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Good Girls – Taking Care of Business (1×05)

GOOD GIRLS -- "Taking Care of Business" Episode 105 -- Pictured: Christina Hendricks as Beth Boland -- (Photo by: Josh Stringer/NBC)

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They are just normal women shopping… with fake money.

That’s the caveat on this week’s Good Girls as Beth, Annie and Ruby make good on their business proposal to Rio.

What seemed like a pretty grand idea last week, and I say that loosely because it never seemed like a good idea to me, is a nightmare now that they realize the FBI is onto them.

Beth gets a visit from Agent Turner, the man that’s been getting intel from Boomer. He doesn’t really reveal a reason for the visit just asks if there’s anything “weird” happening in the hood.

Dean is too clueless to really grasp the seriousness of the situation but Beth picked up on the fact that Turner kept eyeing her.

She tells the girls they should simply back out now but time and time again, they find themselves at the same crossroads — they need the money.

They’re smart women so I’m not sure why they don’t realize the takeaway isn’t more illegal money = more problems.

Since they’ve started on this “bad lifestyle,” nothing has gotten easier. In turn, they’ve just dug bigger holes for themselves, put their families in danger with some ugly people and have the FBI tailing them.

They try to return the fake 100k that Rio gave them, which he expects returned in real money, but he puts his foot down — this isn’t Girl Scout cookies, you can’t give the cookies back. They are now on the hook for distribution.

So, they get to business mapping out stores all over the city with the biggest ticket items. Seeing how organized Beth is and how she had a method to her madness, I can see why Rio believed they’d be a good fit for his, uh, business model.

My point, and I think it’s fair, is that most people don’t make large purchases with cash. Who buys a five-thousand dollar TV with cash? Why would you have that much money with you? It automatically raises a red flag!

Still, each of them is able to purchase their products without any hassle.Well, almost.

Annie takes them on an unnecessary segway after she takes the cashier up on his “hook-up” offer and then realizes he stole her receipt.

Without a receipt, she isn’t able to give back the product, which means they are out a ton of money.

Personally, I’d be more concerned that the dude would try to steal my money. After all, it isn’t every day that a woman walks in with a wad of several thousand dollars. My first instinct was that he saw a rich girl and wanted to capitalize.

Also, if you’re buying that many TVs and spending that much money at one time, wouldn’t the dude become suspicious that you lived in a little dingy apartment?

Doesn’t even matter because the dude was a complete tool who only stole the receipt so she wouldn’t call him again because he was married with children.

Annie wanted to bust his ass right then and there for being a cheating scumbag, but Beth didn’t allow it, which led to quite an interesting altercation while they were digging through the trash. Again, these problems DID NOT exist before they made deals with very bad people.

Beth, someone who has been cheated on herself, made it very clear to Annie that she didn’t need to embarrass the woman or tell her something she was already very aware of. The look on her face made it clear she knew her marriage was a sham and her man was stepping out on her.

We see Beth as this strong character; a leader of the pack. It’s easy to forget that she’s in this place to get her family out of a dark time.

The second time Agent Turner rolls around, it’s a bit more serious — he has a picture of Rio leaving her house. When Beth denies every seeing the gang banger, he suggests he’ll just go ask her husband.

Obviously, Dean would recognize him from the time Rio rolled up to a children’s party and had an argument with his wife in the bedroom.

“Don’t do that,” she retorts, using the “I can’t talk about this in front of the kids” excuse.

In a panic, she calls Rio to get some advice but he doesn’t seem too worried. He brought her on because she’s cunning so she’ll likely have no problem talking herself out of this one. He even recommends saying that they were sleeping together, which gets Beth all flustered.

Clearly, Beth is sexually attracted to this guy, she just doesn’t want to admit it. Even the girls realized it when they couldn’t remember his name and she said it proudly like she was talking about some celebrity crush.

In fact, when she went to Turner’s office and told him she had a one-night stand with Rio, his follow up questions could have easily put a dent in her story. But as we know, Beth is an impeccable storyteller and she hit him with a fully-detailed play-by-play of her night with Rio. And yes, she was definitely hot and bothered by it and it’ll likely lead her to make some kind of move on him.

