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Good Behavior pushes a convenient and barely believable way to handle Javier and Letty getting arrested.
Previous Recap: Episode 3 “Because I’m Mrs. Claus”
| Network | |
| TNT | |
| Director(s) | Mikkel Norgaard |
| Writer(s) | Brett Johnson |
| Characters Introduced | |
| Agent Backup | John Behlmann |
15 to 30: Letty, Christian, Javier
Never mind pulling a gun on a federal agent, considering how long Letty has been with Javier, she figures she is going down for accessory to attempted murder. A prison sentence of about 15 to 30 years. Meaning all she has done to get Jacob, maybe even save Javier would be for nothing.
You’re Mad At Yourself: Estelle, Rob
One of the things you have to love about Rob is that despite him maybe not having book smarts, he knows people. When it comes to his observations and things of that nature, he really shows this deep intelligence. Something he uses on Estelle as he tries to explain his thoughts on why Estelle is acting the way she is towards Letty. Of which, his idea is that she is mad at herself because Letty’s impulses, she thinks, may come from the way she raised her.
An idea which hits Estelle hard. I’m talking to the point of tears. Thus pushing these two to be more than jokes but reminding us that not only is Rob smart in areas not given credit for but Estelle is worth more than a snappy comeback. She is dealing with her own demons. The kind which, because of the loving relationship she has with Rob, she lets him help exorcise or expose them. No matter how painful they are.
Sweet Talker: Letty, Christian, Javier, Agent Lashever
This episode really oversells Letty’s abilities as a drifter. We know she has Christian wrapped around her finger, not to the point of stealing handcuff keys, but being her marionette when she needs him to be. But it seems she may now have Agent Lashever under her spell too. How? Well, that’s the issue here.
Letty is a con woman, Agent Lashever knows this, this newbie she works with verbally says this, yet she still gets manipulated. That is despite all this grandstanding about how smart she is and all that nonsense. Which is in fact nonsense. According to the newbie, Agent Lashever is a laughing stock. She, over the course of her career, hasn’t made big busts. She keeps to low and medium ones and even then, like when Javier got away, she still screws up. So, needless to say, she needs a win.
However, with being exposed and left vulnerable, that is Letty’s in. She questions why should Agent Lashever do for the FBI in ways they wouldn’t do for her. She, through conversation, picks up that the pay isn’t the greatest. Letty uses the fact the FBI laughs at her and finagles this idea that all the money the FBI gets from busts, she and Javier, probably with Christian as well, could help Agent Lashever get that money.
Now, based off the Rhonda Lashever we know, just proposing the idea sounds stupid, doesn’t it? A career FBI agent risking everything for money held up in some FBI office? Why risk it? Well, because the show can’t have Javier and Letty in jail – that’s why.
So, despite it being out of character to agree to such a thing, Agent Lashever does and sets her newbie up to take the blame for Javier and Letty getting away. Yup, that’s right, Letty and Javier are given back their freedom. It’s just, this time, Letty makes sure neither Rob nor Estelle, who she briefly visits for her car, know Javier is out so they can screw him over again. Also, needless to say, Rob doesn’t get to play mediator and help Estelle and Letty reconcile.
Other Noteworthy Facts & Moments
- Apparently, Teo has been tracking Javier at the request of Ava. She wanted to see if what Letty said was true about Javier not being a killer anymore. Which, despite him seeing Javier arrested, he keeps that to himself and says that Javier was just having a nice vacation with Letty’s family.
Collected Quote(s)
I’ll never really be good, I’ll only be managed.
Highlights
Rob
Between Good Behavior and Ozark, I love that when it comes to mid-western or southern people, they aren’t stuck between old money types and dumb white trash. For both, there is this grey area where, yeah, they may be poor, may not speak in highfalutin ways, but they aren’t stupid. Of which, as noted, Rob shows this through emotional intelligence. He hasn’t been around Letty and Estelle much to hone in on their problems but has seen Estelle and Jacob. Rob has listened to how Estelle talks about Letty, and when he came up with a summary of why Estelle acts as she does toward Letty, it hit home for a reason.
Also, unlike some of the other things which happen this episode, it all makes sense. Especially since, though not really focused on in season 2, we cannot forget Estelle wasn’t a saint when raising Letty. She may not have been in and out of prison but being around doesn’t mean she was attentive nor what someone like Letty needed in a mother.
Pushing me to hope that by the end of the season, there is some reconciliation there. If not progress towards it.
Agent Lashever – Before She Got Duped
Agent Lashever has been the closest thing to a villain on this show for a long time and she was a very irritating one. The kind you didn’t necessarily love to hate because she was such a bad ass but more so because she was so whiny. Yet, with her getting her white whale, there became something comical about her. Then, with Agent Backup exposing she isn’t this bad ass she touts herself to be, that humanized her past whatever her relationship with Christian was supposed to do. Making her sticking around, in a guest-starring role, not as bad of an idea as it used to be. Just as long as she isn’t left alone with Christian. Those scenes are still excruciating.
Criticism
Letty’s Silver Tongue
Now, granted, Letty has basically made a living stealing from people. However, the fact she duped Agent Lashever brings up the question: Is Letty better at being a drifter than Lashever is at being an FBI agent? Because, seriously, Letty not only pulled a gun on you but tried to sneak away. She also openly admitted to stealing $11,000 before you got her due to circumstance. On top of that, Agent Lashever was reminded, verbally, that Letty was a con woman! Yet, she was able to convince Agent Lashever of some convoluted plan to rob the FBI?
I’m sorry but even if Agent Lashever wasn’t the bad ass she sold herself to be, I’m calling BS. There is no way in hell, even if Lashever likes Letty and Javier, the person we have come to know would go along with this. I mean, all she has to keep Agent Backup quiet is one photo of him drinking on the job. Is that really enough to keep her from taking the fall for this too? Without a single mark on her?
I mean, it was clear in the last episode that prison wasn’t an option for both, and would be bad if it was just Letty, so something was bound to happen. However, it remains to be seen if this idea, which is hard to not turn your nose up to, may smooth itself out with time. We can hope! But, as of now, it just seems like a lot of convenient measures were taken by the writers to clear away the inevitable and start some new mess for Javier and Letty to deal with.
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