#3.04 analysis

i'm assuming you mean this scene, anon (if not, I've talked about the bar scene a lot. Once i answered what i think they did while waiting for the paper to dry, but i don't really agree with anything i said there anymore, haha.

there, i basically say that i think that beth tried to come up with something to talk about, while rio enjoyed watching her squirm, and they talked a little—mostly beth walking him through what she was doing.

now, i don't think they spoke at all, and i don't think they were in those headspaces, exactly.

the scene is really erotic, and that's always been obvious with the choice of song, but i think they're clearly in that headspace physically.

when beth walks into the backroom, i think she is truly terrified. i think rio's gun means something again, even if he's no longer able to use proximity or physically imposing on her judging by the way he leans over the table, gun against the wood (this isn't him yanking her to him and pressing the cool metal against her face, mouths inches apart, breathing heavy). and i do think rio wants her to feel that way—i think it's important for him that she feel that way. after all, he's trying to re-establish power—something beth doesn't seem to realize he feels he's lost the moment he wondered if that pregnancy was real and ended up sparing her life.

but beth's fear and rio's anger shift and mutate as rio watches and beth's good. and as beth starts to realize he knows she's good, i think being watched become kind of thrilling. he's seeing her, and it still does something to her. and i think the fact that that's laced with the fear intrigues her, and rio likes that it intrigues her. he's still enjoying being in the position of looking, of judging, but he's thinking of her in that way again—symbolized by his hand lifting off the gun to weave together in his lap—and i think that, at least for a bit, his anger towards her gets replaced at anger towards himself for being impressed, for being proud, for being attracted to her still, after everything.

Yeah, I do. Often, we can see that Rio has the ability to focus in and hone in on people without blinking much, but it's rare to see him blink like he does in that moment, which occurs right after Beth tells him she lost the baby and right before Rio drinks his shot.

I've said before [x, x, x] that his body language in preparing to drink the shot signifies that he's steeling himself to press forward with killing Beth even though he doesn't actually want to do it, and I think the blinking factors into that. It's him grappling with his feelings about what's happening, which is that she's put him in a position where he's forced to act because otherwise his failure to retaliate for her transgression will make him weak and vulnerable and give her power over him—something that if she knew, she could use to destroy him. His only choice, then, is to pull the trigger.

From a scientific standpoint, the excessive blinking is an indicator of his stress:

When someone blinks fast it is often a sign that they are under stress. At rest, the normal blink rate ranges between 8 and 21 blinks per minute. If a person blinks more frequently, such as when asked a challenging question, it is usually because he is stressed.

It's a moment where Rio looks away from Beth and his guard is down somewhat as he's processing what has to happen next. While I don't necessarily think he was on the verge of tears, I do think his eyes probably stung because the reality of where they are at that moment is so bleak. His body language shows that struggle in other ways, too, from the way he holds the alcohol in his mouth a moment before he swallows and sighs, to his jaw working as he stares at the empty glass, to the way he sucks in a breath and shaking his head when Beth asks what comes next and he admits, "Nothing good."

I do think he’s in love with Beth, yes. I don’t think he wants to be, but I think he knows it and it irritates him. I read Rio as someone who is in tune with his emotions and that acts with an awareness of what they are, someone who is generally honest but that masks that with ambiguity, limited information, and behavior that’s intended to hurt and punish.

I think it can’t be ruled out since they are married and Beth is currently fighting to save their marriage, however, I will say that the intimate scenes have always served a narrative purpose so I don’t think we’re about to get them “just because.” I also think that we have gotten 4 intimate scenes in 38 episodes and they have all been in direct response to Rio:

Beth sleeps with him in 2.06 after being turned on by Rio and she imagines Rio during the encounter. Narrative purpose: Contrast the connection between Beth and Dean with Beth and Rio; show Dean discovering the “affair” to set up Dean hiring the baby hitmen.

Beth tried to use Dean to get pregnant in 3.03 after lying to Rio to spare her life. Narrative purpose: Sets up that Dean is still tempted to cheat even when Beth and Dean are at their “best,” showing Dean hasn’t grown that much. Shows the extent of Beth’s desperation and how emotionally dishonest Beth is with Dean and how she will use him for her own purposes.

Dean kisses Beth in 3.04 right after telling her “we were so good with [Rio] gone.” Narrative purpose: Shows that Dean fundamentally misunderstands his relationship with Beth and the impact Rio has on that relationship; contrasts against the money-making scene with Rio showing there’s more spark in her antagonistic relationship than in her marriage; sets up Dean’s jealousy being a major issue in season 3

Beth attempts to seduce Dean in 3.07 after successfully stealing from Rio; Dean explicitly expresses surprise that she’s initiating sex now that Rio is back. Narrative purpose: Shows Beth enjoying the cat and mouse game that she and Rio used to play which sets up her attempt to play off his attraction to her in 3.08; parallel shots call back to 2.04 mirror shots in the bathroom; costuming in the robe calls back to 2.09, which ultimately compares to 2.06 as her connection and dynamic with Rio still does more to turn her on than her own husband.

