Good Girls Review: O Canada

Well, well, well. That was a bit of a lackluster return after an impromptu few weeks off.

With only a handful of episodes left, it’s not exactly clear where things are going to end up as we’re stuck in the same Good Girls cycle we always seem to find ourselves in. Rio places an impossible situation at the ladies feet, they figure out a way to succeed, and we rinse, cycle, and repeat.

But both Good Girls Season 4 Episode 10 and Good Girls Season 4 Episode 11 did lean a little heavy on the relationship side of things, which was compelling at times and boring at others.

Let’s start with the boring, shall we?

That distinction falls on Dean, who is always saddled with storylines that are completely independent from everything fun.

And while it seemed like he initially joined the pyramid scheme charade as a way to forge relationships and make himself feel important again, it’s clear that it’s now all about helping him face the realities of his marriage and the state of his family.

The System should be renamed the He-Man Woman-Haters Club because that’s essentially what they are.

When Dean opened his big old mouth and sold Beth down the river to a bunch of virtual strangers, head woman hater Vance pounced on the opportunity to help Dean by grabbing him a lawyer from the group pro bono and helping turn him against Beth.

Though to be fair, Beth does herself no favors ever when it comes to Dean. And she never has.

Beth has consistently put herself first, and at most times, Dean (and the children, by proxy) are a distant far-off thought. Keeping Dean in the dark, while meant to protect him, literally hasn’t worked at all, yet she continues to do it.

And although it’s taken a very long time for Dean to come to this conclusion, he finally saw what we’ve all seen for a long time now.

We have never made you smile like all this just did.

Dean [to Beth]

Beth likes the life she leads. She likes the excitement, and she likes being the woman in charge. Sure she doesn’t like when her life is put in danger or the lives of her loved ones, but there’s a reason she tried to kill Rio way back when and then take over the business.

All Dean had to do was be around Beth in her element for a few minutes, and he could see what a different person she became. She loves her kids, I do not doubt that, but the days of Beth, the dutiful wife and PTA mom, are long, long gone. And they aren’t coming back.

She’s convinced herself that running away is going to solve things, but deep down, she has to know it won’t. And now that Dean knows it too, he’s taking a different path.

But is there any way he gets off scot-free without turning on Beth? It’s hard to visualize a scenario in which he turns on Beth, though. No matter how hard the show will try to convince us.

Just like it was hard to fathom Beth turning on Dean. But boy, does Beth make it hard on herself at every turn by basically doing whatever the hell she wants whenever she wants to.

It’s that aspect of Beth that Stan despises, and these two are just continuing to butt heads.

Stan: You know what I want?
Beth: Please.
Stan: I want you out of her life.
Beth: Okay.
Stan: Okay?
Beth: You get us in that club, and she’ll never see me again.

Stan can be mad at Beth all he wants. He has a right to be angry, but he should also be listening to his wife. Beth isn’t just a friend to Ruby; she’s her family. And the two of them hating each other is breaking Ruby down, and it’s sad to see.

Beth was only ever going to tell Stan what he wanted to hear when they made the deal for the strip club space, but the fact Stan would even suggest that Ruby’s best friend get out of her life felt very wrong.

They were talking about Ruby like she isn’t a whole human being who is capable of making her own decisions and deciding who she wants in her life and in what capacity.

Watching Ruby cry as Stan recounted a deal he made about her was sad, and it’s hard to see where this will leave the Hill’s and Ruby’s relationship with Beth.

It’s wishful thinking to expect everyone to get along, but man, it would be nice if everyone could find a way to play nice for the sake of the people they love.

Not sure who decided Kevin needed more screentime and an increased role in these final batch of episodes, but thank you? He has no right being as charming as he is during these two hours, and his dumpster dive date with Annie was one of the better solo Annie, away from the ladies, scenes of the season.

This felt like the first time we got some insight into who Kevin is. We learned that he went to college and played lacrosse, and he has some kind of employment at times, and he has friends. It was a bit of an information dump, but it’s incredible what giving characters some backstory helps do for them in the audience’s eyes.

Kevin finally felt like an actual person and not just someone Annie was lumbered with to give her something to do. And their dynamic was explored beyond her taking from him and giving nothing back.

Annie is money-hungry, and it’s an interesting dynamic she has with Kevin, who is the complete opposite of that. Annie doesn’t have much, but she longs for more. While Kevin is utterly content with the status of his life.

You could argue they’re both wrong, or you could just sit back and watch them slowly find some middle crowd and engage in a date that consisted of some slightly old chicken and uncorked wine.

Now that they’ve kissed again and Annie has put up her boundary, it looks like we may be in for some jealousy. Not exactly where I saw this story headed, but it’s not as if anyone thinks that Annie and Kevin are endgame. And hey, at least he’s not Dr. Cohen!

There was rather unfortunately barely any Rio, BUT Nick was back. And since we already know these two are not on the same page, one has to wonder what Beth going to Nick for help is going to do to the brother/cousin’s already fractured relationship.

Nick has an agenda. And we may not know what it is right now, but he’s not nice to Beth out of the kindness of his heart. And these last few episodes will hopefully have a heavy focus on figuring out what he’s up to.

Is it possible that he ends up being a better threat than Rio ever was? Time will tell.

Odds and Ends

• 
  Kevin and Ben bonding was pretty cute. And Annie knows how awesome Ben is, but it’s always nice to hear others acknowledge how amazing your child is.

• 
  Crystal and her fellow dancers trying to fleece the ladies in Canada was right out of their own playbook. That should have been impressed.

• 
  Vance is such a weird man, and why he’s taken such an interest in Dean is beyond me.

• 
  It’s sad to think that one of Beth’s children was hurt and didn’t even ask for her, but she’s in such an odd place because it’s not like she’s an absentee parent, but kids can pick up on you going through the motions and not having your heart in things.

We are heading into the home stretch, and we still don’t know if we will be getting a Good Girls Season 5, but let’s enjoy this series while we can, nonetheless!

These weren’t the most exciting installments, but they still had some entertaining moments.

Drop your comments down below and let me know what worked and what didn’t.

Do you think Dean would be right to turn on Beth?

Is Stan right to want Beth away from Ruby?

Is Nick up to no good?

As always, remember you can watch Good Girls online anytime via TV Fanatic! 

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

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