Good Girls - General Discussion

[Blue Plastic]

Annie turned out to be more of a therapist to the therapist than the other way around.  Not sure what the point of that storyline was, assuming it is over, except to give Annie a chance to show some introspection and maturity by realizing that the therapist was not really interested in her, just unhappy in his engagement.

Hard to believe Stan's boss has the ability to quickly turn out almost undetectable counterfeit bags so quickly yet did not have the capacity to realize he could make more money doing that versus selling more obvious fakes for cheaper.  I'm not even sure that's actually true, but if so he likely would have thought of it already.

I didn't understand what the overweight security guard from the grocery store in earlier episodes had to do with the women's scheme to get the Secret Service to pay them.  I had to come here last week to understand why Dean's friend from the spa was crying in the alley and sporting a bruised face.

Dean came across as so childlike.  All of a sudden he wants to join a bike riding group?  In the scene where he realizes he can't go very far without setting off the ankle monitor, I kept thinking he was about to get hit by a car or something.  It was obvious something was about to go wrong, but I wasn't expecting it to be the ankle monitor.  I assumed he would be allowed to go anywhere in city limits, or at the very least further than just his own neighborhood.  That's pretty limiting if he can't even go to the grocery store or take the kids to school.  Plus this whole thing about him suddenly being out on bail makes no sense since I thought he was already sentenced.

[dubbel zout]

11 hours ago, Blue Plastic said:

I didn't understand what the overweight security guard from the grocery store in earlier episodes had to do with the women's scheme to get the Secret Service to pay them.

He worked at the jewelry store the women targeted and was in on the plan.

[Blue Plastic]

12 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

He worked at the jewelry store the women targeted and was in on the plan.

Oh, okay!  See, I have to come here to get the show interpreted!  They wanted to be arrested so that’s why they didn’t leave.  I started out thinking they wanted to be successful, so then it kept not making sense to me. Ah.

[Anela]

The stuff with Rio and Beth, is just creepy to me. His cousin or brother was a douche, too. I like the actor, but not the character. 

It's a shame that they made everything so weird with the therapist, because I like the actor. 

Edited April 25, 2021 by Anela

[Kel Varnsen]

On 4/23/2021 at 12:19 AM, Blue Plastic said:

Hard to believe Stan's boss has the ability to quickly turn out almost undetectable counterfeit bags so quickly yet did not have the capacity to realize he could make more money doing that versus selling more obvious fakes for cheaper.  I'm not even sure that's actually true, but if so he likely would have thought of it already.

That was weird. I would think that with the bags, the nice thing about the cheap fakes is that you can sell them for dirt cheap at car washes and swap meets and still make a profit. I imagine that part of the reason that fancy bags are so expensive is the quality. So if strip club boss is paying for the good stitching, he now has to find somewhere where people will pay for more expensive knock off bags.

Also I can't believe I made a comment last week about giant recording devices and this week Beth actually has one. You can go on Amazon and buy a recording device pen, or USB key or keychain. I would hope US federal agents have something better so it's dumb that Beth needed that huge microphone and cord thing.

[Marley]

The Rio and Beth stuff is just annoying to me now. Rio should’ve died when he got shot. It’s just not a good storyline anymore. I might’ve not minded their flirting in early seasons, but it’s just dumb and forced now. There’s no chemistry there anymore for me. Why would he bring her to meet all these ppl. Unless it’s a trick it makes no sense. I don’t buy him as some gang member leader anymore either I’m not sure why.

The therapist needs to go away forever. That storyline is so dumb at this point. 

The cops are so shitty. Like are they even trying to be undercover. The female one is so weird. Who would act like that with her job. How did she get far in her career. She’s an idiot.

I used to love this show but it’s losing me. The storylines always seem to go nowhere lately. It just seems so dumb at this point. There’s still parts that I like but they are becoming less and less.

Im sure that stupid hit man guy is still alive too.

[Ms Blue Jay]

The montage of the Mom stuff was really good.  I don't understand why they don't just make the show that entertaining and funny all of the time instead of this nonsense they've been doing for 1.5 seasons now.

[Miss Bones]

That montage of the FBI agent learning how to be a “Mom”, with her Mom purse and such, was everything that has been missing from GG since the first season, and I was smiling the whole time!  I’m not even a mom (Well, I’m not a regular mom, I’m a fur mom! *TM Mrs. George).

Anyway, I loved that montage!  I still watch GG and—though I have found the show tedious and redundant for quite some time—every now and then, they give me these little Golden nuggets, but I just wish they weren’t so few and far between!!

Edited May 3, 2021 by Miss Bones
Grammar

[chocolatine]

Was Rio originally supposed to give "Carolyn" drugs to hold for him, rather than jewelry? I don't remember him ever saying outright what it was. This plot is so convoluted that I've lost the thread.

