Beth must live with the fallout after her plan to get Rio arrested fails. The women's crimes finally catch up with them when evidence surfaces that puts them on a collision course with Agent Turner.
In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of NBC's Good Girls.
"I'd Rather Be Crafting" was written by Bill Krebs and directed by Michael Weaver
Good Girls concluded its first season on a deadly cliffhanger. There was a gun and the sense that someone had been shot. As such, it was always going to be fascinating to see if this premiere would dramatically change up the foundation of the show. The show always saw its Good Girls as complicated women who did something wrong and can justify it with their love for their families. Every single action they did was in order to provide for the people they cared about. It was just difficult because they ran afoul of Rio and his gang. They thought they could take him down and get Agent Turner off their backs as well. That just wasn't the case. Rio made bail and immediately came to punish Beth. He gave her the chance to take out the king like she showed the impulse to do. If she pulled the trigger, then she would become a killer. That would dramatically alter her as a person. There would be no easy way to justify the actions that she had taken. Sure, she could say that she was forced into it. But that impulse would still be there as well. And so, the show decides not to have Beth pull the trigger. Instead, she simply can't do it. That gives Rio the opportunity to shoot Dean. That's the character who will be dramatically altered by this moment. And yet, he doesn't die. That too is a surprising decision. It means that he is once again incredibly dependent on Beth. She has wanted to leave him for so long. But he's still at the house despite all of the terrible things he has done. This brush with death will likely change him and make him even more depressed. But it also ensures that the bills will continue to mount for Beth and her friends. That's precarious because Agent Turner is intensifying the investigation into them. He doesn't want to be working with Boomer because he is such a deplorable human being. He is not a good informant whatsoever because he carries a grudge against the women for repeatedly ruining his life. But Agent Turner finds himself having to work with him as well because he provided the investigation with the pen cap that was used to write the note left behind at the second robbery. That was a foolish decision that Beth made without really thinking through the consequences. That explains so many of the actions of this show. None of these characters are all that capable of breaking bad. Instead, everything they do is informed by the television shows they watch. They are informed by what they have seen on The First 48, CSI and SVU. The girls think it's a good idea to steal from the evidence van to ensure that Beth's DNA isn't connected back to this crime. Of course, they can't go through with it because they can't find the pen cap and there is evidence from rap kits as well. They still wish to hold that high moral line. They believe they have a good sense of right and wrong. Stan is furious at Ruby for putting him in this compromising position though. He knows exactly what's at stake and the consequences for the women. He knows about the possible repercussions that they haven't even thought of. He still steals evidence from his job though. That could get him into a lot of trouble. But he also does so to keep his family together. That impulse continues to make strange bedfellows. Annie and Gregg may be sleeping together once more. But that's a more innocent relationship even though it's him cheating on his pregnant wife. Meanwhile, Mary Pat and Boomer get back together solely to protect themselves against the legal ramifications. And then, Rio shows up in the new context of being a parent as well. But his parenting style is very menacing as he makes the women feel like they still need to kill Boomer in order to survive with what they have done.
