S02.E07: Don’t Thank God, Thank Me

[formerlyfreedom]

Realizing she and Javier only do damage to one another, Letty tries to go back to her old life, but that might be even worse. Javier will use any means necessary to get answers from the person who’s been trying to kill him.

 

[Nancypants]

Damn, Letty with the empty vodka bottle looking for meth dealer was depressing as Shit.

Are they seriously going to let that dude starve in a motel room?

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I was pleased to see letty revert immediately to gulping liquor and using coke.  I hate that she was clear eyed and super duper functional throughout.  I cared not a whit for her personal agony over realizing that she has effectively/constructively cut everyone out of her life.  She is a friend only to feeding her addictions.  All that matters to me is that she do no further harm.

The death of Javy's dad and brother is intriguing.  Seems to me Javy is being given a lifetime chance to make a clean break and go straight.  He won't, of course.  The show is over if he does.  He's a straight fool if he lets Teo live.

It will be fun watching Lashever getting taken down.  Her hubby is the most likely avenue to this eventuality.

When is Letty's next P.O. visit and/or fluids test?  :)

[justmehere]

Oh my.

--That opening had me in tears. Javier crying! Jacob trying to make Letty feel better by saying he knew he should be with Estelle. Letty feeling every awful thing she'd ever been told or believed about herself was true, no thanks to Estelle, who irritated me at first; I'm glad she eventually shifted to caring about Letty's pain rather than about being right. 

--Letty trying to find a partner in crime -- literally and figuratively -- in Christian and Carin, then telling herself she's better alone, and yet unable to  withstand it now that she has connected with family, which includes Christian and of course, Javier.

--Javier trying to respect Letty's wishes, again, but obviously in pain, missing her.

    --Oh the irony of his asshole father putting a hit on his own son. It was pretty obvious he was the source, but still, for Javier, and then Ava too, to realize the extent of his vileness... And the conflicting feelings they will now have over his death, and their brother David's, who was no prince either. (I'm glad we won't have to see the father again.)

    --I guess Teo is even worse than he confessed if he's -- what? -- trying to take over the father's drug business? Assuming he's behind those killings.

--Re: Carin: I didn't mind her story but I didn't really care about her. Letty trying to find common ground with someone new and failing was no surprise, but it was kind of interesting. Previously, she was a solo act and had no illusions about being anything else. But again, now she has connected with people and been changed by that, even if she's back in deliberately self-destructive behavior right now. However "safe" she may feel in that familiar territory, going solo is too hard now. Hopefully that will bring her back.  Still, her downward spiral obviously isn't over yet.

--One semi-bright-ish spot was a possible reconciliation between Javier and Ava. I'm not sure she'll entirely be OK with him, but for now, he might be all she has to hold on to, so hopefully she'll forgive him. She does recognize the brother she always knew.

--I hope that they don't keep Letty and Javier apart for long. There are only a few episodes left in the season.

[slf]

Okay, I officially hate Lashever. I guess I'm supposed to feel for her because she has a shitty workplace situation but honestly she's so fucking unpleasant I can't be bothered. Especially when she has so little self-awareness that she's threatening Letty. Like, newsflash, Lashever: you're a criminal. I'm not even sure why Javier and Letty gave her the damn money. Should've just recorded one of their "get me the money" conversations and then leveraged that.

Carin reminds me of Letty's old high school friend from last season, from her appearance down to her house and cheating husband. Weird that I didn't notice that before now. I'm strangely proud of Letty that she went back to help Carin.

My favorite interactions are usually between Letty and Javier or Rob and anyone and I didn't get either in this episode. I really hope this split between them doesn't last very long.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Poor Letty. She did the right thing for Jacob though. Hopefully no one will come after Estelle now.

So the private school tuition just went up in smoke. Must be nice to be so cavalier about money, knowing you just steal some more...until you get caught.

A hitman hires a hitman to kill a hitman. Inception!

Quote

He's a straight fool if he lets Teo live.

No kidding. I can't understand why he's still alive this long. Odds are Teo either killed Javier's dad and brother or he's working on behalf of whoever did.

[attica]

Need to give another shout-out to the Javinieces. Their disappointment with the lame dj was palpable.

[madam magpie]

This episode was very sad, not funny at all. I hope Letty and Javier aren’t separated for too long. I like them together.

[dubbel zout]

I also loved when Javi echoes the niece when he said, “It does blow,” that he and Letty are apart.

[Hanahope]

Is there really a universal code like Letty said?  Is that what she uses to get into the hotel safes?  Its just amazing the amount of cash that people (especially rich people)  seem to carry around.

Was glad to see Letty come back for Carin, that shows some growth at least.  I do hope that Jav will find her again before she completely backslides, or she comes to her senses before doing so.