Was the fancy house that Stan and Ruby rented for the purse selling an AirBnB? If so, the moms at Harry's school will find out quickly that Stan and Ruby don't really live there. Also, women of that social class tend to be very savvy about real vs. fake designer bags. They would have spotted the fakes from a mile away.

I have to wonder about the socio-economic makeup of the area where the girls live. There are working class folks like Annie, Stan, and Ruby, struggling middle-class people like Beth and Dean, 1%-ers like (formerly) Gregg and Nancy and the women to whom Stan sold the handbags, and 0.0001%-ers who can afford to fly in Taylor Swift for a private concert, and they all mix together, have kids in the same schools, etc?

[Ms Blue Jay]

23 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

Was Rio originally supposed to give "Carolyn" drugs to hold for him, rather than jewelry? I don't remember him ever saying outright what it was. This plot is so convoluted that I've lost the thread.

I thought it was a lot of money, assuming counterfeit.

23 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

Was the fancy house that Stan and Ruby rented for the purse selling an AirBnB? If so, the moms at Harry's school will find out quickly that Stan and Ruby don't really live there. Also, women of that social class tend to be very savvy about real vs. fake designer bags. They would have spotted the fakes from a mile away.

How could a woman be that dumb that she would believe the tale about a truck killing a family of deer.  I mean come on!!!  The show asks for way too much sometimes.

23 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

I have to wonder about the socio-economic makeup of the area where the girls live. There are working class folks like Annie, Stan, and Ruby, struggling middle-class people like Beth and Dean, 1%-ers like (formerly) Gregg and Nancy and the women to whom Stan sold the handbags, and 0.0001%-ers who can afford to fly in Taylor Swift for a private concert, and they all mix together, have kids in the same schools, etc?

My high school was like this though.  A mix of lower middle class, middle class, to the extremely wealthy kids who lived in mansions.  It was just public school zoning.  The total area would probably take about 30 minutes to drive through.  Maybe even 20.

Edited May 3, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[BusyOctober]

So now that Annie’s ex and his wife are broke, will they join the gang of never ending stupid plot contrivances?  Their baby could be a “mule” with cash/ drugs/jewelry in his diaper and diaper bag!  And if Stan and Ruby want to branch out their fake designer purse side hustle, they can start selling fake wallets and phone cases...they’ll fit in a diaper!

I don’t understand very much of this show anymore, but I’ll ask anyway...what was the point of the hot tub? In the house? I heard Dean say he was trying to have a noisy disrupter in case the house was bugged, but how about NOT talking about various criminal exploits and FBI goings on while you are in the house?  Beth keeps saying they can’t afford this and that, but Dean gets the hot tub.  With what money?  Are they still using the fake money for day to day expenses? Beth had enough extra cash around to float Ruby the shortfall on the (mind numbingly stupid) designer bag party.  Wish this show would make some decisions...are these woman living off stolen/counterfeit money or is the FBI footing bills?  Are they down to their last pennies?  Ruby and Stan are the only ones always pouring over bills and discussing finances in any real way.  Beth just tells Dean “we can’t afford it”, then both he and she keep buying stuff.

The whole thing with Carol(yn) getting mom training was pretty funny. But when the reveal of Rio’s duffle bag, this show lost me again.  I would think bundles of counterfeit cash in a duffle bag would feel and sound very different from loose jewelry, no?  How did Carol not feel the difference?

is this season almost over?  Can Rio just get nabbed already?  Or let him go and jail the Good Girls.  I don’t care anymore. 

Edited May 3, 2021 by BusyOctober

[dubbel zout]

8 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

8 hours ago, chocolatine said:

Was Rio originally supposed to give "Carolyn" drugs to hold for him, rather than jewelry? I don't remember him ever saying outright what it was. This plot is so convoluted that I've lost the thread.

I thought it was a lot of money, assuming counterfeit.

"Carolyn" is Secret Service, so that's what I thought, too. Though given how ineffective she and her boss seem to be, who knows what they expected.

Annie was marginally less annoying in this ep.

9 minutes ago, BusyOctober said:

is this season almost over?  Can Rio just get nabbed already?  Or let him go and jail the Good Girls.  I don’t care anymore. 

This is me. I'm sticking it out only because I'm curious how this dumpster fire of a show will end.

[tennisgurl]

Carolyn and her boss are so incompetent I half expect it to turn out that the rest of the Secret Service is only letting them bumble around in the hopes that they can lure more dangerous criminals out and they can swoop in at the last minute while the two of them just stand their looking stupid. Not that most people in this show blow me away with their intellect, the one rich lady couldn't even tell roadkill from a hunters trophy, and AirBnB from an actual house where Ruby and Stan live, and I find it unlikely that super rich women couldn't smell a fake purse from a mile away. 

