#3.09 analysis

[foxmagpie]

Hi! I love that montage in s3e9 of Beth getting ready (and fluffing her boobs) for her drop with Rio. But I’ve always wondered what we’re supposed to glean from that scene. Like, is that something Beth does everytime before a drop? Does she do it to honeytrap/manipulate Rio, or does she just really want to look hot/her best for him when they meet? Would love to hear your thoughts on this. Thanks! :)

I think there’s a few things!

One, I think that scene establishes that Beth’s attempts to honey trap Rio by playing on his attraction to her go beyond what we initially saw in 3.08. I think it is helpful that we see it directly because outwardly, Beth doesn’t look all that different (she’s wearing a basic sweater, for instance). Her fluffing shows that she’s still deliberately using that angle, which shows us that she saw the first attempt as successful and confirms that Rio’s attraction to her is at the forefront of her mind—which is interesting because I think it also means on some level that Beth’s aware that no matter what she’s wearing, Rio is into it (she never went out of her way to avoid wearing her floral blouses around him, for instance).

I do think there is an element of her wanting to look her best for him, but it’s less about pleasing him and maybe more about because doing so makes her feel powerful? We’ve seen over and over again that Beth is feeling herself the most when she’s just pulled off a scheme, whether that was the cars in 2.04, the 50/50 deal in 2.06, or stealing from Rio in 3.07. In that vein, I suspect knowing that she’s still got that effect on Rio and that her plan for “rebuilding trust” is “working” makes her feel good, so dressing up for him ends up benefitting her own ego.

Also, I think the scene functions to juxtapose her against Phoebe, which is pretty interesting and I’ve had an ask sitting in my inbox for a while that I’m planning to answer about what the purpose of that scene was—but I think it broadly sets up the dynamic that will play out between those two women.

How does everyone else see it?

[foxmagpie]

“Maybe you are right. I’m the problem.” When rio said that in 3x09 I thought, oh maybe he knew about the hit man. Then I remembered it’s what Beth said before shooting him in 2x13!! It is a bit funny because I see Beth is more concerned about “getting her life back” and to survive. But Rio is thinking about the shooting and the “relationship” happened between them. I think he has more feelings towards her at this point.

I love that line of dialogue so much because it shows just how much Rio is clinging onto that moment and memory—he remembers, word-for-word, what she said to him before she shot him. Before he was presumably rushed to the hospital and rushed into surgery and then drugged up and then moved to a hotel room to heal alone. 

I do think Rio’s feelings for Beth are easier to discern and label through the entirety of season 3, but I’m not sure if I would claim either one of them have “more” or “less” feelings for each other, mostly because I think Beth’s lack of feelings (towards him or, really, towards much in season 3) is a coping mechanism and a form of self-protection. I think 2.13 was really traumatizing to Beth, not only because being kidnapped and then committing such a violent act is traumatizing, but because I think she was really blindsided by Rio’s betrayal of her and the idea that she was always just a pawn to him. Unfortunately, they both thought the other one’s feelings for them weren’t real, and season 2 showed that they were both deeply hurt by that. 

I’m really looking forward to the moment where Beth breaks a little and we see what emotions she’s been suppressing this whole time. 

[foxmagpie]

I really read the scene of Beth getting ready to be paired against Phoebe getting ready. Thank you for pointing that out. I don't think Beth is trying to seduce Rio or anything like that. IDK, I think sometimes she just wants to feel good about herself.

Thank you! [x]

I can see where you’re coming from! I definitely do agree that this whole thing is wrapped up in Beth feeling good about herself. 

Personally, though, I do think the scene was insinuating that Beth was trying to seduce Rio—or at least insofar as she wanted him to be reminded of how he had felt about her and to use that to her advantage, which, usually makes Beth feel good about herself (haha)—though she did balk when that seduction was put to the test by immediately walking back her offer (“Anything, huh?” / “Well, within reason.”) In that sense, I think that she wanted to stir up his attraction to her, but she didn’t want it to go anywhere.

The dangerous part of the game, I think, is that when her plan is successful, it doesn’t just do it for him, it does it for her too. I mean, think of how many times have we seen that pulling off a scheme puts her in the mood! We saw it in 2.04 when she had the success at Boland Motors, which Dean couldn’t recognize but Rio could, so she fucked him in the bathroom. Then we saw her strongarm Rio in the 50/50 deal and go home to see that she had effectively pulled off getting Dean to pull his weight at home, so she fucked him at the kitchen sink. Then she thought she got away with stealing from Rio in 3.07 and invited Dean into the shower.

In that sense, I think that at the same time she thinks she’s duping Rio in order to gain his trust while simultaneously betraying him, she’s actually duping herself—because she’s playing with fire by inciting Rio’s interest in her. I don’t think her feelings for him are gone, just buried under a mountain of complex entanglements, and the more that they fall into their old dynamic, the more complicated their feelings are going to get. 

I think the scene really pulls double duty by being spliced with the Phoebe scene, but I think it was a deliberate continuation of the 3.08 scene which showed Beth getting ready to see Rio by putting on her makeup, putting on perfume, and dressing up (all luxuries when she’s drinking out of plastic couples and complaining about the price of truffle oil—the latter of which is expensive, although Beth’s Nordstrom dress cost $2K, not that I think the show wants us to believe that it actually was a Dolce and Gabbana piece). 

We’ve seen so little of Beth’s routine in getting ready before, even though her supposed power comes from her invisibility as an “average suburban housewife.” The scenes we do see have always had deeper meanings, like when Beth put on her makeup and picked out her outfit before her confession of Boomer’s murder. We saw her hand shake with nerves as she applied her makeup and we saw her putting on her “mask,” so to speak—channeling the most domestic version of herself as she set out of a plate of goodies for the cops to eat while she spun a tale to save her friends. We saw her apply chapstick after she stole it as a reminder of her inability to give up crime, even in the smallest capacity, and then we have these two scenes, back-to-back in 3.08 and 3.09. The fact that it continues with Beth rearranging her coat to show off her cleavage to Rio at the picnic table—to me at least—seems to imply that she thinks her tactic is working.

After all, she dressed up at the bar, sweet-talked him, and he gave her the Boomer task. She delivered; he put her back on payroll. 

After that point? Well, she still wants him in a false state of complacency, but I think we’ll see that the longer she plays this game, the messier it’s going to be—particularly since we last left off with Rio blatantly flirting with her (“I’ll take a dip—wanna join me?”) and Beth once again trying to dodge it (“I’d be happy to have a sales representative walk you through all the features”). 

On that note, the other day I got VERY excited about what our first Brio scene might be in season 4. Our last one left off on such a positive note, I’m wildly curious how they’ll be feeling toward each other in the direct aftermath of that interaction.