And while I’m in full support of her embracing this side of herself, sleeping with a con who is hunted by the FBI may have some long-term implications.

As will Dean lying about cancer to her face. Can you believe he’s such a scum that he’s lying about something so serious to get his wife back after he CHEATED on her?

And all the money they made from their agreement with Rio went to Ruby, who is using it to pay for her daughter’s medical treatment. It was heartbreaking to see Sara refuse to take her meds because she knew her parents couldn’t afford it.

You always want to be strong for your kids, but your kids can also see when you are struggling and want to help. In this case, it came with a hefty price of her health.

Ruby and Stan are incredible parents though and played it off so well. I was in awe of the united and strong front they put up so their baby girl wouldn’t worry. Hopefully, when he finds out she lost her job, he doesn’t lash out too much.

Also, Beth needs to renegotiate the cut they are getting because in passing 25K seems like a lot, but when you have to do so much illegal stuff and it’s split three ways, it isn’t much at all.

The stakes are being raised — will they continue down this path or sell Rio out to the FBI?

Thoughts on this week’s Good Girls?

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Lizzy Buczak is the founder of CraveYouTV. What started off as a silly blog in her sophomore year at Columbia College Chicago turned her passion for watching TV into an opportunity! She has been in charge of CraveYou since 2011, writing reviews and news content for a wide variety of shows. Lizzy is a Music Business and Journalism major who has written for RADIO.COM, TV Fanatic, Time Out Chicago, Innerview, Pop’stache and Family Time.

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Good Girls Series Finale Review – I’m the Boss (4×15 and 4×16)

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Good Girls Series Finale Review Nevada Season 4 Episode 16

Beth finally did it. She finally became the boss. 

But it cost her a whole lot. 

On Good Girls Season 4 Episode 15 and 16, (which sadly served as the series finale after NBC canceled the show) Beth ran for City Council and won. She also did her best to bring down Nick before realizing that it was one of the goals she and Rio had in common. 

I’m not going to lie — that final moment of Rio and Beth sitting on a bench together was a pretty perfect ending. Beth finally realized what was pretty obvious all along: she was never going to enjoy Nevada. Her dream of Nevada proved that they could never outrun their problems because they weren’t external, they were internal issues.

Rio pushed the hair out of her face and acknowledged that she finally leveled up the way he always wanted and expected her to. By doing so, he also admitted that he had real feelings for her. I’m not okay. 

If the series continued on, it would have been great to see what they would accomplish next as equals… well, technically, she was his boss now. We would have seen #Brio happen. I’m so mad that the show wasn’t renewed, but I’m also somehow content at least knowing that the two of them will continue ruling the world together. 

Good Girls Series Finale Review Nevada Season 4 Episode 16

Credit: NBC

Beth always needed to stop fighting who she was in order to step into her glory.

However, as I said before, becoming who she really was cost her, including her husband Dean. (Okay, let’s be honest, she wasn’t even that distraught by any of it because she got the job, the boss life, and Rio!) 

After Beth was shot and refused to tell the police who did it, Dean realized that he couldn’t do this anymore and left her. 

The dream of utopia — Nevada — died for Annie also when she was arrested. 

I’m kind of unclear about what happened here, so maybe someone can explain it to me. 

Mick shot Beth to teach her that there are consequences for her actions. It was clearly a call made by Nick, which is odd since Mick is Rio’s boy. But I guess since they were all on Nick’s payroll, it made sense?

Anyway, once Beth brought it up, Annie realized she was in some trouble and forfeited her dream of leaving for Nevada with Kevin and Ben. What did she have to do with the gun that I’m assuming was the same one that was linked to Lucy’s death and thus, had Beth’s and only Beth’s prints on it. 

How was it pinned on Annie?

And wouldn’t Beth be able to get her out with the new powers her gig gave her? That is unless Nick was able to get Annie’s prints off of the keycard she stole from his assistant and framed her that way. 

If someone has an explanation here, I’m all ears! 

https://twitter.com/notebrookepaper/status/1418406464507498499?s=20

If Annie was framed as payback, it would explain why he said that he “hit her where it hurts.” But how would Annie know she was being framed?!

