#2.07 analysis

[foxmagpie]

2x07 was really top-tier really couldn't ask for a better episode. that brio scene rly miss that energy so much. 💔

adkfa;kdf i know, it's so good, and i feel like 4.13 was really in conversation with it? like, rio leaves the dubby in the mailbox because he can't handle being confronted with what it means that he retrieved the dubby, and then beth drinks the bourbon he left for her at the end of 2.04—and then you have this final scene where rio stares at the bottle of bourbon that's indirectly from beth, but he doesn't know it, and really, it's a symbol of rio winning because nick can't pin beth down (whereas the previous bottle was a consolation in exchange for beth losing/rio taking the money because rio knows beth).

unlike 2.07, in 4.13, rio doesn't get the option not to confront how he feels. where beth has to drink just to be able to open the envelope because she knows what's inside but she still finds it shocking, rio can't drink because he's so consumed with the idea that something has happened between nick and beth, and it just crushes him in a way that leaves him no option but to feel every painful aspect of that reality.

in both instances, a gift reveals the truth, but in really different ways, and i love how they really showcase the way that rio's feelings for beth have only deepened in a way that rio still finds completely overwhelming.

exquisite!!!

[foxmagpie]

You may have answered this before but why do you think Rio said that there's no money in taking Jane? Ransom money could be big? Was it because he knew how those guys operated or just didn't want Beth to worry about them having her? I have never really understood that line and wondered your thoughts about it?

I haven’t answered it before! If you ever want to check out what I’ve said about a specific episode, you can reference it by checking out my masterpost here 😊

Honestly it feels a little silly but I never actually thought about it until I saw people start pointing this out in rewatch on Friday. I mean, I definitely remember always going, “Is that true?” And then shrugging and immediately trusting Rio, ha! 

But no, I think you might be onto something with Rio trying to shut down Beth from worrying. Ransom would be an obvious way to eke money out of the situation, but it’s possible that Rio thought they either 1) didn’t want to risk getting the cops involved, or 2) didn’t want to draw Rio’s attention in that way. 

Even if Rio thought these things, though, I think he’d still have a little bit of doubt but he wouldn’t want to let Beth in on those doubts—hence, fronting like there was absolutely no way it was a possibility before immediately making his way over to the drug den in question and retrieving the dubby (which he didn’t even know he was looking for). 

The only other way I can see interpreting the line is Rio making assumptions about them as drug addicts (generally more than specifically, considering this part of his business was fairly new and he might not know these guys at all). Working off of that, Rio might think that their main concern is money to buy more drugs, and that kidnapping the child of their drug dealer hurts their access line to drugs more than it helps it (similarly to how they ultimately ceded ground to the girls and let them walk away unscathed). 

Basically, I think he probably knew it would be a dumb move to make and so he doubted that it was them, but he had to be certain because the stakes were too high.