“Good Trouble” Episode 418 Recap: One Epiphany Away

As Good Trouble season finales are wont to be — remember last season’s cliffhanger-palooza? — this episode was a lot. A lot. So, I’ll dispense with the pleasantries (or, more accurately, my disappointment) and hop right into this recapping business.

Still stunned over the revelation that Sumi got an audition for the movie role she coveted, Alice wakes up and expresses her disbelief. Sumi reminds her that she’s the reason that she didn’t get the audition: she wasn’t committed to the scene. She insists that Alice is scared — afraid to own the air she breathes — and Alice has to be able to sell herself. Alice acknowledge Sumi’s point but says it’s moot anyway: she didn’t get an audition. But Sumi reminds her that she did and volunteers to let Alice go in her stead. Honestly, the fact that Sumi doesn’t take the audition for herself — that she doesn’t expand her idea of what’s possible for her — is, perhaps, the most surprising moment of the Good Trouble season finale.

Sumi sends Alice to the studio lot, armed with Sumi’s ID and secure in the belief that people cannot tell Asian women apart (“they always think we’re sisters,” Sumi singsongs). But Sumi’s assurances that everything would go fine fall short: as soon as Alice walks into audition, she’s face-to-face with the director they ambushed at the hotel. The director who knows, for sure, that she’s not Sumi Liu. Already thrown by the fact that she doesn’t look like any of the other Asian women who’ve answered the casting call — they’re all in make-up and heels — the director’s presence sends Alice into a bit of a tailspin. Suddenly she starts to share her inner monologue…and, somehow, talks herself out of a job.

Alice: I have a hard time selling myself but I’m perfect for the role of Kristi Chen.

Yeah, I was a total nerd in high school. A nobody. I’m still a nerd. I went to prom with my brother — yeah, we didn’t kiss — and I’ve always dreamed of going to my high school reunion, showing all those people that I’m a somebody. Of course, I don’t think I’d have sex with everyone who was mean to me in high school. I can’t even have an orgasm with another person. And I still see my mother when I look at my own vagina. So, I’m not really sure how this is gonna make me feel better about myself or why, honestly, this is supposed to make Kristi Chen feel better about herself.

I mean, I get that it’s funny but the joke’s kind of on her. This isn’t even empowering to women in general. It’s kind of offensive. Definitely not something I want to perpetuate. Huh. Maybe I really don’t want this part after all? Wow! But, hey! You know, I’m really proud of myself for doing this.

Alice returns back to the Coterie and Sumi’s there to greet her and ask how her audition went. She barely gets the words out before Alice kisses her and they collapse together on the bed. They have sex and, miraculously, Alice has her first orgasm from another person. Listen, I am thrilled for Alice. I’m glad this storyline was satisfying for somebody because it was wholly unfulfilling for me.

Good Trouble has a propensity for tackling these serious issues then executing those storylines in a way that belies their seriousness. Oh, that thing you think is rooted in deep-seeded cultural conservativism, homophobia, racism and misogyny? That thing that academics have spent years studying? Nah, this show posits, just stand up and decide this isn’t something you want to perpetuate…and magically, you’ll be cured. Everyone’s one epiphany, one head-clearing moment away from curing years of society’s programming about sexual pleasure. It’s trivializing. The Alices of the world deserve better (perhaps they’d be better served by checking this conversation between Xoai Pham and Jayda Shuavarnnasri, the Sex Positive Asian Auntie).

Malika returns to the encampment to share the news for its residents: Lucia is planning to use the money from her discretionary account to build the women’s center at the site. At first, they criticize her for going back on her promise not to allow the women’s center to drive the residents out but Malika defends her decision. The choice wasn’t about whether the encampment would continue to exist — it wouldn’t, that was inevitable — the choice was between the women’s center and some condo development. Eventually, everyone agrees that its preferable that something exist in the space to benefit the community.

Malika assures the encampment’s residents that they’ll have time before they’re asked to move…and, as soon as the promise comes out of her mouth, I’m absolutely certain that they won’t. Political staffers shouldn’t make promises. While she pledges to do everything in her power to secure housing for the residents in the interim, the specter of impending doom feels inescapable in the moment.

Later, Malika meets up with Marquis Jet Xavier and treats him to the cup of coffee she owed him. As they walk and talk, Malika admits that securing the women’s center doesn’t feel like a clean victory. Xavier admits that most decisions come with unintended consequences but urges Malika to take the win: she’s accomplished so much in a short period of time. He invites her out to celebrate her accomplishment over dinner.

“Thank you for the invitation but if I’m reading you right and I’m honest with myself, I’m still in love with someone I can’t get over…and I don’t think I want to,” Malika admits. It’s an admission that I don’t expect and one that, frustratingly, isn’t addressed any further in the finale.

There’s no time for any celebration about the women’s center or Malika’s admission, though, because trucks arrive to raze the encampment. Luca alerts Malika who rushes to Lucia’s office to beg her to intercede. The Councilwoman insists that the order came from the mayor and there’s nothing that can be done. Malika argues for compassion; the residents need time. Razing the encampment, with no notice, will mean everyone who lives there will lose what small piece of home that they have left. Sensing Lucia’s reluctance, Malika promises to act on her own but the councilwoman reminds her that, as a staffer, she can’t join the protest.

Malika reminds Lucia what brought her here, “Lucia, you approached me about this job. You said that you needed someone like me on your staff, an activist with passion who could just push back on politics as usual and make a difference. Did you mean any of that?”

Lucia insists that the women’s center will make a difference but Malika yells back that it’s not enough. She reiterates her intention to join the protest at the encampment and accepts the possibility that Lucia will fire her for her actions. Malika’s fire is enough to convince the office cynic, Tracy, to join her at the protest. They join Luca and Xavier at the site and stand between the city workers and the encampment. As Malika leads the fight with the megaphone, Angelica joins them: she saw Malika’s post about the protest and came to support her.

Their reunion is interrupted by the arrival of police cars. Things start to get tense but thankfully, Lucia arrives in time to defuse the tension. She takes the megaphone from Malika and urges the LAPD and the Department of Sanitation to fall back. Everyone cheers Lucia’s proclamation and joins Malika in urging “services not sweeps.”

Good Trouble Coterie Sundries

+ Mariana Adams Foster Hernandez spends the night at the farm, continuing her search for Joaquin’s sister. Meanwhile, the farm’s leader, Silas, searches online — a resource only he has access to, seemingly — for information on her. When his search proves fruitless, he approaches Mariana with platitudes and vagueries and, like a good fortune teller, one of them captures Mariana perfectly (“someone close left you”). The exchange is enough to placate Silas and Mariana stays focused on finding Jenna. Unfortunately, she’s being kept isolated — a consequence of Joaquin’s interference — and Mariana’s forced to spend another day at the farm.

Finally, they meet just before dinner. Mariana introduces herself as a friend of Joaquin’s and Jenna explains the abusive conditions she’s endured. Jenna’s tried to leave the farm before, only to be caught and brought back against her will. Once Jenna reiterates her interest in leaving, she and Mariana plot their escape. Under the cover of night, Mariana releases Jenna from her confinement and the two make their way towards the road. They run into Joaquin, who’s snuck on the farm to try and rescue Mariana and his sister, and make their way to his truck (where Evan Speck waits as the getaway driver). But Silas’ henchman tries to thwart their escape: chasing the trio and then firing a single shot (over Silas’ objections) from his rifle.

As the season fades to black, we hear the bullet hit someone and a body drop to the ground. We don’t know who it is or if they’ll survive. I guess that’s a question for Season 5.

+ Honestly, I want to feel some sympathy for Gael, I really do. But I can’t help but recall those wise words from Maya Angelou, “when people show you who they are, believe them.”

Isabella has shown him, time and time again, the kind of person she is. She admits having impulse control problems. She’s smashed windows and thrown things (assaulting him in the process). She volleys between loving him and not. She clings to him one second and throws herself at Dennis the next. She goes from wanting a child to believing adoption is the best course, only to change her mind again seconds later. When people show you who they are, believe them…and Isabella just keeps showing Gael who she is but he never wants to believe her.

In his first quasi-assertion of his rights as a father, he answers Isabella’s interest in adoption by proposing a solution: he’ll co-parent with his sister, Jazmin, and her new husband. The baby will have a home, surrounded by love, and Isabella will be freed of her obligation to focus on her own recovery. It’s everything that Isabella said that she wanted but, of course, she changes her mind. After giving birth at the Coterie, Isabella decides she wants to keep the baby. It’s a wholly predictable outcome but Gael’s shell-shocked because he never wanted to believe her. And now Gael has to contend with the fatherhood, help Isabella grapple with her mental illness and deny his sister, who has always wanted children, the chance to be a mother.

+ In the mid-season finale, Luca returns to the encampment and acknowledges how lucky he is to have found a home at the Coterie. He promises not to leave behind those not as lucky as him. When the sanitation workers arrive, Luca helps lead the protest. Given how he finished the midseason finale — recovering from a withering attack from Ivan — I’m grateful to know that he’s safe (even if Chekhov’s gun (AKA Ivan) never went off). That said, the show never made any effort to develop his character beyond his homelessness. What happened to that effort to find his birth certificate? What happened to his relationships with Davia and Joaquin?

+ Davia and Dennis got back together. This is my surprised face. 😐

“Good Trouble” Episode 417 Recap: Pulling a Callie

This week’s episode of Good Trouble gave me Fosters flashbacks… and not at all in a good way.

It echoed of The Fosters season four finale when Callie climbed into a van with a dangerous pimp in an ill-advised, last second effort to save someone else from his wrath. She had a plan — Callie always had a plan, as stupid as it often was — to go with this pimp, have her cop mom track her phone and swoop in and save the day… and much like all of Callie’s plans, it went awry. That season ended with Callie, trapped alone with the pimp, singing “You’ll Be Okay,” as her cop mom tracked a cell phone headed in another direction. That episode our left Autostraddle’s recapper and, honestly, almost everyone who was still watching the show at the time (myself included), exasperated.

I felt that way again as I watched the prelude to Good Trouble‘s own season four finale. In it, Mariana visits the farmer’s market stand where she and Joaquin spotted his sister selling honey. Jenna’s not there this time but Mariana strikes up conversation with the women manning the table. She pretends that she’s new to the area — from a small town in Nebraska over her family’s objections — and had struck up a friendly conversation with Jenna during a previous visit. Mariana laments the loneliness of Los Angeles and the women invite her to the farm for dinner. They spin a glorious tale about the farm…almost making it sound like the Coterie, but with horses, chicken, gardens and a mountain view. I guess calling it a cult — where the charismatic leader, Silas, uses women for their bodies and their labor — doesn’t sound as good for marketing purposes. Mariana’s convinced to leave her car at the market and travel with the women, in their van, out to the farm…a farm that’s 100 miles outside the city.

You can almost excuse what happened on The Fosters. Callie was young and dumb. She’d always been prone to making bad decisions and had a particularly well-honed savior complex. At the time that she climbs into the van, Callie thinks her life is over: the next day she was slated to accept a plea deal that’d send her to jail for three years. And, at least, Callie tried to let others know where she was: Daphne knows and, plus, there’s that cell phone plan that doesn’t work. I mean, it’s still nonsense, but maybe — if you twist yourself up into knots — you can see it. But what happens on Good Trouble? Absolute nonsense.

Mariana Adams Foster is a whole ass adult, with a degree from MIT. She knows better than this. Stef Adams Foster taught her better than this. Unlike her sister, Mariana learns from the past and she doesn’t share Callie’s savior complex or penchant for impulsiveness. Mariana is a grown woman with a business that’s in the middle of a crisis. Why isn’t she focused on saving the company she’s invested so much of her career building? Why does she brush off their growing PR crisis to go save the sister of the dude with whom she has a casual relationship? Admittedly, Mariana doesn’t know the full extent of Silas’ villainy — Joaquin uncovers some dastardly shit while she’s on her solo mission — but she knows that he’s dangerous. She even makes Joaquin promise not to do anything stupid… so, instead, she opts to do the stupid thing. She pulls a Callie.

I am exasperated. I’ve been frustrated by this storyline and its discordant tone from the beginning but this week’s developments just made me angry. Not only did it take time away from storylines that could’ve benefitted from being fleshed out further, it compromised this character that many of us have been watching since 2013. Mariana is not her sister and Good Trouble diminishes that character by pretending like she is.

Last week, Alice confessed she’s never had an orgasm with another person before and, after their sexual pleasure workshop, Sumi’s determined to become the person that finally gets Alice that sweet release. She starts the episode beneath the covers and between Alice’s thighs. It should be a blissful moment, one that elicits gentle moans from Alice, but instead the comedienne just wonders when Sumi might be done. She laments at how long it’s taking and worries that Sumi might get lockjaw. Alice tries to focus on feeling the pleasure but it’s fleeting and she collapses against her pillow in frustration. She glances up at the ceiling and notices a new water stain which suddenly morphs into a disapproving image of her mother.

Freaked out, she beckons Sumi back up and apologizes for taking so long. Sumi assures her that she doesn’t mind but Alice is just ready for it to be over. Sure, she didn’t orgasm, but Alice insists that it was still nice and they don’t need to be so fixated on achieving the goal. To my surprise, Sumi doesn’t push Alice on the issue and, instead, just settles in next to her. Alice quickly changes the subject, asking her girlfriend/manager if she’d secured her an audition for an upcoming movie role. Sumi admits that she hasn’t heard back from the casting director yet but she promises to find a way to get Alice in the room.

Later, Alice meets up with her brother. It’s the first time we’ve seen them together since they repaired their relationship in last season’s Lunar New Year episode, and I love that we’re getting to see them interact. Alice dives into the deep end right away: she asks David if he’s ever thought about their mother while having sex. He’s taken aback by the topic but rather than change the subject to something (anything?) more comfortable, he recognizes that this is something his sister needs to talk about…so he let’s her.

“I mean, not in a sexy way, gross, of course not,” Alice explains, after David asks for some clarification. “Just, I think about whether she’d approve of what I’m doing.”

David acknowledges that her mother most certainly would not approve, not because it’s lesbian sex but because it’s sex, period. They recount the limited amount of sex talk they got from their immigrant parents. Alice recalls that the only thing her mother ever really told her about premarital sex was not to have it (“no one wants to pick a flower with no petals”). David admits that their parents’ decision to never talk about sex has made it harder to have healthy feelings about it. David (jokingly) volunteers to give Alice some pointers on pleasing a woman and, as any sister would, she recoils in horror at the mere thought. She returns the favor, though, by mentioning that she’s honed her acting skills by learning to fake orgasms… which falls squarely into the TMI category for David and now, it’s his turn to recoil. I love this relationship and hope we get to see more of them.

Back at the Coterie, Sumi returns to Alice’s loft with good news: she hasn’t secured Alice an audition for the movie through the proper channels but she has found a way to get her foot in the door. The only thing? They’d have to ambush the movie’s director, who’s staying at a hotel in downtown LA, and use the opportunity for Alice to pitch herself for the role. Alice agrees and waits with Sumi in the hotel lobby for the director. But there’s one thing we know about Sumi, it’s that she’s indefatigable: if there’s something she wants, she’s going to find a way to get it.

She manages to get the director’s room number and her current location — poolside, natch — from the front desk clerk. Sumi orchestrates a scenario to get Alice some face time in front of the director. The impromptu display is awkward and obvious and compels the director to threaten to call security. The threat is enough to see Alice scurrying for the exit but Sumi stays and apologizes for ambushing her. Sumi explains the circumstances and the director invites her to audition. Sumi scoffs at the notion — she’s there on Alice’s behalf after all — but the director likes Sumi’s fire and commitment and wants her to try out, not Alice. Sumi seizes the opportunity and passes along her business card to the director.

When Alice — who’s been cowering around the corner, wrapped in pool towels, this entire time — asks what happened, Sumi insists that they’ll talk about it later. So maybe we don’t have to worry about Alice’s lack of sexual gratification after all, because when she finds out about Sumi snaking her audition, they might not be having sex anymore anyway.

Good Trouble Coterie Sundries

+ The time spent on Mariana pulling a Callie would’ve been better served fleshing out Gael’s change of heart about becoming a father…because the shift felt so abrupt. I can appreciate that he’s felt obligated to follow Isabella’s lead throughout this pregnancy — that’s a noble thing to do, I guess — but if he’s never really wanted to be a father, this entire storyline feels like a waste.

+ Not the Denvia merry-go-round again! It’s not even worth investing in Dennis or Davia’s new relationships because the show will always, predictably, bring us back to them. That said, I did think they’d give Davia’s problematic relationship with Asher a little more time before his ex-wife showed up.

Next Week: All hell breaks loose!

“Good Trouble” Episode 416 Recap: Chosen Family Among Friends

Just inside the Coterie doors, there’s a sign that tells residents and visitors about the type of space they’re entering. It says, “The Coterie at the Palace is an intentional community where we share resources to enrich our lives and the lives of others by cultivating friendship, social progress and artistic expression.” Inside those walls, the residents of the Coterie eat together, share facilities and utilities and find a chosen family among friends. That’s the spirit of this place — no one is alone — and it’s a message that’s punctuated firmly by Good Trouble this week.

“Just remember: Someone is on your side, someone else is not/ While you’re seeing our side, maybe you forgot/ They are not alone, no one is alone,” Davia sings at the request of her his school music teacher. But while the message is there — and it’s been there throughout our time in the Coterie — there’s a difference between knowing you’re not alone and being willing to accept the help that’s being offered.

To wit, we catch up with Alice and Sumi in bed together, still caught up in the honeymoon stage of their newly rekindled relationship. Sumi collapses against her pillow, sated from Alice’s performance. She takes a minute to congratulate Alice on the incredible sex and then slides beneath the covers to return the favor. Alice pulls Sumi back towards her and asks that they cuddle for just a second.

“Don’t you want me to…” Sumi asks, trailing off as she again tries to slide beneath the covers, only to be stopped again by her girlfriend. Alice insists that she’s good — totally satisfied — and then slides out of bed to put on some pants. She reminds Sumi about Kelly’s salon on “personal inventory” and assures her that she’ll enjoy the session. The response underscores how uncomfortable Alice is in this moment: a desperate attempt to take the focus off of herself (and sex) and put it on, literally, anything else…even if that anything else is the notoriously unpredictable Kelly.

The salon turns out to be a personal inventory about sexual pleasure and, when the moderator announces it, poor Alice looks like a deer caught in headlights. Everyone else is excited to talk about pleasure and labias in the public space but Alice is mortified by the prospect. Even just writing down her fantasies in a notebook — a step towards being able to articulate them to your partner, the moderator explains — is too much for Alice. Instead, she doodles in her journal.

Sumi, on the other hand, has no such issue. When it comes time to vocalize their fantasies to the group, Sumi shares that she wants to “feel her legs squeeze my head as she shouts my name in ecstasy.” OKAY, SUMI. But when it’s Alice’s turn, she admits that her fantasy is fast-forwarding to the end of the salon. The group takes Alice’s joke in stride and just moves onto their next activity: vagina gazing. Once again, the moderator circles the group to ask the participants for their thoughts as they look at their vaginas in a mirror beneath a blanket (Kelly’s is a Twilight blanket, natch). Everyone else comes up with powerful descriptions of their vagina — beautiful, soft, hungry and happy — but when Alice looks at hers, she sees an ape, tumbleweeds and a cowboy and a venus flytrap. She admits that all she feels is confused.

I should pause here and note that this is an uncomfortable conversation and Alice’s discomfort at being forced into it is apparent on-screen. But what Alice is experiencing isn’t unusual. We don’t live in a society that values female sexual pleasure. And, in particular, women who come from conservative communities and cultures bring those conservative values — about gender roles and the value of sex — into the bedroom. Unpacking and unlearning all that is uncomfortable…which is why we don’t talk about it and which is why television doesn’t showcase it. I appreciate Good Trouble stepping out and addressing it. People need to see it, women need to see that they’re not alone.

Later, Sumi tries to talk to Alice about what happened at the salon and Alice resists having the conversation. Alice insists that she doesn’t need a workshop on sexual pleasure because she derives her pleasure from pleasuring Sumi. But Sumi pushes back: she wants that opportunity too. Alice doesn’t understand why things have to change…when they were together before, Sumi was fine with being a pillow princess. Sumi admits that she was selfish back then and now she just wants to give her girlfriend an orgasm. Alice assures Sumi that she already has but it’s clear that she’s lying. Sumi pushes her for the truth and eventually Alice confesses: she’s never had an orgasm with another person.

Sumi links their hands together and says, “I would really love it if I was the one you trusted enough to be your first and your last and your only…if you’d just give me a chance.”

Alice recoils from Sumi’s request and insists that they talk about something — anything — other than this. Sumi retreats back to her end of the couch but it’s clear this issue isn’t going away any time soon.

Meanwhile, Malika delivers the episode’s message to the unhoused population that’s living in an encampment on the property that was slated to become her women’s center.

The young staffer has been working doggedly to prepare for an upcoming pitch meeting to secure money for permanent housing for LA’s homeless. Her boss interrupts to check on her progress but then pivots to ask about Angelica. She insists she’s only asking because her propensity to work long hours is what drove them apart and, oddly enough, I believe her. But the question clearly makes Malika uncomfortable so instead of telling Angelica’s ex the truth, she lies and says things between them are great.

Later, she heads over to Duoro and to talk to Angelica about her lie. She wonders if Angelica will keep the news of their breakup a secret for a little bit longer. She admits that Lucia asked about it and she just wants to keep the news on the down low until the women’s center garners approval from the City Council. Angelica agrees but wonders if it’s healthy for Malika to work for someone who’s looking for an excuse to fire her. Malika admits that it’s not but it’s a sacrifice she’s willing to make to bring the women’s center to fruition. Angelica laments that Malika’s undervaluing herself and pushes her to trust that she’s an assest to Lucia.

Admittedly, this is not the first conversation I wanted Malika and Angelica to have, post-breakup, but it’s clear the love between them is still there. In fact the chemistry between them might be as palpable as it was the first time they kissed at Duoro. Malika admits that she misses Angelica and Angelica confesses that she misses Malika too…but then she promptly gets up to leave, maybe fearing that too much time together might weaken her resolve to stay broken up.

Back at work, Malika makes her presentation to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), with Luca, Tracy and Marquis Jet looking on. She highlights the humanity of the city’s unhoused population and notes the community that’s been built in the encampments. She points out that her proposal to buy a pre-existing apartment building would be much cheaper than their current proposal to build something from scratch. She even acknowledges her own history of having been unhoused for a year before finding stability at the Coterie. In short, she pulls out all the stops…and, of course, LAHSA still says no.

“I won’t stop trying,” Malika tells the population of the encampment after learning about the decision. “I mean, I promise you, here and now, I’m not going to let them use the excuse of building my women’s center here to drive you out. You have my word.”

I recoil in that moment because she sounds more like Malika Williams, the activist, and not Malika Williams, the City Council staffer. You can’t — you shouldn’t — make promises like that a political staffer…it’s akin to a doctor promising someone that they’ll definitely save their family member’s life. So much is out of your control. And sure enough, when she returns to the office, Lucia offers to make her women’s center a reality…as long as its built on where the encampment stands. Before Malika goes off to ponder what she’s willing to sacrifice to bring the Center to reality, she pauses at the door and tells Lucia the truth about her relationship with Angelica. Lucia admits that she’s sorry to hear that…and, again, I believe her. I wonder if this is what Wallace Shawn (AKA William Halsey) felt like when Adele convinced him to wrestle control of “Lez Girls” from Jenny.

