I think people should realize just because someone acknowledges their bad behavior doesn’t automatically mean they’re going to change. There’s people that are very self aware and stay the same.
When you realize she’s smiling because the people that have hope for her (her mother, her sister) are confirming her own beliefs and destroying what little hope Rue had for herself.
I really love that Jules’ style changed ever since she told her therapist she spent her entire life trying to be what she thinks men desire, and is now no longer interested in men.