Good Trouble Season 1 | Episode 11 “Less Than” Review

The general theme of Good Trouble seems to be fighting for what you believe in, and that proves prominent in episode 11. As Callie fights for a fair jury selection in the Jamal Thompson case, Mariana fights for equal pay among race (and gender), and Malika fights for Jamal Thompson even when new videos show maybe she shouldn’t fight for him. Also happening in this episode? Awkward dinner situations that we’ve probably all experienced and would rather forget. Sumi’s jealousy over Alice is showing. Stef and Lena make another appearance and remind us that communication is key to any relationship. Callie and Jamie are SUPER cute.

A lot of good stuff happens, so let’s get to it.

Jury Selection

The Jamal Thompson case is getting closer to trial, but one thing is clear during jury selection – race discrimination. They intentionally ask racial biased questions, and slowly dwindle down the jury until there’s literally only one black person left. The prosecution raises the Batson objection which challenges that jurors can’t be dismissed on race, ethnicity or sex. However, it’s incredibly hard to prove and Wilson doesn’t want to do it, but Callie still gives him a memo of her opinion and proof of why she believes he should rule that motion. She does this especially after she learns that Wilson’s son got his charges for trying to hit a police officer dropped. I don’t know. Wilson and his family obviously live the privileged life, but I also think he’s in some sort of cahoots with the police department. Callie makes sure to not so coyly throw that factor of his son in there when arguing her point of racial discrimination. Wilson’s son certainly didn’t get shot and killed by an officer he tried to hit. Why? Because he’s a white privileged guy. Jamal Thompson? Not so privileged or white. While she has the truest point, Wilson doesn’t seem to like that she called him out like that and takes her off the Jamal Thompson case claiming that she’s lost her objectification. I call BS.

Race Pay Gap

While preparing the anonymous gender pay gap spreadsheet for BYTE Club, Mariana discovers that there is more than just a pay gap between genders. There’s also a significant gap between races.  She brings it up to the girls, which are predominantly white (seriously, only Mariana and Casey), but they decide that the gender pay gap and the race pay gap are separate issues and should be handled as such.  Meaning, the predominately white group – Even Casey – decides to put off the race pay gap situation. Mariana goes along with it until her moms advise her that she shouldn’t be fighting so hard for people who apparently aren’t willing to do the same for her. So, Mariana takes it back to the girls and explains how wide the gap is, and they agree to fight for this issue too. The only problem (which Casey points out)? She and Mariana are the only two women of color engineers. So, if they do this, they lose their anonymity. Mariana takes her concern to Raj, and he understands, but he puts his own race on the spreadsheet, not concerned about the anonymity since he is the only Indian engineer there. You keep earning those brownie points, Raj!

Speaking of Raj and Mariana, Alex keeps calling them a “Miraj” in his condescending a-hole way. He’s also still belittling Mariana by making her do all the grunt work even when she finds mistakes in HIS coding. Joke’s on him, though, because at a staff meeting with the head honchoes, his mistake gets called out and he brushes off an excuse for finding a solution after the meeting. Mariana stands up for herself by stating her own solution for the mistake. Evan likes her initiative. So much so, that he keeps her after the meeting and asks why she never followed up with him about her app proposal. She kind of calls out Angela for telling her to respect Evan’s time, who calls out Josh for advising her to tell the employees that. Long story short, Josh gets taken off a big proposal meeting, Angela gets called out, and Mariana gets to follow up on her app proposal. Yay!

Independent to a Fault

When new videos surface of Jamal Thompson hating on black women, Malika feels the heat from her friends for defending someone who didn’t appreciate women like her. She gets super defensive and is tired of constantly having to explain her reasons to her white friends. Isaac tries to explain it for her, but she gets defensive on that too, and pushes him away. He calls her out and says there’s such a thing as being “independent to a fault.” She confesses to Callie that she feels like they should all look out for each other, and Callie asks who’s looking out for her.

Notable Mentions:

• Judge Wilson gave the most awkward toast ever where he praised Callie in front of his son for turning her life around after being a juvenile delinquent.
• Sumi is still in love with Alice. That much is clear as her jealous side comes out and she goes out of her way to recall all the good times they had. This not only puts Sumi and Meera’s relationship at risk, but also possibly Alice and Joey’s. I hope it doesn’t because Alice deserves someone like Joey, not someone who can’t decide what they want.
• Don’t get me wrong, I love Stef and Lena, but I feel like their storyline of communication struggles was just randomly thrown in there, much like Brandon’s was. I love catching up with the Adams Fosters clan, but I also wish their storylines would fit more with the overall arc of the episode they’re in. That being said, I do hope Stef and Lena’s relationship can survive Lena’s campaign.
• I am totally here for Callie calling Jamie and boyfriend. I love their chemistry. Sure, it’s maybe not as sizzling or deep as Callie and Gael, but it’s cute and fun to watch.

Good Trouble airs Tuesdays at 8/9c on Freeform!

Featured Image: SpoilerTV