MovieChat Forums > Good Behavior (2016) Discussion > Season and Finale thoughts (and spoilers...

Season and Finale thoughts (and spoilers)

posted 8 years ago by elmimich
18 replies | jump to latest

*Spoilers ahead*

After coming from the semi-disastrous episode 9, the season finale was pretty solid. In fact I would rate the entire season an 8.

Pros of the season:
Acting- everyone was amazing in this series. I loved all the nuances Michelle Dockery brought to the role and Juan Diego Botto was both seductive and vulnerable. The characters of Estelle and Rob were also on point and brought so much anguish and humor to the show.

Cinemetography, direction and music- all really good. There are always scenes that surprises me with the interesting camera work, the acting direction, and the music selections. I have been loving the playlist on spotify.

Plot- the Letty/Javier, Letty/Christian, Letty/Estelle plots are all great.

Cons of the season (and season finale):
The Jacob storyline- The biggest issue I have with Good Behavior as detailed in my post from last week's episode is the custody battle. I feel like the writers wrote themselves into a hole. Why oh why would we believe that either Letty or Sean should fight for full custody? Why was Jacob staying with Estelle and visitation from both Letty and Sean not an option?
I enjoyed some of the Jacob scenes (the stealing in ShopMax), and I think he was an interesting character for Letty to try to be "good" for. She needed motivation and her son provided that. But she should not have full custody at all.
It seems like the writers wanted to wrap up the season on a happy note (while they left the possibility of a second season open, there was no huge cliff hanger that would suggest they had been renewed), and to them this means Jacob goes with Letty. No! That makes no sense! Apart from Sean coming back to the house (that's a big maybe- good job Rob!), there was no reason for Jacob to leave.
Here are the issues: Javier just got away from the FBI, they know who Javier is, they know Letty associates with him, any hotel security camera footage will show Letty warning him, they know who Jacob is, they probably know the black Land Rover from the valet (good thing Rob didn't take that one). What do Letty/Javier/Jacob do now? Jacob apparently is just not going back to school any time soon. As soon as he does, or has a meeting with Sean, the FBI could take him to get Letty/Javier. Jacob should have stayed with Estelle and Letty could visit!

Also, as I said above, while I'm a huge fan of the eclectic music selections throughout the season, I was disappointed with the ending cover of Fleetwood Mac. Good song but not for this show- it was too cliche. The last few minutes (apart from the Rob/Land Rover scene) amped up the cheese too much for me. By changing the song and removing the talking between Jacob and Javier, the scene would have fit much better with the rest of the show. I felt like I was watching the end of a romcom.

Still aside from the cheesy ending, a really good finale- all scenes between Letty and Javier were on point and I loved the interactions between Christian and the FBI agent.

I'm going to miss this next tuesday!

[–] freemoviesforme 8 years ago

totally agree on so many points

[–] nereidon 8 years ago

totally agree on every point.

it feels like another season is very much into question and so they decided to wrap things up neatly. How and especially why would she even get a custody hearing? Isnt her mother the custodian? the whole storyline was contrived and out of character. I liked the point where she kind of realized that she just isnt a fit mother or that she even doesnt want to be a mother and that jacob was better off with her mom. From there i wanted to see her "breaking bad" hard or something. Would have been a much more interesting scenario to see how her relationship with Javier develops from there and where that leads her instead of this very generic "three is a family, lets be a chef and be happy ever after" fantasy in the end. But i dont blame them, i am just slightly disappointed. otherwise it would be a ten, so i also feel an 8 is the right choice.

[–] elmimich 8 years ago

"three is a family, lets be a chef and be happy ever after"

that made me laugh. thanks

[–] thenmadewild 8 years ago

100% agree. I wish her character arc had gone the way of realizing that it's not really possible for her to be "good". That would have made this series great...instead it was just good/ okay. And Jacob could still have had a "happy" ending by getting to stay with his grandmother, but with his mom now being aloud to visit--after all, at the start she wasn't even aloud that, so she got what she wanted by just having him back in her life. Why battle for full custody when she is in such circumstances? It made little sense.

[–] bongoman47 8 years ago

For me, that soft, atmospheric cover of Go Your Own Way wasn't cheesy in the least... the way it was used.

IMO, we're supposed to ignore the lyrics/meaning that we all know and let the chord progressions lift the scene. The way they brought it in at such a low volume and let it build, fading in and out, couldn't have fit the situation better. When Letty saw Javier, it almost looked like she had been deprived of oxygen and her knees were going to buckle.

Again, for me, there was a subtle power to the way it was used... a combination of hopefulness and foreboding that I didn't expect and it punched me in the gut a little. I don't think very many viewers expected Javier to show up like that. I know I didn't.

I went on YouTube and found it... by someone I'd never heard of... Lissie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OltcXMV-9Vk

_______
Apparently, stupid people don't know they're stupid. 

[–] dh1919 8 years ago

Thank you for the link! I agree, it was an excellent song choice for the atmosphere of the ending.

[–] Xanth47 8 years ago

I love the show and love that it introduced me to Seynabo Sey who sings the opening theme Hard Time. She's from Sweden. She's great. Their music throughout the season has been killer.

[–] jfitz_returns 8 years ago

and to them this means Jacob goes with Letty. No! That makes no sense! Apart from Sean coming back to the house (that's a big maybe- good job Rob!), there was no reason for Jacob to leave.

Agree. Cruelty and selfishness on Letty's part. That chat with her mom further drove home that her mom has done a good job raising Jacob and truly understands and loves him. Letty doesn't know him or care about what's best for him. He had a stable home with Estelle. School, house, own room, doting parent vs Letty's nomadic trainwreck life. And to take Jacob from Estelle too, who was clearly brokenhearted to see him go. Selfish.

