Good Girls takes the premise of an action movie (people robbing a store or business) and applies it to a juicy TV drama about three moms who are definitely leaving their comfort zones. Annie, Ruby, and Beth rob a grocery store at the beginning of the first season
The show has recently been given a third season, so it's a good time to think about which is better, the first or the second season? While the first batch of episodes sets up the story and feels like a new take on the genre, the more recent episodes have deepened the drama and raised the stakes. Here are five reasons that season two of Good Girls is better than the first one, along with five reasons that the first season is the best.
Season 2: Annie's Romantic Life Gets Complicated
In season one of Good Girls, fans learn that Annie and her ex Gregg have a kid named Sadie. They still seem to hold a candle for one another but since Gregg is married to Nancy, that doesn't exactly make it easy for him and Annie to get back together.
The second season of the show is better because this is when Annie's romantic life gets complicated. When the show comes back, she and Gregg have been hooking up... and he's even convinced that now is the right time to say goodbye to Nancy and get back together with Annie. Unfortunately, it turns out that Nancy is pregnant. This is the kind of drama that fans of these types of shows totally live for.
Season 1: The Finale Is Perfect
It's always great when a show comes back for more, but when the first season finale is done really well, it's even more thrilling. The first season finale of Good Girls is definitely worth praising.
It makes sense that the show would end on such a cliffhanger since anything else would have been confusing. When fans said goodbye to these women for a little while, Rio gave Beth a tough choice: he wanted her to shoot her husband. What a crazy and epic final scene.
Season 2: The Stakes Are Higher Than Ever (Which Is Entertaining)
As the rule of dramatic storytelling goes, the worse things are for the characters (i.e. the more conflict and tension and problems), the better. If viewers feel uncomfortable while watching something because they keep thinking, "No, don't do that!" or "That's a bad idea" that's a good sign.
The second season of Good Girls is better than the first because the stakes are higher than ever, which is definitely entertaining. It seems like with each passing episode, the three main characters get deeper and deeper into debt. While this sucks for them, it's good for fans who want a show that feels difficult to stop watching. Good Girls always delivers.
Season 1: The Women Still Have Their Old Identities
On the other hand, in the first season of the show, the three main characters still maintain their old identities. They've only just started down this path of criminal activity, and they still have some hope that this isn't actually going to be their life. Viewers wonder if that is true (although it becomes pretty obvious pretty soon that the women are in deep).
The contrast between being regular people who didn't steal or become involved with money laundering and being full-fledged criminals is really obvious in the first season. These early episodes are a bit more interesting for that reason. This is a problem that most shows encounter in their sophomore seasons, however, since it's hard to compete with early episodes of a show that feel fresh and compelling.
Season 2: Annie And Sadie's Moment
It could be argued that the second season is better than the first for one reason: Sadie comes out as trans and Annie is supportive. It's always interesting when a TV show explores a mother/child relationship and there is some bonding that takes place between the characters, but in this case, this was a particularly important and sweet moment.
Season 1: The Store Robbery Is Thrilling
It's hard to beat the pilot which features the three main characters robbing the grocery store. Since that's basically the whole point of the show, none of the other episodes can really live up to the excitement and drama of that moment.
This is another reason why season one of Good Girls is the best. While the second season definitely has some amazing episodes and great scenes that build on everything that occured earlier, the first season gets another point because of this big, epic moment.
Season 2: The Show Explores The Tough Parts Of Marriage
In the first season, it's clear that Ruby and Stan are having a tough go of their marriage and that it's not like Beth's relationship is the best that it has ever been, either. And Annie seems like she is conflicted about whether she's still in love with her ex.
In the second season, the show explores the hard parts of marriage, and that is something that makes the second batch of episodes much better. Stan hasn't completely decided that he's okay with what Ruby and her friends are doing, but he's not going to divorce her, either, which shows how complex their marriage is (and any marriage in general).
Season 1: It's Fun To Watch The Women Grow Closer
Good Girls is such a good, solid show because it's got action, it's got tension, and it's also got female friendships. The three women continue to connect with one another as they get deeper into their criminal lives, and their relationship is particularly strong in the first season.
Although of course the characters are still close friends in the second season, there is something unique about their bond in season one. It's most likely because they are just starting to become involved in criminal life so they really need to lean on each other and get used to everything.
Season 2: Annie's Character Develops A Bit More
Season one Annie seems like a mysterious person who would be impossible to get to know. It was obvious that she was a good person but it also seemed like she would do anything that she had to do (such as robbing a store, of course).
Season two Annie has a bit more character development since, naturally, she is given more screen time and more storylines. Whether she's connecting with her child or actually being nice to Gregg's wife Nancy, Annie is a really solid character in the second season of Good Girls.
Season 1: The Women Get Revenge On Boomer
Boomer is a truly frustrating character. He really has zero redeeming qualities as he's a jerk and wants to make Annie's life miserable. It's pretty awful to watch the two interact as he's her boss at the grocery store, but thankfully, the women get revenge on him.
This is another reason why season one of Good Girls is the best. It's satisfying to see them basically kidnap him and then teach him a lesson that he badly needs to learn. The girls' relationship with Boomer gets more complicated in season two.