Good Girls Series Chat: The Good, The Bad, and What Could Have Been

Are you already missing Good Girls?

We sure are over here at TV Fanatic. But with the finale still fresh in our minds, we decided to take some time to discuss the final episode of the series and reminiscence about the little show about Mom’s just trying to survive.

Join Whitney Evans and Jasmine Blu as they talk about it all and leave us with some parting words about the beloved crime drama that didn’t quite get to ride off into the sunset.

Whitney: So, first things first. Grade the series finale!

Jasmine: Oh boy. I suppose, given the circumstances, I’ll give it a C+. I think they did what they could with what they had already built to give the show a final ending. But because of how the whole season played out already, it was always going to be a bit of a letdown.

Whitney: I actually didn’t hate it as much as everyone else, but that could be because I had a few weeks to prepare myself. I thought it was a B/B-, but that could have been a nostalgic grade because I loved that series at the end of the day.

Jasmine: I totally get that. I was torn between nostalgia and just being so sad for all the missed potential that I wavered back and forth the entire time I was watching it.

What did you like about it? I’m curious!

Whitney: I enjoyed the whole operation to get something on Nick. And I also enjoyed the Nevada interlude, and it was confirming what we all knew all along…a change of scenery wasn’t going to change much of anything for the ladies.

I also liked seeing Annie find a romantic prospect that felt right for her at that point in her life.

But as I’m saying all this, I realize how unsatisfying it is knowing we won’t have any resolution for many of these storylines.

Jasmine: I did like the Nevada interlude because, you’re right, it was Beth mostly coming to grips with what we already knew that she loved this too much, and changing scenery and pretending like she wasn’t getting high off of this lifestyle wouldn’t have changed a thing.

And I genuinely loved Annie finally finding a love interest that worked for her and being happy in that part of her life which was one of many reasons her ending upset me so much.

Whitney: Great segue into talking about Annie. I’ve always felt a need to protect Annie in some ways because I think of the three ladies, I understand her best. But man, the show did her no favors most of the time.

What did you think about her overall season 4 journey?

Jasmine: I just don’t understand where her growth was! I don’t understand why they left her as such a stagnant character. I get that she was the young screw-up with men issues, but this remained her arc every season for the entire series up until the end.

And any little bits of growth rarely had a follow-up. She got her GED, for what? She wanted to be an EMT; what difference did it make in the end?

She tried to prove to Ben that she’s a good mom who has it together, and then Beth basically reinforced that same thing Annie was trying to combat when Rio kidnapped her, and Beth told Ben that she was just out with some dude and abandoned him.

I hate that she was always the comedic relief, screw-up, and irresponsible one. And then it ends with her sacrificing herself for Beth, which I thought Beth was trying to avoid, and it was just once again screwing Ben over, and catering to that narrative and now drawing parallels to Rio just when she was finding stability.

Whitney: Yeah, I can’t disagree with anything you said. What frustrated me the most was what you first said; there was barely any Annie growth throughout all 50 episodes. She was the definition of stagnant, and just when you thought she was turning a corner, she would ALWAYS regress.

And it was frustrating because what was the point of that? Why couldn’t Annie ever grow up essentially?

One of my overall Good Girls issues (besides the recycled storylines) was their failure to let Annie get a win. Instead, she took L after L pretty much the entire series, with romantic partners and in her life.

But even having said that, I liked Kevin. And I liked them together. If I ignore the last few minutes, I’m happy that Annie finally found someone she connected with who only wanted her and was invested in her family. I was glad she at least got that.

Jasmine: She really did. And I think because she was younger, the one closest to our age, the quintessential millennial, there was something specifically discouraging about the hopelessness surrounding her and that she NEVER got a win.

But yes, that said, I loved Kevin and that relationship. He was my favorite romantic interest of hers. I think he challenged her, but he also didn’t judge her or make her feel beneath him or like something was wrong with her all of the time.

He did help her grow where there was growth. And I loved that they found some happiness with each other. He was one of my favorite parts of the season.

Whitney: If we had gotten a final season, where would you have liked to see Annie’s story go?

Jasmine: I would have liked Annie to find her purpose. She always felt lost and aimless. Maybe she did do the EMT thing or, hell, worked at a nursing home or just took advantage of any of the little things we saw over the years.

I wish she would’ve just found a bit of happiness and stability and a healthy romantic relationship. And that she maybe knew her value without always seeking like she had something to prove or was a disappointment — if any of that makes sense.

Whitney: It makes perfect sense, and I love it. I always wanted her to feel settled. Settled financially and emotionally, and just happy. We got glimpses, but that’s all I ever wanted for Annie.

Let’s switch gears to a more settled relationship. Stan and Ruby have been all over the place during the series, and we were left with a bit of a cliffhanger.

Do you think Stan was right to give Ruby an ultimatum of sorts?

Jasmine: Oh man. The Hills were stressing me out! I love my goofy parents so much, and they couldn’t even let us have that stable relationship without drama.

I was Team Stan for a lot of things this season. I do think that he wasn’t holding his wife accountable for her actions, but I also understood his frustration when you consider that everyone around Beth has suffered and paid some serious consequences, whereas too often, she skated by.

But I get his frustration. Ruby kept prioritizing Beth over her family, and while Beth is family too, Ruby wasn’t balancing that out well. As much as I hate ultimatums and that Stan tried to cut Ruby’s SISTER out of her life, I also don’t think Ruby would’ve ever changed anything without an ultimatum.