Even the more minor forms of intimacy have been connected to Rio. Beth reached for Dean and seeks comfort in a hug after shooting Rio in 2.13, tear-stained and numb, showing how she’d been affected by the event and setting up that Dean offers her a sense of security, stability, and familiarity in the wake of that trauma. Beth breaks down sobbing and Dean hugs her in 3.06 after Beth has to dig up Lucy’s body in order to save Max, and even when she and Rio are at their lowest point, Beth still doesn’t confide in Dean about what’s really going on. When Dean snuggles against Beth at the end of 4.02, it’s right before he’s arrested for Beth’s crimes that she’s secretly committing with Rio.

I LOVE THAT SCENE SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!

I think it is wide open for interpretation, but I’m inclined to think that in the end, he did believe her—but barely. 

I think if he disbelieved her entirely, he would’ve killed her in 3.03, but there was just enough doubt for him to hold off. Personally, I headcanon that he spent those 2-3 weeks stewing and ramping himself back up, and Rhea suggested that he take her to get an ultrasound and arranged the appointment herself after Beth saw her at soccer practice.

in the clinic scene, I think Rio’s convinced himself that she’s absolutely lying and that he’s going to catch her in it (and her fearful behavior confirms it) and it will finally be over. I think he’s giddy because he’s certain that he’s right and then the doctor’s confirmation of the pregnancy pulls the rug out from underneath him. Since Rhea helped him make the appointment, and Beth genuinely didn’t seem to know about it, I think he’s shocked enough to believe that it’s true (but he’s furious about it and isn’t entirely convinced its his, hence “paternity test”).

When she shows up and confesses that there’s no baby, I think he probably concedes that there maybe never was, but I think he had believed her just enough to have to grapple with his feelings for her—past and present—and I think the time dulled his rage and exhausted him. I sort of read his, “When?” And Beth’s, “Does it matter?” as some sort of acknowledgment that he doesn’t even have the energy to press her on the lie, because he realizes, no, it doesn’t—because now she’s here, and now he has no reason not to kill her. So he takes a shot of tequila to give himself liquid courage because he thinks he still has to do it but he doesn’t want to. 

When Beth asks what happens next and Rio says, “Nothin’ good,” I don’t think he just means for her. I think he knows the toll it’s going to take on him. The emotion that rolls of Rio in that scene to me is resignation. She’s dangerous to him and Rio can’t and won’t give her the power of reversing his decision on his own—it would reveal far too much. 

Thank you so much! Welcome to the fandom!

Personally, I think it was confirmation that—even if he wasn’t quite sure at the time—he’d figured it out. It’s quite loaded to be a throwaway line, and in context, he’s comparing the two situations and the way Beth manipulates him in both to get what she wants. Beth has lied and told him Boland Bubbles is “almost” up and running in order to get back on payroll, similarly to how she lied about being pregnant in order to get him to spare her life.

In 3.04, I agree with you—Rio does look like the information weighs on him, but I think that makes sense. One, I now think he only just barely believed the doctor anyway, but felt powerless in the scene to expose it. Two, contemplating if she was actually pregnant forced him to remember their intimacy, dulling his rage. Three, the confession at the bar is only a half-truth—she lost the baby, instead of admitting there never was a baby—which makes it so Rio still doesn’t know for sure what the truth is, only that he has no reason not to kill her anymore, but he no longer has the momentum to do so even though everything is still broken between them. She still shot him and left him for dead, and he thinks he should kill her even though he doesn’t seem to want to. When he takes the shot, I believe that means he’s going to push ahead with the plan anyway and force himself to do it, so the mood in the scene is so heavy because it’s a moment of deep conflict for Rio. In his mind, Beth doesn’t deserve mercy and yet he wants to give it to her anyway—and those feelings may have been sparked by a lie.

Oh, I definitely agree. I don’t think Rio is without empathy—I think he obviously forms deep bonds and behaves emotionally and responds to other people’s emotions (think of how he responds to Beth’s pain after he has Lucy killed—even though he’s still reeling after she nearly killed him). I also think the few interactions we’ve seen between him and Marcus shows that he’s great with kids (which I think will be confirmed when we meet his family as well).

But I’m not sure the fact that Beth has kids factored into his decision not to kill her. I think the pregnancy lie was the only thing that saved her skin in 3.03—particularly because it forced Rio to consider 2.09 and remember how he once felt about her—how he still felt about her despite everything. That meant, in turn, that by the time Beth stopped lying about the baby, he could not longer kill her.

Basically I think he would’ve gone through with it in 3.03 and 3.04 if anything but what happened had happened, and her children would’ve have made the difference.