Critic’s Rating: 4 / 5.0
4
The deep irony of the series is that as lucky as Lucky is — because she certainly couldn’t have survived this long without being somewhat lucky — no one in their right mind would want her life.
Her husband is dead, and with him, any hope of retrieving the money they stole and he hid in a cryptocurrency account.
Whittaker still wants his money, and he has Priscilla and her people hunting her. Meanwhile, Agent Rand isn’t letting a cranial contusion slow her down, so the feds are still on her trail.
So, while the episode title asks, “Are We Bad People?” the real question is: When does the luck run out?
“Are We Bad People?” does an amazing job spotlighting the women anchoring this cast. Taylor-Joy, Bening, and Ellis-Taylor each deliver intense and deeply grounded performances as their characters take a moment to breathe, grieve, and heal.
Lucky “Are We Bad People?”
It’s Young Lucky who poses the question of being good or bad. And, of course, it’s her father’s special brand of morality that shapes her view of the world.
Good and evil are man-made concepts. And like everything else man-made, they’re highly imperfect. Do you think a lion wastes one second wondering whether it’s good or bad to kill an antelope? He’s doing what he has to to survive. — John Armstrong
In the here and now, Lucky still suffers from the cognitive dissonance of what she does naturally and well — lie and steal — and what she feels is how “good” people should behave.
Knowing that she caused the accident that injured Ruth Turner doesn’t stop her from using the non-communicative woman as cover to evade the police.
However, it’s clear she is worried about Ruth as well. Good people don’t kill innocent bystanders.
Good Mother
Priscilla would never wonder if she’s a good or a bad person. Like John, she’s a survivor.
However, with Cary dead, she begins to question whether she was a good mother. In a nutshell, she probably wasn’t. However, Cary wasn’t the smartest son either.
Putting the seed phrase in the bear wasn’t a totally stupid move, but it still wasn’t smart. Toys get lost or misplaced, especially after car wrecks and head injuries. Digital recorders can be wiped or overwritten.
He may have figured out that he didn’t want to do things his mom’s (or his dad’s!) way, but his way wasn’t great either.
My brain hurts working out how Priscilla and Whittaker ended up making a Cary. There is no nice way that happened.
And keeping the baby was clearly a Priscilla choice. Whittaker was never dad material. If John’s theory of degree from good holds, Whittaker is Antarctica.
But even if Priscilla doesn’t have a co-parent, she has Dutch. He’s an amazing support to have at your back. And he’s devoted to Priscilla.
They have a relationship beyond the transactional. Yes, there’s a power balance in Priscilla’s favor, but he also knows that she depends on him.
And they know each other well enough and long enough that they can be honest. That’s something.
Dutch: Life is just a million random choices you make day after day, year after year, and later on, you can manipulate them to add up to anything you want, but that doesn’t make it true.
Priscilla: Yeah, I don’t know if you’re being wise or just full of shit.
Dutch: It’s a fine line.
I mean, if my husband found me shooting a revolver at trophies on a fence in the middle of the night, he certainly wouldn’t hand me his pistol when I ran out of bullets.
It’s telling that when Lucky shows up at Priscilla’s house the day of Cary’s memorial, Dutch brings her down to the beach to have it out with Priscilla.
He knows what Priscilla needs, even if it isn’t what she wants.
As showrunner Jonathan Tropper mentioned when he spoke with TV Fanatic, Lucky is a girl with no mother. I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t choose Priscilla as a surrogate, but Priscilla probably sees something familiar in Lucky.
The Other Mother
At the other end of the spectrum — but possibly just a coin flip of a difference — is Agent Rand.
On Lucky Season 1 Episode 3, “Read the Room,” Priscilla asks Rand if she has kids, and she doesn’t answer.
Here, after being in a serious car crash and sustaining severe injuries, we meet her daughter, Dana. Who meets Lucky in the washroom.
I used to tell my dad I hated him all the time. Didn’t mean it. I would’ve done anything for him, and I think he knew that. Maybe that’s what I hated.
— Lucky
Dana did not inherit her mother’s powers of observation.
So, while she recalls Lucky’s face and remembers what she said about her dad, she somehow missed all the blood on Lucky’s white dress and her many wounds.
Or maybe she was so distraught about her mother’s injuries that another bloody person at the hospital didn’t trip any alarms. Fair, enough.
What’s key for the purposes of plot is that she recalls enough to inspire Rand to get John out, knowing he’d meet up with Lucky eventually.
Daddy Dearest
ALL of John Armstrong’s alarms are going off when he’s released from prison without any explanation. However, you gotta give him credit. He walks out of there cautiously, but still with his signature swagger.
Lucky sees the big picture and, amusingly enough considering this is Anya Taylor-Joy we’re watching, recognizes the gambit she needs to play to set her plan in motion.
So in the span of 42 minutes, Lucky goes from penniless, widowed, and injured, to having $10 million, reunited with her father, and, if not recovered, at least clean and clothed.
It’s still not the life I’d wish on anyone, but based on John’s expression when she told him she found the money, it’s the life he was counting on.
Lay Your Money Down On The Plan
What do you think Lucky has in mind, Fanatics?
How does surrendering to the FBI save her from Whittaker and Priscilla? Does she give them the money?
Maybe exchange it for witness protection for herself and her dad?
Hit out comments with your thoughts and theories!
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