So how are we feeling about that brio angst?
well. i do love angst. the angstier the better. but to be perfectly honest i did not enjoy that episode at all. it didnāt feel like angst to me. it felt like a non-sensical destruction of 4x06 and 4x07. i donāt understand what the point of putting so much emphasis on the scene of beth making a choice outside of the bank wasĀ if she didnāt actually choose anything?? i know we didnāt see her actually make a choice but the implication was that she did.Ā
last night i was telling someone that my issue with what happened in this episode is similar to what happened in 2x13. bethās reactions (shooting rio/turning rio over to the secret service) to rioās actions (kidnapping beth/threatening her family and kids) make sense to me but rioās actions make no sense at all! itās bad writing! his actions come out of nowhere. and it makes him look like a freaking lunatic (and consequently beth like a callous b*tch who doesnāt care about him at all).
but with 2x13 i feel like they did a LOT to show how much it affected beth. she came home and broke down immediately and then season 3 opened with her so very clearly struggling with what she did, and she continued to struggle with that. then, we watched for the rest of the season, and even into season 4, as they struggled to get back on to some sort of even footing, and while i did not enjoy the execution of the hitman plot, i do feel like it accomplished that goal. beth and rio were equal threats to each other, both personally and professionally. they were in a good place to move forward with a new dynamic.
and then 4x06 and 4x07 happened and they were so good?? rio finally let beth in a little bit! beth was feeling guilty! they were revisiting their feelings for each other! they were feeling protective of each other! they were finally fucking honest with each other! it was good! it was so good! we were getting somewhere!
and then 4x08 came and was like FUCK YOU NONE OF THAT HAPPENED! and i just?? why? what was the point of doing any of that??
see, the thing is that i donāt think rio would actually physically harm any of bethās family apart from dean (and maybe stan i guess) so those threats fall flat AND they come out of nowhere. beth and rio are supposed to be on the same side now. rio keeps asking beth to choose him but he doesnāt give her any reason to?? it makes no damn sense (and it doesnāt even compel me!). he doesnāt sayĀ āthis is what WEāRE gonna doā orĀ āhereās the planā orĀ āhereās how weāre gonna get out of this.ā he tells her to choose him and then hangs her out to dry completely. choosing him seems to mean fucking herself over and that makes no sense!!! why on earth would she choose that?? like at this point it doesnāt even feel like sheās betraying him because he keeps telling her to pick him and then giving her zero reason to do that or even a way to do that. he says pick me. she supposedly does. and then he threatens her livelihood and her family but doesnāt give her any alternative. it makes NO SENSE!! this isnāt season 1 where heās saying if you want to do crime, you have to actually DO the crime (which was fair! he was right! that struggle made sense!). now heās just saying āyeah um you should... do... something...ā but like WHAT IS THAT SOMETHING SUPPOSED TO BE??? tell her what to do that isnāt screwing herself and her family over and sheāll do it???? I AM PULLING MY HAIR OUT IN FRUSTRATION OVER THIS!! and iām not actually holding this against rio. i think this is just terrible writing meant to continue to cause conflict but itās not working because the conflict makes no sense anymore. she chose crime! she committed to it! but somehow itās the same conflict over and over and over again. itās stagnant. the only growth we see is that beth is a little less conflicted about screwing him over, and she holds her chin high this time, which, okay fine. if thatās the direction they want to take the show, fine! but then actually take it that way! donāt have rio there waiting for her likeĀ āoh my beautiful crime princess now we can rule the world... together!ā WHAT???Ā
thatās not angst. itās just stupid. and itās hella frustrating because i feel like it couldāve been very easily fixed with a few minor adjustments like a reveal at the end that beth was in on it from the beginning. or that she chose him and they made a plan to do something but somehow the secret service were one step ahead and they cornered her in a way that made it so that she really did have no choice. anything but this dumb situation where he just expects her to sacrifice everything for him with nothing in return and then STILL comes crawling back to her after sheĀ ābetraysā him again. i hate it! i hate it! i hate it!
somewhat related: iām also having a really hard time with their legal logic this season in a way that is disruptive for me. was it realistic before this season? no. but i could follow the magical tv logic. but now? i donāt know whatās going on!Ā if dean pled guilty, what the fuck would there be a trial for?? he would be sentenced and that would be that. there would be no getting out on bail. why the fuck did they say he pled guilty instead of confessed?!? thatās such a dumb mistake! and it left me confused for several episodes!
and how in the great big dandy fuck does a city councilman have ANY SWAY WHATSOEVER over a federal investigation involving the secret service?? and what do the secret service want with rio anyway? the girls were the ones printing AND laundering the cash. rioās gang affiliations or what-the-fuck-ever donāt matter!!
AND once they decided he did matter, i thought the whole point was to find out where the money goes?? so how does him sitting on a picnic bench and opening a box of fake cash (not even taking it and getting in his car!) give the secret service anything??? what was the point of spending several episodes trying to get beth to get more information about his operation if all it was gonna take was him looking like he was going to accept that money?? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON ITS SO FRUSTRATING NOTHING MAKES SENSE.
okay. i think iām done ranting. and since we here at hypermania dot tumblr dot gov value positivity i would just like to say that i very much enjoyed annieās little nugget of knowledge about occamās razor. sheās a gem and weāre so happy to have her here.