In the end, the siblings were the ones to take the fall while Beth and Rio came out on top. 

And Ruby was forced to choose between being loyal to Beth and Annie or to her family. 

She hesitantly chose her family, and honestly, it’s probably for the best. 

Beth has chosen Rio and a life of crime, but Ruby doesn’t need to be dragged down any further. She was loyal this whole time, but she can move on.

My hope for Ruby is that she successfully gets out of town and opens up her own Hill’s Nails with Stan! 

It’s possible that the storyline with Vance would have continued on into Season 4, but nothing was actually resolved with him in this episode. It’s unfortunate as the series spent so much time investing in his character. 

I would’ve loved to see Dean and Stan take him down for manipulating them. He deserved it. 

Dean has never been my favorite character, but he was exceptionally dense this season. I know Beth’s lifestyle can be a handful, but she’s always been in Dean’s corner. She may be the reason he got arrested, but she was also trying to remedy that situation. Somewhere along the lines, his house arrest stopped being a thing, so I’m guessing that she took care of it by partnering up with the FBI again on the low? Point is, Beth had his back, while he didn’t have hers. 

Dean wanted so badly to trust someone that he ended up being made a fool of by Vance, who was using him this whole time. 

No wonder Dean has such trust issues. 

Admittedly, the fact that Vance wanted to blackmail Beth into plugging his face cream was a bit of a letdown, but it would be something so trivial that got Dean all caught up. 

And that’s yet another reason why I’m so glad Beth ended up with Rio by her side. He always believed in her, and while his methods of pushing her were questionable, he never left or turned his back on her.

If there’s any truth to the rumors that NBC canceled Good Girls because Manny Montana wouldn’t take a pay cut are true, it makes sense. How could the show continue on without him when he’s now closer to Beth than ever before? They are the A-team, so there’s no show without him.

The FBI storyline also felt watered down. It’s unclear how they were able to take down Nick since they were never there on official business, but I like that the storyline revealed that all the money laundering accounts were in grandma’s name. 

Rio knew that Nick would never let granny go down for it. 

Beth and Rio made it very clear to Nick that he couldn’t get away with playing them. Nick tried to use Beth as a scapegoat, but Rio didn’t allow it because that’s his girl. No one messes with her.

But I don’t think for a second that Nick would’ve stayed in prison for long. My guess is if that the show continued, it would have been Beth and Rio versus Nick. 

Overall, I like where the storyline ended up, but the final few episodes felt so choppy that I kept wondering if I missed something.

The road was also frustrating. 

Season 1 was a massive success because the show was so thrilling and revolutionary, however, everything that came after was a bit “meh” because Beth and the ladies constantly got caught up in the same problems over and over. They kept making the same mistakes and never seemed to learn their lesson.

But now, Beth finally reached her full potential. It would’ve been interesting to see it manifest on screen, and it’s a shame we never will. 

What did you think of the Good Girls two-hour series finale?

13 Steamiest Moments Between Rio and Beth on ‘Good Girls’

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Good Girls Review – Thank You For Your Support (4×14)

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Good Girls Review Thank You For Your Support Season 4 Episode 14

On Good Girls Season 4 Episode 14, the race for the City Council seat was on. Beth Boland squared off against Denise Carpenter, who put up a good fight.

Unfortunately, despite her nifty little commercial to make the neighborhood a better place, she didn’t stand a chance against Beth when she decided to play dirty. 

How ironic is it that Beth’s platform for City Council is “give crime a time out,” yet she’s not only using her life of crime to secure herself the spot, but she’s also responsible for half the crime in town? 

Though I’m not going to lie, I did enjoy seeing Mick rough Denise up a little bit. 

When it comes to crime in the Detroit area, Beth is one of the biggest contributors, but she’s also a person who is seriously trying to make it a better place for her kids. She knows firsthand just how dangerous the gangs are, and she understands just how much power that those elected to serve the community posesses.

She’s a criminal by night, hero by day.

There’s no better person to bring about change, but, of course, there are some obstacles to get through.

For starters, she had to actually win her spot on City Council without anyone’s help. 

Beth is resourceful, so Nick pushed her to do things her way, which included using the strip club to entice donors.

And let’s just say, they were generous. 