I think Annie going to jail, though, may have been a game-changer. I think Ruby would’ve picked Stan and the kids until she got sucked into that. Then, I could see her letting them go without her with a promise of getting to them after she made sure Beth and Annie were okay.

Whitney: I agree with you here. My main problem with Stan was his constant Beth blaming and refusal to see that Ruby was a willing participant in everything. I will never get on a Beth soapbox, but it was annoying how terrible he was to her.

I hate ultimatums as well, but Stan was at the end of his rope, but the timing was just all wrong. I wouldn’t have blamed Ruby either way if I’m honest. Even if she left, she would always come back to try and help because leaving the ladies like that would have just been so wrong on so many levels.

But I like to think that Stan and Ruby compromised in the end.

Jasmine: Exactly. I mean, Ruby couldn’t win either way here. And I just resent the idea of her being forced to choose between her family and her husband treating her like a child.

But damn, I loved someone finally calling Beth out a bit, and sweet, mild-mannered Stan at the end of his rope after everything he’s endured because of all of this too just felt like a nice thing to explore even if it wasn’t always executed well.

Whitney: That’s very true about Beth. And let’s get into the Beth of it all.

Beth as a lead was a tough pill to swallow at times, but I did like how she FINALLY accepted herself in the finale. It seemed like she was done being naïve.

What did you think about Beth’s overall journey from the beginning of the series to the end?

Jasmine: Yes! Honestly, this is all I ever really wanted from her in the first place. But, sometimes, it felt like they got too caught up in the series’s title and made Beth “good” or sympathetic or whatever.

There’s nothing wrong with having an occasionally unlikable, messy, flawed female protagonist. She’s a bad bitch. She wanted to be one. Let her!

I hated that they spent so much time trying to play both sides of the fence instead of just letting her embrace that she loves this crime life. She loves the thrill and high and will jeopardize everything and everyone to chase it.

So, in that sense, I loved that the finale gave us that for her. She wanted to be the queen, and now she is. Beth Boland stopped being a victim a long time ago. And I’m happy she stepped into that.

Whitney: 100%. They straddled the line too much with Beth, in my opinion. They had a chance back in Good Girls Season 3 after she tried to kill Rio, to lean into her “bad” side, but they shrank away from it again. And like you said, it’s almost like they were afraid to make her too unlikeable, which I never understood.

All the ladies had unlikeable qualities. But I watch plenty of crime dramas with a plethora of questionable characters, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

The Brio relationship will be one of the things Good Girls is most remembered for. And I LOVED the addition of Nick and finding out more about Rio. It was long overdue, and it did wonders for his character in general.

Nick’s arrival, I think, also forced Rio to come to terms with just how intertwined he was with Beth through business and pleasure.

Were you a fan of the Beth/Rio/Nick semi-triangle?

Jasmine: I did like this development. For one, the show was long overdue to dig into Rio in some way. If they insisted on keeping him, which I never had a problem with, he needed more development. Nick’s introduction gave us that, for sure.

It also answered some questions about who was protecting Rio all of this time. I liked that these brothers/cousins were playing tug of war with Beth, but in the end, she was the one who had all of the control.

I thought that triangle was interesting, and it was a crucial point in giving Beth some legitimate power and an upper hand with Rio. And yeah, it did make Rio realize how much he’s invested in Beth personally and professionally.

Natasha and Boris, Bonnie and Clyde, whatever it is, they can’t quit each other. I think it would’ve been stagnant and cyclical if Nick didn’t enter the picture. So, I enjoyed that element.

I would watch that 1000 times over whatever the hell they were doing with Dean.

Whitney: I thought it gave the Brio relationship a much-needed boost! And while I don’t think Beth and Rio would have ever seriously coupled up in any universe, I do believe that they would have at the very least had one final tryst and admitted to themselves that things between them were complicated but real.

Jasmine: Very true. Like, the sexual tension is there, but they also hate each other. So some hate sex and begrudging respect as they co-run a criminal empire works for me and feels more grounded. Brio was never a happily ever after type of ship.

Whitney: Exactly!

Do you have any parting words for the Good Girls series as a whole?

Jasmine: I think another criticism I have is the retconning of Dean. I know we love Matthew Lillard, but he gave me whiplash this season, much as he has all series.

But at the center of this show is the trio of women. I loved them, flaws and all, and I wish there were a universe where they could continue their story.

I wish more time were spent building up these women and letting them blossom into everything they could be as moms, spouses, and maybe criminal masterminds.

I critique this show so much because I loved it, and I wanted it to always live up to its full potential. Part of mourning is knowing that, in many ways, it still hadn’t.

I’m truly going to miss it, though. Thank you, Good Girls, for the laughs, entertainment, exploration of womanhood and motherhood, and just realities of life within this kooky, fun series.

I’m going to really miss this cast and these characters.

Whitney: I am also going to miss this show immensely. Covering every episode of a series makes you feel so ingrained and invested in every single aspect. I loved the first season more than I have words to explain, and while I still found joy within the series, it hurt my heart to see the potential somewhat wasted as the series drew on.

Good Girls Season 4 was more fun than not, and I am glad to see they at least went out staying truer to what I feel like was the Good Girls message all along. I will miss the laughs the most and all the beautiful characters we got to meet along the way.

Drop a comment down below and let us know your thoughts on the series! 

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Whitney Evans is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.

You can view the original article HERE.