The mom boot camp montage was so fun though that I cant even be as annoyed with this show as I usually am. This is why I keep coming back, these tiny kernels of gold from way back when this show used to be fun. That whole sequence was hilarious and allowed for the actresses natural charm to really come through, can we get more of that please and less of the convoluted scheming? 

Edited May 3, 2021 by tennisgurl

[sempervivum]

8 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I have to wonder about the socio-economic makeup of the area where the girls live.

They're supposed to be in the Detroit area, right? Grosse Pointe is still among the wealthiest areas in the US, and it's less than 10 miles from Detroit, so it's pretty variable.

Agree with all the comments re. how impossible it is to follow (or make sense of) these sub plots.

17 minutes ago, BusyOctober said:

what was the point of the hot tub? In the house?

Yeah, a couple of noisy fans would work just as well, and be less obvious. Also, I'm pretty sure you need to run plumbing to those tubs, and he had it installed right in the middle of a hardwood floor- not something you can just do in a few minutes, either. Ugh, it's so very stupid that I'm getting bored with typing out all the reasons why.

But when it's funny, it's funny. In addition to the 'mom boot camp' sequence, I LOL'd at the homage to Five Easy Pieces, with the haughty, irrational waitress and her 'rules of seating'.

 

[Anela]

I have a bag like that, and I’m not a mum.  I have a notebook with shopping lists, hand wipes, masks, toothbrush and toothpaste, books, cough sweets, and goodness knows what else.  It’s due for a good clean-out.  

[Anela]

Do you think they would go so far as to get Annie’s ex involved (or his wife), now that they’re broke?

oh, I see that someone else asked the same thing.  I liked the montage of training her to act like a mum, but I’m also tired of Rio getting away with things. 

Edited May 3, 2021 by Anela

[chocolatine]

1 hour ago, Anela said:

I have a bag like that, and I’m not a mum.  I have a notebook with shopping lists, hand wipes, masks, toothbrush and toothpaste, books, cough sweets, and goodness knows what else.  It’s due for a good clean-out.  

You're missing the pulverized cereal and booger extractor (I don't know what the official term is for that thing). That seems to be the key difference between a mom-bag and a non-mom-bag.

[LaMatadita]

Rio showing Beth his secret gun compartment has to come back later, right? And surely that was a test of some kind, because they cannot write him as that conveniently stupid. I mean, Beth makes a big deal out of him being perceptive and always several steps ahead, but in the same episode, he's dumb enough to show his high tech gun hidey hole to a woman who has not only already shot him 3 times with his own gun but also seems to be working against him with the Feds? I have to assume that if Beth goes for that gun in the future, it either won't be there or it won't have bullets...

[dubbel zout]

It will be another dumb test that Beth fails, yet somehow Rio won't decide to shoot her dead on the spot. I'm so tired of these kinds of things.

[qtpye]

17 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

You're missing the pulverized cereal and booger extractor (I don't know what the official term is for that thing). That seems to be the key difference between a mom-bag and a non-mom-bag.

This also goes for cars. I used to pride myself on keeping a very tidy car and then the babies came....

The whole bag storyline was gold and is probably why most of us are still watching this show which does not make any sense.

1 minute ago, LaMatadita said:

Rio showing Beth his secret gun compartment has to come back later, right? And surely that was a test of some kind, because they cannot write him as that conveniently stupid. I mean, Beth makes a big deal out of him being perceptive and always several steps ahead, but in the same episode, he's dumb enough to show his high tech gun hidey hole to a woman who has not only already shot him 3 times with his own gun but also seems to be working against him with the Feds? I have to assume that if Beth goes for that gun in the future, it either won't be there or it won't have bullets...

I never noticed it before but Rio is kind of a tiny guy and he really is not that good looking in the face or body.

They are making it that Beth can't resist him but their chemistry really feels forced now that Rio has lost a lot of his mystique. 

[helenamonster]

The mom bootcamp montage was the highlight for me as well. Not a mom (yet) but it was fun and just this side of ridiculous.

The rest...yeesh. As usual, I have questions.

Stan being all "Beth can't be involved" came out of absolutely nowhere, right? I'm not saying he's not justified to have these feelings about her, but it would have been more fun to watch them slowly come out over time. Like, maybe put him and Beth in some scenes together (have they ever actually interacted?) and show his tolerance of her and what she got Ruby into slowly evaporate. That would have been way more interesting to watch than a repeat of the same 3 subplots over and over.

I also don't quite understand Annie and Greg's dilemma with Ben's school. So first, Greg says (to cover up his financial issues) that he wants to pull Ben out as he doesn't want the other, richer kids' advantages skewing Ben's expectations for himself. But Ben is a teenager, not a small child, and has always been fairly sensible. I don't think he would expect an elaborate birthday party just because another classmate had one.