However, all the money that she collected at the club was taken by Rio, who suggested that Beth figure out a different way to raise funds. 

Both Nick and Rio could’ve easily handled things for Beth and secured her the “W.” Why didn’t they? Did they just want to see her take this on alone?

Beth decided to get some advice from Phoebe, who surprisingly encouraged her to use her criminal background to get what she needs hence the ambush on Denise. 

Good Girls Review Thank You For Your Support Season 4 Episode 14

GOOD GIRLS — “Thank You For Your Support” Episode 414 — Pictured: (l-r) Jonathan Silverman as DL Dave, Lauren Lapkus as Phoebe — (Photo by: Jordin Althaus/NBC)

She didn’t have much of a choice as Denise threatened to expose Dean’s arrest, and Beth had no time to waste if she wanted any shot at taking down Nick and Rio. 

Phoebe and Dave are helping, but since they’re in Detroit unofficially, means they don’t have the backing or resources provided by the FBI. They need Beth to go rogue in order to succeed in their mission, which is also very backward. 

Fight crime with crime, I guess. 

On one hand, you could say they’re really dedicated to taking down Rio and the gang, but on the other hand, their involvement is kind of pointless if they can’t really help the ladies in any real way. 

I’m not sure why they’re still around, but I’m also not completely opposed to Beth and Phoebe’s strange friendship. 

It works, somehow. And they have an unspoken appreciation for each other that’s nice to see. 

Rio eventually gave Beth all the money back, along with her furniture, proving that he always believed in her abilities to get the job done. 

It’s not a secret that Beth’s resourceful — it’s one of the main reasons why Rio has kept her around for so long.

Rio directly sabotaged Nick’s plans with Beth, which indicates that they don’t see eye-to-eye, yet they work together. 

To be quite frank, the whole situation between them is really confusing. 

I thought he was supporting Nick’s plans to get Beth involved because it would benefit them, but Rio seems irritated and annoyed that his brother/cousin is moving in on his woman. He’s also struggling to hide his jealously. 

At this point, I don’t know what their game plan is since it’s never as straightforward as one might think. Why does Nick want Beth involved so badly? Is it so that she’ll help him pass ideas and motions or does he want to pin something on her eventually?

Dave explained that Nick is getting shell contracts and kickbacks, which he needs help getting across the finish line, but I feel like there has to be more to it.

Since this is serving as the penultimate episode before the unintended series finale, I’m afraid we might never figure out what the bigger picture is. 

Dean is the most frustrating character this season as is his quest to regain his freedom by turning on his wife. 

When he confronted Vance about stalling with the DA, Vance informed him to check in with Stan. While Stan wanted to bring down Beth, it was never going to be possible without also incriminating Ruby. I don’t know why either of them thought it was.

These girls are ride or die, even if they do get frustrated with Beth calling the shots from time to time.

Beth may be the leader of the pack, but they’ve only gotten as far as they have because they work together.

But just because Dean and Stan may want to pull back and forget any of this ever happened, will Vance let it go? He now has something against them, which means he could easily manipulate them. 

And you know how these cult-like people are. 

He also saw Rio leaving Beth’s place, so he definitely has enough to bring Beth down.

I also wish Dean would put aside his own wants and needs to consider why Vance is so determined to help him bring down Beth.

Is he just a loyal friend, or is there more to it?

Vance clearly enjoys the power he has at the brotherhood because he’s lacking it at home. 

After seeing him with his wife, it’s clear that he’s channeling his rage at her against Beth. He hates his wife and the way she treats him, but since he can’t do anything about it, he wants to help Dean nail Beth instead. 

It also explains why he’s so anti-women; when he found out about Beth’s City Council run, he made a sexist comment about “another woman” coming out on top.

Angry, much?

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Nancy, but being poor does not look good on her. 

After losing all of her money and her entire purpose in life, Nancy became depressed. 

Her relationship with Annie has improved greatly over the years, and it’s nice to see Annie go out of her way to make Nancy feel better. 

Bringing up that she slept with her husband multiple times probably wasn’t the best reminder that she can overcome anything, but Annie tried her best. It’s the thought that counts. 

