And just like that, the ladies are back like they never left.
As much as things have changed for the crew since they first robbed the Fine & Frugal, many things have stayed the same. They’re still beholden to Rio, and they’re still trying to stay one step ahead of the Feds.
Good Girls Season 4 Episode 1 drops us right back into the action, with Beth trying to take control back and everyone just doing their best to survive.
If you need a quick recap of all things Good Girls Season 3, which was narratively a bit of a mess, the most important things to remember are the gun, the hitman, and Boland Bubbles.
Beth is trying to navigate all of these things while also keeping up with being a mother to elementary-aged children. It’s admirable that Beth has always been able to juggle the crime and the mundane aspects of middle American life.
Laundering money by day and pulling on the apron at night.
Getting Rio his money is always high on the priority list, and with the gun looming over her head, she didn’t have a choice but to get the hot tub business up and running much quicker than she anticipated.
Beth continues to juggle, and she’s got her balls going in all different directions. She’s not totally honest with Dean about anything, and she’s still playing Rio’s game while simultaneously trying to get him killed.
With COVID ending the third season prematurely, it wasn’t clear whether or not the hitman would stick around. But he’s back with a twist this time.
His little crush on Beth is either going to be something she can use to her advantage or something that will begin her downfall. Imagine a world in which Beth rebuffs the hitman’s advances and hurts his feelings so badly that he outs her plans to Rio.
That’s obviously the worst-case scenario, but Beth has to be thinking of all the possible repercussions of this newfound hiccup.
Beth and Rio are never going to trust each other. That’s not to say they ever fully did, but there was a time where their partnership was a lot less fraught with tension. And I’m not talking about the tension of the sexual variety.
Rio: You ain’t forget about our little incentive program, right?
Beth: No, I did not.
Ro: Good. Just trying to keep you motivated.
Once Beth tried to kill him, she lost all credibility and any sense of goodwill that Rio had for her. Getting rid of him for good is the only thing that makes sense for Beth, but she has to be a dutiful associate in the interim. All while internally stressing out that her life could be over if that guy gets into the wrong hands.
One of the best aspects of Good Girls has always been seeing how the ladies finagle their way out of situations they have no business getting out of. And here, Beth was able to beat Rio at his own game when he got sloppy.
Let’s be honest, the Rio and Beth connection is not only a popular one with the masses, but it’s also such an integral part of the show. And taking that away doesn’t seem like a smart move on the part of the show.
But continuing to drive this wedge and creating a rivalry while still exploring the scorching chemistry between the two sounds like a fantastic thing to explore this season.
How Dean fits into everything will also be interesting to see, now that we know the FBI has their sights set on Dean as the mastermind of the counterfeiting ring.
Dean has been swept up in things before, but the heat has always been on the ladies. From the very beginning, Dean has literally been clueless about everything, and that’s worked in his favor for the first part.
Is it misogyny that now has the powers that be in the FBI ignoring all of Phoebe’s intel in favor of going after Dean? The evidence has always pointed to Beth. Turner knew it, and Phoebe knows it, too. But there’s probably a decent case to be made for thinking Dean is at least somewhat involved.
If Dean gets pinched, that’s a win-win for both Rio and Beth when you think about it. Though we already know Beth would never allow it. For all their problems and Dean’s stupidity, he is still the father of Beth’s children, and she does have love for him. She would never allow him to go away for her crimes.
But what if she doesn’t have a choice? Dean is many, many, many things, but he doesn’t deserve to go down for this.
Both Ruby and Annie’s side plots were wrapped up in their families, with all of them having self-reflective moments about the kind of parents they are.
Stan and Ruby aren’t bad parents, and they’re not even bad people in the broader sense of the term. They’re raising their children in a house that is full of love, and Sara and Harry know that. Having Harry be a genius is an exciting twist, and it sounds like they’ll be faced with money issues yet again as they try to foster that genius.
And much like Stan and Ruby, Annie is a good parent, as well. But she can sense a divide between herself and Ben, and it’s pretty sad to see but also somewhat normal as Ben continues to grow up and find himself.
Annie: Don’t tell me, this is the part where you want me to realize out loud that I’m some kind of narcissist and I’ve been ignoring my son?
Dr. Cohen: The out loud part is optional.
Annie is judgmental. There’s just no getting around that. She means well, and she loves hard, but she can often be so critical of things that it probably makes Ben want to steer clear of even bringing things to her attention.
It doesn’t mean he doesn’t love his mother, but it does mean Annie needs to do a little soul-searching about the role she plays in Ben’s decision to shield her from certain areas of his life.
Good thing we’ve got a brand new season to dive into it all!
Odds and Ends
- After what happened with Turner, you would think the ladies would be automatically suspicious of ANYONE who randomly tried to spark up a friendship with them. Hell, they should be wary of anyone trying to talk to them unprovoked.
- The Annie and Dr. Cohen relationship has never made sense, and It comes to be a murky power dynamic struggle that does nothing for Annie’s character. Can we petition the show to give Annie an appropriate love interest?
- I am an unapologetic Mick fan, and here’s hoping he has a more significant role this season. Yes, he’s a killer, but the fact that Annie goes to him to try and help her sister says a lot about who he is underneath it all. Please give us more, Mick!
- RIP to Lucy one more time. She deserves a proper burial.
This was a solid start to the season, and it opens up a plethora of new storylines to dive into, all while still giving us the laughs and the feels.
What did you guys think of the premiere?
Do you think Dean will get in trouble?
Is there any way the hitman kills Rio?
Drop me a line down below, and remember you can catch up on all the seasons when you watch Good Girls online via TV Fanatic!
Whitney Evans is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.