And then we find out that Greg and Nancy are going broke and can't afford the school anymore. Which yeah, it would suck to pull Ben out, as he has friends there, enjoys lacrosse, etc. But, like, tough? Shit happens, and again Ben seems like the kind of kid who would understand and wouldn't take it personally. It was one thing when these characters were legitimately barely making ends meet, but it's so much less sympathetic when their antics are fueling lifestyles that most of us could never hope to achieve. And it would be interesting if the show explored that a little more, but they don't, so it's just this weird unlikeable trait all the characters have now.

Also, can I just say how much I hated, hated, the cold open. It wasn't funny, it went on for far too long, and was borderline gross. We all get what Beth and Rio did last episode, we don't need it spelled out, thanks!

[DanaMB]

7 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

Annie was marginally less annoying in this ep.

I usually can’t stand her, but when the show was almost over I literally said to myself, “she didn’t annoy me this ep.” please keep this side of her going. 

[qtpye]

 

14 minutes ago, helenamonster said:

The mom bootcamp montage was the highlight for me as well. Not a mom (yet) but it was fun and just this side of ridiculous.

The rest...yeesh. As usual, I have questions.

Stan being all "Beth can't be involved" came out of absolutely nowhere, right? I'm not saying he's not justified to have these feelings about her, but it would have been more fun to watch them slowly come out over time. Like, maybe put him and Beth in some scenes together (have they ever actually interacted?) and show his tolerance of her and what she got Ruby into slowly evaporate. That would have been way more interesting to watch than a repeat of the same 3 subplots over and over.

I also don't quite understand Annie and Greg's dilemma with Ben's school. So first, Greg says (to cover up his financial issues) that he wants to pull Ben out as he doesn't want the other, richer kids' advantages skewing Ben's expectations for himself. But Ben is a teenager, not a small child, and has always been fairly sensible. I don't think he would expect an elaborate birthday party just because another classmate had one.

And then we find out that Greg and Nancy are going broke and can't afford the school anymore. Which yeah, it would suck to pull Ben out, as he has friends there, enjoys lacrosse, etc. But, like, tough? Shit happens, and again Ben seems like the kind of kid who would understand and wouldn't take it personally. It was one thing when these characters were legitimately barely making ends meet, but it's so much less sympathetic when their antics are fueling lifestyles that most of us could never hope to achieve. And it would be interesting if the show explored that a little more, but they don't, so it's just this weird unlikeable trait all the characters have now.

Also, can I just say how much I hated, hated, the cold open. It wasn't funny, it went on for far too long, and was borderline gross. We all get what Beth and Rio did last episode, we don't need it spelled out, thanks!

When Ex was talking that he wanted to pull Ben out of private school because he did not want Ben to be a dick...I knew he was in financial trouble. He is the type of guy that loved the idea of Ben hanging out with rich dicks who can afford Taylor Swift at their birthday party.

Does Ex have a job or were they mainly wealthy because of his wife's business?

Also, I understand why Annie is reveling in their troubles but the truth is Ben is losing the only financial security he had. Ex and his wife could do things for Ben that Annie never good, like pull him out of a public school where he was bullied and then place him in a private school were a smart sweet trans kid like himself has really shined.

 

[dubbel zout]

23 minutes ago, helenamonster said:

But Ben is a teenager, not a small child, and has always been fairly sensible. I don't think he would expect an elaborate birthday party just because another classmate had one.

Maybe not an elaborate birthday party, but he was feeling left out as the only kid not to go on the trip to D.C.

Wouldn't taking Ben out of school mean that Greg would lose the rest of the semester's tuition? I don't think schools refund tuition except in certain limited, specific circumstances. A parent's dumb financial decisions likely don't qualify.

There are these things called scholarships. Maybe look into one!

3 minutes ago, qtpye said:

Also, I understand why Annie is reveling in their troubles but the truth is Ben is losing the only financial security he had.

At least she kept her gloating away from Ben. In general she's pretty good about not slagging Greg (and Nancy, to a lesser degree) to Ben's face, but this is a big enough fall I was expecting some snide remark that Ben would hear.

[chocolatine]

54 minutes ago, qtpye said:

I never noticed it before but Rio is kind of a tiny guy and he really is not that good looking in the face or body.

I've always thought that he's average-looking at best, and the large neck tattoo makes him look even less attractive. Add in the fact that he's a murderer and no, thank you. Never been onboard the Brio ship.

43 minutes ago, helenamonster said:

Stan being all "Beth can't be involved" came out of absolutely nowhere, right? I'm not saying he's not justified to have these feelings about her, but it would have been more fun to watch them slowly come out over time. Like, maybe put him and Beth in some scenes together (have they ever actually interacted?)