Nancy has always been pretentious and allowed money to dictate her behavior, but now that she’s on the other side, she’s seeing how snobbish that was. 

She’s become more human in her understanding that you can’t just throw money at you’re problems, nor does having less money make you a bad person. 

She even acknowledges that she misjudged Kevin simply because of his homelessness.

Once she gave him a chance, she saw the greatness that Annie always did.

I don’t want to admit it but he is growing on me. Kevin seems to be good at everything — his whole life is a hack — and he has some serious survival skills.

It’s impressive that his lifestyle has always been a conscious choice.

Most importantly, he treats Annie right, which is more than we can say for some of the other guys she’s fallen for in the past. 

Hopefully, Annie won’t ruin this relationship before it even has a chance to take off. 

Though I enjoyed the moments with Nancy, I wish the series focused more on wrapping up the storylines. 

I know it’s an unrealistic expectation considering they didn’t anticipate the cancellation, but I’m fearful that we’re all going to be left without any type of closure. 

We’ll never know what Rio’s end goal was, what Nick was up to, how the girls found their way out of things, or what happens to the brotherhood. 

With so many shows getting canceled left and right, I just want to know how a series ends. Is that too much to ask for, NBC?

Let us know what you thought about the episode in the comments below! 

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Good Girls Review – Maybe She’s Just Not That Into You (4×13)

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Good Girls Review You Season 4 Episode 13

It’s about time that Good Girls looped it back to the FBI agents and Luke the cop that Mick killed after he got too close to the truth. 

Being a councilman comes with a handful of privileges, but if you don’t clean up your messes properly, they could really take on a life of their own. 

Luke was “slaughtered” after he made the connection between Rio and Nick, but not before asking another cop to pull the evidence.

While cleaning up his things, the cop sent that hot goss to Phoebe — who was suspended after Beth stole the fake money — giving her the ammo she needed to revisit the case. 

They were always close, they just never had enough to connect the dots… until now.

Even without the FBI’s backing, Phoebe wanted to dig further into the case, so she sought out help from Dave. He was initially hesitant, but when he realized he could be doing literally anything else than planting a garden, he told his wife the truth about his sexuality and joined Phoebe in Detroit.

But since they are pursuing this off the record, does it mean that none of it will stick and justice won’t get served?

They wasted no time seeking Beth out and giving her the ammo to take on Rio and Nick. 

Much like the FBI, Beth is always missing a piece of the puzzle to free herself from their grasp.

I don’t know how groundbreaking their intel actually is. Yes, the ticket stub that gave Rio an alibi the night of  Lucy’s murder links him to Nick, but Beth already knew that they were connected. He knows all of Rio’s business, so why wouldn’t she consider that he’s helping his brother/cousin (but definitely brother) get out of certain situations?

How else would Rio evade the FBI?

Did she truly just believe that Nick’s hands were clean? I think subconsciously she always knew he was involved but didn’t want to believe it.

Beth clearly has plans for her position on City Council. 

She was hesitant about running for City Council only because Ruby and Annie scoffed at the idea, but we all know that she loves a position of power; she was practically foaming at the mouth for the opportunity.

However, once she realized that Nick and Rio were in cahoots, she went full steam ahead. It’s unclear how she plans on taking them down, but Beth walked out of his office after giving him a bottle of the “good stuff” looking more confident than ever. 

At this point, no one is revealing their cards fully. 

Nick has no idea she’s playing him and likely thinks that he has the upper hand on her. Rio always knew when Beth was up to something, but I don’t think Nick knows her well enough to get a good read on her.

He thinks he won using his romancing tactics, which is why he sent Rio the bottle of whiskey with the note, “for pulling her hair,” which clearly upset Rio. He seems to have given Nick the greenlight to go after Beth, but under that tough exterior is a man that can’t help but care about her. 

Beth thinks she’s untouchable right now, and in a way, she is. She’s opening up the strip club, which would be a legal means of income if she were to get rid of Rio, and she’s hopping on City Council, which will allow her to make some real change in the community, again, once she gets rid of Rio.

And she seemingly has a way to get rid of Rio by teaming up with the FBI on the down-low.

Things might just be looking up for her!

