WARNING: The following contains spoilers for "Synergy," the Season 3 finale of NBC's Good Girls.
Good Girls' third season had to be cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic as shooting couldn't be completed. Instead of the 16-episode order, NBC brought the finale up to Episode 11, "Synergy," and here, fans find Ruby (Retta) and Stan (Reno Wilson) at their rockiest point.
However, as she recruits Beth (Christina Hendricks) and Annie (Mae Whitman), the ladies pull off their riskiest heist ever to save Ruby's marriage. But when it's all said and done, while the theft is successful and it does reunite the couple, it feels like a temporary solution that could change Stan for the worse.
Stan's pissed Ruby took the money he saved to buy Carl and Jenny a new car after Jenny guilt-tripped her. Stan's not upset she took it, he's just angry Ruby didn't ask. He feels like he has no say and that Ruby's just a kingpin, so he orders her to replace the money, or else they'll break up. It's a shocking turn as they're usually the series' most loving couple.
And so, after spending time trying to win Stan back during his lunch hour at the strip club, Ruby ends up casing the place after noticing how vulnerable the safe is in which cash is stored. She monitors the process by which Stan takes bags out to the van which then transfers the money to the bank. Ruby later calls her girls up and lets them know all they have to do is steal the cash a few days before the transfer, print a secret batch of counterfeit cash to replace it, and then pass this off to the driver. When Stan's no longer involved, no one will know a switch took place.
On the day in question, Ruby distracts Stan with an epic lunch spread at work and they reconcile. However, when he keeps trying to leave, Ruby stalls him over and over again. He gets suspicious and eventually when he gets outside, he realizes something's amiss. While he was inside, Beth pulls off an Ocean's Eleven-like stunt by distracting the driver, who also collects the cash. She wants him to go fetch her husband from inside the club, tearing up and acting frantic to convince him. This allows Annie to sneak around the van and appear like she's exiting the club with the cash. Pretending to be Stan's fill-in, Annie hands him the bags and he packs it in, all while Beth leaves. The mission's successful but when Stan steps out after Annie disappears, he wants to inspect things, which surprises the driver. Stan sees the fake cash, but he doesn't say anything as he realizes the plan has another layer.
As the driver leaves, the bag catches fire and the fake cash burns up, all because of a chemistry experiment Beth's son concocted. She slipped it in the bag to destroy the evidence because, with so many bags burnt due to the spreading flames, it'd be impossible to trace the source. Stan's in the clear but angry as he never expected Ruby to swipe from the club's safe behind his back. However, after Ruby replaces the cash at home, Stan starts to warm to the idea, spending the money to take the kids out on the town. He realizes his wife's much smarter than he assumed and their syndicate really can pull off miracles. His sinister look suggests Stan wants in as well, so while he's accepting of his wife's ways, the reconciliation may be part of an ulterior motive.
Good Girls stars Christina Hendricks, Mae Whitman, Retta, Matthew Lillard, Reno Wilson and Manny Montana.