Malika asks Lucia not to ask about her personal life going forward and her boss acquiesces…but I’m left wondering how long this will last.

Coincidentally, there’s a portion of “No One is Alone” that doesn’t get sung this week: the part about how people make mistakes, even our mothers and fathers, because they think they’re alone. It’s a message that both Gael and Isabella might have benefitted from hearing.

After their fight last week, Gael decides he needs some time and space to think. He packs a bag and leaves the loft for the night. While Isabella insists that she understands his impulse, it’s clear that even the short departure feeds into her fears of abandonment and ultimately makes the situation worse, not better. Still concerned about Isabella’s well-being, though, Gael asks Dennis to check in on the expectant mother. I’m not sure that helps either, particularly after she learns that Gael didn’t tell Dennis that he’d asked Isabella to get married. She wonders if his proposal just another thing that Gael has taken back — like his love — and Dennis insists that Gael’s not the type to fall in and out of love…which frankly, makes me wonder if Dennis has watched the first two seasons of this show.

“What if my baby doesn’t love me?” Isabella asks.

Dennis notes that it’s not about the love that a parent gets from a baby — all they know how to do is “eat, sleep, poop and look cute” — but about the love that’s given to that child. He confesses that, as a parent, you have to be prepared to put the child first and not expect anything in return. And that’s the problem, right? Because Isabella wants…no, Isabella needs…this baby to fill this hole that’s been inside her for so much of her life. Dennis acknowledges that kids don’t fix what’s broken inside their parents, they just reveal what inside. Sometimes that’s good, sometimes that’s bad but it is always revealed.

With Gael gone, Isabella is left alone with her thoughts…but it’s her mother’s thoughts that permeate. Isabella hears the worst: she was always an annoyance to her mother, she doesn’t really love Gael, she latches onto anyone who will show her any attention, she’s a potential danger to her child, Gael will leave her eventually. It’s all just a nightmare but those messages sink in and when Gael’s not back the next morning, she panics, as though the worst has been confirmed. She runs to Dennis for comfort and all I can think is, “why won’t anyone tell Isabella that she needs help?”

By the time, Gael returns, he’s determined to make things work but Isabella’s mother’s voice has taken over. She confesses that she no longer knows whether she truly loves Gael and expresses doubt that she knows how to love anyone. Finally, she comes around to her parents point of view: they should put the baby up for adoption.

Good Trouble Coterie Sundries

+ Given the nature of this site, I feel like I should have more to say about the Bulk Beauty storyline but, honestly, I just found it to be comically bad. At one point, Mariana laments that Zelda “[unmasks] herself like a Scooby Doo villain,” and all I can think is “why is the show writing Zelda like a Scooby Doo villain?” In the last episode, Zelda seemed perplexed by the idea that people other than women have periods but now she’s spouting TERF propaganda like she’s been studying it for years? Also, as a general rule, I’m annoyed by shows that don’t consider the racial dynamics of a situation before injecting an issue into a storyline…and Good Trouble is usually better about it than this.

But, just so we’re clear: for me and my house, it’s fuck TERFS, forever and always.

+ Throughout the back half of this season, I’ve been lamenting how much Davia’s current path — as a teacher for a privileged homeschool kid — feels divorced from her arc over Good Trouble‘s run. This week, though, the show revisits something that’s been part of her character’s story since the beginning: her toxic relationship with her mother.

Davia returns to her hometown for the funeral services of her favorite teacher from high school. She tries to avoid her mother — she doesn’t even call her to let her know she’s coming, in fact — but the two cross paths at the funeral. Bonnie remains every bit as toxic as she’s ever been, pairing even the mildest of compliments with a criticism of her daughter. But thankfully Davia isn’t the same girl as she was…the one who carried the emotional weight of her mother’s critiques and channeled it into unhealthy habits (her affair with Jeff or disordered eating). She’s closer to the woman her high school music teacher always thought she could be. She’s learned to love her body and, more importantly, to set personal boundaries.

Bonnie half-heartedly apologizes for not being the perfect mother but Davia insists she never asked for that. All that she ever wanted, Davia tearfully confesses, was for her mother to love her just the way that she was. Instead of listening to her mother’s pleas to continue the painful conversation, Davia climbs into her car to go to head back to the airport, “I can’t take care of you this time, I have to choose me for once!”

+ That said, before I give Davia too much credit for her willingness to set boundaries, she’s coming ever so closer to violating her professional boundaries by considering a relationship with the father of the kid she’s homeschooling. Even the kid notices the closeness between them this week and gives her the okay to pursue a romantic relationship. She doesn’t even bother to correct the kid in the moment…which is how you know this whole thing is about to go sideways.

Next Week: “Do you ever think about mom when you’re having sex?” Wait, what?!

“Good Trouble” Episode 415 Recap: Anger Management

Maybe we were always headed here. Back when Isabella was introduced on Good Trouble and she was a little too aggressive in her pursuit of Gael. Or when Isabella finagled her way into sharing Mariana’s loft? Or when she made a play for Mariana’s then-boyfriend only to deny she’d ever done it? Maybe this was always where the writers of Good Trouble were going to go. Maybe we were always headed to this moment, where we’d have to address questions about Isabella and her mental health.

But what had been a slow build — or breakdown, to be more accurate — over multiple episodes, through multiple seasons, came to its jarring and startlingly fast climax this week, following her arrest for vandalism.

When she explains it to Gael, though, Isabella paints her actions as the result of a one-time break…a frustrated reaction to her parents’ insistence that she give her baby up for adoption. If Gael paused and pieced the history of his relationship with Isabella together — from her aggressive pursuit of him to her demand that he tell his parents about their relationship at his sister’s wedding — maybe he’d realize that there’s more to be worried about here than some criminal charges. But Gael is blinded by love and his devotion to his soon-to-be family so his greatest lament is that Isabella didn’t tell him about the incident when it happened.

“I was just afraid of what you would think of me. I didn’t want you to think that I was crazy or something,” Isabella tearfully confesses. She swears that she’s never done anything like this before but then I remember when Raj told her he couldn’t do birthday parties with her anymore: she picked up a nearby shoe and threw it across the loft, breaking the mirror above the mantle. So, clearly, Isabella is still lying…to Gael and perhaps to herself. But Gael is understanding and wraps Isabella up in a big hug.

Later, they meet with Rowan — an attorney from Callie’s old law firm, played by trans actor Emmett Preciado — to guide them through the legal proceedings. Isabella’s sentencing is slated for Friday and she’s stunned that things are moving so quickly. Gael calmly reassures her that it’s for the best: they can put this behind them before the baby arrives. Isabella asks for the worse case scenario and Rowan admits that it’s possible that Isabella could face some jail time. She’s astounded — “girl, you asked!” I yell back at my TV — and peppers Rowan with questions about how long her sentence could be. He explains that could be facing six to nine months in jail but he assures her that because she’s taking responsibility for her actions and this is her first offense, he and his boss, Kathleen, expect her to be sentenced to community service. She breathes a sigh of relief and Gael assures her that whatever comes, they’ll handle things together.

When the sentencing hearing rolls around, things go almost as predicted. The prosecution plays the video of Isabella’s destruction of her father’s car and while Isabella lowers her head in shame, Gael seems taken aback to witness the anger that she’s capable of, for the first time. The judge admits that she’s worried about Isabella’s impulse control but she accepts the plea deal that’s been offered: 50 hours of community service and 18 months of probation. But before Isabella can celebrate the case’s outcome, her parents stand up and address the judge. They ask the Court to intervene for the safety of their daughter’s child. Her father notes that Isabella has a history — though not a criminal one — of erratic, dangerous behavior and anger management issues. Her mother recounts multiple instances of Isabella lashing out, including a fire that nearly burned their house down, and her father concedes, “We love our daughter but she’s not fit to be a mother.”

Rowan rightfully objects to Isabella’s parents’ requests and the judge agrees: her parents’ arguments are a matter for family court, not criminal court. It’s an outcome anyone who’s watched a couple of episodes of Law & Order could’ve predicted and I’m shocked that Isabella’s parents didn’t consult a lawyer before making a claim in open court. On the plus side, at least now Gael finally knows what he’s facing and can move forward with all the information at hand. For one of the first times since she left, I’m really wishing that Callie was still at the Coterie.

Things are understandably quiet on the way back to the loft following the hearing. Isabella admits that some of what her parents said was true but she chalks the behavior up to being just teenage hijinks. She insists that she’s changed now, she’s a different person, but Gael points out that the incident with the car just happened last month. Isabella contends that she was protecting their baby but Gael pushes back, “how is lashing out and risking your freedom, protecting the baby?” He says it calmly and without making a move towards her…he’s just sitting on a chair trying to process it all…which only makes Isabella’s reaction seem more erratic by comparison.

Isabella starts pacing in the loft, accusing Gael of judging her. He assures her that he’s not judging her and invites her to sit down but he can’t calm her down. She questions if Gael’s going to leave her or if his feelings for her have changed. She notes that he’s the one who asked her to get married and he hasn’t said anything else about it since that night. Gael points out that they’ve had bigger things to deal with and Isabella accuses him of lying. She maintains that he never really loved her or chose her, he only wanted to be with her because of the baby. She picks up Gael’s art supplies and starts tossing them indiscriminately across the loft. Gael stands and begs her to stop but, instead, he gets hit by a book she’s thrown. She rushes to try to apologize but he pulls away.

Somehow, they end up sharing a bed that night. Gael waits until Isabella falls asleep and grabs his phone. I’m grateful that he doesn’t call Isabella’s parents; instead, he reaches out to Dennis, who meets him in the Coterie lounge, where Gael finally admits how scared he is.

Good Trouble Coterie Sundries

+ Things at Bulk Beauty are going great: their partnership with online influencer, Zelda Grant, is paying off and subscriptions are through the roof. Hiring Zelda for another promotion campaign feels like a no-brainer for the Fight Club Girls. But when they announce that the next stage of Bulk Beauty’s expansion will include an Italian company (Per Tutti) that produces a line of inclusive menstrual hygiene products, Zelda’s perplexed by the inclusive language.

“Wait, why people and not just women? I mean, only women get periods,” Zelda asks after hearing the company’s tagline (“For people who get periods.”)

Mariana explains that the tagline is meant to be inclusive of trans men and non-binary people who also get periods but Zelda scoffs. Her reaction catches the FCGs completely off guard and, suddenly, they start to question whether they want someone who’s not inclusive representing their brand.

+ Mariana gets inadvertently locked into the stairwell with Evan and they’re finally able to clear the air. The kiss he witnessed wasn’t a mutual kiss, Mariana explains, it was just Joaquin kissing her. Hope flashes on Evan’s face before Mariana extinguishes it again: she wanted to discuss their relationship but when he was, at first, unwilling, and then determined to keep things professional, she started exploring things with Joaquin. The Internet seems very frustrated that these two can never get their timing right but not me…I haven’t seen a single thing to suggest that the dynamics that doomed their relationship the first time around have changed.

+ One of my TV pet peeves? When someone changes their mind, easily, about not having children. It frustrated me when Arizona and Amelia changed their minds on Grey’s Anatomy and it bothered me on Good Trouble this week with Dennis. Every person I know that has said that they don’t want kids has come to that decision after serious thought…it’s not an easy decision. But here, Dennis plays with one kid for a little while and suddenly he’s open to the idea? Ugh.

+ Obviously there’s a burgeoning issue of Davia growing a little too close to the family she’s working for — the newly single dad, Asher, and his son, Elliot — but I’m still taken aback by how drastic the pivot has been on Davia’s character this season. So much of her storyline on Good Trouble has been about her teaching in low-income schools (with Teach for America) and learning how to engage black and brown students (and unpack her own privilege in the process). But now all that’s been thrown out the window and she’s home-schooling this one, rich white kid?

+ Can Rowan move into the Coterie? Cause he’s someone I’d very much like to see on my screen every week. Signed, The TV Team’s Resident Bisexual.

Next Week: Dis tew much

“Good Trouble” Episode 414 Recap: Love Is (Not?) A Lie

Is love a lie? It’s a question we spend lots of time positing around here. And while there’s an understandable impulse to chalk our constant questioning up to nihilism — hey, it’s a valid coping mechanism! — the truth is queer television hasn’t been great about showcasing that love actually exists. Actually, that’s an understatement. Queer television has been bad…so, so bad. And, though we don’t acknowledge it often, that representation matters too. Representation, not just of identities but of ideas and of possibilities. Sometimes, you need to see a thing — even a fictional thing in a fictional world — to know that it can exist for you and to set expectations for what that ought to look like.

Going into this week’s episode of Good Trouble, I figured that we’d get a testament to fact that love is most definitely not a lie. After all, it was a big Coterie wedding…how could it be anything other than a celebration of love? But then again, maybe it’s only against the reflection of true love and commitment — what Jazmin and Spencer have — that we can truly recognize what we…or, in this case, everyone else at the Coterie…doesn’t have.

Jazmin/Spencer – Is Love a Lie? Absolutely the fuck not.

Jazmin Martinez makes a beautiful bride. She glides down the aisle to a rendition of Camila Cabello’s “Havana,” which reminds me of that time she performed (with her future fiancé) an entire dance number to Jennifer Lopez’s “El Anillo” and leads me to rewatch that scene a half a dozen times. Halfway down the aisle, Jazmin urges the crowd to their feet…to share in the joy that radiates off her…and everyone responds with cheers and applause. She’s met by her friend Evelyn (played by Nicky Andreas) who takes her hand and walks her the rest of the way down the aisle.

The pastor asks, “who stand in support of Jazmin on her wedding day?” and Evelyn acknowledges that they do. The pastor asks, “who else?” and Jazmin’s parents and her grandfather stand and affirm their support. And then the pastor asks again, “who else?” and the entire audience stands and proclaims their support. We don’t get to see much of the actual wedding after that — the show fast forwards to the reception — but it’s enough to make me tear up and to make some of the guests re-evaluate their lives.

As Jazmin interacts with her guests, her father laments to Gael that he wasn’t the one to walk his daughter down the aisle. He admits wanting the opportunity, seeing it as a public acknowledgement of how far he’s come in accepting Jazmin. Before Gael can chastise him, his father admits that Jazmin’s happiness is the most important thing…though, at that moment, I’m not sure he believes that. But, as the night progresses, he comes to a stark realization.

“I realized tonight, I didn’t earn that honor, because I wasn’t there for you when you needed me most,” he admits. He promises that, from this day forward, he and her mother will always be there for Jazmin…and he and his daughter share tears, hugs and their love. I’m not crying, you’re crying.

Alice/Sumi – Is Love a Lie? Not when you deploy grand romantic gestures

Things between Alice and Sumi remain frosty after the revelation that Alice was looking to replace Sumi as her manager. They haven’t talked since…that is, until Sumi approaches Alice at the reception to call off their fake relationship. Apparently, seeing Jazmin and Spencer proclaim their true love got Sumi reconsidering this masquerade she and Alice had embarked upon. While Alice took comfort in calling their relationship “fake,” it was never that for Sumi. Their “fake” relationship was her way of making up for past mistakes. She acknowledges that she didn’t treat Alice well when they were first together but insists that she’s proven herself to be trustworthy. Unfortunately, though, as Sumi’s redeemed herself, Alice has shown herself not to be worthy of Sumi’s trust.

Later, Malika spots a morose Alice leaning against a wall and comes over to find out what’s wrong? Is this the conversation I’ve been waiting for Alice and Malika to have all season? Sort of…I imagined that it’d be more intimate and there’d be more weed or alcohol involved, but apparently this is the closest we’re gonna get.* Alice laments that Sumi’s mad at her about looking for new representation and that she ended their fake relationship. Malika’s surprised to hear that their relationship was fake but Alice explains that they concocted the relationship to cover for Gael who wanted to keep Isabella close.

“Look, I need Sumi,” an exasperated Alice admits. “She’s the most important person in my life! I just can’t live without her.”

Malika questions whether Alice means she needs Sumi just as a manager or if she wants something more. She notes that it sounds like Alice is in love with Sumi. At first, Alice denies it but ultimately admits that she loves Sumi but is afraid of being hurt again. Malika assures Alice that it’s not too late and pushes her to come up with a big romantic gesture to win Sumi back. Does this sound like advice Malika would normally give? No. Does it feel like advice that’s been overlly influenced by the saccharine nature of weddings? Absolutely.

Alice takes the advice to heart and approaches Sumi for help with an upcoming audition. Under the guise of a story about Sandy and her “beautiful, sexy, brilliant” hairdresser Aaliyah, Alice confesses her love for Sumi. She assures Sumi that she does trust her and wants to be with her, if she can be forgiven. Sumi answers Alice with a kiss and the two, FINALLY, fall into bed together.

(* I remain frustrated that the conversation was entirely about Alice and Malika’s relationship with Angelica — again, her first relationship with another woman! — doesn’t get talked about at all.)

Mariana/Joaquin/Kelly – Is Love a Lie? Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, we don’t talk about it.

Remember when Joaquin arrived at the Coterie and Kelly was, surprisingly, fawning all over him? I didn’t take it seriously because this show has always used Kelly for comic relief. They’ve never given her much depth. But, apparently, I (and Mariana) should’ve taken Kelly’s interest in Joaquin more seriously because, now that she’s discovered Mariana and Joaquin’s situationship, she’s angry — “You broke a code, Mariana. You broke the most important and sacred of codes…the girl code!” she exclaims — and a little bit hurt.

When Kelly corners her about Joaquin, Mariana dismisses Kelly’s concerns: there’s nothing going on between them, at least not any more. Earlier, Joaquin lashed out at Mariana’s efforts to help his sister and she’s stung by the rebuke. Unbeknownst to them, Joaquin’s still smarting from a conversation with his mother, wherein she accused him of being selfish and foresaking his sister, and he misdirected his anger towards Mariana. After watching Gael and Jazmin together, Joaquin realizes his misstep and rushes over to apologize to Mariana. They don’t talk about what’s going on between them but just the sight of them together is enough to hurt Kelly’s feelings all over again.

Later, Luca — who’s filming a video for the newly married couple — catches Kelly and she takes the opportunity to address Mariana’s criticism of her. She denies not taking anything seriously but acknowledges using her humor as a defense mechanism to keep anyone from getting too close. She admits to having a lonely childhood and never really having a boyfriend…but then she suddenly realizes she’s said this things, out loud and on camera, and rushes to try and erase the tape. I both want to hug Kelly and tell her that she deserves better than that True Detective cast-off.

Davia/Dennis/Ryan – Is Love a Lie? It’s the one we tell ourselves.

As a gift to his sister, Gael invites Davia and Dennis to the Coterie stage to perform a rendition of “Can’t Take My Eyes off You” for Jazmin and Spencer’s first dance. The chemistry between the two remains palpable and like so many times before, they sing the words they cannot bring themselves to say to one another, much to my chagrin.

Noticing their chemistry, Isabella asks why Dennis and Davia aren’t together and Gael notes that they can’t seem to get on the same page at the same time. And, of course, who would be standing behind Gael and Isabella as they acknowledge the obvious? Dennis’ new girlfriend, Ryan. And, despite the fact that this storyline has put so much emphasis on how age-appropriate Ryan is for Dennis, when her relationship is threatened, she behaves like a catty teenager…acting icy towards Davia when they find themselves in the restroom at the same time. And while the interaction (plus a warning from Gael) should make Davia avoid Dennis at all costs, she can’t help but be drawn to him…and she spends the night looking heartbroken as she watches him dance with Ryan.

After the reception, Dennis and Ryan retreat to his loft and Ryan questions him about his intentions directly. She makes it plain: she’s in search of a serious relationship and kids and she doesn’t have time for a casual relationship. Dennis looks over to the artwork that memorializes his son and I think the mention of kids will send him running for the hills but, instead, he admits he really likes Ryan too. She questions him about his feelings for Davia and he acknowledges that he loves her but just as a friend. He insists that he’s not interested in casual dating either.

Isabella/Gael – Is Love a Lie? Yes, repeatedly.

Does it feel odd to add a pairing that ends this episode engaged to the list of those who affirm that “love is a lie?” A little, yes…but every moment in Gael and Isabella’s relationship feels tenuous. Despite the fact that they’re just a few months out from sharing a child, the foundation of their relationship is so shaky…built on a slew of omissions, misdirection and manipulation. Their love is a lie…and this week, it gets exposed for what it truly is.

Much to my surprise, Gael tells Isabella about the texts from her father soon after he gets them. He stands firm behind his commitment to not involve their families in their relationship and to respect the boundaries that Isabella has with her parents. Isabella breathes an audible sigh of relief as Gael deletes the message and blocks his number. Still, she can’t keep her father — and his demand that she put the baby up for adoption or risk going to jail — at bay. He calls and reiterates his threat via voicemail. It’s telling that Isabella can’t follow Gael’s lead and block her father’s number. It’s hard to outgrow (or outrun) that desire for affirmation from your parents, even when they’ve let you down so many times before.

But while Gael respects Isabella’s boundaries with her parents, does Isabella do the same? Not really. Gael hasn’t told his parents that he and Isabella are a couple. Last we saw his parents, Gael was still with Callie — much to his mother’s dismay — and seemed firm in his belief that his only relationship with Isabella would be as co-parents. Now that things have changed, Gael doesn’t want to invite his parents in to add aditional pressure to their new relationship. He assures Davia that Isabella’s okay with that and she, like me, doesn’t believe that for a second.

“No, that’s bullshit. There’s no way that she’s okay with being pregnant with your child and being in a secret relationship with you,” Davia insists. And then, because like most people, Davia’s better at dispensing advice than taking it, she adds, ironically, “If you’re not having doubts, then what are you waiting for?”

Later, Isabella questions Gael about his intentions and wonders if he’s been manipulating her the entire time. I’m stunned by her audacity — after all, she’s the one who hasn’t been honest about her parents’ blackmail attempt — but she uses it as a cudgel to get Gael to acknowledge their relationship in front of his parents. He does, announcing their relationship to the whole room…which, while Jazmin said it was alright, still feels like a shitty thing to do at someone else’s wedding.

Spurned by all the love and goodwill from the wedding, Gael affirms his commitment to Isabella and their growing family: first, he decides to go to work for his father (an avenue he’s steadily avoided since we first met him) and then, he wants to make their family official: he wants to get married. This is why going to weddings is dangerous…people get all sorts of crazy ideas. Isabella accepts and later she texts her father with proof of her happiness. She urges him to just let her be happy.

But, of course, that ain’t happening…and the next day, just as Gael’s about to share the news, the cops show up to arrest Isabella.

Malika/Angelica – Is Love a Lie? No, But Also: Yes

After their first fight, Malika and Angelica retreated into their own corners to lick their wounds. Malika’s ego keeps her from reaching out but, thankfully, Angelica finally shows up at the Coterie, ready to talk. I gird myself for the break-up but it doesn’t happen; instead, Angelica apologizes and Malika answers with her own apology. The whole thing gets resolved way too quickly — and without any mention of Lucia — and I should be on high alert…but then Angelica strips off her coat and settles into Malika’s lap and there’s talk of make-up sex and, suddenly, I forget what I’m supposed to be mad about. I’m only human!

Angelica joins Malika at Jazmin’s wedding but they both take different lessons from the showcase: Malika touts the romance and the celebration of love and Angelica celebrates the commitment and the promise of forever. It’s at this point that I’m snapped out of my revelry: they are fixated on different things — they want different things — and now all that’s left is for both of them to come to that realization.