That's one of the problems with this show, Beth and Ruby are supposed to have been best friends for over 25 years, but their families never interact, even though their kids are close in age. And Ben never interacts with his aunt Beth, who's supposed to have raised him, or his cousins.

24 minutes ago, qtpye said:

Also, I understand why Annie is reveling in their troubles but the truth is Ben is losing the only financial security he had. Ex and his wife could do things for Ben that Annie never good, like pull him out of a public school where he was bullied and then place him in a private school were a smart sweet trans kid like himself has really shined.

That struck me as well as being very short-sighted on Annie's part. I wonder too what implications that has on Ben's transition. I don't know if his HRT meds are covered by insurance, and he may also want/need surgery in the future.

[Kel Varnsen]

The whole thing in the house with the boss agent guy made no sense. He said they couldn't arrest Rio because they didn't have a wire set up. But he basically admitted to a crime in front of two federal agents. Is there credibility really that bad that both their testimony together wouldn't be enough to make up for no audio recording?

Also again with the recording devices. Last week Beth had to wear a giant obvious thing under her shirt. This week they could make them so small they are hidden in a salt shaker. I think actually putting a salt shaker under Beth's shirt would be less obvious than the thing they used.

[CarpeFelis]

I swear Rio is the only person on this show with any intelligence at all. He obviously caught on that “Carolyn” wasn’t who they said she was, and rarely misses a thing when the Girls are trying to put one over on him.

Beth is supposedly the brains of the group, but I kept wondering why the hell she didn’t go back, grab the wire from behind the Grishams, and stuff it down her bra after her “encounter” with Rio last week. Someone was sure to find it, and sure enough, they did.

During one of Ruby and Stan’s conversations I started to wonder if/when that mooching couple will be back.

ETA: When I was a young mom back in the ‘80s I never had a bunch of crushed-up cereal in my purse, or most of the other stuff they had “Carolyn” put in hers. All that stuff went in a diaper bag.

Edited May 4, 2021 by CarpeFelis
additional thought

[One Imaginary Girl]

I might just finish this season out and then quit.  The pattern of one step forward (the women finding a way out of this mess) and one step back (Rio immediately catching on or rising from the dead) is getting tiresome.

[tennisgurl]

22 hours ago, helenamonster said:

nd then we find out that Greg and Nancy are going broke and can't afford the school anymore. Which yeah, it would suck to pull Ben out, as he has friends there, enjoys lacrosse, etc. But, like, tough? Shit happens, and again Ben seems like the kind of kid who would understand and wouldn't take it personally.

It must be hard on Ben, being the only adult in his family despite being a child.

[EtheltoTillie]

4 hours ago, One Imaginary Girl said:

I might just finish this season out and then quit.  The pattern of one step forward (the women finding a way out of this mess) and one step back (Rio immediately catching on or rising from the dead) is getting tiresome.

This is the last season. 

[BoogieBurns]

23 hours ago, GussieK said:

This is the last season. 

Oh. This is the first I'm hearing of this.

Maybe they should let the girls have some fun and some money before the series is over.

ETA: Just googled and got this: "As of May 5, 2021, Good Girls has not been cancelled or renewed for a fifth season."

Edited May 5, 2021 by BoogieBurns

[EtheltoTillie]

1 minute ago, BoogieBurns said:

Oh. This is the first I'm hearing of this.

Maybe they should let the girls have some fun and some money before the series is over.

Maybe my news was premature.  I read something somewhere, but maybe it was wrong and now I can't find it.   Well, I hope it does end.  I can't take any more.  I just watch with half an eye at this point. 

[qtpye]

On 5/4/2021 at 2:49 PM, CarpeFelis said:

I swear Rio is the only person on this show with any intelligence at all. He obviously caught on that “Carolyn” wasn’t who they said she was, and rarely misses a thing when the Girls are trying to put one over on him.

Beth is supposedly the brains of the group, but I kept wondering why the hell she didn’t go back, grab the wire from behind the Grishams, and stuff it down her bra after her “encounter” with Rio last week. Someone was sure to find it, and sure enough, they did.

During one of Ruby and Stan’s conversations I started to wonder if/when that mooching couple will be back.

ETA: When I was a young mom back in the ‘80s I never had a bunch of crushed-up cereal in my purse, or most of the other stuff they had “Carolyn” put in hers. All that stuff went in a diaper bag.

Unfortunately, Rio's intelligence goes out the door when you consider he still has the hots for and is working with a woman who both shot him and sent a hitman to kill him (not sure if he knows about that one). Also, he knows she wears a wire now.

I mean how many clues do you need to figure out you can not trust somebody?

