the shop and print more money.

58 minutes ago, LaMatadita said:

I didn't even think of that, but I do remember reading somewhere that she has a slight limp due to an old injury, so it's possible that she was in pain and they wrote this in to try to make her life a little easier for a while.

She talked on the Nick Offerman/Megan Mullaly podcast about it and how while there are some actors who do all kinds of crazy stunts she won't even run unless she really has to.

[Grumpymonkey]

1 hour ago, LaMatadita said:

I didn't even think of that, but I do remember reading somewhere that she has a slight limp due to an old injury, so it's possible that she was in pain and they wrote this in to try to make her life a little easier for a while.

 

Ahh, makes sense. I've notice the limp before.  When she was using the cane, it seemed legit and she is/was was sitting a lot in recent episodes so I was thinking they either really committed or maybe something happened.

17 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

She talked on the Nick Offerman/Megan Mullaly podcast about it and how while there are some actors who do all kinds of crazy stunts she won't even run unless she really has to.

Ron and Donna! I'd be the same, I'm not hurting myself. 😄 Thanks for the info.

[dirtydi]

7 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

From what I've read, that tension is mainly coming from Christina's direction. It would seem she felt her character was being upstaged by a secondary character. Whatever, I hope if this show does survive they don't make the mistakes The Good Wife did to try to solve an ego problem.

Wow! Thanks for confirmation of something I have been feeling.  I just don't feel a connection between Rio and Beth anymore.  I thought I was just imagining things.

[scowl]

7 hours ago, Grumpymonkey said:

That first scene with Annie/therapist was so cringey. Yikes. Not going how I wanted it too.

I'm now just skipping over all the scenes with Annie and her accented therapist since they don't appear to have anything to do with the main plot. Sorry, Mae, but I have other things to do these days.

[dubbel zout]

I kind of enjoyed the passive-aggressiveness of the therapist bringing his girlfriend to a session ostensibly to be Annie's tutor but really because he's too much of a weenie to tell her to back off the relationship stuff.

In general, though, I don't like their scenes because he's so wildly unprofessional and Annie just. doesn't. get. it. It's like she thinks every man who crosses her path is there so she can sleep with him. Unpack that in therapy!