Good Girls Review: Au Jus (Season 3 Episode 5)

A deeply sobering episode, Good Girls Season 3 Episode 5, “Au Jus,” signals that the Brio honeymoon is over and Beth, Annie, and Ruby are in deep. 

If you look up the meaning of “Au Jus” it’s French for serving food in its own natural juices from cooking. That term can describe exactly what happens on this episode. 

Beth, Annie, and Ruby have been going deeper and deeper into a chute for slaughter, and in the process, have dragged Lucy with them.

Lucy’s death is the result of their selfishness and carelessness, and in the process, the audience loses some respect for these women. 

This is the saddest death to occur on Good Girls since the series began.

In looking at the series so far, it’s easy to see that there hasn’t been a jarring death; something that would sober these women to realize that they are dealing with something they cannot control.

Lucy’s death has emotional weight. It is close to home. More importantly, Lucy was like them. If you remember in Season 1, there’s a moment where they’re trying to barter with Rio for their lives, and part of Beth’s plea is that when nice people go missing people notice. 

Lucy is missing. She was nice. People are gonna notice. 

Lucy has joined a class of characters that were just too good for the world they live in. Lucy was a kind and sweet soul that just wanted to do her job and do it well. Her entire life reflected that, including her boyfriend who is sensitive enough to go get her tampons and Midol. 

She didn’t deserve her end. Beth, Annie, and Ruby’s part in this means they won’t be able to deny the consequences of their actions anymore. 

Up until now, they’ve been lucky. The people they’ve brought in, haven’t had any repercussions, but Lucy’s involvement was different, and her death has started hammering nails into their coffin. 

It’s clear that they were not prepared for what was going to happen, and they didn’t expect Rio to turn around and shoot Lucy. Rio’s the one who pulled the trigger, but Beth’s the one who made it happen.

Her impassioned speech is the driving force that convinced Rio that he didn’t need all of them, and with the plates drawn: Lucy is expendable. 

Beth’s bravado is, in part, propelled by Dean’s words. He may have had good intentions, but he also opened the door to the path to hell, and all for some shaky logic.

Dean’s reasoning that Rio won’t kill her because he loves her is a gamble–at best! 

Dean continues to be a character that surprises me. I’ve been impressed with the dedication he’s showing his family, but his actions here were reckless here. While he says he didn’t mean to make things worse, it’s hard to believe that he couldn’t have seen this coming.

After all, this is the same guy who once tied him up in his own house and then shot him. It’s easy to see where Dean is coming from, but he should know that they’re dealing with someone dangerous after that.

The actions of this episode start a steep downward spiral in Beth and Rio’s relationship. It’s been adversarial for a few episodes now, but Lucy’s death is a breaking point. 

Whatever chemistry they had is shattered, and it’s confirmed when Beth’s home with Dean and says that it isn’t her that Rio loves, it’s money. 

Rio wants to make money. He will choose the money every time. 

Beth’s realized this, and she knows her usefulness to him is going to come to an end at a certain point. There’s no way they’re going to get out of this cycle with each other.

At some point, one of them is either going to end up in jail or in a coffin. 

Stray Thoughts:

• There’s no denying that bird-napping is a new low. Definitely a new low. 
• Dean’s lie about the fish massacre is kind of cute, but can also be read as symbolism for his relationship with Beth, Annie, and Ruby. His effects on their busy are a bit like feeding fish either too much or not enough.
• In writing this review I realized that Beth clearly didn’t hide her engraver’s plate well. That’s very reminiscent of their argument on Good Girls Season 3 Episode 4, “An Eye for an Eye.” 
• Sara’s relationship with Stan is cute to watch, but I am dying to see how she squares off with Ruby now that she’s getting wise to her mother’s illegal activities. 
• I didn’t walk about Stan and Ruby’s relationship in this review at all, and that’s new for me. They’ve been a very solid couple so seeing them uneasy and having a fight is not fun to watch, but I think that if anyone on Good Girls can come through it, it’s them.
• Annie! Annie! Annie! What are you doing dear? You really need to go back to Josh and figure out some of this stuff going on with you. Transferance is normal. He can be a professional, I’m sure. Just don’t sleep with your therapist and you’ll be fine. This is the season where you can end up happy! Don’t blow it! 

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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