What I thought about: Good Girls (Season 2)

Having forgotten all about this crime comedy-drama until Season 2 showed up on Netflix, I went through a cycle of emotions. This show is dumb. It’s thrilling. It’s stupid. It’s unrealistic. It’s so, so long. But damn, it’s good.

Digging up flowers… or something else?

What’s it about?
Good Girls is about three childhood friends, each now mothers to one or more children, who are finding it hard to make ends meet. Beth is a housewife with four kids, living a seemingly idealistic suburban lifestyle. But her husband, the owner of a local car dealership, is a cheater, a loser, and clearly lacking in business sense. Her younger sister, Annie, works at grocery store Fine and Frugal under an asshole boss, as she struggles to earn enough to look after her daughter who she had at a young age. And there’s Ruby, who works long hours waitressing in a vain attempt to pay for her sick daughter’s medical care.

In the first season, they came up with a plan to rob Fine and Frugal to resolve their financial problems. Actually, they do it twice. Along the way they get tied up with a criminal gang’s counterfeiting operation led by the suitably mysterious Rio. In the second season, the FBI are closing in on their involvement in the robbery – along with a host of other crimes they committed along the way.

In a nutshell, it’s Breaking Bad with soccer moms.

What do I like about it?
When I first started watching this season, I recalled the plot and thought it was ridiculous. But the show has so much depth. It’s just as much about the personal lives faced by the characters as it is about the central criminality of their actions.

Beth, it turns out, really hates being a housewife. She wants excitement – in her work life and in the bedroom. Annie gets into a very awkward love triangle, and her relationship with her daughter is tested. Ruby’s husband, Stan, who recently became a cop, finds himself increasingly entangled in the group’s criminal acts, having to chose between protecting his wife and staying true to his honest nature.

The show’s production is also very good – I score it points for creative camera shots and a great soundtrack.

What do I not like about it?
I had to check the number of remaining episodes several times during this binge. The show is long – 13 episodes, 45 minutes each, and a lot of stuff happens in each episode. Don’t get me wrong, it’s largely good content. It just seemed to last ages.

Two more annoyances – Ruby’s family sub-plot is not explored in as much detail as Beth and Annie’s, although I understand why. And finally – this show is super unrealistic. I mean, these characters get no sleep and get away with doing a lot of bad stuff, especially for people under active investigation by the FBI.

Worth a watch?
Yes, but definitely start from the first season or else it won’t make any sense.

By the way…

  • A third season is already airing in the US. There’s a disappointingly long lag time on the UK release, so expect to see it in 2021.
  • If you’re wondering where you recognise Beth’s husband Dean from, the actor played Shaggy in the two live action Scooby Doo movies.

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What I thought about: Unbelievable (t/w: rape)

Straight up, I cried at the end of this one. Some people might get bored of the slow-burn, but you have to remember this is based on a true story, and I think the show’s pacing and tone portray the story in an appropriate – and very moving – way.

These two never gave up. And that’s what matters.

What’s it about?
Marie Adler claims she was raped at gunpoint in her apartment where she lives alone. It’s not an easy case for the local police department – the man wore a mask, he showered at her flat, and therefore left no trace of DNA behind. Marie struggles to recall any of the details of her ordeal as she’s questioned multiple times and asked to fill out form after form recalling her horrific experience.

I don’t want to spoil too much of the story, but this is important. Not too long after Marie’s rape, and in a different state, a police detective attends a call of rape. This time, it plays out entirely differently. Detective Karen Duvall doesn’t rush the victim for a statement. It doesn’t matter, though, as the victim is able to recount the crime in spectacular detail. At the scene, the forensics team come up empty and ask the detective to call it a day. ‘Keep looking’, Duvall says.

Besides being an incredible story of determination by the two main police detectives, the series vibrantly highlights how each victim deals with their assault in a different way, and how some police forces are far better at treating victims of rape than others.