Swept up by the romance of the day, Malika makes her own grand gesture: as she dances with Angelica, she confesses her love. Angelica’s breath is taken away by the revelation and she steps back and rushes out of the room to catch her breath. Malika finds her later and it’s clear that some thing is amiss. Malika apologizes for moving too fast and admits that she got caught up in the moment. But Angelica insists that it wasn’t too soon and confesses that she loves her too. Malika’s eyes fill with joyous tears that only make the rest of the conversation more difficult to watch. The wedding made Angelica realize that she wants what Jazmin and Spencer have and while Malika insists that she wants that too, Angelica doubts whether she can truly have that in a relationship with someone who’s poly.

From the script to the screen, the heartbreak is palpable.
_____
Stream #GoodTrouble on @Hulu. pic.twitter.com/xEwNPWViIe

— Good Trouble (@GoodTrouble) August 7, 2022

“Loving you is starting to hurt,” Angelica tearfully confesses…and, admittedly, I don’t really get it, but just the way she says it feels like a dagger in the heart.

Malika acquiesces, “you know, if I’m being honest with myself, I need someone who can love me and accept me for all of who I am so I’m not on eggshells waiting for them to bail.”

I’m stunned that we’ve gotten to this point so quickly. I don’t mind Angelica and Malika not being together — I suspected it wouldn’t last from the outset — but I wish the progression to get to this point made sense.

Next Week: Locked Up and Locked In

“Good Trouble” Episode 413 Recap: Comparison is the Thief of Joy

The following recap contains spoilers for Good Trouble episode 413, “A Penny With A Hole In It.”

A few months after I finished college, I found myself back in my mentor’s office, frustrated by the pace of life. I’d done everything that’d been asked of me — I got an education, I’d worked hard for very little money (shout out to unpaid internships!) — but it all seemed for naught. Everything I’d done felt fruitless: the opportunities I’d expected to await me after graduation just weren’t there. Meanwhile, stories about my friends’ successes redounded. I couldn’t understand it…they hadn’t worked harder than me, they weren’t more talented than me…and yet they were getting the opportunities I’d coveted. After listening to me rant, my mentor repeated words that have echoed in my ears regularly in the years since: “Comparison is the thief of joy.”

It’s a lesson that Alice learns the hard way this week on Good Trouble and, in the end, she comes a little closer to realizing that the source of her joy isn’t what she’d thought it was.

When Good Trouble picks back up this week, Alice is still trying to lean into her “Year of Yes.” Among the new gigs that her new manager/pretend girlfriend, Sumi, has lined up for her? Facilitating an early morning online sexual harassment training. I’m not sure who thought it’d be a good idea to invite a comedian to lead a session on such a serious topic but it goes about as well as you’d imagine. Before she can get to the section on dating co-workers, all the participants abandon the call. The only person left? Kelly, who stumbles into Alice’s loft, and mocks her performance with a slow clap.

Afterwards, Alice puts her foot down: she refuses to do any more online seminars or pet adoptions. She laments that just one month ago, she was opening for Margaret Cho and now she’s been reduced to this. Sumi assures Alice that she’s on the right path and mentions that she’s secured Alice a new gig at a very hot coffee shop. Alice laments the news: she wants to perform somewhere where the crowd’s interested in laughter, not lattes. Then, as if Alice’s day couldn’t get any worse, she turns to see posters advertising a new sitcom called Hiss & Hers starring Derek, the least funny comedian and general asshole from Alice’s CBTV diversity program. Sumi celebrates Derek’s success but Alice is incensed.

“I was the one they were supposed to give the comedy deal to,” Alice rants. “This is supposed to be me! He tried to sabotage us! I had to do the right thing. I had to be Ms. Big Person and now look at him! I was supposed to be Hiss & Hers! This is my life!”

Sumi tries to calm her client down by reminding her that everyone has their own path to success. She reiterates their “Year of Yes” strategy and urges Alice to run her own race and try to find joy in the wins of her friends. But, as soon as the words come out of Sumi’s mouth, a bus approaches, wrapped in an advertisement for Hiss & Hers and I think that’ll be easier said that done. Back at the loft, Alice surveys the social media of her CBTV crew and it seems like everyone’s winning but her. Derek has his sitcom, LB’s making their stand-up debut on Jimmy Kimmel, Magda’s booked a national commercial and they’re all racking up Instagram likes and views. Determined to match their success, Alice starts cold calling new prospective agents.

Malika interrupts her call and, for a second, I think we’re finally going to get that friendship moment that I’ve been waiting for all season: Alice can share her frustrations about her friends’ success relative to her own and confess about her fake relationship with Sumi and Malika can get some perspective about what to do about Angelica. Finally, Malika and Alice would get to showcase the deep friendship that’s been one of my favorite parts of Good Trouble since season one. But, season four of Good Trouble is like, “you thought!”

Apparently, we can’t waste time on friendships between core cast members because we’re too busy pretending that this is a season of True Detective and we need to spend our time rescuing this new guy’s sister from a farming cult. Seriously, how is it possible that Malika is in her first relationship with a woman — which even under the best of circumstances is a scary venture — and Good Trouble‘s never given us a conversation between her and her lesbian BFF about it? HOW SWAY?! I thought this show understood the value of community. But I digress….

Alice laments that managing is not Sumi’s true calling and she might be better off with someone else. Surprisingly, Malika advocates for Alice to stick it out with Sumi: after all, when she had to step in as Coterie manager, she did a great job. Plus, Malika reminds her, no other manager will care more about her than Sumi does. Later, Alice’s gig at the coffee house goes really, really well. She even manages to catch the attention of a casting director who’s picking up her latte. Unfortunately, though, when it’s time to connect the agent with her manager, Alice is without one: Sumi quits when after spots a text message on Alice’s phone from Michelle from D&M Management looking to set up a meeting.

Alice tries to apologize…to get Sumi to talk to her at all…but to no avail. She lies alone in her loft, all her joy gone, and returns to Instagram to offer likes and supportive comments on her friends’ successes.

Meanwhile, Malika approaches Lucia to voice her concerns about the site of the women’s center. She’s worried about the optics: she doesn’t want it to appear as though they’re using the women’s center as political cover for displacing the unhoused encampment. The councilwoman reminds Malika that they’re clearing the encampment for a noble purpose, not to build a Target. Lucia assures her staffer that they’ll relocate the unhoused to shelters but Malika knows that’s an insufficient solution: shelters are temporary and force the unhoused to conform to their conditions and curfews. Malika recommends that the unhoused be offered permanent housing and an exasperated Lucia responds with a simple question: “Where?” Lucia reminds her that the women’s center is an opportunity to improve people’s lives and provide them with necessary services but if Malika has a better idea, she should present it.

“You’re gonna need to learn, Malika, that there are no perfect solutions to the problems that we face,” Lucia lectures. I generally loathe political storylines because so few shows invest energy in getting the minutiae right. Shows like the focus on the glamorous parts — the television appearances, the speeches, the town halls with voters — because that makes for better television. But that also creates a false perception about how government operates and what it has the capacity to do. The reality is, governing is often boring and thankless work and it forces even the most idealistic among us to embrace pragmatism. To Good Trouble‘s credit, they are the rare show that’s getting it mostly right…so much so that Lucia’s words give me flashbacks to my days as a junior staffer. Yikes!

But I’m pretty sure Malika stopped listening to Lucia after the invitation to present a better idea because she devotes herself to tracking down another solution. She comes across a story from Philadelphia about organizers who got the city to buy empty apartment buildings to shelter the unhoused. Tracy admits that a similar proposal had been floated in Los Angeles but the deal fell apart. Malika pushes Tracy to work with her to get a meeting with the real estate developer who was involved with the LA proposal and even the office’s cynic can’t say no to Zuri Adele’s face.

As they wait outside the developer’s office, Malika checks her phone repeatedly and Tracy calls her on it. Malika admits that she and Angelica got into a fight and she’s hoping to get a text. Tracy encourages her to just text Angelica but, apparently, she’s not familiar with this new plot device version of Malika who avoids conflict and won’t be honest with her girlfriend. Malika admits that Angelica was both right and wrong in their fight and because wrong always outweighs right, the onus is on Angelica to respond first. Tracy compliments her on her reasoning and its dash of pettiness.

Just then, the developer, Mr. Redford, and his son arrive and Malika gives him an elevator pitch about reviving the proposal to purchase his apartment buildings. Unfortunately, Redford’s not interested: he’d offered to sell his properties to the City at minimal profit but they were “penny wise and pound foolish,” preferring to spend millions on temporary band-aids than to invest in a long-term solutions. But while the developer’s not interested, Tracy clocks the interest of his son, Xavier, and pushes Malika to take another swing. If she can convince Xavier, maybe he can convince his dad to recommit to the proposal.

I should pause here and note that the developer’s son is played by Nick Creegan, who Autostraddle readers might remember from his recent stint on Batwoman (RIP). Now, I’m sure that young man is a talented actor, capable of playing a myriad of characters, but he’s very good at playing a maniacal villain, so I automatically start to worry. Lucia, AKA Adele from The L Word, has already proven that Good Trouble isn’t above typecasting…so, nope, keep Marquis Jet and his pretty eyes far, far away from my beloved Malika.

The next day, before work, Tracy and Malika track Xavier down at his favorite coffee cart. Malika handles the conversation with the skill of a seasoned political operative: first, she pretends as though she didn’t already know Xavier was the developer’s son, and then she pivots to pushing him to step up to do what the older generation could not. He agrees to talk to his father about it. Later — while she’s scrolling through Angelica’s instagram — he texts Malika with news that he was able to convince his dad to reconsider the housing deal: if she can get the City Council on board, they’re in.

As she gets the news, there’s a knock on her loft’s door and — surprise! — it’s Angelica…and she thinks they need to talk.

Good Trouble Coterie Sundries

+ Good Trouble isn’t above using misdirection in its trailers — the show’s brand of storytelling is conduscive to that, TBH — but I felt burned by last week’s trailer. Angelica’s invitation to talk was featured in the promo, suggesting that there’d be additional conversation in this week’s episode, but that ended up being the extent of her appearance. We’ll have to wait yet another week to see if their relationship can survive their lack of communication.

+ There is no episode of television that can’t be made better by an appearance by Hailie Sahar and this episode was no different. I can’t wait to see her wedding next week. Is it too much to hope for another Jennifer Lopez dance routine?

+ Even though Gael pushed for Isabella to leave their families out of their personal relationship, what do you think the chances are that he ignores the text from Isabella’s father? Slim or none?

+ Can someone just call Stef Adams Foster so we can put this True Detective storyline behind us, once and for all?

Next Week: (Fake) Break Ups 2 Make Ups?

“Good Trouble” Episode 412 Recap: Thirsty Thurs-yay

The first sign that this particular episode of Good Trouble isn’t going to go well for our ‘ship comes during an ominous cold opening. Lucia’s Chief of Staff, Will, is performing a magic show, with Angelica and Lucia serving as his assistants. Malika is the trick’s volunteer, locked inside Will’s magic box. He takes out a blade and saws Malika in half. Angelica and Lucia pull apart the halves and Will bows to applause from the unseen crowd. But then the magician and his assistants blood dripping from the box…all the while, Malika’s still locked in the box, smiling brightly, blissfully unaware of what’s happened.

Yeah, I should’ve known: this is not going to go well.

Much like in the real world, municipal politics in Good Trouble‘s version of Los Angeles is consumed by the homelessness crisis. Will announces that the issue is Lucia’s chief concern and that the office is soliciting feedback from constituents about their biggest concerns are, related to the unhoused. He urges the staff to come up with some fresh and innovative ideas to address the issue.

In a private conversation with Lucia, however, her campaign manager, Dana, dismisses the idea of a survey outright, especially when the answer to what voters want is so obvious. Dana insists that Lucia’s entire campaign hinges on how she addresses (or fails to address, as the case maybe) the burgeoning crisis. She notes that the campaign’s already experiencing blowback over the encapment that’s in the middle of Lucia’s district. To her credit, Lucia pushes back. She notes that every unhoused person in her district is also a constituent and that they deserve to have their needs addressed as well. Lucia points out that while voters might be opposed to encampments, those same voters are resistant to the idea of sweeps (which, frankly, I wish were true). Dana urges her client to tread carefully and come up with a creative solution to the problem.

Malika catches up with Lucia as she’s making her way out of the office and offers her boss a new way of looking at the women’s center proposal. The idealistic staffer notes that there’s a lot of overlap between the issues faced by the unhoused and women impacted by incarceration. Perhaps, Malika suggests, the women’s center could be expanded to include a residential component. Lucia loves the idea and predicts that the inclusion of a housing solution would make the City Council more likely to approve funding. She compliments Malika’s work and promises to make some calls about the idea. She urges Malika to attend the office’s upcoming happy hour event to lobby the other Council staffers that might be there.

Everything sounds great until Lucia adds this gem, completely unprompted: “And I hope you’ll bring Angelica. I don’t want there to be any awkwardness between us.”

At this point, alarm bells are blaring — Danger Will Robinson! Danger! — and it’s obvious to me, even if Malika should go to this “Thirsty Thurs-yay” event out of a work obligation, she absolutely should not bring Angelica. Somehow, though, neither Malika nor Angelica recognize the warning sign for what it is because they both show up to the happy hour.

Angelica’s clearly a little awkward about the whole thing but she’s trying to swallow her feelings so that she can support Malika. Soon after they arrive, Lucia approaches and though the exes exchange pleasantries, the tension is thick. Lucia pivots and shares the latest news: there’s growing support on the Council for the women’s center with its new housing component. Lucia’s already identified a potential location for the center, a city-owned lot on 3rd and Temple, right in the middle of her district. Malika’s understandably elated and Lucia encourages her to talk up the proposal to other staffers.

After Lucia steps away, Malika notes that it’s the most excited that she’s ever seen her boss be about the women’s center. Angelica, however, is skeptical: she pours them both a glass of wine and then pours cold water all over Malika’s dreams (rhetorically speaking). Angelica wonders aloud what the catch is but Malika defends Lucia, insisting that her boss is just interested in doing something about the unhoused crisis.

Later, as Malika joins Lucia to talk up her proposal to a staffer from Councilman Amin’s office, Angelica watches from afar. Her misgivings about the alliance between her ex and her new girlfriend are obvious. Malika returns to her side and introduces Angelica to her co-worker, Tracy, who, unbeknownst to Malika, warned Angelica that she might be too idealistic for the political world. As they make small talk, Angelica spots Lucia across the room kissing someone else.

Once Tracy leaves, Lucia re-approaches, this time with her new love interest in tow. She introduces Malika (her “new star staffer”) to Beth, a city attorney, and reintroduces Beth to Angelica. The tension that’s permeated the room somehow manages to go thicker and Angelica shoots daggers in Lucia’s direction. If Lucia’s intention was to make Angelica jealous and want to come back to her, she has clearly misstepped and so she heads off to introduce Beth to everyone else. After Lucia’s out of earshot, Angelica asks to leave.

“If you’ve mingled enough, I’d like to leave,” Angelica spits. The anger in her voice is obvious but Malika’s oblivious to the cause. She asks her girlfriend if everything’s okay but Angelica refuses to offer any insight — at least not there — and instead just insists that she wants to go.

The tension from the party sticks with the couple as they make their way back to the Coterie. Malika asks again about what’s upsetting Angelica and she finally explains that Beth had been an issue in her past relationship with Lucia. Beth had inserted herself in their relationship — always hanging around, openly flirting with Lucia — and anytime Angelica brought it up, she was accused of being irrational. Malika insists on giving her boss the benefit of the doubt and suggests that, maybe, nothing was going on while she and Lucia were together. Angelica insists that the issue is the way Lucia gaslit her and claims that, clearly, Lucia only urged Malika to bring her to the happy hour to make her jealous.

Malika: Are you [jealous]?
Angelica: No, I’m annoyed that Lucia is always playing games. Like she is with you and your women’s center, by the way.
Malika: Are you…playing games…with me and Gillian?
Angelica: Gillian? Is that what you think?

It’s at this point that the fight that Malika and Angelica are having spirals out of control…like a snowball rolling down the hill, adding to its mass by collecting all these other issues that have gone unaddressed between them this season. A fight that started out about Lucia, turns into one that’s also about Angelica’s feelings about Malika being poly and about Malika’s feelings about Angelica dating other people and about Malika’s frustration — still lingering from her break-up with Dyonte — about not being supported. It all becomes a part of this snowball that threatens to destroy their relationship.

“I don’t know what’s happening here,” Angelica admits.

“Neither do I,” Malika responds.

“Me either!” I yell at my television at home.

Relationships have communication issues, I get that. Sometimes it just feels easier to avoid the hard conversations for fear of what having them might actually bring. I get that, I have done that, it totally makes sense. But I’m less sold on this particular couple having these communication issues. Angelica, in particular, has always shown a vested interest in having open and honest communication…until now. What’s more? It feels like all the relationships are Good Trouble are being thwarted by the same communication issue. Davia won’t have the conversation she needs to have with Dennis and Mariana and Evan just keep avoiding a conversation about their personal life. It just feels repetitive and juvenile. I can maybe understand it with the straights but the gays? C’mon…lesbian processing is an infamous stereotype for a reason.

Flabbergasted, Angelica decides that she needs some space so opts to head back to her place for the night. She pauses, as if she’s waiting for Malika to ask her to stay so that they can talk things out, but, of course, she doesn’t. Instead, Malika encourages Angelica to do what whatever she feels like she needs to do and watches — almost willing herself not to cry — as Angelica walks out.

The next day, as she’s walking into work, she’s greeted by a group of protesters calling for an end to the homeless encampment sweeps (#ServicesNotSweeps). Among the protesters? Luca, who introduces Malika to his friend, Nikki. She’s just received notice that the encampment where she lives is about to be swept. The location of the encampment? The vacant lot on 3rd and Temple, the site of Malika’s women’s center.

There’s the catch. I knew we couldn’t trust Adele…I mean, Lucia.

Good Trouble Coterie Sundries

+ As someone who absolutely loathes political storylines because most shows get them very, very wrong (ahem, The Chi, Gen Q), I have to give kudos to Good Trouble who mostly gets it right? I can’t speak to Los Angeles’ particular political landscape but the minutaie of that kind of work environment feels very authentic.

+ The absolute highlight of this episode was the scene with Luca, Malika and Mariana in the Coterie bathroom. Three former foster kids who, somehow, all ended up here? It’s kinda magical. Their conversation revolves primarily around their outreach to their biological parents — which gave me some nice Fosters flashbacks — and both Malika and Mariana admitted that, in the long run, doing so was beneficial. I’d love to see more of these three talking about their experience as foster kids.

(Surely, though, if Luca ended up in the foster system, there’s a governmental record of him having existed somewhere, right?)

+ As Luca’s dropping his genetic testing kit in the mail with Davia, the guy that’s been hunting him, Ivan, spots him. Now he knows where Luca’s staying and I’m worried about everyone’s safety. Personally, though, I’m ready to fly to LA and protect Luca at all costs.

Next Week: Famous Last Words: “I think we need to talk”

“Good Trouble” Episode 411 Recap: The Year of Yes

The following recap contains spoilers for Good Trouble episode 411 “Baby, Just Say ‘Yes.”

In her book, Year of Yes, there’s a story that Shonda Rhimes tells about a Thanksgiving dinner she once hosted.

Rhimes and her eldest sister are in the kitchen, prepping the meal together…well, Rhimes’ sister is prepping…Rhimes is helping out where she can, wrangling her small children and trying to keep her sister entertained. She shares the littany of invitations she’s received lately — the events, conferences, parties and talk shows she’s been invited to — because, no matter who you are or how big you get, the younger sister always wants to impresses her older sister. At some point, Rhimes’ sister stops and asks if she’s actually going to go to any of these events. Shonda’s a little taken aback by the question but stammers out her answer: “of course not.”

The declined invitations were out of necessity or, at least, that’s what Rhimes told herself. She had shows to write, shows to produce, a staff of over 600 people to wrangle and, most importantly, three tiny humans who depended on her. She was a titan, she didn’t have time for all that other nonsense. After listening to Shonda’s meager defense, her sister dismisses it with six little words: “You never say yes to anything.” The words sit dormant in her head for weeks…until after she returns from a rare outing to the Kennedy Center Honors.

At the annual event — an event she was obliged to attend thanks to her nomination to the board by the POTUS — she gets shuffled into the president’s box. No one asks, she’s just seated behind the President and the First Lady. For the first time in a long time, Shonda Rhimes can’t say no. She goes and has the time of her life.

A few weeks later, Rhimes is lying in bed when she has a realization: if anyone had bothered to ask her if she wanted to sit in the presidential box at the Kennedy Center Honors, she would have said no. She would let her fear and anxiety win out and have missed out on one of the most memorable nights of her life. Her sister was right, she never says yes to anything. So she decides, in that moment, to start saying yes…to spend a year saying yes to anything and everything that scared her.

“For one year, I would say yes to all the things that scared me. Anything that made me nervous, took me out of my comfort zone, I forced myself to say yes to. Did I want to speak in public? No, but yes. Did I want to be on live TV? No, but yes. Did I want to try acting? No, no, no, but yes, yes, yes,” Rhimes explained in a subsequent TED talk. “And a crazy thing happened: the very act of doing the thing that scared me undid the fear, made it not scary.”

I mention all of that because, ostensibly, that is what’s happening on Good Trouble: Sumi’s asking Alice to embrace her “Year of Yes.”

Alice has been through a traumatic experience — an experience that encroached upon the one place where Alice had always been her fullest self, the comedy stage — and to get back out there, to really regain her confidence, she has to undo that fear. That means saying yes to the comedy show at the pet adoption event. It means saying yes to the comedy show at the retirement home in the Valley. Saying yes, Sumi explains, is the key to success. But, of course, Alice doesn’t agree to this idea easily, so Sumi starts by agreeing to a modified version of the “year of yes:” whatever Alice suggests, she’ll do, no questions asked.

It starts innocently enough, with Alice ordering Sumi to hug the always irascible Kelly and to confess the craziest thing she’s ever done. Personally, I refuse to believe that the craziest thing that Sumi’s ever done is to get root beer in her Chipotle water cup but Sumi’s relieved to get that secret off her chest. Alice accepts her answer but you can almost see the wheels in her head turning: what ridiculous thing can she get Sumi to do next?

The answer, apparently, is chugging ketchup. Is this really a challenge the kids are doing these days? Downing entire bottles of ketchup?! My stomach hurts just thinking about it. With Alice recording her for the Instagram/Tiktok clicks and almost everyone in the Coterie cheering her on, Sumi deposits a 38 oz bottle of ketchup into a mug and then proceeds to chug it all down. The crowd vacillates between cheering and looking on in abject horror. Just as she crosses the finish line, it looks like she might vomit but, miraculously, she steels herself and is able to keep the ketchup down. Sumi raises her hands in victory as everyone cheers her success.

But Alice’s challenges just keep coming: first, the apple/fork challenge. After several errant attempts, including one where Alice almost ends up with a fork in her chest, Sumi is ready to give up. Alice reminds her of the stakes — giving up means agreeing that not everything’s worth saying yes to — and Sumi recommits to the challenge. And, of course, that’s when Sumi succeeds. She shrieks with excitement, thrilled by the prospect of trying something new and hard and succeeding.

