The ladies have finally returned! And they’re back doing the thing they sort of do well ... scheming!

When Good Girls Season 3 Episode 1 begins, it appears the ladies have forged new career paths, squeaky clean professions that garner a paycheck or in Annie’s case a boatload of legitimate cash.

But looks can be very deceiving, and it didn't take long to find out why the ladies each went for those particular jobs.

You have to love a good time jump that doesn’t change the narrative too much. Everyone came back basically right where we left him or her, with a few changes here and there.

Annie was still her sarcastic, self-deprecating self. It’s obvious the whole Noah situation, coupled with Gregg before that, has done a number on her.

Outside of the girls and Sadie, what does Annie have? Not a whole lot.

Maybe this is the time for her to explore herself outside of a romantic relationship. She needs to find her niche in the world because right now she is struggling more than we’ve ever seen.

For Ruby and Stan, they’re still navigating through Sara’s illness and finding ways to pay for it.

The way Stan’s new job was introduced could not have been more awkward and simultaneously hilarious.

You have to love the way Ruby brings him dinner, and the two sit in the break room eating while half-naked women parade in and out.

The best part about it though, was that it never felt like Ruby didn’t trust Stan. It felt like she was a wife who wanted to share a meal with a husband she didn’t get to see as often.

The scene was played for laughs because Retta’s facial expressions are strokes of comedic genius, but it brings home the point early on this season that the ladies are in dire financial straits.

Good Girls Season 1 began with the ladies on the brink of collapse, and Good Girls Season 3 starts similarly. Although, this time around the ladies have a much better, thought out plan in place.

The counterfeiting money operation on the surface was a smart endeavor. And incredibly dangerous.

Sure, Turner appears to be off their backs, but they were under some heavy scrutiny not too long ago, and it would have made sense for them to lay low for a long while.

19 Characters Whose Chemistry Could Set Off Fireworks

Start Gallery

But Beth had a formula, and the ladies were hellbent on making that fake cash. So hellbent they had to ask for outside help.

Lucy: Look, I'm really good at what I do. And if it got into the wrong hands, ya know, it's kinda like, counterfeit.
Beth: Oh, you guys, I never even thought about that, wow.
Annie: That did not even occur to me.

Permalink: That did not even occur to me.

You’ve got to love Lucy’s confidence and utter naivety. She’s unknowingly stepping into what could be a bad situation, and let’s face it, more than likely things will go sideways at some point.

The girls are never able to stay out of trouble. And it looks like trouble is coming their way in the form of neck tattoos and lingering stares.

Spoiler alert! Rio is alive and well and quite frankly looking better than ever.

I’m not sure that was a particularly big surprise because it seemed fairly obvious he would pull through. But how he’s being integrated back into the story will be the surprising part.

Beth thinks she killed him. And she’s chosen to deal with her grief in a completely appropriate and thoughtful manner.

I kid! Beth has lost her damn mind and decided to befriend the mother of Rio’s son. The ramifications of this are endless, but it’s Beth we’re talking about. When she’s laser-focused on something she can’t let it go.

Beth: I murdered the kids dad, alright? The least I could do is get him into intramural sports.
Annie: You plunged into the way deep end of the pool on this one, sis.
Ruby: It's not gonna bring him back.
Beth: I don't wanna bring him back.
Ruby: Then what's the point?
Beth: Maybe I can make their lives a little bit better.
Annie: By lying?
Beth: By helping.

Permalink: By helping.

Her friendship with Rhea is a clear attempt to assuage her guilt as if her presence in the life of this woman and her son will somehow make up for the fact she took Rio away from them.

It turns out to be an interesting turn of events when Rhea winds up being the one to help Beth though.

This will undoubtedly blow up her face when Rhea finds out who she is, and also when Rio eventually re-enters the picture.

It’s a shame too because Rhea seems like a very nice person and all of the ladies could use a friend or two outside of themselves.

Rio’s near-death experience hasn’t changed him at all. If anything it’s put him into a stronger position, as he was able to put away fellow gang members that may have been in his way and he got rid of Turner as well.

73 Couples We'll Happily Go to Hell 'Shipping!

Start Gallery

I’ve been vocal about Turner overstaying his welcome and needing to go, but I meant like get transferred out of state or something, not get ambushed.

Turner put his faith into a man who was three seconds away from killing him, thinking that his saving his life was somehow going to negate all the reasons Rio wanted him dead.

Rio used his time to heal physically and act as an informant, all while formulating a plan to free himself from Turner’s grasp.

It was pretty clever.

So here we are ready to embark on another season. Another season of Rio’s throaty threats, Beth’s poor choices, Ruby’s voice of reason, and Annie’s unlucky in love streak continued.

Ah, it feels good to be back.

Odds and Ends

Am I starting to …LIKE Dean? He’s a good dad, and he’s been slowly becoming a much better person and someone Beth can lean on. The writers have done the impossible!

Noah is gone (for now at least) and that’s for the best.

Bringing JT back and making him an ally of the ladies was absolutely genius. JT is brilliant.

RIP Turner? It didn't look like he was going to make it through, but then again, stranger things have happened on this series.

Perfecting the fake cash and then watching it burn may have been the saddest I’ve ever seen our dastardly trio.

That was a fun season premiere and a great set-up for the rest of the season. It felt like the calm before the proverbial crap storm that is sure to blow in.