Good Behavior: Season 1/ Episode 6 "We Pretend We’re Stuck" – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

Overview

While stealing from Javier’s sister doesn’t get resolved, we do begin to understand how seriously Javier takes his relationship with Letty.

Review (with Spoilers)

Topic 1: Poor Christian (Christian)

Christian’s half of the money he and Letty stole is found due to his own stupidity and now he is staring down an FBI agent who wants him to snitch on Letty.

Commentary

What is, or will be, rock bottom for Christian? He gets fired from being a profession, quits/ is fired from being a parole officer, and now the FBI has him being interrogated. I don’t know about you, but if Christian goes to jail for Letty then he is a fool. In fact, as much as I found the saga between him and Todd annoying, at this point, it seems Christian’s storyline may go off the rails. At one time, it kind of seemed he maybe the rock, or force which grounds this show. But now he got swept up in Letty’s mess and while the relationship between Letty and Javier is starting to becoming a ground force, it makes you wonder what will Christian’s purpose be then?

Topic 2: We Need to Talk About Kyle (Tiffany, Kyle, and Letty)

After an unfortunate incident in a warehouse store, Tiffany and Letty have a chat. Nothing nasty, for Tiffany knows the truth now about Kyle’s secrets. Well, at least one of them. What she doesn’t know is Kyle is a bottom to some random dude on top of his possible drug addiction.

Commentary

You ever watch a show and wonder why the writer decided to take that direction with the character? Like, Letty and Tiffany reconciling I get. Even Kyle having a drug habit. However, him becoming a full-blown drug addict and Letty catching him getting poked from behind? It’s like, do you not believe in your show enough? Do you need to put in random moments, which don’t get a lot of explanation, just to try to shock your audience?

To me, Kyle being closeted, paying a drug debt, or however that will be explained, is ridiculous and unnecessary. I’m all for the inclusion of gay characters and diverse stories on the subject matter, but this seems more done for sensationalism than character development. Leading me to think as the world goes crazy, perhaps Javier and Letty, despite their issues, may become the normal ones on this show.

Topic 3: It Ain’t Easy Being a Mom Is It/ I Like You Mother Very Much (Letty, Jacob, Javier, and Estelle)

Letty gets to fully experience what it is like to have Jacob when he isn’t being the sweetest kid in the world, and Javier shows that while his relationship with Letty started off strictly as business, it is developing into something personal.

Commentary

You know, while it’s hard to move past their relationship’s origins, you have to admire the relationship between Javier and Letty, to a point. He finally comes to realize Jacob isn’t something she wants back strictly because that is her son and a son should be with their mother. He is her reason to be sober, the reason to have a better life, and not necessarily a crutch but certainly a reason for living. On top of that, you have to admire, even before the Jacob thing, he has been helping her get her life back together. He has stopped her drug use, is trying to curb her drinking and stealing, and was even trying to mediate when Jacob and Letty were having issues. It’s things like that, including how he speaks on admiring the initiative she takes for a better life, which makes you want to forget how things started for these two. If only because their relationship is developing to a point you can’t help but fall in love with the idea of them together.

That thought aside, I am beginning to wonder how Estelle was when it comes to Letty growing up. She was her first, and only, based off Estelle saying she had her tubes tied at 19, so imagine her trying to raise Letty on her own? This almost wild child who messed around with the local Black boys, got hooked on drugs and would steal from her own mom for a fix. Though sometimes you want to write Estelle off as an ass for asking for a $1000 just so Letty could see her child, it isn’t like she seemingly is spending it wildly. If anything, between a college fund, bills, and taking care of Jacob, it seems that is all she uses that money for. There are no Jimmy Choo shoes, some fancy handbags, or anything else. The money, so I believe, is to show Letty is serious about seeing her son and to pay back Estelle for all the pain, suffering, and thievery. However, with her seeing almost $100K left on her table, I think she realizes she has gone from someone trying to push her daughter to be better and do better to an enabler. She is rewarding her daughter’s lifestyle and while Javier may seem cool, who knows what he really does? Especially if being with him leads to such a huge amount of money.

Things to Note | Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. With the way Letty was watching Jacob at the end, I wonder if it was because her mother was different raising her or she thought something was wrong with him. Like he was being abused or in an unhealthy
2. I wonder if, like Randall in This Is Us, will Jacob be looking for his father in any Black male he sees? He seemed to be mimicking the Black guy in the infomercial he was watching and I wonder if that is how he is learning not just what it means to be a man, but also a Black man?
3. Ann Dowd is the FBI Agent.