With that challenge conquered, Alice takes Sumi out on the streets of LA and tasks her with denotating ten kindness bombs. Admittedly, I didn’t know much about those first two trends, but aggressive compliments to total strangers? I love this challenge and so does Sumi. She embraces the opportunity to share her light with others and everyone receives her compliments happily. Alice keeps trying to find a challenge that Sumi won’t do — including a ghost pepper challenge that I desperately wish had made its way on-screen (blame it on watching too many episodes of Hot Ones) — but to no avail.

“It’s been so amazing,” Sumi admits. “Like, doing things outside my comfort zone has made me feel alive.”

Alice finally sees the value in Sumi’s approach so she acquiesces. The first stop? A mortician conference to help lighten up the death industry. Am I a little sad that Alice didn’t use this opportunity to find out more about Sumi’s feelings and what sparked their initial break-up? Yes but also, I recognize that the biggest impediment between Alice and Sumi’s romantic reunion has always been the lack of trust….and this is how you build it back up.

Despite having said yes to the invitation to move into the Coterie, Luca’s still uncertain of his place there. The lessons of being unhoused are difficult to unlearn so when he leaves the Coterie every morning, he carries everything he owns with him. He appreciates the temporary roof over his head but he’s fully expecting that one day, the folks at the Coterie will run out of patience…they’ll discover that they took on more than they want to deal with and show him the exit. But, of course, that’s not the case…and back at the Coterie, everyone’s trying to figure out a way to make him feel more at home.

“Luca’s lost his things to street sweeps before, it’s probably just instinct to him at this point,” Joaquin notes, explaining why Luca walks around with all of his belongings. Luca comes in, as the group’s preparing dinner, and rather than hanging out with the group, he retreats into his space by himself. Mariana laments that Luca doesn’t yet feel at home here, and so Alice sets out to make the situation right, after all she has a bit of experience in the matter.

The next day, Alice invites Luca — who is trying to make himself indispensable by fixing things around the Coterie — to talk to the group. The worry that flashes on Luca’s face is unmistakeable…he thinks this is it, he’s going to be asked to leave. Instead, Alice leads him to his makeshift loft where everyone’s waiting. They wanted Luca to know he was truly welcome here so they’ve added a bed, a nightstand, a lamp and a dresser to his space…and some curtains for privacy. Alice hands him the keys to the building and the mailbox and that cements him as a resident at the Coterie. Luca admits he’s never had a set of keys before and he holds them with such pride (this is the part where I start to tear up, FYI). Davia rushes over and wraps him in a hug and then everyone else joins in, welcoming Luca home.

The next morning, Luca gets up and goes through his routine of getting ready when he realizes that his routine can change now. He doesn’t have to carry everything with him all the time anymore. He unpacks his clothes and stores him in his new dresser before grabbing his keys — HIS KEYS! — and heading out.

Good Trouble Coterie Sundries

+ I really have no idea what to make of this entire situation with Isabella. Surely, she had to know that going to Yuri as she did was going to have some blowback? And there’s something about her therapy sessions that feel less candid? Anyone have an theories about what the endgame is here?

+ Does sleeping with Mariana make Joaquin more interesting to me? Yes. Does that make me care about this storyline with his sister? Sadly, no. Someone just call Stef Adams Foster so we can wrap this whole thing up!

+ Doesn’t Elliot’s dad look like Davia’s past love interests — Jeff and Dennis — combined? The girl definitely has a type.

Next Week: “Are you playing games?”

“Good Trouble” Episode 410 Recap: What I Wouldn’t Give for Love

Welcome back to the the Coterie and Good Trouble’s Season 4B premiere! This is Autostraddle’s Good Trouble 410 Recap, and moving forward you can find Natalie recapping Good Trouble every week, on Fridays, right here on Autostraddle[dot]com!

For a while, in Good Trouble‘s midseason premiere, you’re reminded of what this show does best.

On her way to work, Malika spots Luca, Davia’s burlesque dance partner, sitting on a street corner. He’s been back on the streets since Kelly chased him out of the Coterie, digging in dumpsters and tucking himself beneath the building overhang to escape the elements. He watches his back for Ivan, the menacing stranger that constantly harasses him, and works to save enough money to get a bus ticket to anywhere else. Malika stops to buy him a coffee, recalling when Alice did the same for her.

Malika’s in a good spot now. She’s got her degree, a great job, a supportive family — both chosen and biological — and a stable relationship (more on that in a minute). She’s good…but it wasn’t always that way. She’s just a few years removed from being where Luca is: unhoused on the streets of Los Angeles. She recalls living in her car and, serendipitously, parking near the Coterie. She began chatting with Alice and they got to know each other. Eventually Alice started bringing her coffee and, eventually, she let Malika use the Coterie showers. Ultimately, though, Alice would subdivide her loft and offer Malika the one thing she needed the most: a home.

The show flashes back to that moment: of Malika, carrying everything she owns on her shoulders, walking into her loft for the first time. She moves gingerly, as if she doesn’t fully believe what’s happening, and listens as Alice explains how the new loft came to be. Malika surveys the room and looks back at Alice in total disbelief. Finally, the tears flow and Malika wraps Alice in a tight hug, whispering her thanks. Without that moment, Malika wouldn’t be the person she is today. Having a safe place to come home to meant that Malika could stop focusing on how to survive and redirect her energies towards learning how to thrive.

“Yeah, that’s not the story for most people out here,” Luca admits.

Malika knows how improbable her story is but pushes Luca to imagine it as his own. All he has to do now is to accept the help that’s being offered to him. Malika understands, that it’s not an easy choice — he’s likely been failed by the same systems that failed her — but she encourages him to say yes to being helped. It’s a conversation that only Malika and Luca could’ve had and, no matter how well-intentioned Davia’s been, Malika is likely the only one who could’ve persuaded Luca to become a part of their intentional community. The next morning, Luca interrupts breakfast and accepts the invitation to stay. The entire Coterie family is there to welcome him.

The scenes are some of the most affecting of Good Trouble‘s run. It is the show at its best: organic, character-driven storytelling, buttressed by strong performances from its talented cast. It’s the type of storytelling I’d hoped to see more of in the second half of the fourth season and to the show’s credit, it does seem to be focused on doing that. How successful the show’s attempts are, though? Still TBD.

Joaquin’s burgeoning situationship with Mariana helps ground his character even as his search for his sister — who, I guess, is being trafficked or in a cult — remains tonally out of sync with the rest of the show. Isabella’s in therapy which will hopefully offer more insight into what drives that character and make her feel less erratic and/or less like a plot device. Davia’s foray into burlesque is over and now she’s returned to teaching, becoming a private home school teacher. Does it still feel like a far cry from the diversity, equity and inclusion work that underpinned her Teach for America stint? Yes, but I’m hopeful that her interactions with Elliot will help Davia grow in new ways. Hope springs eternal, right?

After grappling with the traumatic anti-Asian attack against her, Alice is finally ready to resume her comedy career. She meets with a prospective agent — one recommended by Margaret Cho — who envisions a bright future for the young comic: time on the biggest stand-up stages, commercials, a comedic role in a movie and, eventually Alice’s own stand-up special. But when the agent isn’t as responsive to Alice as she’d prefer, Sumi steps up and volunteers.

“Look, Kwan, all you really need is someone who believes in you enough to take calls and not take no for an answer and that someone is me!” Sumi entreats. “Come on, what do you have to lose?” Famous last words, right? Because the first gig Sumi secures for Alice is at a local pet adoption event where they pay her in cat…which Alice is allergic too. The second gig Sumi gets goes over equally well with Alice: a show at a retirement community in the valley.

It’s a much lighter touch to Alice’s story than what preceded it and it’s a welcome shift. Hopefully, over the remainder of the season, we’ll see Alice’s career start to take off again and her relationship with Sumi continue to blossom.

Malika, however, might not be so lucky. I’d hoped after breaking up with her unsupportive boyfriend, Malika would be able refocus her energy on her relationship with Angelica — perhaps taking that trip to Yellowstone that they’d talked about — but, apparently, the break-up just stokes Angelica’s anxiety about being in a relationship with someone who’s polyamorous. After spending the night at the Coterie, Angelica questions whether Malika’s open to another relationship. Malika admits that she might be open to it but when she tries to find out what Angelica’s thinking, she changes the subject and encourages Malika to get ready for work.

The next time that couple connects for a date on the Coterie rooftop, things are going well until Malika invites Angelica out for dinner on Saturday and Angelica has to decline the invitation: she has a date…with someone else?! Angelica insists that because Malika’s poly, she can’t really be bothered by the thought of Angelica dating someone else, but Malika pushes back. She notes that if Angelica intends on staying monogamous, this date could potentially lead to the end to their relationship. Angelica acknowledges that that’s a possibility but downplays its likelihood. The revelation injects so much tension into their date that the storm that interrupts it feels like a welcome reprieve.

The whole thing is, admittedly, jarring. Has Angelica always been tepid about Malika’s polyamory? Yes…so much so, in fact, that I doubted their relationship would last. But everytime Malika’s been anxious about Angelica’s feelings about her being poly, Angelica’s always responded the same way: with a promise to communicate. This isn’t communicating. This is Angelica telling Malika about a decision that she’s already made based on fears that she hasn’t bothered to tell Malika about.

Another thing that’s jarring? Malika admits her frustrations about Angelica to Davia, instead of taking her dyke drama to Alice. This episode really showcased the depth of their friendship and highlighted the importance of talking to someone who shares your experiences, so Good Trouble not having Alice and Malika talk about her relationship with Angelica feels like a real missed opportunity. Thankfully, though, Davia gives Malika some good advice — some “do as I say, not as I do” advice — and encourages her to not to sit back and let Angelica get away.

“If you want to be with her, you gotta go fight for her,” Davia advises.

Malika takes her advice and heads to Duoro to tell Angelica how she feels…only to walk in just as Angelica’s kissing another woman across the bar (it’s hard not to parallel this to when Lucia walked in and caught Angelica and Malika doing the same thing). It’s another jarring moment for me because, whatever her misgivings about Malika’s polyamory, Angelica’s feelings for her were always genuine…and kissing someone new when your heart belongs to someone else feels wrong. Angelica spots Malika and waves her over to the bar where she introduces Malika to Gillian. Angelica rushes off to make Malika a drink and Malika and Gillian just sit there…pretending as if they’re comfortable and as if this storyline makes any sense whatsoever.

Good Trouble Coterie Sundries

+ Sufficed to say, I have not been a fan of the story involving Joaquin and his long-lost sister, I was struck this week by the easy solution to this whole problem: Mariana putting one call into her mama. Honestly, one call to Stef Adams Foster and this whole mess could be solved in no time.

+ Speaking of Mariana, Bulk Beauty has finally launched and while I’m always cheering for Mariana’s success, I’m still not entirely sold on her reunion with the Byte Club girls. I feel like there have been so many issues between them that have gone unaddressed and I just keep waiting for that shoe to drop. Also? I guess I’m supposed to be disappointed by Evan’s decision to keep his relationship with Mariana platonic but I think it’s a positive development. Neither of them need that mess.

+ Queer fans are conditioned, I think, to appreciate a good slow burn love story…in part because gay storytelling used to fall into just two categories: “blink and you missed it” or “epic slow burn.” Back then, shows were so nervous about telling queer stories that they either wanted them over before anyone could notice (while also accepting plaudits for their “brave storytelling”) or they strung the stories out for so long in an effort to make them more palatable to a straight audience. So we are really built for this. That said, this Davia and Dennis thing?

This is too much. Continuing to build up the characters’ confidence only to have it regress in the face of these artificial roadblocks? Showing them so in tune with each other one moment then completely out of sync the next? The show’s prolonged this dance between Davia and Dennis for too long and now it’s just getting annoying. As we like to say in the South, “shit or get off the pot.”

Next Week: “Coterie relationships can get kinda messy, ya know?”

“Good Trouble” Episode 409 Recap: That Was Just A Dream

When Good Trouble was first conceived, it was built around two characters — Callie and Mariana Adams Foster — that the audience had gotten to know over five seasons of The Fosters. While we’d get to know and love new characters after moving into the Coterie (figuratively speaking), the heart of the show remained these two sisters, these young women who we’d watched grow up on our screens. So Maia Mitchell’s departure from Good Trouble at the start of season four is no small thing…it is a fundamental shift in what this show has always been. Moving on from Callie Adams Foster was never going to be easy.

But even in those moments, there’s opportunity. An opportunity to reset and/or reaffirm the show’s voice or to reimagine it entirely. It’s an opportunity to expand the show’s depth…to dig deeper into the characters we know and make them feel more authentic. It’s an opportunity to introduce new characters and inject new energy into a space. In short, it’s an opportunity for a big swing.

This season, Good Trouble took a big swing…multiple big swings, actually. It moved Davia and Malika out of the spaces in which we’d come to know them — teaching and activism, respectively — and challenged their characters with new environments. The show added new depth to existing characters like Isabella, Alice and Sumi…giving its audience a chance to see them in a new light. And with the addition of Joaquin and Luca to the cast, the show injected itself with new energy and sought to reset the show’s voice…to reimagine what it could be.

The problem with big swings, though? Sometimes big swings lead to big misses and, at least for me, much of Good Trouble post-Callie fourth season has been a big miss. Joaquin and his search for his sister was a miss…the storyline never fit in, tonally, with the rest of the show. Davia’s foray into burlesque had interesting moments — especially because of her friendship with Luca — but, ultimately, felt like a miss because the show waited too long to connect it with her story from the last three seasons. And the show’s last minute pivot with Luca? For what and for why? And while I looked forward to some character development for Isabella — especially now that Gael’s baby ensured that she’d be part of the Coterie fam — but Good Trouble seemed all too willing to discard it to advance whatever story they wanted to tell.

As I watched last night’s episode, I kept thinking back to last season’s midseason finale. After it aired I wrote, “Not a second of the midseason finale feels wasted or unnecessary…and while a lot happens (A LOT) it never feels like too much. The show’s writers also found a tonal balance this season: remaining committed to addressing the serious issues that have been Good Trouble‘s hallmark while not allowing it to eclipse the heart of the show.” In contrast, so much of last night’s midseason finale felt like a waste. Don’t get me wrong, I love Emma Hunton, she looked absolutely amazing and her burlesque performances were flawless but did the midseason finale really need three of them? It was just too much and took time away from other stories that could’ve used it. And tonal balance? That ship sailed on this season from the moment we met Joaquin.

But while much of this episode and much of this season have felt like a miss, Alice and Malika’s storylines have been standouts. They are proof that the big swings are worth taking. They’re proof that Good Trouble can still connect with their storytelling…and it’s enough to give me hope for the rest of the show’s fourth season.

As Malika makes her way into the office, she accepts a call from Dyonte who, apparently, she hasn’t been seeing as frequently lately. He suggests that they get together later but Malika already has plans with Angelica and suggests doing something tomorrow instead. He invites her to a protest he’s leading to secure a greenspace in Chesterfield Square. She accepts the invite and disconnects just in time to see Councilwoman Hernandez emerging from Lucia’s office. Will informs Malika that Hernandez has come to ask for the favor she’s due for co-sponsoring Malika’s proposal for the women’s center. He chides Malika for putting Lucia in a very difficult position.

Later that night with Angelica, Malika admits that she’s worried that she might get fired. She’s already pissed Lucia off by seeking out sponsors for her proposal and, if Lucia knows, Malika’s relationship with Angelica might only enflame tensions. Angelica questions whether Malika truly wants this job, given Lucia’s efforts to undermine her, but Malika acknowledges that the fastest way to get services to the women she wants to help is with public funds. Plus, Malika doesn’t want to quit because it’ll prove that Dyonte was right that she shouldn’t leave activism for politics. It’s an unexpected jab at her other partner — one Angelica compounds by snarking, “maybe Dyonte shouldn’t be judging your choices,” — and I wish more time would’ve been given to explore what’s at the root of that tension.

Instead, Angelica encourages Malika to apologize to Lucia and while, initially, Malika’s convinced it’ll take more than that to get back in Lucia’s good grace, she ultimately agrees it’s a good place to start. The next day, Malika steps into Lucia’s office and apologizes for not coming to the Councilwoman first before seeking additional co-sponsors for her legislation. She admits that she’s still learning about politics and promises to ask permission before making any huge moves on her own. She also confesses the truth about her relationship with Angelica.

“You asked if Angelica was seeing anyone and I didn’t know how to respond, on the spot,” Malika shares. “But we are seeing each other. We are in a relationship. I just wanted to be totally upfront with you. ”

Lucia forces a smile to her face and thanks Malika for her candor but when Will replaces Malika in her office, the Councilwoman’s true feelings are revealed. She waves Will off his effort to find cause to fire Malika. Lucia shares that Malika just told her she was dating her ex and laments that a firing could look like retaliation. Will wonders if Malika only told Lucia to save her job — “of course she did,” Lucia spits — and Will can’t help but be impressed with Malika’s political gamesmanship.

As she sits back down at her desk, Malika receives a reminder from Dyonte about the protest. Malika realizes that the protest is in Councilwoman Hernandez’s district and that being there might imperil her women’s center proposal so she tells Dyonte that she can’t make it. Later, she tries to explain the situation to Dyonte but he criticizes her for prioritizing the optics over the protest and over him. He accuses her of trading her integrity to get the women’s center built. It’s a quick escalation of the fight — though completely consistent with Dyonte’s character — and Malika is, rightfully, indignant

“I’ve done nothing but support you and your rest campaign,” Malika reminds him. “Meanwhile, you’ve just questioned all my choices since I took this job. And now you’re questioning my integrity?”

Dyonte, again, laments that Malika ever got involved in politics and wishes that she’d gotten the job at Dignity & Power Now (DPN) so she wouldn’t have to choose sides. At this point, Malika’s so upset by Dyonte’s attacks that she spills the secret that she’s been keeping from him all season long: she did get the DPN job and she didn’t tell him to spare his feelings. Dyonte chastises her for treating him like a child with a fragile ego — to which I yell at my TV, “if the shoe fits! — and suddenly, he starts to question whether their relationship will work.

Taken aback, Malika lashes out at Dyonte, reading him for absolute filth for leaning so heavily on the women in his life. She admits that she feels unsupported by him, “especially when [his] solution for all this is to break up.” Dyonte snidely acknowledges Malika’s point and says he needs to be alone to figure things out. And just like that, the guy who help Malika realize that she’s poly, walks out of her life.

Meanwhile, Sumi comes home to Alice foraging in the cabinets for food and she asks Alice when she last left the Coterie. Alice can’t recall and Sumi wonders if she’s scared to leave. Sumi asks if she’s still planning to attend Davia’s show but Alice pretends like she’s coming down with something. When Sumi texts to check on her later, Alice lies and says she has a fever and chills. Soon thereafter, she’s tagged in a video from her final performance on Margaret Cho’s tour…and, of course, the video is of her interaction with the heckler/assaulter. The comments on the post are effusive — everyone’s raving about how Alice handled the heckler — but Alice can’t feel their positivity, all she can recall is the fear she felt that night. The memory immediately brings tears to her eyes and she jumps up…and desperately searches the Coterie for someone else to keep her safe.

(Have I mentioned recently that Sherry Cola has some range? Because she absolutely does. Watching her react to that video was heartbreaking.)

She decides to go to Davia’s burlesque show after all — anything to just be around other people, anything to just feel safe — and she’s awed by Davia’s bravery. Davia admits that she’d thought about quitting burlesque but realized that her fear was most crippling when she didn’t face it. She leaves to get a drink and Sumi asks Alice what made her change her mind about coming to the show. Alice explains that someone posted the video of the guy heckling her on stage and that everyone was commenting about how brave she was.

“But I don’t feel brave at all,” Alice admits. “I…I’m scared to even leave the house. Or to be alone. Which is why I came.”

She realizes that she should’ve said something about what happened to her and Sumi reminds her that it’s not too late. Alice decides to follow Davia’s example and face her fear head on: she heads to a nearby open mic and shares the truth of what happened to her from the stage. She shouldn’t carry the shame of what happened that night, the guy that assaulted her that night should. With Sumi videoing her proudly from the front row, it’s clear that Alice’s healing has truly begun.

Good Trouble Coterie Sundries

+ Again, I loved Davia coming into her own — owning her identity and her sexuality — through burlesque. And the performances were phenomenal (and so, so hot). But did I really need three of them? No I did not.

+ Now that Evan’s doing everything the Fight Club girls want — buying Revitalize Beauty and Bulk Beauty so he can merge the companies and then handing the reigns back to the girls — they’re totally fine with Mariana dating Evan? Why is Mariana’s personal life any of their business? It really is hard for me to cheer for them and, by extension, Mariana’s professional success, when I find them so insufferable.

+ Evan walks into the Coterie at an inopportune moment and catches Joaquin kissing Mariana. Though they’ve had an ongoing flirtation this season, the kiss feels like more of a product of Joaquin’s gratitude and Mariana brushing it off feels like a recognition of Joaquin’s vulnerability. But Evan doesn’t know that…and after witnessing the kiss, he stops replying to Mariana’s texts. Is he about welch on his promise to buy Revitalize and Bulk Beauty because he misinterpreted a moment and got his feelings hurt?

+ When Isabella got the invitation from her parents was there anyone, besides Isabella apparently, who didn’t expect the meeting to go badly?

Good Trouble returns for the second half of its fourth season on July 7.

“Good Trouble” Episode 408 Recap: Out of Darkness Comes Light

This week’s episode of Good Trouble starts ominously: someone, cloaked in darkness, digging a shallow grave and then dragging a lifeless body, wrapped in plastic sheeting and duct tape, to its final resting place. It’s not real, it’s just a dream — a nightmare, really — that jolts Joaquin from his slumber…but it is a harbinger of the kind of episode upon which we’re about to embark.

Simply put: it’s dark. “I Don’t Belong Here” is perhaps the darkest episode of Good Trouble to date and it is almost relentless in its darkness. The story behind Joaquin’s missing sister? Dark. The real reason Alice quits Margaret Cho’s comedy tour? Dark. Gael and Isabella’s storyline? Dark. Even Davia and Luca’s friendship — which, I suppose, is meant to inject some light into the episode — is shrouded by concerns about Davia’s eating disorder and Luca’s homelessness. So again, dark. It’s a lot.

That said, in the darkness, the talent of this cast is truly able to shine brightly. Everyone rises to the occasion to tell these harrowing stories but Sherry Cola and Kara Wang are standouts. Alice’s storyline really affords Cola the opportunity to showcase that she’s capable of more than just doing comedy. As I noted last week, the girl’s got some range. The storyline allows the audience to see a deeper, more empathetic side to Sumi — again, Kara Wang hits all the notes perfectly — and you truly get a sense of why Alice once loved her (as I’ve noted before, it hasn’t always been clear). I might even ship it now?

Maybe…but I’m getting ahead of myself, let’s recap what happened.

Alice invites Sumi to join her and her parents for lunch. For a moment, I think about how noteworthy this is: in the first season of Good Trouble, Alice’s lunches with her parents were always shrouded in secrets. Alice was keeping her sexuality a secret and lying about the nature of her relationship with Sumi. And while you want to celebrate that Alice is finally coming to the table as her full, authentic self, a different set of secrets remain. Alice’s parents don’t know that she quit her comedy tour and Sumi doesn’t know what happened to Alice while she was on the road. As Alice approaches their lunch table, she reconsiders the outing.

She doesn’t know what the bigger mistake was: agreeing to have lunch with her parents or inviting Sumi along. Sumi’s taken aback — she’s there to support Alice when she tells her parents she’s giving up on stand-up — but volunteers to leave if it’ll make Alice more comfortable. Unfortunately, Alice’s dad has spotted them both and starts gesticulating wildly to ensure that Alice and Sumi can see them. Alice pretends not to see, buying herself time to explain to Sumi why she now doesn’t want to tell her family about quitting the tour, but her father’s waves just become more persistent. Sumi agrees not to spill the details to Alice’s parents…who have now gotten up from their seats and start to approach.

