This week’s episode of Good Trouble, aptly titled “Allies”, picks up the morning after The Coterie party in the last episode. Gael and Callie are keeping things casual while he’s trying to make an art show. Malika’s family is on her mind as she continues to fight for the Jamal Thompson case. All while Callie and Mariana are still stressing about their jobs. Just when they think they’re making headway, they get shot back down.
The Jamal Thompson Case
When we left Callie, she had just been made a clerk for the Jamal Thompson case, but a night off partying and a missing phone left her out of a last-minute memo. Ben left the writing to Rebecca, and I’m sure we all thought she was going to throw Callie under the bus in front of the judge. Surprise! She doesn’t! She tells Judge Wilson that it was a group effort for all three of them. I still think she’s super shady, though, because when Callie asks her about it, Rebecca tells Callie that Judge Wilson only has her on the case to be a “counter clerk.”
Somewhat fortunately for Callie, Wilson calls her out for not putting her – emotionless – opinion in the memo and has her write a new memo due the following morning. She takes the work home but can’t seem to write it – even after she turns down an offer from Gael. So, she meets up with lawyer friend, Jamie, for some advice. ((For those of you who didn’t watch The Fosters, Callie met Jamie at her foster brother, Brandon’s, wedding in Turks and Caicos.)) Anyways, Jamie gives her the advice that maybe Wilson is still trying to decide, and that’s why he’s pushing the case and asking for another memo. Callie relaxes, finishes the memo, and hands it to Wilson. He doesn’t let her off so easy as he argues her counter arguments for the case. I don’t see him as such a bad guy, though, he just wants to push his clerks to make sound arguments even if they don’t align with his.
At the motion hearing, Callie’s sitting with Rebecca and Ben when she sees Malika come in and sit beside Jamal’s mother. They keep eye contact and sit patiently as Judge Wilson recites his decision. He dismisses the motion that prevents the police from destroying evidence, but he’s also not dismissing the case like the defendants want. So, it’s not a total win for Callie’s side and the Thompson family, but it was a partial win since the case will go to trial.
Hard Work and Allies
Meanwhile, Mariana’s worried that her jerk of a boss, Alex, is going to fire her after what Davia called him on Marina’s Instagram live. To her surprise, though, Alex acts like nothing happened. Also, to her surprise, he’s taken credit for one of her ideas that she left on one of her apology voicemails, which he claims not to have heard or seen. Man, this guy is a real jackhole. He won’t even pronounce Mariana’s name correctly. Yes, I said won’t, not can’t. – eye roll –
When hiding from Evan, the CEO guy that Mariana kind of bombarded in the elevator with an app idea after being told not to, a fellow lady engineer, Casey, gives Mariana some advice in surviving the male-dominated office. One, make allies with the other guys. Two, make Alex look good by working harder to get the job done. Mariana takes the advice by befriending the only “nice” guy in the group, Rav. She also works late hours to make sure her team’s project gets done ahead of schedule. It’s a hit with the supervisor, but a surprise to Alex, and he totally chews her out for it. Seriously? There’s no winning with this guy for Mariana. Also, Rav, the “nice” guy, doesn’t stand up for Mariana while Alex is chewing her out. How rude.
I also want to mention a run-in Mariana had with Evan while working late. Like she literally ran into him, spilled her coffee on him, caused him to drop and shatter the screen of his phone. Oops. They’ve got to stop having such awkward run-ins. However, he did remember that she’s the one who had ideas for an app, and he asks his assistant about it, but the assistant says that she never got back to him about it. Most likely because she also got chewed out (by someone else) for telling him about the idea in the first place. I think it’s a good sign that he remembers her, though.
Family or Protest
At the party in the last episode, Malika’s brother showed up and they got into a tense discussion about their childhood, and he revealed that their mother is sick. As she continues to protest and fight for the Jamal Thompson case, her brother and mom stay on her mind. He texts her a couple times asking if she’s going to come visit. She keeps putting it off as she stands with Jamal’s mom. Then, after the ruling, Jamal’s mom invites her to dinner. Malika seems to go and leaves a voicemail for her brother saying that she just can’t be around their mom, but she loves him and still wants to see him.
Keeping it Casual
After the Coterie party, we saw Gael and Callie hooking up in the pool. They’ve decided to keep things casual and on the down low, but it appears that everyone knows everyone’s business in the Coterie. Once word gets to Davia, she doesn’t hesitate to tell her friend, Bryan – also known as Gael’s other casual hook-up. When they’re all in (what I’m assuming to be) the living room of the Coterie, things are visibly awkward, but no one says anything. Later, Bryan and Gael meet up again, and it’s obvious Bryan’s jealous as he asks if Callie knows about him. Gael assures him with a kiss that they’re all good. We then see the pair at a bar after Gael texted Callie that he couldn’t hook up that night. To his surprise, Callie shows up at the same bar to meet Jamie for drinks. This triangle (or, I guess, square if Jamie sticks around) is getting interesting.
Gael’s Art
The morning after the pool hook-up, Callie’s perusing Gael’s art in his room. He mentions that he’s planning on submitting one piece to a gallery show, but it costs $2,000 to get the piece bronzed. Well, that plan goes down the drain – or rather he shatters his piece on the floor – after he meets with his sister who’s behind $1,800 on her rent. In her defense, she’s quit her job after being discriminated against for being transgender. However, I also feel bad for Gael having to put his dreams aside.
Good Trouble airs Tuesdays at 8/9c on The CW!
Good Trouble: Season 1 | Episode 2 “The Coterie” Review