Pretty amazing that Carin's husband was able to get a guy out there to change the locks on all the doors in the brief time she was at yoga.

So with Jav's father and brother dead, does that free Jav, or put a target on his back as well by whoever killed them?  Will Jav be expected to take over the family business?

I lol'd at Christian writing the short story upon which this show is based.

[thesupremediva1]

We're moving into meta territory with Christian writing the Letty Dobesh books!

That was the one and only light and bright moment in this ep. This was as dark as s1e9 for me. I can't rewatch it.

Michelle and JDB killed this ep. Slay slay slay. Emmy worthy. Michelle at the kitchen table with Lusia was gut-wrenching. And watching JDB try to hide his tears from his chosen family outside Estelle's was even worse.

I was wondering when we'd see the disgusting underbelly of addiction. Looks like we've finally entered that rabbit hole. I was at once mad at Letty and scared for her. She wants to be better off alone, but that's not the case anymore. It reminds me of the dialogue from the first ep, when she held the shotgun on Javier: "You ever cross a line you didn't see?"

Letty has crossed that line from loner to (struggling) family woman. She's got her little team of Estelle, Rob, Javier, and Jacob - with Christian and Carin types on the periphery. Once you  become used to that, it's unnatural to go in reverse. She's treading into Carin territory, where the party ends and you go to bed and go back to your family. She continues to deny it with booze and drugs, but you can see how unhappy she is robbing and combing through spoils in the motel. Whereas, last year when we met her, she genuinely enjoyed it.

In the pilot, the "Good Behavior" song and hotel entrance with the famous sunglasses was a moment of joy. This time, it was like a bell of doom ringing. That's not who Letty is anymore - especially without Javi at her side. 

I can only hope Ava and Javier and the surviving brother reconcile so they can save each other. It sounds like their whole family is being exterminated.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

Is there really a universal code like Letty said?

I don't know about hotel safes but a lot of consumer electronics like internet/cable modems do come with a basic security code which you are supposed to change immediately. The problem is that most people don't bother so Letty has found that she can play the odds.

[dubbel zout]

With hotel safes—or at least the ones I’ve used—you set the code the first time you use it. I suppose if people use basic combinations, it’s easy enough to crack. I bet Letty does count on people taking little to no care about stuff like that, so playing the odds does pay off.

[ethalfrida]

I think I'm out. They took a very awesome story about crime and turned it into the sappy, make amends, love-smitten TV romance the bites! No problem with the sex in it but geebus the rest of it. They did the same to Ray Donovan by always having the wife and kids involved on uninteresting levels. After a while I only watched it to see what Mickey was going to do. Last night Good Behavior was so unappealing I couldn't watch it even with another episode to go.

[meep.meep]

1 hour ago, dubbel zout said:

With hotel safes—or at least the ones I’ve used—you set the code the first time you use it. I suppose if people use basic combinations, it’s easy enough to crack. I bet Letty does count on people taking little to no care about stuff like that, so playing the odds does pay off.

One of the problems with the production is that they never show her when it doesn't work.  No thief is that successful.  And using the same hotel for different locations over and over is starting to look really cheap.

I'm still enjoying the show and having never read the books, don't know what is likely to happen.

[dubbel zout]

Just now, meep.meep said:

And using the same hotel for different locations over and over is starting to look really cheap.

This past episode she was at the same place as in the pilot, I think, because the bartender welcomed her back. That said, the show does need to be more aware of that. I’d like to see Letty have more close calls, and get burned at various hotels she’s ripped off.

[vm2017]

On 11/26/2017 at 11:29 PM, Nancypants said:

Damn, Letty with the empty vodka bottle looking for meth dealer was depressing as Shit.

Yep.  I don't think the next episode is going to be any different.  I get this is realistic but doesn't mean I enjoy watching it.

11 hours ago, thesupremediva1 said:

Letty has crossed that line from loner to (struggling) family woman. She's got her little team of Estelle, Rob, Javier, and Jacob - with Christian and Carin types on the periphery. Once you  become used to that, it's unnatural to go in reverse. She's treading into Carin territory, where the party ends and you go to bed and go back to your family. She continues to deny it with booze and drugs, but you can see how unhappy she is robbing and combing through spoils in the motel. Whereas, last year when we met her, she genuinely enjoyed it.

It's something that she has to learn for herself. And it will be an active choice to go back to them and to that life after she's tried to relive the good ol' days. 

When she was speaking with Carin she said something like she was trying to con her way through being a mom - and this is why I was troubled last year.  She wanted Jacob but you could tell she had no idea what it would entail. 

4 hours ago, meep.meep said:

I'm still enjoying the show and having never read the books, don't know what is likely to happen.

Are they even following the books still?  Anyone know?

[helenamonster]

Was the wig Letty wore in this episode the one that she really liked at Alice's? Grandma's not gonna be too happy about that!