If I’d known the way the rest of the episode is going to go, upon first watch, I would’ve appreciated that opening salvo with Alice’s parents more…it’s hilarious and one of few bright spots in this episode. Thankfully, it’s still funny on re-watch. Alice’s parents ignore their daughter and greet Sumi warmly. Again, hilarious and proof that sometimes, no matter how much things change, some things still stay the same.

Once they’re settled, Alice’s father asks how the tour is going and her mother shares her excitement at the prospect of seeing the show when it comes to Los Angeles. Sumi runs interference for Alice, explaining that the comedienne won’t be a part of that stop on the tour. Alice jumps in and explains that Margaret booked other comics for that leg of the tour and her father wonders, aloud, if it’s because of what happened. Alice assures him that it doesn’t and quickly tries to pivot the conversation to something else…to anything else…but Sumi won’t allow it. She’s suspected that something happened while Alice was out on tour and this is as close as she’s gotten to hearing the truth.

“What do you mean? What happened?” Sumi asks. Alice assures her that nothing happened but her demeanor shifts, noticeably. She glares at her parents, wordlessly urging them not to tell Sumi what happened. Sumi doesn’t give up, though, and presses for answers and, though, Alice tells her it’s not a big deal, she gets increasingly jittery as she recalls the events that led up to her departure.

Alice Kwan takes the stage. 👏
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Stream #GoodTrouble on @hulu. pic.twitter.com/eDNnBH4cU8

— Good Trouble (@GoodTrouble) April 28, 2022

The show flashes back to one of Alice’s tour stops. She’s onstage and she’s absolutely killing it. She tells a hilarious joke about her high school bully’s friend request and the entire audience is alive with riotous laughter. Except this one guy…this one guy who insists on heckling Alice from his seat in the crowd. Alice is deft in her response, tossing back quickly conceived jokes, and roasting the heckler from the stage. The crowd loves it but this one guy absolutely does not. He waits for Alice outside, after the show, and confronts her when she comes out alone. Alice tenses immediately when she sees him and she surveys the space around her for help and/or a quick exit. Finding neither, she’s left alone to face his wrath. The heckler invades Alice’s space and tells her that she’s not funny. He shouts a racial slur at her and then assaults her, tossing his drink on her. Even after the heckler scurries away, Alice just stands there, shocked and saddened by what’s just happened…and, again, looking around for help that never comes.

As this show is wont to do, Good Trouble finds itself in another case of art imitating life, as Alice is attacked for her onstage performance, just weeks after the world saw the same thing happen to Chris Rock. And while that’s a valid conversation to have, I don’t want it to distract from the racialized attack that Alice suffers…and the increased amount of anti-Asian violence that we’ve witnessed across the world. According to the latest national report from Stop AAPI Hate, Asian women, in particular, are bearing the brunt of the rise of anti-AAPI hate, reporting 61.8% of hate incidences. Verbal harassment and physical assault, such as what Alice experiences in this episode, represent the most reported forms of discrimination. Politicians have answered the rise in anti-AAPI hate with their reflexive solution to everything — more police — but it hasn’t help. Communities are still looking around for help that never comes.

Back in present day, Sumi apologizes to a tearful Alice for her experience and asks if she told anyone…the police or Margaret Cho. Alice’s father interjects and admits that they advised Alice not to tell anyone. He suggests that as long as Alice wasn’t physically harmed, there’s no reason to make waves. Sumi is indignant, pointing out that Alice actually was assaulted, but Alice’s mother reflects on the way this country view Chinese-Americans as Chinese first and how, whatever their citizenship status, they’ll always be viewed as guests here. As Alice’s mom speaks, Sumi reaches out and touches Alice’s face, dabbing away the tears. It’s such a small and tender moment — one that I wonder if it was improvised or scripted — that shifted me out of the shock and anger of what happened to Alice and to the heartbreak of it all.

“We’ve survived this long by keeping our heads down and not attracting attention,” Alice’s father explains. “Going public could make things worse, make this man more angry. This time it was a soda but next time he could have a gun.”

Her mother adds, “we love Alice. We want to keep her safe.”

Alice brushes away her tears and assures everyone that she’s fine but Sumi clearly doesn’t believe her. Later, she confronts Alice in the vestibule and lets her know that she knows that she’s not fine…no one under those circumstances would be. Sumi acknowledges that what happened to Alice was terrifying and humiliating and, though she disagrees, she understands the advice Alice’s parents gave. Sumi shares the story of discrimination she experienced while part of the cheer team in high school and how she accepted it because she wanted to be liked. But one day, Sumi recalls, it all became too much and she reported the behavior to her coach. The students were reprimanded and, to punish her for speaking out, they isolated her.

“What happened to me wasn’t as scary or violent but I understand that there’s a price for speaking out,” Sumi acknowledges. “And even though I wanted to, I didn’t quit cheer because I really loved it. All I’m saying is giving up something you love is too high a price to pay for the ignorance of others.”

Alice thanks Sumi for sharing her story and, after ensuring that Alice has enough blankets, Sumi retreats back to her loft. Soon thereafter, though, Alice enters Sumi’s loft and climbs into bed next to her. Sumi immediately extends her arms around Alice, letting her know she’s loved, and then gently rubs her back as Alice cries herself to sleep.

Good Trouble Coterie Sundries

+ It was heartbreaking to watch Isabella and Gael have to face the possibility that their child might be born with a genetic disorder. Priscilla Quintana really captured an expectant mother’s sadness while Tommy Martinez withheld Gael’s emotions to really be there for her. Really strong performances. Do I wish that this trauma wasn’t such a transparent attempt to have Gael and Isabella end up in a romantic relationship, though? Absolutely.

+ I’d been struggling to connect with Davia’s burlesque story — though I do like the friendship she’s built with Luca — but I thought that this week’s episode did something that was crucial: it connected Davia’s history (her eating disorder, her work as a body positive influencer) with her current storyline. Now it makes more sense as a character arc.

+ I’m trying, y’all, but I really cannot muster up the enthusiasm for this Joaquin storyline. I keep hoping that Joaquin’s burgeoning relationship with Mariana might help me embrace this character more but I’m just not there yet.

Next Week: The Spring Finale

“Good Trouble” Episode 407 Recap: Control (or Something Like It)

“Control what you can control,” my dad would repeat to me whenever I found myself exasperated with frustration. He’d remind me that there was so much in the world that’s outside of our ability or capacity to control — a non-contributing group member, a self-important boss or the random racist or homophobic encounter — so he encouraged me to invest my energy into the things I could. That advice came rushing back to me this week as I watched Good Trouble.

Whatever happened to Alice while she was on tour with Margaret Cho — this episode doesn’t tell us — feels like it was outside Alice’s ability to control…it’s why she gave up this awesome opportunity and why she’s pondering walking away from stand-up altogether. So now she’s pivoting to controlling the thing that she can control…and, as preposterous as it sounds, that thing is ants.

Ants have infested the Coterie and Alice is determined to get rid of them and find their origin. Given that we’ve heard about mice and seen raccoons loose in the Coterie, ants feel like the least of that building’s worries…but, again, this isn’t really about the ants. Alice is just controlling what she can control.

Alice is done being Ms. Nice Gal. She insists that she’ll start enforcing the Coterie’s rules on overnight guests and will reinstate the chore chart, community service obligations, late rent fees and time limits for showers. She chastises the residents for eating in their lofts and leaving dirty dishes around that, no doubt, hastened this ant invasion. Half the Coterie residents scoff at the notion of Alice enforcing the rules, the other half seem taken aback by Alice’s assertiveness. Malika asks Sumi about what’s going on with Alice but she doesn’t have the answers either.

After Dennis’ party, Sumi confronted Alice with the knowledge that she’d quit Margaret’s tour, rather than the tour having ended, as she was telling everyone at the Coterie. Alice explained that she’d just decided that stand-up comedy wasn’t for her and lied to avoid people questioning her decision. The revelation shocked Sumi, who insisted that Alice loved stand-up, but Alice was undeterred: being on tour had shown her what stand-up was really like and she didn’t like it. Sumi knows Alice well enough to know something else is going on but Alice leaves the room, shutting down the entire conversation.

Alice’s ant obsession continues: she tracks ants to Davia’s peanut butter covered spoon, to Dennis’ Toast Truck leftovers and to Malika’s open toothpaste and sends her complaints to them via text. When Malika returns home from work, she finds the Coterie manager on the floor, with an injector filled with lemon water, whispering her plan to take down the ant colony’s queen. It’s more than a little unsettling. Malika approaches and admits that Sumi told her about Alice quitting the tour and potentially quitting stand-up. Alice tries to assure Malika that she’s fine — though she says it in that way that lets you know she’s definitely not fine — and chalks everything up to her dreams just changing. She tries to pre-empt any additional questions by asserting that she doesn’t want to be interrogated about it but Malika won’t let the conversation go that easily.

“You know, sometimes we can hit a speed bump or a wall, even, but that doesn’t mean we have to quit. Remember when we saved that bird? Sometimes the closed windows of life can knock us down but we can always get back up again and give things another chance…whether that’s a new thing or the old thing,” Malika advises. For now, though, Malika just helps Alice control the one thing she can by gifting her some ant traps. Admittedly, this isn’t the conversation I’d hoped they’d have when Zuri Adele and Sherry Cola were reunited on-screen but I love Malika and Alice’s friendship. It feels real and I’ve missed it so much on Good Trouble.

This episode doesn’t tell us what happened to Alice but, boy, does it spend an entire hour making me worry about what it is. She flashes back to being called on-stage for her set and rushing away. She flashes back to calling her parents and them telling her not to tell anyone. What happened to Alice? Did that guy do something? Was she Chris Rock-ed? I don’t know but I’m over here imagining the worst.

Later, Alice collapses on the couch in the vestibule — where she’s been sleeping instead of sharing the loft with Sumi — in tears. She wipes them away and tries to collect herself but then notices a trail of ants on the column next to her. She follows them back to their origin and realizes the fault was hers…a leftover cereal bar in her tour bag is the culprit…and it sends Alice spiraling. Thankfully, Sumi comes out at the exact right moment to comfort her.

“It was me! It was my fault. It was all my fault,” Alice cries as she breaks down in Sumi’s arms. And now I’m really, really worried about whatever happened while Alice was on tour.

Last we checked in with Malika, her boss, Councilwoman Lucia Morales (AKA Angelica’s ex AKA Adele from The L Word), made her a false promise. She assured Malika that her women’s center proposal was worthy of consideration by the full council — despite a private assurance to her Chief of Staff that it wasn’t a priority — as long as she completed an impact study. It was a dubious honor that meant hours upon hours of extra work for the new staffer. Hours that could distract Malika enough that Angelica would break up with her…or so Lucia hopes.

But somehow, Malika manages to get the impact report done in record time — the most improbable thing about this episode is that Malika would’ve finished an impact report this quickly — and delivers it to her boss. Lucia gives the report rave reviews and suggests that it’s ready to take to the Council floor. First, though, the proposal needs two Council members to sponsor it so Lucia recommends that Malika reach out to her closest allies, Councilmen Brown and Gonzalez. Unfortunately, though, when Malika approaches them both to talk about her proposal, she runs into a wall: neither will agree to sponsor her proposal. Malika returns to her desk, dismayed that Lucia’s two biggest allies won’t go to bat for her project, but Tracy gives her the real tea: neither councilman agreed to back the proposal because Lucia had asked them not too.

“For some reason she’s not telling you, she obviously wants to kill it,” Tracy admits.

Malika’s completely taken aback by Lucia’s underhandedness but Tracy reminds her that that’s the nature of politics. As someone who spent a good part of her life around politics, I agree that underhandedness can sometimes be part of the game. “Politics ain’t beanbag,” as they say. But this type of backroom dealing? This ain’t politics, it’s just petty, vindictive and probably illegal. And doing it in an election year? Girl, that ain’t politics, that’s just dumb. I can’t wait until Dana hears about this.

But Malika decides if that’s how Lucia’s going to play the game, then she’ll play the game right along with her. She returns to Lucia’s office with the proposal, sponsored by two Council members, just as her boss requested. Once Councilmen Brown and Gonzalez declined sponsorship, Malika explains, she reached out to two other members who got on-board with the proposal. Lucia notes that she didn’t tell Malika to approach the other two council members and Will chimes in that those members will be expecting a favor in return. Malika feigns confusion and apologizes for her misstep. She knows how passionate Lucia is about helping women impacted by incarceration and just wanted to do everything she could to get the proposal to the floor.

“I mean, you don’t want to kill it, do you?” Malika asks, almost daring Lucia to admit to her misdeeds. Lucia backs down immediately, assuring Malika that she’s not interested in killing the proposal. She urges Malika to ask next time before she takes action and Malika pledges to do just that. A sly smile breaks out across Malika’s face as she exits and Will clocks her disingenuous apology. Lucia’s seething but there’s nothing that she can do about it.

Later, Malika recounts the days events for Angelica and then realizes that she’s talking about Angelica’s ex again, rather than just focusing on Angelica. She refills their wine glasses and redirects the conversation to being about their relationship. Malika suggests they do something fun together — hiking in Yellowstone or going whitewater rafting — because she wants them to spend more time together. Angelica agrees, of course, but wonders if Dyonte will want more of Malika’s time now that he and Tanya have broken up. Malika admits that Dyonte asked her to be his new primary partner.

The confession hangs in the air just long enough to wonder how Malika decides but, as she told Dyonte, she thinks it’s too soon after his break-up to embark on anything new. Beyond that, she tells him that she’s developing really strong feelings for Angelica. Dyonte is understanding but confesses that he’s a little jealous…but Angelica, on the other hand, is quite pleased by the news. She shares a kiss with Malika and the two take a dip in the Coterie pool.

Good Trouble Coterie Sundries

+ As odd as this sounds, my favorite part of this episode might have been Malika laying her edges at the start of the show. It’s such a small thing but it’s a part of the morning routine of so many of the black women that it felt joyous to see it represented on screen. Shout out to Candace Parker who’s been styling her baby hair perfectly since before it was a thing.

+ Don’t pigeonhole her as just a comedienne…Sherry Cola’s got some range!

+ Now that she’s not beholden to her non-compete agreement, Mariana tries to recruit the girls from Revitalize to join her at Bulk Beauty. I am not sure why Mariana just doesn’t take the win and go but, I suppose, she still after some measure of revenge against Jackie for stealing her idea that she refuses to leave Revitalize with nothing. She goes a step too far in trying to recruit Liza to her side, though, because Liza takes everything that she learns from Mariana straight to Jackie. Oh, Nia Nal, how could you?

+ So, after weeks worth of cloak and dagger shit around the Coterie, Joaquin just asks Dennis for information about his sister and (shocker!) he tells him what he wants to know. It could’ve just been that simple. I’m still not a fan of this storyline and this character — the most likeable thing about him is that his sister is missing? — and the tone feels so woefully out of place.

+ This week, Davia and Dennis go looking for Luca among the unhoused on Los Angeles’ skid row…and as things ramp up on-screen, things off-screen are also becoming contentious: Unhoused Sweeps Become Flashpoint for Film Shoots in Los Angeles

Next Week: “At some point, we all need to accept help.”

“Good Trouble” Episode 406 Recap: Now, That’s What I Call Music

Can I be honest? From a storyline perspective, this wasn’t my favorite episode of Good Trouble…however, as is this show’s wont, it manages by subvert my disappointment by giving me something else that I truly love: a Coterie Party. This week, our favorite chosen fam gathered to celebrate Dennis’ 40th birthday. But the goodness didn’t stop there, my friends. This wasn’t an ordinary Coterie Party, it was a Coterie Party featuring karaoke from the 90s. All of my favorite things!

So, this week, instead of a regular recap, I thought I’d provide a ranking of the karaoke performances with the not-so-subtle subtext behind their song choices.

14. Garbage – “Queer”

Performed by Kelly dressed as Edward Scissorhands

The Subtext: Kelly has been thirsting for Joaquin since the day that he moved into the Coterie and she is not at all shy about expressing it. She sings this song directly at him and poor Joaquin just stands there, sipping his beer, wishing he could be anywhere but here. It’s so uncomfortable to watch. Absolutely perfect song choice, though.

13. Billy Ray Cyrus – “Achy Breaky Heart”

Performed by Joaquin (dressed as Forrest Gump)

The Subtext: Joaquin came to the Coterie intent on finding out what happened to his sister who he hasn’t heard from in eight years and he seemed intent on not letting anything get in his way. He couldn’t let anything distract him from his cause, not even Mariana and Kelly’s flirtations. Over the last few weeks, though, his resolve has been weakening. He’s seen Mariana struggle in the wake of her sister’s departure and he, unwittingly, draws closer to her. Then he watches Mariana step out of the Coterie pool…and, well, a person can only resist Mariana Adams Foster’s charms for so long.

This week, he experiences a twinge of jealousy when he sees a guy coming out of Mariana’s loft early in the morning. Kelly explains that the guy is Evan Speck, Mariana’s former boss and lover, and speculates that they might be back together (ergo, Joaquin’s “Achy Breaky Heart”). When he interacts with Mariana at the party he’s the same aloof guy he’s been since he arrived but, as the night goes on, he softens. He recognizes how much Mariana misses her sister — it’s her first Coterie party without Callie — and encourages her to call her. He shares the truth about his sister and pushes Mariana not to take the ability to talk to her sister for granted.

(Also, for what it’s worth: I’d expect an Oklahoma boy to have a better rendition of this country classic in his repertoire.)

12. OMC – “How Bizarre”

Performed by Dyonte (dressed as Will Smith from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)

The Subtext: How bizarre is it that Dyonte shows up to a party, dressed as Will Smith, and doesn’t actually do a Will Smith song? The Fresh Prince had so many 90s hits that he could’ve performed. And OMC of all things? No, just no. That said, I appreciated that he stayed true to that Fresh Prince choreography.

11. Smash Mouth – “All Star”

Performed by Alice (dressed as Shelby Woo from The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo)

The Subtext: Alice should be flying high. A young comic, fresh off a tour with her comedy shero, Margaret Cho? She’s an all-star. But there’s something different about the Alice that returns to the Coterie. She’s regressed. Malika expresses regret that Alice’s tour got cut short — Margaret booked a movie according to Alice — but she assures Malika that it’s fine…everything’s fine. It’s like that meme…only instead of a dog with his coffee mug, it’s Alice and her Capri Sun.

(Another way you know Alice is definitely not fine? Her heretofore straight best friend is at the party with her new girlfriend and Alice doesn’t spend the entire evening questioning Malika about it or getting to know Angelica? Yeah, something is definitely wrong.)

10. Britney Spears – “From the Bottom of My Broken Heart”

Performed by Sumi (dressed as Cher from Clueless)

The Subtext: Alice is back! Her tour with Margaret Cho ended early so she’s back at the Coterie just in time for Dennis’ surprise party. Only problem? She doesn’t have a place to live since she sublet her place to Isabella (via Gael) for the length of the tour. Instead of telling Isabella the truth, Alice opts to pretend that she and Sumi are together — which, frankly, seems like an Alice, circa Season One, thing to do — and will be sharing Sumi’s loft. But when it’s time for bed, Alice won’t sleep next to Sumi and tries to opt for the floor. Sumi refuses to allow her guest to sleep on the floor so she insists Alice take the bed. Refusing to fight anymore, Alice grabs a pillow and blanket and leaves to sleep in the vestibule.

At Dennis’ party, everyone’s got some thoughts about the Alice and Sumi reunion. Kelly reminds Alice that Sumi cheated the last time they were together and hopes that Sumi’s changed (Kelly’s heard that people can change but she hasn’t seen it for herself). When Malika raises a skeptical eyebrow over the reunion, Alice assures her that they couldn’t be happier, even if Sumi’s karaoke ballad suggests otherwise.

The party seems to cut the tension between Alice and Sumi a little but when Sumi’s alerted that Margaret Cho’s still touring and that Alice lied, she’s got questions . She DMs the legendary comedienne directly and asks why Alice left the tour but Margaret doesn’t have an answer. When Alice comes into Sumi’s loft that night, Sumi confronts her directly, “I know you quit the tour. What’s going on, Alice? Why did you lie?”

9. CeCe Peniston – “Finally”

Performed by Angelica (dressed as Britney Spears, circa “…Baby One More Time”)

The Subtext: Again, this was a great opportunity to marry the costume with the song choice and Good Trouble, seemingly opted against it. Given Angelica’s storyline, “Crazy” feels like the obvious choice, doesn’t it? A missed opportunity for sure. That said, I respect CeCe Peniston karaoke choice because: 1. “Finally” is still a bop and 2. Despite the male-centric lyrics, “Finally” has an indelible place in the soundtrack of on-screen lady loving. But I digress…

Dennis’ birthday party isn’t the first time Angelica’s met Dyonte…and they’re perfectly amicable with each other…but it definitely feels like it’s the first time that they’ve viewed each other as romantic rivals. Angelica watches Dyonte’s interactions with Malika closely and he can’t take his eyes off them during Angelica’s performance.

8. Los Del Rio – “Macarena”

Performed by Isabella (dressed as Fembot from Austin Powers)

The Subtext: Remember how I said that I didn’t really like the storylines in this episode? Isabella’s storyline, in particular, grates. We’ve seen a lot of growth in Isabella since she returned to the Coterie last season and I’m perplexed that this week’s episode, seemingly, throws all of that character development out of the window? For the last two weeks, she’s been sensitive to Dennis’ pain — over people judging his life choices, over seeing his ex with a new baby boy — and this week, he tells her he experienced social anxiety, she just shrugs and plans this party over the objections of those who know him well? This isn’t consistent with the character we’ve gotten to know this season.

I don’t mind the show not going there with Dennis and Isabella…I mean, sure, it means we’ve wasted five episodes of story, but whatever. Maybe that Coterie love triangle (quadrilateral?) would’ve been too close for comfort. But Isabella’s not the person she was when we met her: the person who got between Mariana and Raj (though even that seems like a stretch, given what we know) isn’t the same person who bent over backwards to make space for Callie in Gael’s life. Don’t sacrifice the development of a character for the sake of maintaining the chemistry between Davia and Dennis.

A Fembot? And the “Macarena?” Seriously?! Ugh. But while I hate the song choice (and the costume), anyone who knows something other than the chorus to “Macarena” gets bonus points from me.

7. Salt-N-Pepa – “Let’s Talk About Sex”

Performed by Malika (dressed as Janet circa “Rhythm Nation”)

The Subtext: Lucia’s plan to keep Malika busy with work is, seemingly, starting to pay dividends, as she and Angelica struggle to find time to be together. When Angelica suggests that they get together on Saturday, Malika admits — having learned her lesson from last week — that she has plans with Dyonte that night. To her credit, Angelica doesn’t try and encroach on Dyonte’s time; instead, it’s Malika that invites Angelica to join them at Dennis’ surprise party. She makes plans to invite Dyonte’s primary partner, Tanya, and they’ll all enjoy the party together.

At the party, Davia marvels that both of Malika’s paramours are at the party and that they’re getting along. She notes that Angelica looks especially hot dressed as Britney Spears (circa “…Baby One More Time”) and, before she can stop herself from saying it, Malika blurts out, “girl, she makes everything hot.” Davia calls her out for blushing and asks if things are getting serious between them. Malika offers a definite “maybe” and leaves to interrupt her a conversation between Dyonte and Angelica about who looks better with Janet Jackson: the Fresh Prince or Britney Spears. Malika asks if Tanya’s coming and Dyonte admits that they broke up.