As expected, despite how awesome Javier is and how great their chemistry is, having him come running back to her, tail tucked, after everything she's done just ruined the character.

I liked the closing song though but then I love that song.

I agree about Christian and Mags from Justified.

"She hasn't even read the books..." - Elliot_Alderson

[–] Taco_Lips 8 years ago

Yeah the custody issues really made it strain, because it was so unrealistic of what we all know about the family court system and child services.

Realistically the woman who has raised him for 10 years would surely get first 'dibs' (for lack of a better word!) and it is very unlikely that the courts would uproot a child from that home, unless there were extenuating circumstances.

Now if they had brought up the legal troubles the GrandMother had with driving drunk with the child in the car, and that being the reason why he needed a new home, because she was seen as 'unfit' now because of that - perhaps that could have been more acceptable.
But the fact it never gets mentioned or followed up on by child services is ridiculous! If you're caught drunk driving with a minor in your car, you bet your butt authorities are going to come knocking and getting all up into your business!

The same with how she somehow was setting up tens of thousands of dollars of a College fund for Jacob out of the blue, too. Would no authorities wonder where all this undeclared money came from?

Just so many things fail to add up. Oh, don't get me started on taking a minor out of the state without the other parents permission. Maybe we can assume that's why the police stop the car at the end, not for Javier but to stop Letty taking the kid away. But then, why start being realistic now. lol.


Riddle wrapped inside an enigma, wrapped inside a taco.

[–] showmehow321 8 years ago

i would say your points work on a surface-level argument. let's dig a bit deeper.

the entire Jacob storyline was to highlight just how not "good" Letty is. the father comes back and he actually looks pretty cleaned up. he's on TV, he's making good money, we don't see him do drugs or anything. the only thing that really makes him a "villain" is his hostility towards Letty and their shared history.

Letty has no horse in the race, the only reason she GOT Jacob was because the FBI squeezed the judge. don't forget that. in a realistic world, the boy probably would have stayed with Estelle, yes. in the show, he probably would have ended up with the father. but Letty did a terrible thing to allow another terrible thing to happen and she ended up with Jacob.

if anything at all, this proves that Letty's never really going to be "good". yes, she loves Jacob, but that love is causing her to put him in more danger. she's selfish. she rats out Javier, then tracks him down because she knows he'll take care of them. she absolutely destroyed Christian's life--but it's funny because he's getting laid. the black humor in this show is pretty great.

the beauty of the ending is that it's not happy. it's actually pretty tragic. Letty and Javier are now in charge of this poor kid. they're still on the run, they're still constantly looking over their shoulders--the sirens we hear at the end are a great indicator of that.

it's actually a perfect ending that lines up pretty well with the show's central themes.

[–] elmimich 8 years ago

"the beauty of the ending is that it's not happy. it's actually pretty tragic."

I agree with your point here that it really is not a good ending for Jacob especially. I just don't know if that was the intended point or if the writers wanted us to be happy. Were they wanting us to root for Letty to get Jacob?

[–] elmimich 8 years ago

I should have given Chad Hodge more credit. I'm so used to cliche and predictable TV shows that I don't think writers can have that much subtlety.

Here's his interview about the final episode:
http://screenertv.com/television/good-behavior-season-2-sean-christian-back-in-a-big-way/

On Javier and Letty running off with Jacbo:
"That pretty much is the essence of what this show is — getting what you want and making bad decisions, which is what we all do versions of every day. This is of course a terrible situation, a hitman and a thief on the run with her 10-year-old son. Good luck with that. [laughs]"

On Season 2:
"I hope there’s a Season 2 as well — and we have Season 2 mapped out, pretty much entirely, already. Christian is actually a bigger part of Season 2 than he was in Season 1. "
Apparently Sean is big in Season 2 as well.

[–] karinBM 8 years ago

Thank you for the link, the interview was very good. I like his ideas about the characters and their interactions and the choices they make, based on who they are. A unrealistic happy ending would jeopardize the whole show.
I like the sirens at the end.

[–] denis-38 8 years ago

If--and I am hoping hard--the show gets a second season, what I want in the first episode is Letty coming to her senses, such as they are, and returning Jacob to Estelle. That she (Letty) took him, after Estelle's heartbreaking talk about how to care for him and what he needs... I was surprised. And now they are all on the run.

The show is, should be, about Letty and Javier. Jacob can be a point of interest, the better part of herself that Letty says she wants to find, but at a distance. That better part is likely something she can never attain, but we don't need to see her failing for another season with the child as witness.

Hmmm...I certainly became more invested in this show than I thought I would.

[–] spasticfreakshow 8 years ago

fully agree. the only way the show could continue with jacob in letty's custody is if javier's father died, and they all moved to argentina. unlikely. your suggestion of letty returning jacob, and having visitation rights, is the best option by far. it would also show progress on letty's part, to make such a smart choice.

[–] fridaynight-1 8 years ago

Totally agree about Jacob story. His mother is an ex-con and has a history of abuse, his father was a drugdealer, and the boy met him like 2 times in his life. So why wasn't the judge even thinking about giving Jacob to a person who has been raising him for all these years?

As a fan of the show I'm just praying if there's a season 2 they'll give Jacob to his grandmother. Cannot stand this storyline. Everyone gets so dumb around this kid. Please please ditch this storyline!

[–] kenny-164 8 years ago

Friday,

For story lines as opposed to specific events, several of the latter of which I have big problems with, but on story lines, yeah I agree the whole custody thing was the worst part of the narrative.