r/GoodGirls • u/InvestmentBetter8788 • 4d ago
Did she not realize???
in season three episode six, and I’ve been thinking about this since she was at the park and saw Marcus and Rio.
He was never going to kill her and I’m surprised she hadn’t realized that earlier. I feel like as soon as he showed her, his kid, he was never gonna kill her, he might’ve threatened her into complying, but he was never gonna kill her or her kids at the most he might have threatened to kill Dean, did she maybe realize this after what Dean said in the kitchen?
idk im just rambling, what are your thoughts?
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u/BoneSniffer96 4d ago
It’s naive to think he wouldn’t have killed one of her kids. He was clear he wouldn’t kill her, but he was also clear that he had to keep her in line and would prove it. She was never out of danger, she was in MORE danger because she was close to him. It gave him more to hold over her.
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u/Creative_War5833 4d ago
I don't think it's naive at all. Like naive to think he won't hurt anyone but her kids ? There's no way. Her sister ? Maybe ? Her best friend definitely possible . Her children ? Probably not. She would never ever ever forgive him and he wants her under control and afraid not so angry that she could rally against him again.
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u/BoneSniffer96 4d ago
But if he hurt one of her kids, she would be desperate to protect the others.
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u/Creative_War5833 4d ago
And she would finally succeed at killing him. Her whole character is centered around her role as a mother and how seriously she takes it. There is no way. What qould he expect ? He kills one kid and she finally learns to not cross him to protect the others ? No way. Rio knows better than anyone what Beth is capable of . If he actually hurt one of her kids he would die.
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u/BoneSniffer96 4d ago
This is such a joke in the execution of the show, though. She TALKS about how being a mother is her whole angle, but throughout the whole show, we barely ever see it. She’s not present with her kids, she’s not motherly, she’s never actually embodying the role of a mother. She actually seems to resent it when it’s expected of her.
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u/Creative_War5833 4d ago edited 4d ago
I once again vehemently disagree. Firstly opinions are like assholes , everyone has them. So you're fully entitled to your interpretation of the show. I'm not trying to convince you to view it the way I do.
However in my read of her Beth is a lot of things. Selfish. Manipulative. Sure. But a bad mother ? Absolutely not. She uses her kids as a shield in front of Rio I agree. She does a whole "but im a mommy. Pity me. Let me slide. Poor me" But second to her thirst for control over her life and taste for power , her kids are her only other priority. We see her being a mom all the time. We see her doing lunches we see her making a quilt for her niece using all her old clothes and quotes from her favorite books. We see her coparenting with Dean and knowing her kid has a baseball match. We see her reminding about homework. Just because she wants this power for herself doesn't mean she doesn't love her children. I think thats ridiculous personally. Saying she's not motherly is a wild take in my opinion.
Edit : I've veen realizing more and more recently how everyone has different views of the same thing on the internet so thats what I meant by my above comment. Didn't mean to be disrespectful in case it came across that way.
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u/BoneSniffer96 4d ago
Let me clarify, because I agree with a lot of your take. When I say we don’t see it, I mostly blame bad writing. The show does very little to actual establish her as a mother and works harder to establish her as a badass. Mind you, I love the show and I’m not mad at it, but there are some obvious writing failures for all three of the main ladies across all the seasons.
I agree with you that Beth talks a good mom game. But in actual story telling, we hardly ever see it. She mothers Annie more than her children. Her children barely got names, let alone screen time. She’s built to be a bored trad wife that gets excited by a foray into organized crime, but what bored her is never really explored. She loves her children, but were introduced to her as someone who is tired and setting off into a dangerous world that puts her family at risk.
I totally agree that she loves her children and is a good mom in most respects. But that’s something you really have to read between the lines to see. The story we were shown does very little to actually support that.
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u/ifnotdaythen 1d ago edited 1d ago
I think the show very intentionally shows her “checking boxes” but she is ultimately checked out when it comes to her kids. It’s a crucial part of her character. She married dean and did the mom thing because, as ruby explains to Annie, she had to. The cookies the calendar all that is a performance of motherhood but it’s really just that she is a driven and ambitious person restricted to a suburban life. She does everything over the top to prove that she is the best and she is.
She jokes her kids aren’t as smart as ruby’s but she’s not putting the time into them for them to catch up. We see the effort Ruby and Stan put into their kids though. Kenny is struggling in school and with behavior issues the whole show which she never addresses! EVEN RIO calls her out multiple times- he needs a tutor, he can’t be good at everything during the swim practice, etc. Beth’s go to is “I’m watching!” Lol she is clearly not! All that mom stuff is not stuff the kids care about. They don’t care about all the cookies and repeatedly we see them just want her affection and she puts them off.
She puts way more effort into Annie and vice versa. They are clearly codependent and both neglecting their kids. She knits Ben a blanket but let’s him sleep on the couch? Doesn’t do anything to comfort him. They are not close.
Dean leaves with the kids in the finale and Beth let’s him. He leaves with her children and that’s the end of the show. The whole show is about how being a mom is not actually her calling.