Later, Angelica asks Malika how she feels about the break-up and Malika admits she’s thrown by the news because Tanya and Dyonte seemed so solid. Angelica suggests that maybe Dyonte will want more of Malika’s time and attention now, she scoffs, but, as it turns out, that’s exactly what Dyonte wants. After his “conscious uncoupling” with Tanya — “you know I’m allergic to white nonsense,” Malika says dismissively — Dyonte proposes making Malika his new primary partner.

6. Backstreet Boys – “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)”

Performed by Dennis (dressed as The Dude from The Big Lebowski)

The Subtext: The Birthday Boy kicks off his surprises 90s themed surprise party with a karaoke rendition of the BSB classic. While the song gets the crowd going, beneath the surface Dennis is freaked out because, apparently, he hates karoake…only slightly more than he hates surprise parties.

5. Everclear – “I Will Buy You a New Life”

Performed by Gael (dressed as Tyler Durden from Fight Club)

The Subtext: Last week, Gael essentially promised to buy Isabella a new life: he wanted to move out of the Coterie and into an apartment together so that they could co-parent for the first year of the baby’s life. At first, Isabella’s reluctant — she doesn’t want to leave the security of their chosen family at the Coterie — but by this week, she seems more open to the possibility. The Coterie fam, on the other hand, is less than thrilled: they want a Coterie baby and are willing to make whatever changes Gael and Isabella need to feel comfortable there. Dennis encourages them to reconsider: whatever concerns they have won’t be an issue for the baby’s first nine months and it always helps to have extra hands around with a new baby. The show treats this like a revelation — like Isabella’s been swayed by Dennis — but, really, he’s just repeating everything Isabella said last week. The change draws Gael’s ire but he keeps his frustration in check until Kelly reads a birthday note from Dennis’ ex-wife which includes a congratulations on his new baby…then Gael loses it.

“Dennis is taking you to doctor’s appointments and deciding where we should have the baby and where we should live. You know what? In fact, why don’t you guys just tell me when the baby’s coming and where I should show up,” Gael argues before storming out of family dinner.

Downstairs, Gael continues his tantrum and is especially bothered than Isabella didn’t correct Dennis’ ex-wife about the paternity of the baby. She reminds him how terrible seeing his ex-wife with her new husband and their new son was for Dennis and that, seemingly, snaps Gael out of his pity party. He admits that he’s feeling insecure about the fact that they’re not together but Isabella pledges that she’ll keep him first in her life, as the baby’s father.

(Also: I am embarrassed by how much I used to love this song.)

4. George Michael – “Freedom”

Performed by Davia and Dennis

The Subtext: I guess the Denvia ship might make it after all.

3. Natalie Imbruglia – “Torn”

Performed by Mariana (dressed as Ginger Spice)

The Subtext: Mariana is truly torn between Bulk Beauty and Revitalize. Evan strolls in on his proverbial white horse with a solution, though: he’ll buy Revitalize from The Hallis Group and free Mariana from her non-compete. Surprisingly, the Bulk Beauty team — who, you’ll recall only had the money to start BB because they sued Evan over Speckulate’s toxic work environment — agree to the deal because they want Mariana back.

But Mariana’s also torn about what to do about Callie. She makes excuses to her Coterie family — she’s been busy — but in reality, Mariana feels abandoned by Callie. Thanks to a gentle push from Joaquin, Mariana relents and video-chats with Callie after Dennis’ party. Mariana shares her feelings of abandonment and wonders why Callie couldn’t just take a job at the ACLU in Los Angeles. Callie explains that she took the job she was offered and admits that she’s homesick and misses Mariana. Their personal issues resolved, Mariana explains her work conundrum to Callie, lamenting the non-compete clause that threatens to keep her at Revitalize or force her to work with Evan again. Thankfully at least someone here knows California employment law: Callie informs Mariana that non-competes aren’t enforceable in California so she’s free to do whatever she wants. This is why you don’t ignore your sister’s calls.

2. Garbage – “Stupid Girl”

Performed by Davia (dressed as Vivian Ward from Pretty Woman)

The Subtext: Since Matt broke up with Davia in the season premiere, she’s tried to keep her heartbreak a secret from Dennis…even lying to him at his own party. Complicating matters more? She notices Dennis “changing” — he seems unbothered by the surprise party or the karaoke at first — and his newfound closeness with Isabella (I suspect she’s the one Davia would call a “stupid girl”). Feeling like her role in Dennis’ life has been usurped, Davia sulks in the corner but Gael reminds her: if there’s distance, it’s her fault. He questions why, if she wants that closeness with Dennis again, she’s still allowing him to believe that she’s seeing Matt.

Later, Davia comes clean with Dennis: she admits her frustration at being replaced by Isabella and confesses that Matt dumped her. Dennis feigns disappoint but acknowledges that Davia made the right decision: though Dennis definitely wants her, he recognizes that he needs to be able to find his own happiness before he can make something else happy.

1. Extreme – “More Than Words”

Performed by Davia and Dennis

The Subtext: Dennis and Davia have never been great about telling each other how they really feel but when they sing together, their feelings couldn’t be clearer. Also worth noting: during this song, Malika has her arms wrapped around Angelica and Sumi and Alice shoot heart-eyes at each other. Joaquin, however, is very much trying to avoid Kelly’s glance…and it made me laugh hysterically.

Next Week: What’s the matter with Alice?

“Good Trouble” Episode 405 Recap: Exes & Messes

When Malika first confessed to her then-boyfriend, Isaac, that she was interested in a relationship with him and with Dyonte — to embrace polyamory fully — she was rejected. His first instinct is to leave the counselling session they’re in together and then, seeking even more time and space, Isaac puts an ocean between them. And while Malika’s moved on from Isaac, the sting of that reaction lingers and the fear of possibly facing another rejection is omnipresent.

Given the opportunity, Angelica doesn’t do much to assuage those fears. The first time Malika mentions she’s poly, it barely elicits a reaction and the second time, Angelica offers an ambivalent response.

“So, what about you? Like, I know you don’t have to be poly to date someone who is, but you do have to be cool with it,” Malika asks during the couple’s first real date.

“Well… I’m not really sure, actually,” Angelica admits. “I think, for now, I just want to take things a day at a time.”

At the time, Malika accepted Angelica’s answer — I’m not sure she felt in a position to ask for something more given the newness of it all — and tried to keep her fears at bay. But since then their relationship progressed. They’ve kissed. They’ve gone on more dates. Angelica’s been introduced to Dyonte and Malika’s friends and chosen family at the Coterie. They’ve finally admitted that they really like each other and have taken their relationship to the next level. Now Angelica’s ambivalence about polyamory starts to weigh heavily on Malika and those fears — that what happened with Isaac will happen again — start to creep back in. So, this week, when Malika’s lying in bed next to Angelica…and Angelica offers to cook dinner for Malika at her apartment on Thursday, Malika lies and tells her she has plans with Davia and the girls. The truth is she has plans with Dyonte that night.

But Angelica isn’t the only person that Malika’s lying to.

This week, the newest addition to the staff of Councilwoman Lucia Morales finally gets some facetime with her boss: Lucia invites Malika to join her for drinks. At the outset, Lucia admits that she has an ulterior motive for the meeting — she lavishes praise on Malika’s proposal for the women’s center and confesses that she’s considering sending it to the full Council for review — but it soon becomes clear where her interests really lie: her ex-girlfriend, Angelica. The pair haven’t talked since Angelica reached out to get help for Malika’s friend, Yvonne, and Lucia wants to know how she is and, more importantly, if she’s seeing anyone.

“Oh, I, I…don’t really know, she hasn’t mentioned anyone,” Malika responds, visibly uncomfortable. Lucia persists, admitting that she misses Angelica. She confesses that they broke up, not because a lack of love, but because she hadn’t yet learned to balance her personal and professional lives. Now that she’s found her footing, though, she wonders if there’s a chance for her and Angelica to reconnect. Despite her obvious discomfort, Malika nods and smiles politely.

Afterwards, Malika retreats to Duoro. Angelica’s anxious to hear all about her meeting and if Lucia’s going to push her proposal forward. Malika reports that Lucia said she was seriously considering her proposal — which, again, I do not believe at all — but then pivots to telling Angelica that Lucia asked about her. Angelica doesn’t seem surprised but grimaces when she learns that Lucia asked Malika if she was seeing anyone. Malika admits that she lied because she was so caught off-guard but the question made one thing abundantly clear: Lucia isn’t over Angelica.

“Yeah, I knew Lucia didn’t want to break up, but she was married to her work,” Angelica admits.

I’m not sure whether its a consequence of Good Trouble (again) endeavoring to tell too much story in too little time — and thus running out of time here — or if the writers’ genuinely believe Angelica’s omission is no big deal but, in my mind, Malika and Angelica should’ve had their first fight over this. Malika asked Angelica directly if it’d be awkward if she was working with her ex. Wouldn’t the proper response have been, “no, but it might be awkward for you because she’s still in love with me?” Maybe it wouldn’t have changed Malika’s mind about the job opportunity — perhaps she still would’ve taken the staff position over the option to stay at DPN — but at least she would’ve had a full understanding of what she was walking into. Lucia’s able to blindside Malika because Angelica wasn’t candid about their dynamics…and that should’ve provoked a discussion between the two. Instead, it’s glossed over entirely.

Malika wonders if she should tell Lucia about them. She doesn’t want to complicate things for herself at work, nor put Angelica or Lucia in an awkward spot, but she also doesn’t want Lucia finding out she lied. Angelica doesn’t give Malika the easy answer she’s after: she acknowledges that honesty is usually the best policy but concedes that sometimes, what someone doesn’t know can’t hurt them. While Angelica’s answer doesn’t give Malika a definitive solution to her Lucia problem, it does prompt her to rethink the lie she told Angelica. She returns to Duoro the next night, armed with an apology.

Angelica assumes the apology means that Malika told Lucia about them but she didn’t. If Lucia wants to know who Angelica’s dating, Malika insists, she can ask Angelica. Then she confesses the real reason behind her apology, “I didn’t have plans with Davia the other night, I had plans with Dyonte. I thought I was protecting your feelings but then I realized that I was really protecting my own feelings because I’m falling for you and I’m afraid you’re going to bail because I’m poly.”

“Well, if you’re afraid of losing me, lying to me is the best way to make that happen,” Angelica responds.

Malika apologizes for not being honest and admits that she should’ve just checked in with Angelica to find out how she was feeling about everything, rather than making assumptions. Angelica takes a moment to respond and the silence gives the fear a chance to flash on Zuri Adele’s face. But Angelica puts those fears to rest by admitting that she’s falling for Malika too. Angelica assures Malika that when or if she has an issue with anything, she’ll let her know. Malika promises never to lie to Angelica again and the two kiss and make-up…and who would happen to walk into Duoro and see them kiss right at that moment? Lucia!

The next day at work, Lucia eyes Malika as she walks into the office, now recognizing her as the competition for Angelica’s heart. She questions her Chief of Staff about Malika’s proposal and agrees with his assertion that it’s not a top priority. But that’s not what she tells Malika. The Councilwoman approaches Malika and announces her decision to push the proposal forward. But in order to do that, Malika will need to prepare a full impact report and cost analysis for the project. Lucia instructs her to see guidance from Will on how to do prepare the report but emphasizes that the report needs to be flawless. Malika excitedly accepts the opportunity but Tracy is quick to pop her bubble.

“I don’t know whether to give you congrats or condolences,” Tracy says after Lucia walks away. “Have you seen an impact report before? They’re like a million pages long and the primary reason why I never propose anything. You can kiss your personal life, good-bye.”

And that’s Lucia’s goal, isn’t it? To make sure Malika’s as busy with work as Lucia was when she joined the City Council. With Malika’s attention directed elsewhere, Lucia can swoop in, show Angelica that she’s changed and ultimately win her back. Or, if that doesn’t work, Lucia will insist that whatever report Malika introduces isn’t “flawless” and she’ll have cause to fire her. Either way, it looks like Malika’s in trouble.

Good Trouble Coterie Sundries

+ Alice hasn’t been a large part of Good Trouble‘s fourth season thus far — thanks, I’d imagine, to Sherry Cola staying booked and busy — but I really missed her this week. She and Malika have always had a great friendship and now, with Malika exploring this facet of her sexuality and dealing with the ensuing dyke drama, it would’ve been a great time for that friendship to take center stage.

+ This week, instead of me yelling, “Mariana, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” at my television, Mariana starts to ask that question of herself. The push and pull between Bulk Beauty and Revitalize has just become untenable and she starts to crack under the pressure. Thankfully Evan notices that Mariana is not okay and confronts her about what’s going on. He admits he volunteered to be the team’s mentor not because he wanted to get back together with Mariana but because he worried that she wouldn’t be safe with another mentor. Mariana confesses that she’s not okay; she feels responsible for Bulk Beauty’s code being stolen but also doesn’t want to put Revitalize out of business because Ava and Raisa are nice people. With her two year non-compete clause hanging over her, Mariana admits she’s stuck and doesn’t know what to do.

+ Because this episode featured so many storylines, I thought Good Trouble shortchanged Dennis’ emotional reaction to seeing his ex-wife and his former best friend come out of the hospital’s maternity ward with their new baby boy. That should’ve been a gutpunch for the audience as well and the episode just didn’t give that scene room to land…Dennis steps away one minute and returns the next to help Isabela pass out food to parents waiting in the children’s ward.

That said, the growing closeness between Dennis and Isabella is undeniable — they didn’t correct Dennis’ ex when she assumed Isabella was carrying Dennis’ baby — and even Gael’s starting to notice. He and Isabella had decided on a home birth but then Dennis convinces Isabella to go to consider a hospital birth instead. Then when Gael suggests that he and Isabella find a place of their own, she’s reluctant to leave the support and love offered by the Coterie (read: Dennis). I’m excited to see where this goes and if Davia and Gael commiserate (and conspire?) over losing their would-be partners.

+ Speaking of Davia, I wish I felt more connected to this journey she’s on with burlesque dancing. It just feels like it came out of nowhere and that three seasons of character development — especially around diversity and inclusion — have all been for naught. Still, I’m hoping that I’ll see some utility in the story as it develops…especially since I like the kinship that she built with Luca in this episode. Can we keep Luca and get rid of Joaquin?

Next Week: It’s time for another Coterie bash!

“Good Trouble” Episode 404 Recap: Mariana’s No Good, Very Bad Day

We have seen Mariana Adams Foster do some dumb stuff over the years. Remember that time she stole Jesus’ pills and sold them so she could get money for her birth mother? Or the time she dyed her hair blonde to fit in with the girls on the dance team? Or when she tried to pretend she wasn’t as smart as she actually was to appease some boy? What about the time she kept communicating with that guy who threatened to kill himself in front of her? And, of course, there was that time she had her sister move into a communal living space so she could connect with a guy she knew from work?

But what Mariana’s doing now on Good Trouble has to be the dumbest thing we’ve ever seen her do. Corporate espionage? GIRL, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

Unable to secure proof that Revitalize Beauty’s code is just a carbon copy of Bulk Beauty’s, Mariana’s opted to destroy Revitalize another way: eliminating all their brand partnerships. When she discovers that Revitalize is pursuing a certain brand, Mariana messages the Fight Club girls with the name of the brand and a contact. They set up their own pitch meeting and secure the bag — last season those girls couldn’t pitch a tent without Mariana, now they’re superstar saleswomen, apparently — before Revitalize even gets out of the gate. They rack up one partnership after another and pop some bottles to celebrate their success. Mariana gets none of the spoils of RB and BB’s ongoing war, though, and is left to commit more felonies on the team’s behalf.

Feeling isolated, Mariana retreats back to the Coterie, looking for some company but, unfortunately, the only person available for her to talk to is Morgan Corinthos Joaquin. Neither of them fully trust each other so the conversation is cryptic but it’s clear that the loneliness of her current assignment — plus Callie’s absence from her life — are starting to wear on her mentally. Joaquin, of course, thinks this song is about him so worried his investigation might be discovered, he abruptly leaves. He does, however, recommend that Mariana call Callie back: she shouldn’t allow her relationship with her sister to grow apart.

Back at work, Mariana’s boss, Liza (AKA Nia Nal AKA Nicole Maines) is increasingly skeptical about how Bulk Beauty keeps closing deal with their prospective partners. Thanks to Mariana’s tip, Bulk Beauty managed to land Glow Fille and Liza asks Mariana if she thinks it’s odd that Bulk Beauty is targeting the same brands as Revitalize. Mariana’s not surprised though because they’re pitching similar apps so, of course, they’d be looking at the same brand partnerships. Mariana shifts the blame off her and onto Liza — she’s the project manager after all — but Liza points out that Mariana hasn’t set up any pitch meetings nor has she made any contributions to the pitch meeting she has attended. Without some marked improvement, Mariana’s not going to have a corporate to espionage from.

When her teammates at Revitalize start to flail during their next pitch meeting, Mariana steps up and salvages the pitch. It’s enough to dull Liza’s skepticism — at least for the moment — but now she’s going to expect more from Mariana in the future. The team toasts Mariana’s success and the alcohol makes the conversation flow a bit more freely. Mariana discovers that Jackie recruited the Ava and Raisa to the Hallis Group after hearing their pitch for an app focused on sustainable household cleaning products. It was Jackie who suggested a pivot to beauty products and who provided most of the code for the app.

While they’re relaxing together, Liza apologizes for being so hard on the team; she’s just committed to proving that an all-woman team can be successful. In short, Liza is trying to do at the Hallis Group exactly what Mariana had tried to do at Speckulate. The conversation ingratiates the team with Mariana and makes her feel even more guilty about what she’s doing. As she makes her way out, Mariana’s barely able to collect herself and is nearly overcome by emotion in the elevator. Fortunately (or unfortunately), Evan Speck is there and reaches out to her. She pulls away from him and assures him that she is fine.

But Mariana is clearly not fine. She comes home from work, heads straight to the rooftop, strips off her clothes and wades into the Coterie pool. The scene gives me flashbacks to Skyler White descending into her family’s pool after learning the extent of Walt’s misdeeds on Breaking Bad. Joaquin follows her upstairs and when she approaches him, clearly ready for a kiss, he offers her a towel? As if Mariana needed more rejection after the day she’s had…

The next day, Jackie introduces the Revitalize team to their new mentor who will advise them on holes they aren’t seeing. Their mentor? Evan Speck. OF COURSE! Mariana makes it clear to Evan that if this mentorship deal is about getting closer to her, he shouldn’t nurse any false hopes.

Good Trouble Coterie Sundries

+ Safe to say we were one step closer to Isanis/Denbella, as Dennis and Isabella continue to grow closer. They’re drawn into a feud with another food truck over parking spaces so they cover it with toilet paper and silly string to even the score. Isabella encourages Dennis to build an audience for the truck using social media but Dennis claims to be skeptical of its utility. In truth, though, he’s nervous about people from his past who will judge him for being in “some humiliating video.” Isabella chides him for being so concerned with people in his rear view mirror rather than being engaged with the present, where he’s following his passion and doing something that finally makes him happy. Plus, she points out: if he’s worried about being too silly, that ship has already sailed.

They work together and produce an adorable song and video to promote the Toast Truck. The engagement pours in and, hopefully, the truck can start to turn a profit.

+ Yuri’s demands on Gael’s time pull him away from Isabella: first, when they’re supposed to be crib shopping and then, when Gael is supposed to accompany Isabella to her doctor’s appointment. When Dennis realizes how scared Isabella is about going to her appointment alone, he volunteers to go along. But when Isabella reports back to Gael, he’s upset to learn that Dennis was in the room for the appointment (it doesn’t help that Yuri is in his ear about Dennis usurping his role). Isabella’s understandably perplexed: Gael was fine with her going to the doctor alone but has an issue with her having company for the appointment? Gael clarifies that Isabella should’ve told him she wasn’t okay going alone but she admits that she didn’t feel like she could ask him to leave work.

“Honestly, I’m wondering why I even stayed. Because you’re the one who wanted to be part of this pregnancy and you’re never even here,” Isabella laments. “If it wasn’t for Dennis, I would feel totally alone.”

Gael admits that she’s right — he was just trying to save money for the baby — and promises that he’ll spend more time with her in the future.

+ Joaquin’s still searching for his sister and the storyline still feels so woefully out of place to me.

Next Week: More mentorship

“Good Trouble” Episode 403 Recap: First Day and First Time

In Good Trouble‘s season opener, we catch a glimpse of Malika rushing off for her first day at her new job in City Councilwoman Lucia Morales’ office. She starts and ends her day with flowers from her partners, Dyonte and Angelica, but the remainder of the episode is focused on Malika ending her relationship with Isaac. But this week, we get to revisit Malika’s few days in her new gig…when she recounts all the days’ events to Angelica.

As someone who’s worked in and around politics, I’m generally pretty critical of political stories on television (recall my dismay at the awful campaign storyline from Gen Q‘s first season). It’s hard not to be frustrated by the portrayals which feed into the public’s misunderstanding about the work political staffers do. I imagine what it’s like when doctors watch Grey’s Anatomy or lawyers watch Law & Order or when Riese or Kayla watched the happenings at Scarlet magazine on The Bold Type. But, to Good Trouble‘s great credit, they depict the first day experience of a new political staffer as true to form as I’ve ever seen on television: it’s lousy.

After spending hours trying to pick out the right outfit, Malika makes her way to the office, eager to start her day. The first two people she encounters are consumed by their own work loads and point Malika in the direction of Will, Lucia’s Chief of Staff. He, who vaguely remembers her resume from when it crossed his desk, pawns her off on another staffer, Tracy. Unlike Malika, Tracy doesn’t believe in government’s capacity to make change. Tracy’s just here for the good benefits, the holidays off and the job security. She explains that Malika will likely have to deal with a lot of angry callers but just placate them as much as she can and then get them off the line. On the one hand, Tracy appears too young to be this grizzled…but also, yeah…that tracks.

“I just thought that since Lucia sought me out to work at her office that she would be the one to show me around. It’s like you need a VIP wristband just to say good morning,” Malika laments.

Malika asks Angelica about how to get Lucia’s attention but Angelica admits that she’s probably not the best person to ask about that: after all, it’s the reason they broke up. During their relationship, it was hard to get Lucia to focus on anything but work and — thank goodness — Malika recognizes that she’s doing the same thing. She leans in and kisses Angelica but just when I think things are about to heat up, Malika pivots back to talking about work.

Back in the office, Will updates the staff on Lucia’s legislative priority: funding their families first initiative. Concerns over the expansion of rent control have stymied the initiative’s progress so Will encourages the staff to research the issue and produce a persuasive brief. Malika questions Will about her proposal regarding support for formerly incarcerated women but he insists they focus all their efforts on Lucia’s initiative.

Enter Dana, the manager of Lucia’s re-election campaign, who invites Malika out for coffee. Tracy advised Malika to stay out of Dana’s crosshairs so she eagerly accepts the invitation. Dana dispenses with pleasantries and questions why Malika left activism to work in politics. Malika responds that working in government offers access to financial resources and power to make change in people’s lives. Dana’s done her homework — volunteering information about Malika’s brief before the new staffer can mention it — and offers Malika some advice: find out what Will wants, get it for him and, in turn, Malika can get what she wants. The advice doesn’t come for free, though. Dana assures that she’ll be an ally to Malika as long as Malika is a an ally to her. In reality, most people aren’t quite that candid about their embrace of quid pro quo…but otherwise, that tracks.