Her biggest problem now isn’t even Rio, it’s Dean. Dean and Stan are going full-speed ahead with their plan to take down Beth. 

Dean hesitated for a bit, but Stan persuaded him that he was doing the right thing.

I always loved Stan, but this is making me rethink my choices. It’s so easy to try to run Beth over with the bus, but the moment he found out that Ruby was involved, he hit the brakes really quickly. 

It’s funny how he’s so blinded to reality. Beth may be loud and in charge, but Ruby is there of her own free will. In fact, the whole back in the strip club biz was because of Ruby and Annie. And while I’m glad they are finding their voices, speaking up for themselves, and negotiating their terms, it’s also unfair to pin this all on Beth in that case. They are all just as involved! 

Good Girls Review You Season 4 Episode 13

GOOD GIRLS — “You” Episode 413 — Pictured: Manny Montana as Rio — (Photo by: Jordin Althaus/NBC)

Stan doesn’t want to acknowledge that Ruby could’ve gotten herself into this mess, but it’s not doing them any favors to singlehandedly blame Beth for everything. Even the handbag deal wasn’t Beth’s fault as Ruby was the one who said it was a fake, but yet Stan continues to blame Beth for destroying their side hustle.

So now, poor Stan has to walk it all back to protect his woman by joining the MLM group. If only he just stuck his nose in his own business to begin with. I’ll be the first to say he kind of deserves whatever is coming his way.

The whole MLM group rubs me the wrong way. The brotherhood aspect is concerning, sure, but mostly, I can’t figure out why they’re so determined to help Dean pin this on Beth. 

How do they benefit? No one is ever that selfless. 

Vance agreed to stall on getting the evidence over to the DA if Stan joined the brotherhood, but how far is Stan willing to go? And would the case fall apart considering Beth is working with the FBI to flip on Rio? 

I could see Dean’s intel being thrown out and Beth walking free with her dream of Nevada, but only if the FBI operation is on the books.

There’s also a chance that Beth will find out about Dean’s betrayal and be pushed into going further in her business with Rio and Nick.

Nevada is the safe choice considering the series has been canceled. It’s nice to think the girls will get out of this whole mess and get a chance to start over, but I don’t think that would make Beth very happy. She’s denying a huge part of herself in order to be with Dean, but when he reveals what he did, I could see Beth allowing herself to do what she’s always wanted.

The show’s biggest downfall has been the lack of character development for Beth while working for Rio. He saw the potential in her and wanted to make her the “boss,” but she never elevated and instead remained his little lackey. 

Several seasons in and the ladies still don’t have any more money than they did when they began all of this. I would’ve loved to see Beth as a crime lord by now. 

Sadly, I’m not holding my breath for any type of closure since all of this was filmed prior to a cancelation.

I can’t figure out exactly what Rio and Nick are up to. They seem to be in cahoots about the end goal, but there’s so much hostility to navigate there. 

What do they need her in the City Council position for? Do they need a body to help them pass decisions? If they always have someone on their side, they can easily sway the vote in their favor. 

Or do they want to pin something on her? And if so, what?

I’m kind of digging the strip club storyline. A car dealership and jacuzzi shop just didn’t have the “oomph.”

It’s really eye-opening to see just how much having women strip club owners makes a difference. 

They’ve elevated the place with simple decisions that benefit the working woman like healthcare and childcare. 

And the series is doing a great job at showcasing the profession in a positive light. Not only are they an asset to the community as they directly impact other businesses, but dancers are just women and moms who are making a living and providing for their families. They’re caring, intelligent, fearless, and have everyday jobs and hobbies.

It shows club dancers as human!

I loved Ruby’s pitch that “instead of dancing on the table, you’ll finally have a seat at it.”

Isn’t that what every woman in every field wants? That’s definitely what Beth wanted at some point!

Annie was understandably concerned to sleep alone in her home as she didn’t want to be kidnapped and stuffed in a freezer again. I hate that she’s begging for a man to stay with her. I know she found something special with Kevin, but I wish they would remain friends.

It doesn’t have to turn romantic again!

What did you think of the episode? Will Stan be able to help Ruby? Will Dean go down for Beth’s crimes? Will she finally take down Rio and Nick?

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