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

"As of May 5, 2021, Good Girls has not been cancelled or renewed for a fifth season."

I don't know how they could possibly come back for another season. Most of the cast seems to be phoning it in as it is. I think they are as over this show as much of the audience seems to be. But then, I thought this show was done last season and it managed to come back, so...

Edited May 9, 2021 by Joimiaroxeu

[Chewy101]

I've read through several pages of comments, and I'm relieved to see that I not the only one coming up baffled at times on the why's and how comes.

So, I am barely grasping the money laundering techniques, and when Ruby asked Stan to steal ones from his club to help get Dean out of jail...... WHY? Were they not just making their own money for awhile there? 

Poor Dean is such a dumbass. He means well, but he is a plethora of bad decisions. How on earth does he not realize that if three people are sitting in a hot tub, that they won't be yelling at one another over the sound of the bubbles? It will make them MORE audible not less. And they have no credit left and no cash, so how did he buy it? 

I will be mad if Rio gets caught before the girls do. He is a step ahead of them every time. 

I never thought about there being a Rio/Beth chemistry. As far as I can tell, he takes her to prove he is in control, and lulls her into thinking she has one over on him, only for him to prove a day later that he didn't miss a thing.

Stan might not have wanted Beth in on the purse scam, but she would have nailed it. You don't make a product without knowing the market, and that's why Ruby and Stan were in over their heads. 

I am also afraid for all of their livers. So. Many. Drinks!

[Anela]

7 hours ago, Chewy101 said:

 

I never thought about there being a Rio/Beth chemistry. As far as I can tell, he takes her to prove he is in control, and lulls her into thinking she has one over on him, only for him to prove a day later that he didn't miss a thing.

 

That’s what I think, too.  

[Ms Blue Jay]

So I guess this week's "Mom montage" was the women having fun at the strip club, which honestly, was fun.  I normally am not very attracted to Beth but she was really cute getting so into it.  I want Annie's money gun.

I had to watch some parts twice because I wasn't entirely sure what was going on.  I couldn't understand the dialogue in the scenes where Rio was young.  The actor playing his cousin brother at a young age had a way of speaking that was very hard for me to understand.

And Dean is part of a pyramid scheme?  And Beth is just cool with it?  Sigh.

Edited May 10, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[ShowsILoveToHate]

1 hour ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

So I guess this week's "Mom montage" was the women having fun at the strip club, which honestly, was fun.  I normally am not very attracted to Beth but she was really cute getting so into it.  I want Annie's money gun.

I had to watch some parts twice because I wasn't entirely sure what was going on.  I couldn't understand the dialogue in the scenes where Rio was young.  The actor playing his cousin brother at a young age had a way of speaking that was very hard for me to understand.

And Dean is part of a pyramid scheme?  And Beth is just cool with it?  Sigh.

I had to turn the Closed Captioning on to see what Rio and his cousin were saying at the end of the episode, when Rio was first home from jail.

I kind of liked seeing how Rio ended up in a life of crime. I think this episode has now opened up a whole new way of Rio and Beth doing “business” together, whether she likes it or not. 

It was nice to see the ladies smiling a bit in this episode. 

I kind of can’t stand Dean. He’s the least interesting of all the characters. 

I noticed at the end that it said “Next Sunday - The Spring Finale”, so I’m guessing that means that it will be back, not cancelled. 

Edited May 10, 2021 by ShowsILoveToHate

[chocolatine]

19 hours ago, Chewy101 said:

Poor Dean is such a dumbass.

Even more so now that he's gotten involved in a pyramid scheme.

2 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

And Dean is part of a pyramid scheme?  And Beth is just cool with it?  Sigh.

I think she's just pretending to be cool with it because she doesn't have the bandwidth to deal with every stupid thing he does. She has bigger things to worry about.

So if I understand correctly - and I probably don't - Rio's cousin-brother has connections to the DA (through his at-risk youth gardening program or something else?) and enough clout to get the charges against Rio dropped. And the cousin-brother is the actual mastermind of the entire criminal operation, by letting Rio play the thug role and take all the heat while he makes everyone believe he's an upstanding citizen. And because Beth planted a tree for the cousin-brother's program, he trusts her now, so it's OK that she turned in Rio. Or something like that.

For all of Stan's bitching about Beth last episode, Ruby should have pointed out to him that Beth was instrumental to taking Gene out of commission, and her approach was much smarter than Stan trying to instigate a stripper strike.

Edited May 10, 2021 by chocolatine

[TrininisaScorp]

Breckin Meyer pulling Matthew Lillard into a pyramid scheme made my 90s heart sing. LOL. But, seriously Dean...say no to MLM schemes. Actively, the Borland marriage is based on a lack of communication with one another.  With what Beth has going on, she can't babysit Dean and his terrible, TERRIBLE gullible ideas. Let's see how much of their money he pisses away on this before she figures it out.  Sigh. 