What do I like about it?
I didn’t know anything about the show before I hit ‘play’. At first I thought it was a series of completely unrelated stories of unbelievable true crime. But even with my guard down and without paying close attention, I could see the stark differences in the way the police approached the two rapes. The show does a fantastic job of capturing this.

The show covers everything so delicately and with such emotion. Kaitlyn Denver, playing the part of Marie Adler, is absolutely fantastic in this. Things get a lot worse for her before they get better, and there is a fine balance between feeling aggrieved at the injustice being suffered by Marie, and being filled with hope as the detectives close in on their man.

What do I not like about it?
I thought it was appropriate, but some might not like how slow the show is. I personally watched episode after episode, but I have to admit there’s not a lot happening in the middle. There are a lot of slow, panning shots of concerned faces. We also see into the private lives of the two detectives somewhat unnecessarily.

Worth a watch?
Yes. Do yourself a favour and watch this show. It’s important to help you emphasise with victims of rape, and at base level the facts of this true case are absolutely incredible.

By the way…

  • The story came to light in a 2015 article published on The Marshall Project website
  • There’s also a book titled A False Report: A True Story of Rape in America which you can pick up and read for a more in-depth and less dramatised look at the story

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What I thought about: Top Boy (Season 3)

The gritty drug-dealing crime drama is back, and this time it’s in Dolby Vision. With a longer US-style episode run (ten of them!) there’s more time to explore thought-provoking stories amongst the chaos.

Dushane is back. Dris is whack. And then there’s Jaq.

What’s it about?
Top Boy the franchise looks at the scramble to become the top drug dealer in the postcode — in this case the fictional Summerhouse estate (filmed in the very real Hackney, East London). You should watch the previous seasons which aired first on Channel 4 and are now available on Netflix for a good introduction to some of the main characters. However due to the show’s 6-year hiatus and mostly refreshed cast, it’s not mandatory.

Top Boy Season 3 is about Dushane’s return to Summerhouse following exile in Jamaica, no doubt due to the events of Season 2. At the same time, partner-in-crime Sully gets released from prison. While they’ve been away, Dushane’s henchman Dris has been running Summerhouse, although they’re making small time money. Their main top-level supplier has been the Turks who charge quite a high price for the food.

In neighbouring London Fields, young Jamie is looking to fill the place of his gang leader, Modie, who was recently locked up for a very long time. With a new supplier – charging a much lower price – he plans to become Hackney’s top boy by supplying wholesale to Summerhouse and neighbouring gangs.

Dushane. Sully. Jamie. Modie. All very powerful forces, all willing to do some pretty violent things to become Top Boy.

What do I like about it?
Top Boy manages to be gritty, poignant, and thrilling all in one. The more violent parts of the show are finely balanced with themes of childish innocence, racism, and poverty.

The cast are phenomenal and the show (although I am not an expert) paints a pretty real picture of the reality facing many teenagers and young people on London estates. See if you can spot the code-switching employed by Dushane. On the one hand he’s articulate and caring (when he’s with his mother, or a potential love interest) and on the other hand he’s sweary and ruthless (when barking orders to his crew).

What do I not like about it?
Okay, some people won’t like the slower pace adopted in this season. I’ll take ten episodes of Top Boy over four any day, but there’s about the same amount of action in the former as there was in the latter.

Some aspects of the plot are also a bit spotty in places, a bit far-fetched considering the more accurate parts of the show.

Worth a watch?
Check the premise. Not everyone is going to want to watch a show like this, and some of the scenes are quite harrowing. If you know what you’re getting yourself in for, though, I’m happy to report that the show’s revival definitely delivers.

By the way…

  • The show was brought back in part by Drake, and you can definitely tell it has a bigger budget. Some beautiful scenes were shot in sunny Jamaica.
  • The show has allegedly been renewed for a fourth season due to air later in 2020, and the ending definitely sets up for this.

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