Of course, what hasn’t gone is the lack of trust and the fact that she’s still essentially in debt with him. And, even though he makes it clear that she’s safe – “I think I need you alive” – it’s already obvious through his body language and facial expressions in both that final scene and the bar one, that the desire to kill her has pretty much gone at this point. He did say she could be something after all. The way they keep making eye contact and the fact that at one point he puts his gun down and he keeps leaning forward or shifting positions as he grows more intrigued with what she’s doing and, perhaps, the fact she is the one doing it. He does have that mix of being chill and intimidating (and even funny) but you can actually see the way things change between the two of them. The biggest shift with these two, however, is at the end of the episode while she makes money.

While questioning him, Rio is that usual mix of being chill and intimidating (and even a little funny) which only really emphasises the fact that he’s totally different around Beth during that bar scene. We see it from the way he talks to the tattooed mover who has been working for Beth. He doesn’t seem angry or mocking, even when he tells her she can’t afford to save her life, he’s just stating facts based on the information he has at the time. And it’s not just that, it’s also the fact that he just seems exhausted during that bar scene. Even though he most likely believes she could never pay it, the fact he gives her a figure instead of killing her right there and then is an obvious indication that things have settled just a little. Regardless, the scene serves to not only squash the pregnancy lie and put that fully in the rearview mirror but it also gives Beth the opportunity to pay Rio and save her life that way instead. Maybe it’s the lighting, maybe it’s the general setting, maybe it’s the fact that one of them (usually Beth, let’s be honest) is at least a little tipsy and a little more open with their (her) thoughts and feelings, but it just works. Which, I really do think we need to take a moment to appreciate these two in a bar setting and I, for one, think that scenes like that should be mandatory in every season. So, to that end, it worked really well that Beth switches tactics within the first ten minutes of the episode by going to meet with Rio. The idea of Mick babysitting her while she sits on her pregnancy lie is fun but, as previously mentioned in past posts, the lie was never going to last and so the plot needed to think about moving on. I’m glad they didn’t draw it out too much.

Good Girls has always done a great job at showing us how Beth is feeling and how she’s dealing (or rather, not dealing) with things going on and this episode was really no different. But anyway, with the way Beth jumps so easily as the kids call for her, the fact that she calls the cops in an attempt to have Mick leave, and her lying down on the couch (while wrapped in a blanket and groaning like she’s in pain), it was really no surprise that she caved under the pressure so quickly. Which, I quickly have to say, I loved the idea of her neighbour helping him out and the way Annie and Ruby are criticising those actions while spying through the window. That being said, I appreciate that we started the episode off with Beth looking out of her front window at Mick, who we saw from the end of last week’s episode, is babysitting her for Rio. With several plots that were all interesting and/or entertaining to watch and paced so well, it really was good from start to finish. While I’m reluctant to call it perfect, it was definitely the best episode we’ve seen so far this season and it’s up there as one of the best of the entire series. At the time of writing this, it’s been a couple of days since episode four aired but it’s still very much on my mind.

Good girls soundtrack episode 4