#And it barely feels like a plot driven one other than kinda setting up banker Beth

[sothischickshe]

Please tell us how you would fix the wire tap strip search scene thank you!

Thank you for asking! 🥺🥰💜

...i feel like this might get long😅

1. Make the scene make sense

I find the scene difficult to take seriously, bc I don't understand why rio thinks Beth would be wired up. He didn't turn up when they were supposed to meet, and I don't think there's any particular suggestion he told Beth he was coming round so ???

Now the idea that rio has no idea how surveillance equipment works/believes it to have been permanently soldered to Beth's skin is very funny to me thus I'm willing to accept it as a headcanon pretty easily, but an alternative interpretation which I think kinda makes sense given his love of setting up his terrible dramatic punchlines is him doing all this purely TO drop the tracker as an almost gotcha 🤷🏼‍♀️ if the latter IS what's (supposed to be) happening, I think it comes off kinda both too creepy AND not horny enough. And if that's NOT what's happening in the scene then I think it just feels like a lazy handwave as to why exactly he might think she's wearing a wire, and they couldve put a little effort into eg making it clear he forewarned her but not with adequate time for the secret service to mic her up/equipment was malfunctioning again, or he stormed round (drunk) immediately upon verifying the tracker so wasn't really thinking it through.

Particularly in a scene which is to some extent intentionally jarring (espec in how the undressing begins, but also in its mostly-silence), I don't think it's a good idea to leave your audience this confused??

2. Use an appropriate body double (in appropriately sized bra)

This just feels lazy!!! Idk if shooting restrictions couldve played a part but if you can't do those shots well it would be better not to include them!

3. Make it hornier

I can def understand why some ppl find the scene offputting, espec bc of point 1. If it doesn't make sense for him to think she's wearing a wire then him starting to undress her with no preamble is really jarring. I know some ppl think it's an intentionally sexless and/or clinical stripping, but I don't think it succeeds in being that (if indeed that is its intention), especially with the demand for her underwear to come off but not her socks 🤯

I think this scene & the weird pool table groping one are in conversation with each other, espec bc theyre each in conversation with intimate s2 brio scenes, and i don't think it's possible to not view this as somewhat intimate and charged? Both scenes felt like they were trying too hard, but i do think they were attempting to ~remind the audience of their sexual history, and hint that it would be rekindled.

I think the show should have leaned into that MORE and made it more fucked up tbh. They're messy!!! Like hi she's married he's her boss he's threatened to kill her a bunch she's tried to kill him multiple times they've betrayed each other they've protected each other lather rinse and repeat. They love being inappropriate and weird!! The first time they have sex she's on a date with her husband then he beats a car up over it; his plan to kill her turns into a weird money making date where he stares at her ass for hours; her idea of gaining back his trust is dressing up and saying I'll do anything...within reason wink wink wink.

Maybe particularly bc I think the visual of rio going to unbutton Beth's shirt out of nowhere is probably supposed to parallel Beth going for fitz's belt in the exact same room in their unsexy standoff (and thus also Beth going for rio's belt subsequently in his grandma's bedroom) I do kinda query the choice to have her be all 'what are you doing' (though it's clearly a reasonable q lol), espec bc they were recently weirdly grinding on a pool table? I think even a momentary leaning in to it would give the scene a different (less creepy) flavour? (plus I do think that could have been played for humour lol.)

Basically if it seems like a silly sexy wire stripping scene that's fine I don't mind it, & I can handwave away rio having no real reason to think Beth's wearing a wire if she's being (canon typically) horny here. Without that it does come across as having an almost predatory vibe which seems strange to me given the show was pretty thoughtful about how it portrayed both the belt-reaching-for scenes it's sandwiched btwn :/

4. Not try so hard with the parallels

I get what they were trying to do with the 209 parallels, but they threaten the sense of the scene imo.

Demanding underwear come off but not socks (???🤯) In a context which can easily come off as creepy (espec bc see point 1) doesn't work for me 🤷🏼‍♀️ easily solved I think by still having the socks shot, followed by Beth angrily throwing her socks at him lmao (then watch, then earrings...)

The sunlight is nice and all, and I'm pretty into exhibitionist Beth so w/e it can stay, but the door is im sure unlocked lol and she's right by a window so idk a bit of Beth @ least glancing to see if anyone could see in maybe would've been cool?? Plus we've got too much of a gap from the night before to this scene I think? I understand why the meet up was at night & why they wanted this scene to be a daytime one, but along with everything else that gap makes it seem MORE like a premeditated plan to be like yea well w/e I found this tracker so ha! (ofc I can explain that away if i feel like it eg someone needed to check what it was properly & that took some time, but the show certainly isn't giving me any suggestion of that.)

Maintaining silence kinda makes sense in the context but idk, I think particularly cos Beth doesn't stop talking after being shushed (good for her!), it's a lil random that she does stop saying things? I reckon there should have been some confused mouthing or whispering or the classic scribbling on a notepad (the last, with his penmanship, couldve been an avenue for comedy haha), and/or if she's stuck in a situation where he's refusing to reply I feel like she should have called him a moron a couple of times for good luck lolol

I'm all for callbacks, but not to the point of sacrificing the rest of the scene, and I think these overall weaken it. Plus parallels can work very well in terms of inversions and contrasts, not only similarities!

5. Have some greater payoff

Beth is basically like yep fine sure I'll randomly strip no further questions (just not the socks, I shan't bare my toes, some lines can't be crossed). That's actually kinda funny in the circumstance, bc who would do that other than someone who knows (why) you suspect them of wearing a wire sfggdssg so her going along with it in a situation which makes so little sense almost feels like (it could be played as) a tacit admission of guilt.

I guess a scene of rio being like wait hold on she was being uncharacteristically agreeable now I think abt it 20 mins later or w/e wouldve been too much to hope for ha but among all the things which make it pretty blatant Beth's working with the secret service (such as her announcing this to rio at one point🤯) I think we deserved him bringing some of it up in conversation later in the season yknow?? Otherwise I don't know why I'm supposed to believe rio isn't imaginary in all his scenes and/or too drunk to retain any information 🤷🏼‍♀️

6. A better closing line

After demanding someone strip full frontal (without making them show off their toes bc some things are sacred) telling that person to watch their back merely highlights you haven't bothered to check whether they've got a mic taped over their spine 🙄

#nbc good girls #tv #Thank you for asking 😘😘😘😘 #I have more thoughts but this is already so long 😅 #But basically I don't think there's just one way to solve it #But it needed to... Hang together better? #Either make it clear why he might think she's wearing a wire or embrace the fact that it wouldn't make sense she is! #It doesn't feel like a character driven scene at all #And it barely feels like a plot driven one other than kinda setting up banker Beth #It just feels like fan service and I don't feel appropriately serviced lol #Something #🧦 #👣