Malika learns how to play the game quickly, passing on a heads up about the rent control provision to some housing activists. The next day, those activists show up en masse and compel Lucia to add the expansion of rent control back to the initiative. Malika mentions her hand in the day’s protest coming together — because it was so important to Will — and soon thereafter, he e-mails Malika’s proposal to Lucia and she finally gets some facetime with her new boss.

As she recounts the events to Angelica, Malika notices her eyes glaze over. She apologizes for talking about work so much but Angelica assures Malika that she wants to hear it all. Understandably, though, talking about her ex-girlfriend constantly is killing the vibe between them. Malika understands and thanks Angelica for her honesty. Since she’s being candid, Angelica pushes the conversation further: where does Malika think things are going with them? Malika confesses that she “like likes” her a lot and then she takes Angelica back to her loft to show her exactly how much.

Malika: I think I’ve been taking it slow because I’ve never been with a woman before. I’m just…not…exactly sure what to do.
Angelica: All you have to do whatever feels good and right for you.
Malika: I think I might need you to take the lead.
Angelica: I can do that. I need you to tell me if we’re going too fast…and then we can slow down.

Angelica kisses Malika’s exposed skin and asks if what she’s doing feels good. The music is sultry, the women are hot, the scene is sexy AF…and then it cuts off abruptly…only to immediately flash to a shot of a Bible?! It was an odd juxtaposition, one that I found jarring and that ruined an otherwise beautiful moment.

Good Trouble Coterie Sundries

+ Still reeling from Callie’s departure, Mariana starts at Revitalize Beauty, hoping to prove that Bulk Beauty’s source code was stolen to create it. She’s thwarted in her efforts, though, by Nia Nal (AKA Nicole Maines), who says she has to sign an non-disclosure agreement (with a two year long non-compete clause) in order to view any proprietary material. Mariana holds off on signing it for as long as she can but when she and the Bulk Beauty girls get a look at the source code (using a stolen password), they realize they can’t fight Revitalize and the Hallis Group in a copyright claim. And while most people would admit defeat and retreat, Mariana refuses — blaming herself for the idea being stolen in the first place — and signs the NDA with a promise to funnel information back to Bulk Beauty.

Mariana, honey, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! I hope you’ve still got Kathleen’s number because you’re gonna need a lawyer when they arrest you for corporate espionage.

+ Davia gets fired from her teaching job when the wrong student stumbles upon her “Fat Bitch” video. I’m a little surprised that there’s not more of an effort to help — by her students or fellow teachers — to compel the administration to change its mind (particularly given a massive nationwide teacher shortage).

+ For a show like Good Trouble that sometimes struggles with trying to tell too much story at once, Callie’s departure and Alice’s tour should’ve been seen as an opportunity…a chance for the show to deepen its storytelling and develop the more ancillary characters (Sumi and Kelly, most notably). But instead of doing that, they’ve shoehorned in this disappearance story that doesn’t fit the tone of the show and features a character we barely know. In the comments last week, @Emdee said it was giving season six of The L Word vibes and, honestly, I can’t think of a better description.

(Also? I love that multiple commenters have just referred to Joaquin as Morgan Corinthos. I have truly found my people.)

Next Week: Mariana Adams Foster, International Spy.

“Good Trouble” Episode 402 Recap: It’s Where You Belong

It’s the end of an era. After nine years, two shows — The Fosters and Good Trouble — and 156 episodes, Maia Mitchell took her final bow as Callie Adams Foster.

“While I have been so beyond fortunate to have this career and job that I love, with not an iota of regret, for quite some time I have suppressed an undeniable gravitational pull to return home to Australia to be closer to my nearest and dearest,” Mitchell wrote note she posted to fans last night.

I’d speculated at the end of last season that Maia Mitchell might be leaving the Fosters-verse, but when the new season kicked off with Callie still helming the show, I was lulled into a false sense of security. When the show’s previews talked about something going over like a lead balloon, I worried most about the Mamas and whether or not they were facing new challenges at home. I didn’t see Callie’s departure — to DC, to her dream job at the ACLU — coming and I didn’t realize, until I watched Mariana cry while clutching her Callie doll (more on that later), how integral Callie still was to what I love about Good Trouble and how much I’d miss her once she was gone.

When you meet a character, you’re lucky if you get one season to spend with them. To spend five seasons getting to know Callie — to watch Callie Jacob become Callie Adams Foster — already felt like a gift; to see her go from a victim of the system on The Fosters to a genuine change agent within that system on Good Trouble… that feels like a privilege that TV audiences are rarely afforded. It’ll be interesting to see how Good Trouble changes without Callie’s evolution driving it: how Mariana carries on the Fosters heart on her own or which Coterie member adopts Callie’s zeal for justice and service. And, of course, which Coterie member will have the overly intense love affairs now that Callie’s not around to do it?

The Mamas return to the Coterie, eventually, becomes the party I expected it to…initially, though, they are worried about sharing the news of Callie’s imminent departure with Mariana. Stef and Lena are greeted warmly by the Coterie members they’ve already met: Stef wraps Dennis and Davia in big hugs and Lena does the same with Malika. Isabella gets a lukewarm introduction — clearly, Stef’s memory of Mariana and Isabella’s issues remains fresh — but Mariana does her best to explain why Isabella’s still at the Coterie. The Mamas assume that Isabella’s baby is Dennis’ but Mariana corrects them: it’s Gael’s. Stef Adams Foster can’t mask her contempt. The family opts against going out and, instead, decides to stay and share dinner with the chosen family at the Coterie.

Kathleen arrives before dinner is served and is introduced to Stef and Lena. Again, Stef can barely mask her contempt but unlike Gael, Kathleen picks up on the tension and makes a joke at her own expense. She commends Stef and Lena on the job they did raising their daughters and then huddles with Callie in Malika’s loft. Having avoided criminal charges thanks to Callie’s intervention (read: extortion), Kathleen offers Callie a gift: the briefcase her mother gave her when she graduated law school. It’s a gift that she once imagined giving to her own daughter…and one that underscores the depth of their relationship. She wishes Callie well and they both get choked up as they share their final good-bye.

At dinner, secrets start to funnel out. First about everyone’s sexting habits, including Judicorn and the Mamas. Everyone wants to hear more about Lena’s visual sexting tendencies — especially Alice and Sumi — but lest she die of mortification, Callie redirects the conversation back to Jude, who’s been fighting via text with his boyfriend all night. Salty that he’s being chastised for not being honest with Carter, Jude asks why Callie can’t just be honest with Mariana…and that’s when the truth comes out. The entire table falls silent and Callie admits that she got a job at the ACLU in Washington, DC and she leaves in two days. Hurt, Mariana storms off.

“I am upset, not that you got your dream job or that you’re moving across the country. I’m upset that you thought I was so fragile that you couldn’t just tell me yourself,” Mariana admits. She laments that she can’t even throw Callie a proper going away party so, instead, the sisters opt to turn the family dinner into a Coterie bash.

The party gives Callie the opportunity to say her goodbyes to everyone at the Coterie. Dennis offers his assurances that she’ll be okay because Callie has a strong family support system to depend on. She has a touching good-bye with Malika — one that makes me disappointed that their friendship didn’t get more of a chance to grow on-screen — and a warm moment with Gael. Alice, who stops by the Coterie during a tour break, gives Callie her framed picture of Sandra Bullock for good luck. She shares an embrace with her younger brother and ensures him that he’ll always have a place with her.

“When you leave the family that you were born into or adopted into and you go out into the world, you get make a chosen family…of friends…and I will never find a better chosen family than you guys,” Callie shares, echoing the sentiments of her portrayer. To break the weight of the moment, Malika turns on LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” — a callback to the sisters’ first Coterie party — to celebrate Callie’s last hoorah.

The show gives Callie and Mariana one last sister chat, with their feet dipped into the Coterie pool, but it feels less like the two characters we’ve watched grow up on our screens and more like a conversation between Maia Mitchell and Cierra Ramirez, two actresses who have toiled together for 10 years. Cierra’s final message to her on-screen sister: “geography doesn’t make a family, love does.”

Good Trouble Coterie Sundries

+ This week’s cold open featured two dancing dolls…and while the symbolism of them would become clear later — they’re doll versions of Callie and Mariana discovered by the sisters during a thrift shop visit in Good Trouble‘s first episode — I watched too much Pretty Little Liars not to be freaked out by them at first.

+ My favorite thing about foreign actors playing American characters is hearing their accents pop out. This episode gave us as much of Maia Mitchell’s Aussie accent as, perhaps, we’ve ever heard on the show, as the emotion of the moment overcame her acting.

+ There’s lots of consternation about Callie maybe, possibly ending up with her moderate Republican ex-boyfriend, Jamie, to conclude her run…and, listen, I get why people are bothered by that…but once upon a time there was a very loud contingent of Fosters fans that wanted Callie to end up with her brother (#Braille) so I’m counting this as a win.

+ Though the episode focused primarily on Callie’s departure, the show did give us some insight into what’s driving Joaquin. Apparently, some time ago, his sister left their family’s intensely religious home and, eventually, found a home at the Coterie. After her stay there, though, she disappeared and now Joaquin’s trying to figure out what happened to her. He uses the family dinner as an opportunity to ply information out of everyone.

Could this be an interesting story? Maybe. Does this story feel woefully out of place on this show? Absolutely. As I watched Joaquin piece together the Coterie timeline, I just kept thinking, “why doesn’t he just ask the people who lived in the Coterie back then about his sister?” Why all the secret investigative nonsense? Does he think that someone in the Coterie axe-murdered his sister? Whatever the case, I’m not sure I like where this storyline is going.

+ Boy, I am really bad at predictions…this reminder does not bode well for my March Madness brackets.

Next Week: A Guest Appearance from Nia Nal!

“Good Trouble” Episode 401 Recap: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?

This is a recap of Good Trouble episode 401, the season 4 premiere, spoilers below.

Can I be honest? For me, the highlight of the Good Trouble season premiere came at the very end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejOaEi9BXMU

That’s right: STEF AND LENA (AND JUDICORN) ARE COMING BACK TO THE COTERIE.

The last time we saw the Mamas on Good Trouble, Lena was leaning all the way into her work in the State Assembly and Stef gave up her plans to go to Venezuela with Amnesty International to foster another child.

A visit by the Mamas means the chosen family at the Coterie will gather, once again, for a family dinner… so instead of doing my usual moment to moment recap of Good Trouble’s fourth season premiere, I thought I’d set the table for next week and re-introduce you to the residents of the Coterie. If you’ve missed a few episode of Good Trouble or you’re only interested in the show when the Mamas show up, here’s all the information you need to get ready for next week’s family dinner.

Also, because I haven’t seen any additional episodes of the new season, I offer some predictions for where the characters might go. Agree? Disgree? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Character: Mariana Adams-Foster
Current Job: Project Manager at Revitalize Beauty/The Hallis Group
Relationship Status: Single and Ready to Mingle

Where we left her: Preparing to practice corporate espionage at Revitalize Beauty to prove that Jackie and the Hallis Group stole the idea for their app from Mariana and her crew at Bulk Beauty.

Season 4 Premiere Updates: Mariana has dinner with Evan to talk about her new gig (and his recommendation) at Revitalize Beauty. They fall into an easy but awkward rapport that reminds me of their cutest moments as a couple (ignoring the troubling power dynamics, of course). Evan admits that Jackie asked him to suss out if she could be trusted but that he refuses to do her bidding. Still, though, for his own edification, Evan wants to know why Mariana turned against her friends and went to work for the competition. Mariana responds by asking if Evan knew that the Hallis Group was going to steal the idea for Bulk Beauty. He assures Mariana that he didn’t know when he secured her the pitch meeting and he’s still angry about it. He doesn’t understand why Mariana’s also not angry.

“The Bulk Beauty girls pushed me out because I was dating you and they’re taking all my good ideas with them, so the way I see it, I have every right to take my good ideas elsewhere,” Mariana admits lies. She tells Evan that he can tell Jackie that she has nothing to worry about… and, much to my surprise, leaves soon thereafter.

Season 4 Prediction: On the personal front, Mariana settles into an intense Callie-esque love affair with the Coterie’s new resident, Joaquin, but after Evan returns as a fixture in her life, Mariana finds herself torn between the two (Good Trouble loves a love triangle!).

Character: Davia Moss
Current Job: High School English Teacher
Relationship Status: It’s Complicated
Where we left them: Belting some Sara Bareilles — as one does — to help her make a decision between Dennis and Matt.

Season 4 Premiere Updates: After hearing about Dennis’ food truck and his visit to the children’s ward at the hospital, Davia realizes that Dennis is truly ready to live his life again. But with that, she recognizes, becomes less of a need for her… less reliance on her to hold his grief and keep him afloat… and that need was the foundation of their entire romantic relationship. Davia doesn’t want to be needed, she wants to be wanted, and right now she doesn’t trust that Dennis wants her.

Later, Davia video chats with Matt and tells him that she’s no longer confused. She knows what she wants now and it’s a relationship with him. But the reality is that Davia needed Matt…after Dennis abandoned her, she needed someone to remind her that she was worth investing in…and Matt deserves to be wanted too. He’s not certain that Davia is truly over Dennis and he can’t risk his own heart getting broken.

Season 4 Prediction: Especially after last season’s flare-up of her unhealthy eating habits, I hope that this season Davia takes the time to love herself again. Fewer overwrought emotional ballads and more singing along and dancing around to Lizzo. Hopefully, growing to love herself will make Davia realize that she is wanted.

Character: Gael Martinez
Current Job: Artist/ Intern for Yuri Ellwin
Relationship Status: Newly Single/Expectant Father

Where we left them: Realizing that he couldn’t offer Callie the relationship she deserved while also being the father he wanted to be, Gael smartly broke things off with Callie at the end of last season. His impending fatherhood also forced Gael back into frustrating but financially lucrative deal with his boss, Yuri, wherein Gael does all the work and Yuri signs his name to the paintings.

Season 4 Premiere Updates: The pressure on Gael to keep Isabella close ratchets up this week. At his internship, Yuri laments that he hasn’t seen his own daughter for two years and insists that Gael do whatever it takes to make Isabella stay. Unfortunately, Gael’s efforts come too late and Sumi’s already leased the available loft to a new tenant. Thankfully, though, Sumi comes up with the plan to sublet Alice’s loft and then finds out that Dennis offered Isabella a job. She’s staying! At Dennis’ soft opening, they both revel in how their village has come together already to make a space for their child.

Season 4 Prediction: I predict a stressful season for Gael! He’ll grow tired of Yuri getting the credit for his work and quit his internship… leaving him hustling to find a way to support his impending family. I imagine him growing increasingly weary of Dennis and Isabella’s burgeoning relationship, worried that Dennis will take his place.

Character: Sumi Liu
Current Job: Medical Student
Relationship Status: Begrudgingly Single

Where we left them: Sumi was the unsung hero of Good Trouble‘s third season. She worked alongside Alice to ensure that the Coterie’s Lunar New Year went off without a hitch and she convinced Margaret Cho to direct the CBTV diversity showcase. Her efforts aren’t enough to overcome the pain she caused Alice previously, though… so her confession that she’s still in love with Alice is met with an invitation to remain friends.

Season 4 Premiere Updates: Seemingly undeterred by Alice’s rejection, Sumi continues to show up for her best friend: this time, managing the Coterie while Alice is out on the road. She finds an applicant to take the available loft — at a higher rent to pay for a new stove and toaster — and arranges to sublet Alice’s loft so she doesn’t have to worry about money while she’s on tour.

Season 4 Prediction: There’s a scene in the Season 4 trailer where Alice announces that she and Sumi are back together… and while that’s definitely what Sumi wants, I can’t help but think it’s a false flag, at least at first. I suspect one of my favorite tropes will come to pass: Sumi and Alice will pretend to be in a relationship — perhaps to keep Isabella at the Coterie — but eventually, that pretend relationship will become real.

Character: Alice Kwan
Current Job: Coterie Manager/ Stand-up Comedian
Relationship Status: Single But Emotionally Unavailable

Where we left them: Nothing about the CBTV Comedy Diversity Workshop went as Alice had hoped. Even after managing the salvage the workshop’s final showcase — with Margaret Cho as the director, no less — the CBTV Powers that Be screw everything up by pre-emptively deciding that Alice should win the talent deal. Joining her fellow comedians, Alice walks out of the CBTV program for good and performs the showcase for family and friends.

On the personal front, Alice ends her on again, off again relationship with Ruby — much to my chagrin — but resists the temptation to jump back into something with Sumi. Still carrying the scars of their past break-up, she recommends that she and Sumi just stay friends.

Season 4 Premiere Updates: When Alice was weighing whether or not to accept the rigged talent deal, Margaret Cho told her that her biggest breaks didn’t come from networks or studio, they came from fellow artists looking out for each other… and, to start Season 4, it looks like Margaret Cho lived up to her word. She invites Alice to open up for her on the road. Unfortunately, that means we don’t get much of Alice on-screen this week (a side effect of Sherry Cola staying booked and busy, no doubt) but she does appear briefly to celebrate living her dreams and advising Sumi on how to handle the interviews for the new Coterie resident.

Season 4 Prediction: Given the heavy dose of comedy workshop that we saw last season, I suspect this season will be more about Alice’s personal life. I want to see Alice’s new (hard-won) confidence being put to great use… with her parents, her brother and, of course with Sumi.

Character: Joaquin
Current Job: Independent Investigative Reporter
Relationship Status: Taken, Allegedly

Where we left them: N/A

Season 4 Premiere Updates: Joaquin is the newest member of the Coterie, just having moved into the empty loft. He’s an independent investigative journalist whose last story was a five-part expose on deputy gangs in the Sherriff’s Department. Almost immediately, I think that can’t be a coincidence: Callie’s first case with Kathleen help expose the gang culture in the Sherriff’s Department and now he just so happened to move into same apartment complex?

And then, on top of that, he seems immune to the charms of Mariana Adams Foster? She comes over during the food truck’s soft opening, introduces herself and tries to learn a little about him. But with every question Mariana asks, he redirects the attention back to her and, eventually, Mariana calls him out for his games. Unprovoked, Joaquin shares that he’s seeing someone and calls Mariana out on coming over to flirt with him. Sufficed to say, Mariana is not amused.

Season 4 Prediction: I do not trust this guy at all. Maybe it’s because I watched him play the mobster’s son for years on General Hospital but I don’t believe he’s well-intentioned. That said, I think his flirtation with Mariana will lead to something real and, eventually, he’ll be forced to choose between his work and his new love.

Character: Dennis Cooper
Current Job: Owner and Chef of The Toast Truck
Relationship Status: Reluctantly Single

Where we left them: Last season, Dennis made tremendous strides working through the residual grief of his son’s death. He learned that instead of isolating because of his grief, he need to reach out to the people around him, including his chosen family at the Coterie, especially Davia. He channels his passion for cooking into a new career: the owner of a food truck.

Season 4 Premiere Updates: With the soft opening just around the corner, Dennis is working to figure out the business end of The Toast Truck. With years of experience in the restaurant industry, Isabella volunteers to help him lower his food costs. They work so well together that Dennis offers Isabella a job.

On the personal front, things don’t work out quite as well for Dennis. After wavering between him and Matt, Davia finally makes her decision about who she wants to be with…and it’s not him. I expected him to fight more… to make a case for why it should be him… but he accept Davia’s decision and pledges to get his shit together. Maybe one day, he tells Gael, if it’s meant to be, it’ll be.

Season 4 Prediction: I know I’ve been a longtime Dennis/Davia shipper — can you believe how much this show makes you care about straight people?! — but the chemistry between Dennis and Isabella can’t be denied. I’m looking for them to grow close as they work together at The Toast Truck and shares his experience as a parent with her.

Character: Isabella Tavez
Current Job: Staff at The Toast Truck
Relationship Status: Single/Expectant Mother

Where we left them: Feeling guilty for taking up too much space in Gael’s life, Isabella made plans to move out late last season. She’d go to work in a friend’s restaurant and stay in his guest house until the baby came. But when pain sends Isabella to the hospital, Gael’s desperate to keep her nearby and to formalize their relationship as co-parents.

Season 4 Premiere Updates: Much of what happens to Isabella in this week’s premiere happens without her knowledge. Desperately wanting Isabella to stay close, Gael secretly sublets Alice’s loft — which will help pay for Alice’s expenses while she’s on the road — to give Isabella her own space. She’s grateful for Alice’s generosity but wants to work and start saving money for when the baby arrives. She doesn’t want to depend on Gael exclusively. But after helping Dennis sort out the business side of The Toast Truck, Dennis offers her a job.

Isabella is staying! The Coterie is going to have a baby after all!

Season 4 Prediction: I’m telling you: Isabella and Dennis! It’s going to be a thing.

Character: Malika Williams
Current Job: Assistant to Los Angeles City Councilwoman Lucia Morales
Relationship Status: In a Polyamorous Relationship with Dyonte and Angelica

Where we left them: On the professional front, Malika finishes her internship at Dignity & Power Now (DPN) and is offered a full-time position. But when she’s approached by a member of the City Council — a woman who happens to be the ex-girlfriend of Malika’s current girlfriend — she can’t pass on the opportunity to change the system from within. So she’s got a new job and burgeoning relationships with Dyonte and Angelica when her ex-boyfriend, Isaac, shows up and asks if they can resume their relationship.

Season 4 Premiere Updates: It’s her first day at work in the Councilwoman’s office and Malika is greeted with flowers from Dyonte to start the day and is welcomed home by flowers from Angelica (a nuAngelica, mind you). But between the gifts from her partners, Malika’s consumed by thoughts of her former partner, Isaac, who has returned and asked to resume their relationship.

Their relationship. A monogamous one. No Dyonte and, though Issac doesn’t know about her, no Angelica either. Just them like it used to be. They meet up on the basketball court like Quincy McCall and Monica Wright… and you think, for a second, that Malika’s going to give up her relationships like Quincy let go of his stewardess fiancée. But she doesn’t. Though she loves Isaac — and their chemistry remains palpable — she’s grown in his absence and she can’t shrink for him.

At Dennis’ soft launch, Malika introduces both her partners to each other and to her friends and chosen family.

Season 4 Prediction: Malika and Dyonte’s relationship will be tested when DPN and Malika’s new boss, Councilwoman Morales, find themselves on opposite ends of an issue. And perhaps because Lucia Morales is played by the actress that played Adele on from latter seasons of The L Word, I’m expecting some duplicity… maybe she tries to come between Malika and Angelika.

Character: Callie Adams Foster
Current Job: Associate at Kathleen Gale and Associates
Relationship Status: Newly Single

Where we left them: After struggling to adjust sharing Gael with future baby mama, Callie’s both heartbroken and relieved when he finally ends their relationship. On the professional front, Callie’s got her hands full: with the murder trial of Tommy Sung (with her other ex, Jamie, working for the prosecution) and the impending indictment of Kathleen Gale on federal charges.

Season 4 Premiere Updates: Much to my surprise, the jury finds Tommy Sung not guilty of killing his boyfriend… and while Kathleen’s success was supposed to mean that Tommy’s father, Ken, would offer proof of his sister’s life to the FBI (they think Denise Chen is dead) and rid them of that headache, things get a bit more complicated. To help Denise escape her abusive husband, Kathleen took money from the husband’s retainer and now the FBI has those financial records. Without something more substantive to trade for her freedom — Denise implicating her ex in a crime, for example — Kathleen is certainly headed for prison.