I realized tonight that I would totally watch a show about Rio and his family's POV.  The little kid playing little Rio was beyond adorable, and the teen Rio was pitch perfect when he got out of prison....that young man got the adult Rio's mannerisms down cold.  The cutaways to Rio's life and his bro/cousin were really interesting.  So, I guess the idea is the brother/cousin is actually the big dawg?  Very, very interesting, actually. I guess we can say that his visiting with Beth is a bit of investigation by bro/cousin.  I don't think he trusts her yet, IMO.  I know Beth is suppose to be magical on this show, but she ain't THAT magical. 

What was Stan thinking trying to unionize the strippers?  Like that was going to work at all. Cmon, Stan.  Watching the Girls at the stripclub was genuinely quite funny and fun.  I too would love Annie's "make it rain" money distribution gun...I literally don't know what I would use it for, but...we can figure that out later.  Enjoyed Gene confessing to every rule breaking, law breaking, sin against God...that was funny. 

Curious to see what happens to the gov agents now.  Do they go home?  Go rogue to nail the Girls and Rio?  I can't imagine that Rio walking isn't going to both enrage and raise their Spidey senses up to something being off at significantly higher levels. 

With the Rio flashbacks (I would like to see more, but I sense we got what we are going to get this episode), it made for good viewing this episodes.  

YMMV, but I think, especially early on, the accidental chemistry between the actors (Christina and Manny) was real lightning.  I'm guessing Rio wasn't supposed to be here this long, but he's a fan favorite (he is a fav of mine) b/c Manny is so compelling and Rio brings some swag to the party when it gets a little boring.  That said, I think the writers have no endgame and that seems to show over an over again. Even Manny himself in interviews, while thankfully for the Rio love, doesn't see how or why ppl want Beth and Rio together. I think this probably needs to end this season, but how do they tie this up in a satisfying way at this point? 

They touted next week as the "Spring Finale", so what does that mean?  Are they done for the season? 

[LaMatadita]

My take on this episode is that Rio essentially set himself up to have Beth turn him in because it would take suspicion off Beth so she could continue to make fake cash or whatever else he and Nick need her to do. I mean, Rio told her to make piles and piles of cash knowing she was under scrutiny from the SS and didn't tell her what it was for, and since we didn't find out any other use for the money, the events of the episode combined with the flashbacks seem to hint that he deliberately set himself up as part of a plan to take suspicion off of Beth. He even subtly threatened her family, and Nick leaned on her to not trust Rio, because both of them were pushing her to do what they wanted, which was to do the predictable thing and choose her family over Rio. They pulled exactly the same con Nick pulled in the flashback, but Rio was in on it this time. 

I also think Rio's anger at being arrested and his anger in front of Nick may have been for show because he's working his own angle and everyone thinking he hates Beth and feels betrayed works in his favor. Which is not to say he trusts her or is blinded by feelings, he's just not angry at her for doing exactly what they manipulated her into doing. She played her part and he doesn't hold it against her because he never trusted her to begin with.

If Rio is playing Nick, then it seems likely he wants to take him out ("You wanna be the King, you gotta kill the King"), but considering that Rio and Nick seem to have a mutually beneficial game going for them, I'm not sure how Rio actually benefits from taking out the person who shields him from repercussions. So is this just our newly retconned "dumb and impulsive" Rio not thinking straight, or is there some twist, like Rio wants out but Nick keeps pulling him back in (the same way Rio keeps pulling Beth back in)? Maybe Rio sells Beth on helping him take Nick out by saying that he just wants out, so with Nick out of the way, either they can both get out... or Beth can take Nick's spot? Lots of room for one of them to double cross the other...

 

Edited May 10, 2021 by LaMatadita

[paulvdb]

4 hours ago, TrininisaScorp said:

They touted next week as the "Spring Finale", so what does that mean?  Are they done for the season?

It's a mid-season break. The rest of the season will air in the summer. According to thefutoncritic.com it will be back on June 24.

[dubbel zout]

5 hours ago, TrininisaScorp said:

the teen Rio was pitch perfect when he got out of prison....that young man got the adult Rio's mannerisms down cold. 

The physical casting alone was really good, but combined with the way the younger actor got Rio's raised chin exactly, it was amazing.

5 hours ago, TrininisaScorp said:

So, I guess the idea is the brother/cousin is actually the big dawg?

He has to be, or else he knows the big dawg, because there's no way a local councilman, even in a big city like Detroit, has enough juice to intervene like that in a federal investigation.