I love how much Javier loves his nieces, and his sister. I think with his father and brother dead, they're heading towards a reveal that Teo was actually not working on their behalf. I thought Teo was giving up that information way too easily: he has to know that Javier will kill him either way, so why give him what he wants? I think that's why they had Ava waffle on whether or not she wanted Javier to kill him. They need him alive for the next episode so that Javier can interrogate him about what's really going on.

So we know that the universal code is how Letty's been stealing from hotel safes. I'm also assuming that a lot of people just make their room number the combination when they use it. My mother does this, it drives me nuts, and she's an otherwise intelligent woman so she can't be the only one.

I like Carin. As someone else said above, she's cut from the same cloth as season one's Tiffany.

"Shantay, you stay." Lashever would watch Drag Race.

[atlantaloves]

Somebody tell me how does Letty always manage to say, leave a car with nothing but one handbag and be able to be dressed and totally glam to rob again within hours?  I knew knew knew she was going to leave him at the gas station, this has been happening in movies since Five Easy Pieces.  Oh, and why can't she realize that Karen with a C could be her best friend? They both are druggies and horrible moms. She needs a friend. 

[Nancypants]

16 hours ago, atlantaloves said:

Somebody tell me how does Letty always manage to say, leave a car with nothing but one handbag and be able to be dressed and totally glam to rob again within hours?  I knew knew knew she was going to leave him at the gas station, this has been happening in movies since Five Easy Pieces.  Oh, and why can't she realize that Karen with a C could be her best friend? They both are druggies and horrible moms. She needs a friend. 

Because all of the above is not supposed to make sense. This is Letty we are talking about.

[dubbel zout]

Also, it's a TV show. There's always hand-waving, and viewers always need to decide how much they're willing to do.

Edited December 1, 2017 by dubbel zout

[gibasi]

On 11/28/2017 at 8:43 PM, vm2017 said:

Yep.  I don't think the next episode is going to be any different.  I get this is realistic but doesn't mean I enjoy watching it.

 

 

1 hour ago, dubbel zout said:

Also, it's a TV show. There's always hand-waving, and viewers always need to decide how much they're willing to do.

I prefer to hand-wave the preposterous to the downward spiral that Letty is on.  I don't like when Letty is on her coke/drink/sex binges.  I almost didn't watch after the first episode for that reason.  I don't want to watch a show and end up feeling depressed as shit.

I like seeing Letty perform her magic and manipulate everyone around her.  And I agree Carin is like her high school buddy.  She had history with her high school friend; I would just as soon see her with that friend.  Carin and Apple are not anyone I am interested in.

And the show suffers when they have Letty and Javier apart.  

This show wants to be realistic when it comes to Letty's drinking, etc. but then they feel they can give us some absurd stories with plot holes you could drive a truck through.  Like how she is driving all over the damn South in 6-8 hours and robbing high end resort hotels and no one catches on.  Which doesn't really make me mad.  It's just odd to me.

Edited December 1, 2017 by gibasi
needed to finish my thought

[dubbel zout]

17 minutes ago, gibasi said:

This show wants to be realistic when it comes to Letty's drinking, etc. but then they feel they can give us some absurd stories with plot holes you could drive a truck through. 

The show's tone/internal logic is still a bit wobbly, and I think that's what makes some of the plot swings so problematic.

[Nessie]

On 11/28/2017 at 8:43 PM, vm2017 said:

Yep.  I don't think the next episode is going to be any different.  I get this is realistic but doesn't mean I enjoy watching it.

It's something that she has to learn for herself. And it will be an active choice to go back to them and to that life after she's tried to relive the good ol' days. 

When she was speaking with Carin she said something like she was trying to con her way through being a mom - and this is why I was troubled last year.  She wanted Jacob but you could tell she had no idea what it would entail. 

Are they even following the books still?  Anyone know?

No, they're not.  Very little of this series has followed the stories.  The first episode followed the first story until about 3/4 through, then it took a big swerve and the endings were very different.  Letty and Christian's hotel caper is in the 3rd story (although that too ends very differently - these stories are very, very twisted, IMO).  I thought I had read they were going to use parts of the 2nd story in this season, but I haven't seen any of it yet.  

Spoiler

The part of Christian's book that Letty read is word for word out of the ending of the first story (except, of course, the main character is Letty, not Lisa, but that will be fixed once Christian takes her advice and changes the name) - I actually got a kick out of that.  The hitman Letty hooks up with in the first story is named Arnold, not Javier.  She meets up with Javier in the second story, but he is far from the charming hitman we know, and she doesn't get in any sort of romantic relationship with him.  And Christian is not her parole officer, but her therapist, and we don't meet him until the 3rd story (I think).

Edited December 11, 2017 by Nessie