Good Girls Review: Slow Down, Children at Play (Season 2 Episode 2)
The wheels are in motion, and it looks like Annie, Beth, and Ruby may start on a downhill slope in Good Girls Season 2 Episode 2, “Slow Down, Children at Play.”
Rio wants Boomer dead and is determined that the girls will do it. Considering these are also women who didn’t want to degrade the DNA in Good Girls Season 2 Episode 1, “I’d Rather Be Crafting,” viewers can probably guess how this is going to go.
Boomer isn’t dead, and now the girls are in a bigger hole because they blackmailed him.
The morality that guides Annie, Beth, and Ruby’s actions have always been a driving force, but the scenario presented here shows the audience exactly what it’s like when one of them is faced with pulling the trigger.
Killing Boomer is a line that Beth cannot cross and it fits her character. This decision causes a nexus in her character where she could go one way or another, and the fact that she is eventually driven to Rio who’s going to teach her is a good direction to go in.
It’s nice that the girls have a moral compass, and that there are lines for what they will do, but until those boundaries are tested the series can’t go further.
The fall, on the other hand, is inevitable. After they offer Boomer a bribe, they have to come up with $20,000 which is driving them to commit more crimes. As their repertoire of crimes grow and their amateur mistakes continue the likelihood that they will get caught is going to increase.
In the same episode, the girls think they can sell a Tesla for parts, and forget to remove a bullet from the magazine so that their story will stick. Continuing to make those kinds of mistakes is going to get them found out, and Rio is the answer.
Rio’s decision to step in and teach Beth will allow them to continue to operate, which will keep the show moving forward, and mitigate what the FBI is able to do. Especially with Boomer still in the picture.
Ruby and Stan’s relationship is on the mend, and I am so happy that they are working things out.
Like Beth and Annie, Ruby got in on this crime spree because of her family and her daughter and everything she’s done since then is to continue to be there for her family. The moment when she finally puts it all in perspective for Stan is glorious.
RUBY: I saved her life! It wasn’t god or the church, or any of those thoughts and prayers. It was me! You say I don’t know who I am, well let me introduce myself. I’m the crazy-ass bitch who robbed a grocery store to save her child and protect her family. Your child! And your family! I’m that bitch! Nice to meet ya! And you’re welcome.
There is so much power and courage in that statement and it’s a brilliant performance from Retta. At the end of the day, Stan is still a cop though, so this is going to weigh on their relationship and his career as things get messier.
Good Girls writes characters that are funny but also three-dimensional. Each character has a little bit of something that makes you feel for them, and one of those examples is Nancy.
Nancy is a character who I probably shouldn’t like, but in contrast to her perky mother-to-be side, the writers have also shown that a large part of her life is fake. The mask falls off and she’s able to connect with Annie, who the audience knows is sleeping with her husband.
The reveal of Gregg and Annie’s affair is well done and unexpected. In an age where it would be so simple for Nancy to see some outgoing texts, Good Girls went right for the face-to-face confrontation.
The situation also makes Nancy and empathetic character. After all, we know how much she wanted this child, but finding out that her husband has been sleeping with his ex after she’s just poured her heart out is going to sting.
The same is true for Mary Pat, who in her scenes this episode looks like she’s been condemned. After Good Girls Season 1, I didn’t think I could empathize with Mary Pat, but the writers have accomplished it.
Now, I want Boomer out of the picture as much as Annie and Ruby wanted Beth to pull that trigger.
Boomer might be safe for this episode, I am going to be very disappointed if he doesn’t meet his end by the end of Season 2.
Stray Thoughts:
- In case anyone is out there reading this, the irony that I keep talking about Beth, Annie, and Ruby having moral compasses when Good Girls starts with them robbing a convenience store is not lost on me. At all.
- The scene with Boomer and his Nana was adorable. Adding that scene in was a great way to humanize him and show viewers both sides of the scenario. I don’t like that I’m empathizing with Boomer, but each of the characters on this show is imperfect. He’s not a good guy, but he genuinely believes he is.
- I feel like there’s poetry to discussing a hit in a doughnut shop. I’m not entirely sure what it is, but it feels apropos.
- Nancy is such the type to have a gender reveal party, but doesn’t this feel a little early? Or did they just sit on the news of the pregnancy for a while? I feel like I am missing something here.
- Also speaking of the gender reveal party, this is the second thing I’ve watched this week where the cake failed and they couldn’t tell what it was! Really? This trope is getting tired.
What did you think of this episode of Good Girls? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Good Girls airs Sundays at 10/9c on NBC.
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Lauren Busser
Lauren Busser is an Associate Editor at Tell-Tale TV. She is a writer of fiction and nonfiction whose work has appeared in Bitch Media, Popshot Quarterly, Brain Mill Press Voices, and The Hartford Courant.
2 comments
at the end of episode 1 annie is told that nancy JUST FOUND OUT she was pregnant that morning…so how is she showing and having a gender reveal in the very next episode?
If she did IVF (which is revealed that she did in season 1) she would know the gender before getting pregnant.
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