Dean knows he's in an MLM (aka a pyramid scheme), but he participates anyway? I guess he's that desperate to have something to do that he'll risk his family's finances AGAIN. Ugh. I like Matthew Lillard a lot as Dean, but Dean is such an idiot. It's frustrating how often he's a man-baby because his ego needs stroking.

5 hours ago, TrininisaScorp said:

I think this probably needs to end this season, but how do they tie this up in a satisfying way at this point? 

I'd like to see Rio get arrested and have the charges stick, and the women go off to successful lives in Nevada (or wherever). But I'm sure there are others who want Rio to come out top, without harming the women, so no one will be entirely satisfied.

Another season will just drag this out, and I think the writers need an end date so they have a focus to write to. Right now there are way too many limbo episodes with no forward motion. We get more about the women's personal lives, which is fine with me, but it doesn't resolve the problem of the main story stalling.

[marceline]

Does Retta have some kind of condition that requires her to use that scooter? I know that Ruby was shot on the show but it seems silly for her to still be using that thing.

[NotChristine]

29 minutes ago, marceline said:

Does Retta have some kind of condition that requires her to use that scooter? I know that Ruby was shot on the show but it seems silly for her to still be using that thing.

She has problems with her knee and ended up having knee replacement surgery (Which is why Ruby getting shot was written in S3).

[EtheltoTillie]

When the teen Rio came back from prison he had the beginnings of the neck tattoo.  After rewinding to review the young Rio sections, I realized his boxing robe had a big bird on the back.  So I think that was the genesis of the neck tattoo.

Poor Rio, he just wanted to be a boxer.  His cousin was helping rich white guys cheat at golf!

Can anyone explain the brother/cousin thing?  I may have missed something last week when not watching closely.

Edited May 10, 2021 by GussieK

[Ms Blue Jay]

22 minutes ago, GussieK said:

Can anyone explain the brother/cousin thing?  I may have missed something last week when not watching closely.

Personally I take it to mean that Rio and Nick are intentionally being vague about this and deliberately misleading "Elizabeth" every time she asks.  If Beth calls it "cousin" then Nick corrects her and says "Brother" and vice versa.

[luckyroll3]

10 hours ago, chocolatine said:

And because Beth planted a tree for the cousin-brother's program, he trusts her now, so it's OK that she turned in Rio. Or something like that.

I think it's the other way around. Nick has been working to get Beth to trust him and see him as an ally against Rio. And hopefully now, when Rio is being "mean" to her, she'll turn to Nick for help and advice. He's playing both sides, because most likely, as someone upthread suggested, he's the mastermind or just below the mastermind.

1 hour ago, GussieK said:

Can anyone explain the brother/cousin thing?  I may have missed something last week when not watching closely.

 

52 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Personally I take it to mean that Rio and Nick are intentionally being vague about this and deliberately misleading "Elizabeth" every time she asks.  If Beth calls it "cousin" then Nick corrects her and says "Brother" and vice versa.

I think they actually are brother/cousins, as in either mom or dad cheated with their partner's sibling. (It happens; I know more sibling/cousins than I'd like to 😒). Nick chooses to see the two of them as brothers, and Rio chooses to see the two of them as cousins because he doesn't like/trust Nick.

[chocolatine]

2 hours ago, luckyroll3 said:

I think it's the other way around. Nick has been working to get Beth to trust him and see him as an ally against Rio. And hopefully now, when Rio is being "mean" to her, she'll turn to Nick for help and advice. He's playing both sides, because most likely, as someone upthread suggested, he's the mastermind or just below the mastermind.

That makes more sense, thank you!

I also think it's likely that they're biologically both brothers and cousins, as revolting as that is to think about.

[qtpye]

2 hours ago, luckyroll3 said:

I think it's the other way around. Nick has been working to get Beth to trust him and see him as an ally against Rio. And hopefully now, when Rio is being "mean" to her, she'll turn to Nick for help and advice. He's playing both sides, because most likely, as someone upthread suggested, he's the mastermind or just below the mastermind.

 

I think they actually are brother/cousins, as in either mom or dad cheated with their partner's sibling. (It happens; I know more sibling/cousins than I'd like to 😒). Nick chooses to see the two of them as brothers, and Rio chooses to see the two of them as cousins because he doesn't like/trust Nick.

You have just explained the plot to me in a manner that is much better than the show's writers.

My guess is that Rio is the Thug Life looking one that actually has a heart of gold (sort of...he did commit petty crimes).

In contrast, Cousin/Brother is the upstanding citizen who is the crime kingpin of Detroit.

Maybe the last season will actually be Beth and the girls saving both Detroit and Rio from evil Cousin/Brother.

This will absolve them of their crimes and put Beth/Rio in a good place and everybody will end the next season being good old fashioned working wives/mothers.

They might be wheeling in on Annie getting back with Ben's dad.

This is all pure speculation on my part...no spoilers.