Never underestimate women. That’s one of the many lessons NBC‘s Good Girls has taught us. Season 1 just wrapped on Tuesday, and if you’re in need of an empowering series to binge, we recommend the drama, starring Christina Hendricks, Mae Whitman and Retta.
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Good Girls follows three women, Beth (Hendricks), Annie (Whitman) and Ruby (Retta), who decide to take matters into their own hands when they’re in desperate need of cash. They end up robbing a grocery store, and from that moment on their lives are turned upside — in both good and bad ways.
Their lives definitely aren’t going as planned, but they soon begin to discover what they really want and need from life. Granted, stealing money and getting involved with criminals isn’t the best way to go about rediscovering your wants and needs, but, hey, this is just a TV show.
Despite all the trouble they find themselves in, Beth, Annie and Ruby are relatable, not only as mothers and wives, but simply as women. Good Girls is a powerful show for any woman. It presents women in a powerful and positive light, all while putting them front and center.
If you, like Beth, Annie and Ruby, are a little lost and need to be empowered, then you should watch Good Girls. You’ll learn all kinds of life lessons, like those we picked up throughout the first season.
1. There is always a way out
No matter how stuck you may feel in life, in a relationship or in a career, there is always a way out. For example, after discovering her husband, Dean (Matthew Lillard) has blown all their money and has been cheating on her, Beth feels trapped. However, after sulking for a little while, Beth rises to the occasion and realizes she’s not going to let Dean’s hurtful decisions decide her future.
2. You are the only one in control of your life
Despite many of the men thinking they control Beth, Ruby and Annie, they don’t. All three women have taken control of their lives in big ways. When life turned to shit, they did what they thought was best and took back control. Remember this: No one controls you. No one tells you what to do, when to do it or how to do it. No one owns you.
3. Your happiness is key
If you aren’t happy with yourself, you will never be happy in life or with anyone else, so take care of yourself. For a long time, Beth has put her happiness aside for her family and her garbage of a husband. Believe it or not, robbing a grocery store and working with criminal Rio (Manny Montana) is what she needed to open her eyes. She likes being somewhat in charge and taking risks in the process. It’s exhilarating for her.
Beth loves being a mom and cherishes her kids, but she’s bored at home. She wants more and has found happiness in laundering money. Granted, if there were something less risky that wouldn’t put in her jail or get her killed, she’d probably choose a different career path. However, she doesn’t have much choice right now. And the way Beth decided she wanted to take out Rio once and for all and even take over his business, well, it sure seems like Beth’s found her happy place.
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4. It’s never too late to leave
Beth’s relationship with her estranged husband has been tough to watch. First, she found out he was cheating on her. Second, she learned they had no money. Third, Dean faked cancer in order to get back in Beth’s good graces and she even let him move back in before she figured it out. Beth deserves so much better than Dean. If we’ve learned anything from her unfortunate relationship, it’s that it’s never too late to leave and that no one should ever settle. Even if you’ve been married for decades and have four kids, you can still get out and find a partner who will treat you right.
5. It’s OK to want more
Just because you might find yourself at a comfortable point in your life and others are telling you this is the best life will ever be doesn’t mean you can’t achieve more. Look at Beth, Ruby and Annie. They took the bull by the horns and chose to make more of their lives by robbing a grocery store and washing money for criminals. It wasn’t the smartest option, but they saw an opportunity and they took it. If you’re a wife and a mother, you don’t have to be only that — it’s OK to want more.
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6. Fight back, & fight back hard
Women are done dealing with the bullshit, including Beth, Annie and Ruby. We are here to fight back. Men can’t take whatever they want from women, nor can they treat women as objects or with zero respect. Like when Beth stopped her sister Annie’s boss, Boomer (David Hornsby), from raping Annie, Beth’s speech directed at the attempted rapist spoke volumes. “When a lady screams stop, it is usually because she is not having the time of her life.” She said, continuing (while pointing a gun at Boomer), “Oh, do I look upset? Why would I be upset?” She answered her own question by adding, “‘Cause every man in the world thinks he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants.”
7. Women need to stick together
This trio has had their fair share of arguments. They’ve been at odds more than once, which is totally normal for any family or group of friends. What’s important is Ruby, Annie and Beth have always found their way back to each other. They support and uplift each other, like women should do. Too often, women are pitted against each other, especially on TV and in movies, but Good Girls has strayed away from that, and it’s absolutely refreshing.
8. Women are freaking badasses
We already know this, but it just has to be said. Ruby, Annie and Beth are uh-mazing women. It’s wonderful to see multidimensional women on television. When females of any age see a powerful, intelligent, talented, funny, successful, sad, happy, angry, messed-up, complicated woman, they can relate. These are real women, and they make other women feel less alone. That is why it’s so important to tell women’s stories by women.
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9. Women are capable of taking back their power
Time’s up. Women refuse to stay silent anymore. We are taking back our power. Over the course of Season 1, Good Girls showed women are here to stay and are no longer bowing down to the patriarchy. Annie, Ruby and Beth have all shown this time and again, but when Boomer tried to rape Annie, she didn’t sit around waiting for power to be given to her — she took it.
Annie ended up getting a bit of revenge on Boomer by holding him for ransom and blackmailing him by taking a photo of his penis and pretending to text it to her daughter, which would make him a sex offender if Annie were to ever turn him into the police. Rather than showing a violent rape scene, like far too many TV series do, the attempted sexual assault of Annie is focused completely on her in a refreshing, cathartic and even funny manner.
10. Women can successfully carry a show
Women have been fighting for a long time to be front and center of a TV series — in front of and behind the camera. Thankfully, Good Girls is proving how capable women are and that they can actually make a show successful all on their own. From Hendricks to Whitman to Retta to creator Jenna Bans, these female talents have proven exactly what they can do — and hopefully, they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
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How much do you want to watch Good Girls right now? Yeah, that’s what we thought. Keep those fingers crossed it gets renewed!
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