Initially, Ken refuses to help… to do so would leave his sister too exposed and put her life in danger. Callie reminds him that Kathleen kept her end of the bargain and now he’s obligated to do the same but he stands firm. With one Sung man refusing to help, Callie turns to the other: she sits down with Tommy to celebrate the verdict, while acknowledging his loss. Their rapport is so comforting that Tommy lets his guard down for a moment… confessing what really happened at the drop-off that night. He shoved Zack and he stumbled and fell over the edge. Unbeknownst to Tommy, Callie records the entire confession and threatens to give it to Zack’s family if Ken Sung doesn’t produce the information that Kathleen needs.

Having crossed several ethical lines to ensure her client’s freedom, Callie meets with Jamie and apologizes for stealing his files and giving information to her Legal Aid clients. She admits she judged him and that that she has some perspective, she recognizes the need to compromise. In turn, Jamie admits that he needs to be more willing to stick to his beliefs and that sometimes he needs someone to keep him accountable. He confesses that he still loves her — which, TBH, Maia Mitchell has never looked better so I can hardly blame him — and Callie admits that she still loves him too.

Season 4 Prediction: I just want them to let Callie Adams Foster stay single for just one season. Just one. Also? I wonder if Callie’s the target of Joaquin’s investigation.

“Good Trouble” Episode 319 Recap: It’s Closing Time

Back when Good Trouble premiered, I issued a warning in my initial review:

There is, admittedly, some nervousness about Good Trouble falling into the same trap as The Fosters: endeavoring to tell more stories than the show has time to tell well which led to characters, storylines and the audience being shortchanged. It was clear that the writers had a lot of great stories to tell — many from communities whose stories often go unheard — and that’s laudable; but maybe let’s not try to shoehorn all those stories in at once.

And while, over three seasons, Good Trouble has done a good job of assuaging me of that fear, it all came rushing back during “Closing Arguments” cold open. The show found a unique way to showcase all of this season’s questions for all its main characters and I began to worry. Even with an extra 30 minutes of runtime, it seemed impossible that the show would be able to address them all in a way that felt satisfactory. I was right to be worried. There are issues brought up in the cold open — whether Alice got into the CBTV program because she was sleeping with Ruby or whether Malika is actually poly — that aren’t dealt with at all in the season finale. There are others — like Mariana’s resolution with the Fight Club girls and Alice’s decision about Sumi — that are shortchanged so much that the conclusion feels unearned.

But what makes last night’s Good Trouble finale particularly frustrating is that, instead of finding a way to tighten the storytelling — by excluding, for instance, the comedy showcase or Davia’s imagined performance of Sara Bareilles’ “Breathe Again” — the writers made a different narrative choice: cliffhangers for everybody! Storylines that the audience has invested in over the season simply go unresolved. What happened to Tommy Sung? I don’t know. Did he kill his boyfriend? I don’t know. Is Kathleen going to jail? I don’t know. Will Davia choose Matt or Dennis? I don’t know. The show sees some utility in stringing those stories out, I do not. To be clear: I don’t mind a good cliffhanger but the overuse here distracts from the legit cliffhangers — the return of Malika’s ex-boyfriend, Isaac, and Callie’s proclamation that she’s leaving, most notably — and, ultimately, feels manipulatve.

“Closing Arguments” was not Good Trouble‘s finest hour (and 30 minutes) but I’m grateful that it’ll get another season to right this wrong.

When “Closing Arguments” picks up with Alice, she’s rehearsing for the CBTV showcase under Margaret Cho’s watchful eye. Nearby, Sumi and Ruby are sewing the sketch’s costumes and Sumi expresses her happiness for her and Alice. Ruby corrects Sumi: she and Alice are just friends, contrary to what Alice led her to believe. I worry for a half a second that Sumi will hit on Ruby — in part because she’s always found Ruby attractive but also to get back at Alice for lying — but before anything can happen, Magda interrupts to tell her fellow comedians about a leaked e-mail exchange between CBTV’s network executives and the head of Human Resources. In the e-mail, the powers that be make it clear: Alice will win this year’s talent deal.

“It’s been a few years since an Asian has won the deal,” the exchange reads.

“Asians are hot this year,” it continues, adding, “Plus with Margaret Cho directing, best to reward another female Asian comic.”

Embarrassed that the decision’s been made before they can even perform their showcase, Alice apologizes to the group. Surprisingly, most of the group is supportive of Alice taking the deal. Magda reminds a skeptical Derek that if it weren’t for Alice, the entire program would’ve been called off. Alice demurs, saying that everyone deserves a shot at the deal, but Lindsay urges her not to be a martyr. Sanjana reminds Alice that the other comedians will still be able to take advantage of the exposure from casting directors and agents. Still uncertain about what to do, Alice turns to Margaret Cho for advice.

“Well, in my experience, opportunities weren’t always offered for the purest reasons, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t accept it,” Margaret points out. But before I can cheer too much — I may have been yelling, “take the money Alice!” at my television screen — she adds, “sometimes it’s not worth it if it makes you feel shitty. You know, in my career, my biggest breaks didn’t come from networks or studios. It came from fellow artists, friends looking out for each other.”

Margaret’s advice only buttresses Alice’s instincts — she opts not to take the deal — and the other comedians finally band together and walk out on the CBTV program for good (Ruby’s left to deliver that news to the network’s HR director). Instead of letting all their hard work go to waste, the comedians gather their family and friends and perform their showcase before a friendly crowd. Alice resurrects her sketch about her mother — why she feels okay about performing her mother’s accent now, the show doesn’t bother to explain — and I gird myself for her mother’s reaction. First, she looks pained by the mimicking but eventually that gives way to the realization that she is funny. Grateful for Alice’s sacrifice, Alice’s fellow comedians retool the “Alice the Dumb Asian” sketch to be “Alice the Inspir-Asiaaaaan.”

After the show (and the afterparty), Sumi accompanies Alice back to the Coterie and Alice invites her into her loft for a nightcap. Sumi demurs, recalling what happened last time they had too much bijou, and Alice interjects that she and Ruby aren’t together. Sumi admits that she knew that already and questions why Alice wanted her to think they were back together. Alice confesses that she’s scared and doesn’t want to relive the heartache of their first break-up. She’s changed, Alice points out, but Sumi points out that she changed too. She’s not the person who took Alice on her first date with Meera — and, to her credit, she apologizes for having done that — but insists that she’s not that person anymore. She adds, “The only part of that person I want to be is the part that is still in love with you.”

Somehow Alice doesn’t swoon at Sumi’s overture, resisting the urge to fall back into old patterns. It’s too much of a risk for Alice and, instead, she tells Sumi that they’re better off as friends.

Meanwhile, Malika’s internship at Dignity & Power Now is approaching its end and DPN approaches her with an offer of a full-time position. She doesn’t accept right away, though: she’s been approached by Angelica’s ex, Councilwoman Lucia Morales, and offered a position on her staff. While Malika never imagined herself outside the activist space, the opportunity to bring lasting change through legislation and public funding is appealing and she wants time to consider it. She keeps the news of DPN’s job offer from Dyonte…who she wants to save from believing that he’s DPN’s second choice, in case she decides not to take the City Council job.

It’s a kind gesture, one far kinder than Dyonte deserves because when he hears about the job offer from Councilwoman Morales, he nearly accuses Malika of selling out. He believes that politicians play lip service to the important issues during their campaigns and then work to uphold the status quo once in office. And listen, Dyonte might be right — the fact that Councilwoman Lucia Morales is played by the actress that played Adele on from latter seasons of The L Word makes me immediately skeptical — but, after the conflict that he and Malika had about her not feeling supported, you’d think he’d silence his own misgivings and simply offer her his support, but apparently not.

Later, Malika’s out on a date with Angelica and talk of Malika’s job situation — and, by extension, Angelica’s ex and Malika’s boyfriend — dominates the conversation. Malika presses Angelica to find out if Councilwoman Morales is worth giving up her role as an activist for and Angelica admits that Lucia is passionate about changing the system. Angelica thinks they would work well together. Later, she pivots back to Dyonte and advises Malika to do what’s best for her and trust that Dyonte’s resilient enough to land on his own two feet. It is, in some ways, understandable to have conversations about your exes early in your relationship but here it feels like so heavy that it inadvertently tamps down the chemistry that’s been building between this pair. Between that and Angelica’s ambivalence about Malika’s polyamory: I’m not sure how long for this world their relationship is.

The next day at DPN, Imani tells Dyonte he’s earned the full-time position at DPN, which unbeknownst to him, Malika had already turned down. She’s going to work for the City Councilwoman and views it as an opportunity to continue the work she’s started at DPN. She promises not to compromise herself or her beliefs as she tries to change the system from within. Eventually, they just agree to disagree and settle back into their relationship…and one night, after the couple says goodnight, who would reappear at the Coterie but Isaac?!

Now that’s how a cliffhanger is supposed to work!

Good Trouble Coterie Sundries

+ Callie is confronted by her shortcomings this episode — with a special guest appearance by Judge Wilson — and is reminded that she doesn’t always have to take the most complicated way out. For years, she’s been adapting to the situations that she finds herself in and now she’s stuck in reaction mode. Wilson urges her to leave her safe cocoon and bet on herself.

Judge Wilson: It’s time for you to believe that you can be more than just the Callie Adams Foster that we all know…and love.
Callie: What if I can’t? What if this is the best I’ll ever be? As good as it gets
Judge Wilson: I don’t believe anything’s as good as it gets. You have the power to make every day better. To let go of everything and everyone who’s holding you down. You deserve the moon and the stars. You just have to have the courage to reach for them.

This exchange is, perhaps, Maia Mitchell’s best work of the series. Unfortunately, the whole thing is a figament of Callie’s imagination so who knows how much of this means anything — is Maia Mitchell leaving the Fosters-verse or is Callie leaving Kathleen Gale and Associates? — but one thing’s for sure: Callie Adams Foster most definitely needs to be in therapy.

+ Isabella and the baby are fine but her drop in blood pressure and the need to be rushed to the hospital pushes Gael to finally make the decisions he needs to make. He and Callie break up — he cares for her but admits she deserves more than what he can give right now — and Gael asserts himself in his relationship with Isabella and in his future child’s life.

+ Last we checked in on Mariana, things at Bulk Beauty had become untenable and she was looking for a way out, facillitated by her new BFF, Zelda Grant. But when she sits down at the interview with Revitalize Beauty, their pitch is identical to Bulk Beauty…and, coincidentally, it’s being funded by Jackie Morton at the Hallis Group…the same would-be investor that rejected the pitch from BB.

Tired of being Claire’s punching bag, she gives BB her notice. Claire fights back until finally Rachel and Gina stand up and say enough. They all acknowledge that they work better with Mariana than without her and even Claire concedes the point. Besides, she admits, holding a grudge is exhausting…and just like that, the fight is over. But before Mariana can rejoin the partners, she confesses that she interviewed elsewhere. They concoct a plan to infiltrate and destroy Revitalize Beauty: starting with getting Mariana that job as the project manager.

Mariana goes to Jackie directly and pitches herself for the job. Jackie assumes that she’s coming to threaten Hallis Group with a lawsuit because of the similarities between Revitalize and Bulk Beauty but Mariana overwhelms her with evidence that she’d be great for the job. She tells Jackie that she’s separated herself from her partners at Bulk Beauty because she didn’t want to continue to be tarnished by their bad reputations. Mariana even produces a glowing recommendation from Evan Speck to bolster her case. She gets the job so apparently Mariana’s going to be practicing corporate espionage next season?

But wait, there’s a plot twist: after confirming that he sent the recommendation, Evan asks Mariana to talk…but who would be sitting right over his shoulder as he awaits her answer? Jackie Morton.

+ In one of my favorite scenes of the season, Dennis shares the news of his success with Davia: he’s officially licensed to operate a food truck. None of it would be possible without Davia, Dennis tearfully acknowledges…not the license, not the food truck, not his life. She saved him. Later Davia watches Dennis and I think, finally, she’s going to recognize that Dennis has learned to deal with his grief without it eclipsing him. But when she sings “Breathe Again,” she thinks of Dennis and Matt and I have no idea who she’s going to choose.

+ Listen, y’all know I love a good musical performance…and Emma Hunton looked and sounded AMAZING…but did I need to hear that rendition of “Breathe Again?” No, I did not…especially at the expense of actually finding out if Davia chose Matt or Dennis!

Good Trouble returns for its fourth season in 2022. Until then, catch-up on Hulu or the Freeform app.

“Good Trouble” Episode 318 Recap: Queer Love Connections

There’s a moment in this week’s episode of Good Trouble that made me salivate over the possibilities of a genuine love triangle between three queer Asian women again: it’s early morning at the Coterie and Sumi steps out into the hallway in her pajamas. At the other end of the hall, Ruby steps out of Alice’s loft, fully dressed. She’s wearing the same thing she had on when Sumi saw her last so it’s clear that Ruby spent the night… and now the two competitors for Alice’s heart have a showdown in the hall. If Ruby knows she’s competing with Sumi, she doesn’t let on: there’s not an ounce of shame in her walk to the Coterie elevator. Sumi tries to put on a brave face — exchanging pleasantries laced with a hint of disdain — but her disappointment is palpable.

I loved this scene and, despite my tremendous misgivings about how we got to this moment, I wanted more of this. I wanted more of Ruby’s swagger, Sumi’s jealousy and Alice being a BAWSE, having these two women compete for her affection. Three Asian lesbians in a love triangle? YES, PLEASE. I wanted it despite myself.

But it was too much to hope for, really: after all, Good Trouble already has one too many love triangles on-screen and prolonging another for the sake of entertainment — no matter how groundbreaking — would’ve just been too much. So, by the time Ruby and Sumi have their showdown in the hallway, the triangle is already over.

Yes, Ruby spent the night with Alice but, in the light of day, Alice realizes that she made a mistake. She’d offered comfort to Ruby because Alice didn’t want to be another in a string of disappointments for her, which, at once, feels crueler than anything Alice has ever done and yet exactly what you’d expect Alice to do. But when Ruby wakes up with hope that their relationship can grow from this, Alice sets the record straight: her heart’s just not in it (she leaves out the part where she’s possibly falling in love with her first ex-girlfriend, again).

“I hope we can still be friends,” Alice asks, meekly.

And, in a sign that Good Trouble definitely has some gays in its writers’ room, Ruby answers back, “Of course. I mean, what kind of lesbians would we be if we didn’t stay friends after breaking up?”

But, of course, Sumi doesn’t know this when she spots Ruby in the hall and later, when she and Alice cross paths in the Coterie kitchen, all she really knows is that Ruby spent the night in Alice’s loft. She asks about Ruby — offering Alice the opportunity to clarify the relationship between them — but Alice doesn’t recognize the opening for what it is and, instead, laments that Ruby’s been forced to resign her position at CBTV. Alice does try to pivot back to the personal: she asks Sumi to talk about their Lunar New Year kiss but Sumi dismisses it as the byproduct of a little too much baijiu (Alexa, play that song that goes, “Blame it on the a-a-a-a-a-alcohol.”).

Sumi heads for safer ground, urging Alice to find a way to save the comedy showcase. Alice reminds her ex that they don’t have a director and Sumi encourages her to ask Margaret Cho. Alice dismisses that outright: Margaret Cho’s too famous and too busy to have time to direct the showcase. Plus, after Alice called Margaret out for her inaction, Alice doesn’t think she’ll be receptive to the invitation, given that Margaret Cho blocked her on social media. But even as Alice is content to wallow, Sumi is undeterred: “where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

The way, as it turns out, is to lie. With an assist from Ruby, Sumi meets up with Margaret Cho, pretending to be a reporter from Heysian Gaysian, an online quarterly that focuses on queer Asian representation in Hollywood…which is definitely a thing Magaret Cho and I would subscribe to, if such a thing existed. With Alice feeding her questions from a nearby car, Sumi tries to interview Margaret Cho about her interview with the Hollywood Reporter and the ramifications for the CBTV program. But, of course, it turns into a comedy of errors: Alice bungles the questions or talks too fast or talks while Margaret’s trying to answer a question, leaving Sumi to improvise in front of Margaret. It’s a big mess. Eventually, Margaret Cho catches on and invites whomever’s on the other side of Sumi’s earpiece into the diner to tell her what’s really going on.

Alice slides into the diner booth next to Sumi and explains the reasoning behind their elaborate scheme: there’s no way CBTV would cancel the showcase if Margaret agreed to be the director. Unfortunately, time is not on their side: he showcase is just a week away and there’s no way that Margaret could fit directing into the projects she’s already juggling. Alice accepts defeat as a casualty of things eventually getting better and hopes she didn’t burn down her dreams in the process. The girls walk out, dejected, but Sumi rushes back in to get her phone…or, at least, that’s what she tells Alice. Instead, she sits back down with Margaret Cho and makes one final pitch to get the famed comedienne’s help.

“Let’s face it: one article in the Hollywood Reporter, blowing the whistle on a program that you participated in and profited from doesn’t make you a hero,” Sumi states plainly, before making a more emotional plea. “And I know you’re a hero because you showed me and Alice and every other Asian girl that we can be strong and funny and in charge. You inspired us, and now is not the time to let us down.”

Later, Alice joins her fellow CBTV comedians to hear about the fate of the showcase. She apologizes for the way that everyone found out about her relationship with Ruby but assures them that their relationship wasn’t why Alice had gotten into the program. Cooler heads have, seemingly, prevailed and most of the comics are more understanding than they seemed originally. Even Lindsay — who would be completely justified in having animosity towards Alice — stands up for her and asserts that Alice deserved her place in the program. The lone holdout is Derek, who remains critical of Alice’s role in bringing the program to its potential demise. It’s at that moment that it finally clicks for Alice: Derek is the one who told Scott about her relationship with Ruby.

The revelation causes tempers to flare until the CBTV HR director interrupts. She delivers what sounds like bad news — the showcase can’t go on without a director — but then introduces the new director: Margaret Cho! As everyone celebrates the news, Alice asks what changed Margaret’s mind and she admits Alice’s stunt with Sumi deserved to be rewarded. She tells Alice that Sumi is a keeper and, bashfully, Alice admits that she already knows that.

I take that admission as a sign that Alice will persist. Sumi’s grand gesture — one of the greatest romantic tropes — speaks far louder than anything she said earlier about their kiss. Alice’s affirmation has to mean that she’ll leave rehearsals, she’ll find Sumi and they’ll finally have an honest conversation about their feelings, right? Oh, if only.

Later, Alice and Sumi toast the success of their stunt on the Coterie rooftop. Sumi also offers credit to Ruby — who, apparently, is just living rent free in Sumi’s head at this point — and Alice shares that Margaret got Ruby re-instated as co-director. Sumi asks about the potential conflict of interest, given Alice’s relationship with Ruby…and it’s the opening I’ve been waiting for. All Alice has to do is tell Sumi the truth: she and Ruby have decided to just be friends and confess that her heart belongs to Sumi, but Alice doesn’t do it. Sharing these moments with Sumi has brought back the memories of their shared past…including good moments like their first date at a seniors’ swimming class and their bad ones, like Sumi cheating and the fallout from the heartbreak. The pain’s been made real again and Alice just isn’t ready to risk that again.

But while Alice’s queer love connection may have failed this week, Malika’s is just getting started.

Malika is still playing host to Yvonne’s children at the Coterie and, as a result, switches her schedule to work the afternoon shift at Douro. She rants to Angelica about how holding Yvonne in jail — over what is, apparently, a clerical error — is grossly unfair and puts the family’s entire life at risk. Angelica volunteers to ask her friend on the city council for help and Malika welcomes any help she could provide. That friend on the City Council? It’s actually Angelica’s ex. And when Angelica casually says she’s “on the city council,” she really means she’s on the City Council…her ex is Councilwoman Lucia Morales. Angelica calls in a favor and secures Yvonne’s release…much to her kids and Malika’s delight.

With the crisis averted and Angelica’s queerness confirmed, Malika presses her on whether or not their hike was meant to be a date. They do this dance around each other — the directing in this scene is particularly good — which only fuels the tension building between them. Angelica acknowledges that she wanted it to be a date but she didn’t want make assumptions. Malika admits that she didn’t know if she wanted it to be a date, at first, because she’d never dated a woman before…and, of course, Angelica seizes on the “at first” part of her answer (which, again: proof that Good Trouble has gays in its writers’ room).

“I would like to go on a date with you,” Malika confesses. “But I’d want to ask you properly, you know? Just so there’s no question in either of our minds what we’re doing.”

Malika steps into Angelica’s physical space, ostensibly to grab another glass to clean, before stepping back and waiting for Angelica to respond. It’s a power move — it’s a top-off, actually — that I don’t entirely buy a newly queer person making, but, on the other hand, it’s very, very hot so I’m willing to overlook it. Angelica grabs Malika’s hand and pulls her back towards her and…just so there’s no confusion…they kiss. It’s all very, very hot…and Flavia’s “Blue” is the absolute perfect song to soundtrack the moment…and I can’t wait to see what happens with Angelica and Malika.

Good Trouble Coterie Sundries

+ I suspect that, due to COVID protocols, it must be easier for Good Trouble (and shows like it) to keep storylines siloed from each other…but as I watched Alice grapple with her past and a potential future with Sumi and Malika navigate her first romantic feelings for a woman, I couldn’t help but think about how both those characters (and their storylines) could’ve benefitted from some time together. Their friendship has always been a grounding force…and it would’ve been helpful to lean on it here.

+ There was a brief moment in “Shame” where Gael admits that he and Isabella can’t raise a baby in the Coterie — a point that was, seemingly, re-emphasized last week as they met with his parents — but this week, we got to see a bit of what it might look like if they tried. It was pretty adorable, actually. Everyone at the Coterie pitches in to help get Yvonne’s kids ready for school…and for a moment, I thought, “well, this could actually work. They could totally raise the baby here.”

But, of course, just as I start to imagine the possibility, Isabella starts to experience cramping and bleeding…and she and I both fear she’s about to have a miscarriage?

+ I know part of the Autotraddle TV Team brand is “make it gay, you cowards” but this week when they revealed that Tommy and the boy he allegedly killed, Zach, were secretly gay for each other…that just felt unnecessary?

+ The girls at Bulk Beauty continue to profit off of Mariana’s hard work — she helps them secure a second brand partnership with Like Nature — but instead of offering her seat back at the table, they extend minimal thanks and usher her back to work on the algorithm. But what becomes increasingly clear, after Mariana salvages the pitch meeting, is that Claire’s the only member of the Bulk Beauty team unwilling to give Mariana the credit she’s earned. Gina suspects the root of Claire’s disdain for Mariana lies with Raj — who Claire is now dating — so Mariana sets out to make things right with them both…not to regain her partnership, mind you, but to simply make amends with her friends.

But the problem for Claire was never Raj, it was always Mariana: the lies she told and the way she’d undermined Claire when she was appointed team leader. Mariana doesn’t call Claire out on her bullshit — refraining from pointing out that Claire was the lead because Mariana was penalized for something they were all complicit in or noting that Claire holds Mariana responsible for undermining her but not the person who did the actual undermining or the way the girls wouldn’t advocate for pay equity for Speckulate’s staff members of color — and it annoys me to no end. Thankfully, though, she recognizes that the situation is untenable and hits Zelda up about that job interview.

Next Week: The Good Trouble Season Three Finale!