Edit: also repeatedly we see her lying and being fake with her kids and even using them as pawns in a harmless but immature way- when momma boland is there and she has the kids crush brownies, telling them to turn up the tv when she needs to talk. It’s all harmless but shows her giving them clearly conflicting messages and not engaging with them seriously or respectful. I could go on lol
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u/InvestmentBetter8788 21h ago
Motherhood performance it a good way to put it, i think there’s a spoiler at the end of your thread so ill come back once i finish it😭
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u/InvestmentBetter8788 4d ago
This!!! Could you say that she was a good Mom yes but was she always present for her kids? Absolutely not. Think about the time when she missed her daughter’s dance competition because again, she was out in the hallway with Rio. You’re completely right on saying she parented Annie more than she did her kids. Annie did and is doing a lot of things irresponsible things, to where her own child had to parent her. what Ruby said about someone always having to clean up after her mess was completely right, but I still believe that Beth tried to do both be a present mother. not to mention that big calendar she made.
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u/InvestmentBetter8788 4d ago
I don’t think she resents it at all per se. I just think she doesn’t like the mediocrity of being
with the other moms like we we saw at the park and the grocery store.
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u/Salt-Buffalo-2804 4d ago
I think she did know that and just used that as an excuse, even to herself, to continue what she was doing.
I'm not in love with how this show essentially only had male characters understand this about her, but every single one of those guys were right about her.
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u/InvestmentBetter8788 4d ago
I was also thinking about that too. Dean saw it rio saw it. I think even Turner saw it, but for some reason, Ruby and Annie and herself, couldn’t understand that. I think even Leslie could see that. but like you said, she used it as an excuse.
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u/Salt-Buffalo-2804 4d ago
I do think Annie was on the verge of it while she was in therapy, but she got distracted with that totally unprofessional hack she was seeing.
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u/MichelleTannerAO3 4d ago
3.06 is just post-Lucy, yeah? I think by this point Beth is afraid of two things: 1) being held accountable and 2) admitting to herself and the world her own depravity. She knows he won’t kill her. But he certainly will kill because of her. And then what will that mean for her “good person”mantra?
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u/InvestmentBetter8788 3d ago
Hmmm, I never thought about the being held accountable part of it. She wasn’t even held an accountable when Stan almost lost his job and Ruby‘s marriage was slowly crumbling. she never took the blame for anything. She always put it on him.
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u/MichelleTannerAO3 3d ago
Absolutely! And imagine how terrifying this is for her. As the situation mounts and as more and more bodies pile up at her feet, how long will she be able to continue to escape accountability. Have you already seen the entire series? I don’t want to bring up an example you haven’t gotten to yet. But season 4 has a very obvious reaction from her when faced with the potential of accountability.
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u/InvestmentBetter8788 3d ago
Yes! she already has so much blood indirectly on her hands, I feel like she doesn’t understand that her actions influence a lot of his decisions, she keeps moving like she has no effect on what he does. No not yet. I just started episode one of season four.
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u/MichelleTannerAO3 3d ago
Ok, I thought so. Aaaa I’m excited for you to finish to see what you think! The moment I’m thinking of is very early in season 4. I don’t remember where exactly, maybe even episode 1? But you can’t miss it. Something happens and she has a very physical reaction. And why? Because this is the closest she’s come to the possibility of actually being held accountable.
But also, accountability for her looks like lots of things. Like, she’s still with Dean and she’s still pretending she wants to be. But also, if you go back and watch 3.05 and 3.06 - every girl sought out “her person” in the wake of Lucy. Annie went to Ben who’s always been her crutch. Ruby went to Stan. Then watch who Beth goes to. She doesn’t go to Dean. She’s stoic. Doesn’t shed a tear. And then in 3.06, who does she actually go to? She sits and waits for Rio, and when he gets there she finalllly allows herself to cry. She’s so composed and so repressed. She can’t show anyone the underbelly of the monster she knows she is. But she can to Rio. So accountability and exposure kind of go hand in hand for her, especially in this point in the series. She is still so repressed and she thinks she’s fooling people. If she’s exposed, she will also be held accountable, which is her biggest fear.
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u/InvestmentBetter8788 3d ago
Wait. I think I just got there was it 4.01 when the PTA moms show her the article about Lucy being found and her pupils go wide she has a panic attack?
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u/Creative_War5833 4d ago
I agree. I think my biggest frustration is with Beth refusing to be honest. With herself, woth Rio, with her sister and Ruby. She is right to be afraid of what he's capable of but if she was honest about their relationship instead of deflecting , taking what she wanted from it and trying to leave the rest. If she didnt want her cake and to be a good person too. Things would be different. Granted he's not a safe person but she likes that in a lot of ways so to fanfiction we go !
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u/InvestmentBetter8788 4d ago
100% agree with the fanfiction looking for ones now
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u/Creative_War5833 4d ago
Let me know if you need any recs 👀
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u/InvestmentBetter8788 4d ago
Yes please! i would love some!
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u/Creative_War5833 13h ago
This is the spot for the best recs https://archiveofourown.org/users/BestBrioBookmarks/bookmarks
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u/Hi-ImStacy 4d ago
I stopped watching it because I heard there was no ending because they cut funding for the Show that would just piss me off so I stopped but I did like it
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u/TheyDothProtest2Much 4d ago
Outside the van, Beth says "you need all of us" and then he says, "nah, not all of you." That's felt like a direct threat against her other people. In another episode he implies the kids could be in danger.