‘Good Girls’ struggle to break free from the ‘no-way-out’ situation

Category: Television and Streaming

NBC’s female-forward series, Good Girls, is ‘the blend of comedy and desperation’ created by Jenna Bans. It started out as an edgy yet wildly entertaining dramedy in 2018, but its second season is a series of frenzied attempts to break free from the Evil One with dark humor sprinkled here and there. In other words, it is much darker than its first season since the girls had already crossed the line and it’s high time they faced the consequences.

Good Girls centers around three strapped Detroit moms taking a walk on the wild side. Beth (Christina Hendricks) is a Stepford Wife who is determined to protect her four children and the family home from her lying, cheating husband. Annie (Mae Whitman), Beth’s younger sister, is a wild and irresponsible checkout girl who needs to grow up fast in order to win the custody battle of her daughter. Ruby (Retta) is a happily married waitress who is burdened with prohibitive medical expenses to treat her daughter’s renal disease.

When they robbed the grocery store where Annie works, they had no idea they would be falling into a bottomless pit of turmoil and destruction. As luck would have it, the money they stole happened to belong to Rio (Manny Montana), a local thug. The harder they try to escape from Rio’s clutches, the deeper they get sucked into unsavory world of criminals.

Season 2 digs deeper into their psyche and values. Beth examines if she has what it takes to be ‘Boss Bitch.’ With her moral compass still intact, Ruby wants to do the right thing even if that means turning herself in. Annie runs around like a chicken with its head cut off. Their secrets and lies start showing up in relationships and family dynamics. One thing they finally come to realize is not to expect any man to have answers. That’s right! They’re all they have!

Although Rio teaches manners and social skills to his young son, he is rotten to the core. My way or the highway! Beth should never have trusted him. After all, he’s a criminal who blatantly disregards the law and civility. Let me put in my own two cents on dealing with the criminals next door. You can’t be nice to a criminal. If you give him an inch, he’ll take a mile. You shouldn’t be nasty to a criminal either, however. If you are, he’ll retaliate with vengeance. You can’t ask why he does what he does. That’s who he is and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Though I’ve previewed only six episodes, I felt like I just played a game of Whac-a-Mole for six hours straight. Wait! I’m experiencing déjà vu! This is exactly how I felt when I finished watching the final season of Bloodline (Netflix 2015-17). Come to think of it, Beth’s ‘no-way-out’ situation reminds me of that of John Rayburn (Kyle Chandler). Lying in any shape or form is acceptable as long as it keeps the wolves from the door. John was groomed to save and protect his family, but trying to fend off relentless onslaughts on the Rayburn Empire broke him down. How is Beth going to come through all those perils unscathed? But this is not a serious drama…Rio could turn out to be a double agent or something?! Anything is possible, right?

Good Girls returns on Sunday, March 3, 2019 on NBC.

About the Author

Meg Mimura is a TV critic who actually watches shows zealously in search of thought-provoking and paradigm shifting human drama worth our precious time. She is a member of Television Critics Association.NBC