Next Tuesday, June 18th, Good Trouble returns for season two of people making terrible choices in romance, everyone dealing with being an adult, depression, sexism, racism, homophobia, the law, and tech companies.
Previously …
When we left season one, Alice accidentally opted to come out to her parents, Dennis opted into care instead of committing suicide, Callie opted to break the law, Alice’s ex Sumi opted not to marry Meera (played by the amazing Briana Venskus), Gael’s boyfriend opted to dump him while Gael struggled to balance his art and his job, Mariana opted to confess to making a spreadsheet of salaries for the company, Malika opted to keep fighting for justice, and Daveena opted not to move to Fitchburg.
Whew. That’s a lot for one season. And in there, we had visits from The Fosters characters like Jude-icorn, New Jesus, Brandon, and of course the Moms. It was a wild and crazy ride that we actually enjoyed.
Given how little we liked The Fosters, it was quite surprising that Good Trouble is so much better. Simply by moving the story to growing up and facing real world dilemmas, the show solved the biggest pain-point in its parent show. Instead of having the drama be over the top, they kept it all real and thus made it more relatable, enjoyable, and entertaining.
Where We Stand
Season two picks up right where season one left off. We’re in the court case for Jamal Thompson, the young black man who after being shot in the back by police officers died because the police didn’t call for medical soon enough. Callie’s boss, Judge Wilson, was presiding over the case, and Callie had been punted off it for not revealing that she not only knew Malika, but lived in the same building.
Also we’re dealing with the fallout for Mariana, who was ‘saved’ by a very I-am-Spartacus moment after her spreadsheet of salaries went internally-public. The whole company at Spekulate was now aware of the gender and race discrepancies in pay, and while everyone was pretty sure it was Mariana who did it, no one knew for sure. But worse? People assumed she got away with it because Evan, the founder, was into her.
Everyone in the Coterie has to face the consequences. Gael has to decide about his art and who’s important to him. Callie has to chose between Gael and Jamie, and hopefully pass the bar. Dennis has to work the program with Daveena by his side, who’s struggling with her own choices about the man she’s been having an affair with forever.
And then there’s Alice, our resident building manager and just-out lesbian. Alice messed things up, twice, with her girlfriend Joey because she wasn’t out. Now that she’s out to her parents, who took it ridiculously well, she has to learn how to live life as an open lesbian. As we know, coming out the first time is hard, but it doesn’t really get a whole lot easier.
What’s Next?
The first three episodes of season two keep up the pace from the first season. The legal cases are complicated and tight, the workspace drama is frustratingly accurate, and Alice does what pretty much all newly-public queers do.
It’s gaytastic, but Alice is Alice and stumbles over her feet. This especially comes to a peak in her first public performance. Episode three, “Doble Quince,” is about Gael’s sister, Jazmin, having her Quinceañera, and most (if not all) the storylines will cross there. Including Alice’s.
