Good Behavior Review: The Heart Attack Is the Best Way (Season 2 Episode 1)
Letty is trying to have a normal life now that she has custody of her son Jacob on Good Behavior Season 2 Episode 1 “The Heart Attack Is the Best Way,” and things are not off to a good start. Interestingly, her biggest problem isn’t the hitman she’s sharing her home with…at least not yet.
I mean the episode does begin with Jacob asking “are you guys done?” while Letty and Javier are having sex.
As much as Letty and Javier fight and make life for one another difficult, they only have each other after the events of last season. Letty screwed over the FBI after giving up Javier to get custody of her son. Javier is cut off from his entire family after they all discover he’s a hitman. Still the two found love and are trying to make it work.
Their bad habits bit them both directly on the ass. Both agree to give up committing crimes, but this is Good Behavior, so neither of them do. Letty is trying to get Jacob, who is using the name Michael, into a school for most of the episode, but she also steals clothing and tries to bribe a school official to do it.
Under all of the theft and chaos is a woman who is truly just trying to take care of her son, which is why Michelle Dockery’s Letty works so well. You root for her because regardless of all of the mess — and there’s a lot — she loves Jacob.
Javier, who is working as a line cook, secretly takes a contract. The target turns out to be another hitman trying to kill him, so Javier kills him, puts the body in his trunk then parks that trunk in their garage.
Committing these crimes in secret brings some levity to the episode, which gives Good Behavior its very specific tone.
Javier leaves the body in the trunk of the car, which Letty takes to buy wine. When the clerk helps bring the cases of wine to the car she discovers the body and must think on her feet. It’s funny, but also a reminder that while Javier’s skill set is violent and very visible, Letty’s stealth and cunning is a nice contrast. One that is showcased well.
The comedic value of their antics would be much higher if it weren’t for the risk to Jacob. He is happy to be with his mother, but he struggles with the difficultly of his new life. Without a permanent address, he cannot go to public school, and private school waitlists are long, so Jacob is stuck.
Jacob’s being thrust closer to the action of the series is a nice change of pace. In the first season, he was home with his grandmother while Letty ran around with Javier, but living with the couple allows for the young child to be the eyes of the viewer, who typically sees Letty’s actions as odd at best.
Jacob particularly shines in one scene where Letty suggests homeschooling him, which Jacob finds to be an absolutely ridiculous suggestion. He understands that Letty is doing her best, but she didn’t graduate from high school, so homeschooling is not acceptable.
When he decides to go out and solve the problem on his own, Jacob brings about the episode’s most humorous sequence. While at the beach, he meets Apple who he invites to dinner, along with her mother Carin.
Letty and Javier may seem odd, but that is only until these two come over for dinner.
Apple, who Carin named after Gwyneth Paltrow’s child, wants to help Jacob get into her school because she’s running for Class President, and her campaign platform includes diversity. Watching this young girl’s performative wokeness offers two of the episode’s most memorable scenes.
In the end, Letty has a new friend in Carin, but it seems Jacob is not any closer to finding a new school.
Letty and Javier may be making their own lives difficult, but they will soon have some outside forces to deal with as well. The episode also includes the beginning of problems that the two will face later in the season.
The same person who hired the hitman to kill Javier hired someone to kill his friend Silk, who also helped dispose of the bodies for his jobs. In addition, the FBI agent Letty screwed over is looking for Javier by trying to track her down.
What did you think of this week’s episode of Good Behavior? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Good Behavior airs Sundays at 10/9c on TNT.
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Alamin Yohannes
Alamin is an aspiring writer, social media editor, and television enthusiast. While he has been a TV fan since the days of Martin, Living Single, and Buffy The Vampire Slayer, the introduction of Netflix and a rewatch of Grey's Anatomy kick things into high gear. One of his life goals is to find a Cul-de-Sac crew of his own and he'll never stop hoping for "Happy Endings" to return. Alamin may not love every television show, but he'll definitely catch any new show out. You can also usually find him talking about whatever he's currently watching on Twitter.