You can never go wrong with moms.
It’s always a delight when Lena and Stef guest star in an installment, and Good Trouble Season 5 Episode 17 gave us some family moments between the Adams-Foster parents and the Hunters.
And the hour also saw Mariana and Joaquin doing the opposite of what Callie told them to do. Go figure, right?
Picking up where things left off with Alice and the Ferret trio, things weren’t going well between Morty and Maury, and predictably, it was because the latter was hurt that Morty never told him he was gay sooner.
It’s not uncommon for people in Maury’s position to think this way and feel as if not knowing someone they love to their core is a personal affront.
He felt as if their whole friendship was in question if Morty could keep something so monumental from him.
It’s a generally human reaction to situations like this, but also self-absorbed.
Instead of considering what it was like for Morty to live most of his life in the closet and not feel comfortable coming out and embracing who he is, not only to his friends but to himself as well, he made it about him.
Maury needed to get outside his own head and feelings, but for the most part, Alice Kwan was tasked with guiding these two men through the situation.
And much of it hinged on Alice teaching Morty that sometimes, presumably, part of the queer experience consists of coddling other people’s feelings for the sake of maintaining a relationship.
It’s not to say that Maury was horrible for his behavior, as he isn’t, and he clearly loves and cares about Morty. And Alice’s advice about meeting Maury halfway and not throwing out three decades of friendship was valid.
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Nothing that the two were caught up on was big enough to warrant them falling out.
Yet it doesn’t stop some of what she said from being unfortunate in the sense of what someone may have to put up with for the sake of their cherished relationships.
Nevertheless, seeing the men make amends, express themselves so openly, and return to their usual form was great.
The cross-generational approach to exploring the queer experience is something that has landed well for this particular arc.
Maury: I’m happy with the way I live.
Morty: I wasn’t. I’m tired of living the way that other people want me to. Including you.
The only pity is that we didn’t spend more time on it much sooner.
It’s not lost that while Alice is doing a great job assisting Morty, her relationship with Sumi is hitting some rough patches.
Alice and Sumi are not ready to move in together, and it’s clear that Alice has some unresolved feelings about the prospect of leaving The Coterie behind.
It’s an apt thing to explore, especially since we’ll have to do the same soon enough as the series ends.
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She’s taking all of this out on Sumi, who is unable to read between the lines and figure out the source of Alice’s anxiety and irritability over them taking this next step.
It doesn’t have to mark the potential end of Sumi and Alice, but there are some things they have to talk through before they make any big moves.
Things are off between the two, though.
Sometimes, it doesn’t feel like a stretch to believe that Alice may have outgrown Sumi, who has often served as a bit of a security blanket in human form for Alice.
As their relationship hits some bumps in the road, something new is finally blossoming for Gael Martinez.
He and Jay have been dancing around each other since they first met, so it was well past time for Gael to be upfront with Jay and make a move.
They’re nice together. Jay is encouraging in the ways that Gael needs. And he supports not only Gael’s art but also helps him think outside the box.
Their first kiss was hot and something out of a romance, from the lighting to the hand placement and longevity.
Gael: I was avoiding the studio. But it’s not you. Well, I mean, it is, kind of. Maybe I misread this, but I’ve been feeling a vibe between us.
Jay: You did not misread the vibe.
I’m glad that Gael is looking for something meaningful and real, not just a quick hookup. He’s due for a romantic, soft, sweet, healthy relationship out of attraction, intimacy, and choice rather than circumstance.
And even Denvia had their sweet moments during the hour.
Their constant bickering was getting exhausting for a bit, and it was easy to forget why we were rooting for this endgame.
However, Dennis Cooper can up the ante with charm and romance when he wants to, and their first few moments of bonding at Haven, dancing together, were sweet.
After that glowing review, he didn’t hesitate to thank Davia for her neverending support through this venture.
But then Ranjit had to come and cockblock all the Denvia goodness.
But surprisingly, Ranjit had some good moments. That $100K investment deal is exactly what Dennis and Haven need. Ranjit came through on that front, and it’s the least he could do after his previous actions.
However, His most surprising move was how he defended Davia to the investors. He didn’t allow his determination to seal the deal to prevent him from checking that man on his sexism and making him apologize to her.
You could tell that Davia Moss started to see the depth of Ranjit and grew to respect him a bit more than she previously did. However, his casual coke issue proves he is still a liability who requires a lot of self-work.
Some of the major highlights of the hour came from the awkward dinner situation with Callie, Jamie, Stef, Lena, and the Hunters.
Kudos to the series for their ability to make fun of themselves and the show’s lore.
The Hunters’ joke about their kids marrying the Adams Foster kids and not having a fourth child to pair up with Mariana was hilarious.
Jim: So, how are the Libs in Sacramento?
Lena: Getting things done. Not lying about a stolen election and storming the capitol.
And it can’t be an evening out with those two without Jim initiating some healthy political debate.
Lena’s quick-witted barb about the insurrection was worth a giggle.
And indeed, drama ensued when Callie expressed her feelings about Diane hosting their engagement party.
Callie made a proper mess of things at that dinner by lying about having a party at Haven and wanting to avoid things with Diane.
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Everyone essentially abandoning Lena at the table with the Hunters so they could talk through Callie’s last-minute assertion that their engagement party would be at Haven was amusing.
And that’s saying something since the hour opened with Callie pissed off at Jamie for not defending her in a dream she had.
Amid all this, Callie needed to learn how to compromise and consider that Jamie’s parents are every bit as important to him as hers are to her.
I love Callie to bits, but she needed to give a little. Regarding marriage and family, you must learn when to concede and how best to compromise.
Stef: It is both impressive and scary how quickly you made all that up.
Callie: Thank you.
If Diane could not plan the engagement party she desired with her own daughter, and the Adams Foster family took over, then it was only fair for her to get a shot at it during this instance.
Considering that Callie wasn’t that interested in an engagement party in the first place, it was the perfect avenue for her to concede a little something for the benefit of her in-laws, so she didn’t have to compromise on something she actually cared about later.
But she stepped in it big time by having that discussion in the bathroom with her mothers when she didn’t know whether or not anyone else was in there.
Diane overhearing that whole thing is bound to cause some issues later.
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With so much going on, there was little time to focus on Mariana and Joaquin.
But we got confirmation that they would only give up on that Silas investigation once they reached the desired results.
The two of them avoiding eye contact with Callie was funny.
But they’re so relentless that it’s gotten reckless, and nothing good can come from this.
Of course, this storyline is dragging on far longer than it has any reason to, and sitting through most of it can sometimes be a chore.
Mariana and Joaquin Perez have an intriguing connection, and one can appreciate their moments together outside of this investigation.
It sucks sometimes that they saddle them with this more than anything else instead of exploring other things.
One has to wonder if Jenna can serve as a double agent. She doesn’t seem too comfortable with the fact that Silas wants her to spy on her brother and keep tabs.
But she’s also under Silas’ thumb. The scary thing is not knowing if Silas is responsible for Madison’s possible death and, if so, what that means for Jenna if she gets on his bad side.
It sounds like the “yurt” that he had on his property could have led to a situation where one or more people died in there because of the heat.
It could be the real reason he got rid of the thing.
It doesn’t bode well that Madison was one of Silas’ favorites, and that’s probably why she’s missing. At this point, their best bet is to confirm that Madison is actually dead and prove that Silas is the one who killed her.
Pardon the pun; their shot in the dark was in getting Adam to speak to them and putting him to use. But approaching him at his mother’s funeral was in poor taste.
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If they had a chance at winning him over, it wasn’t through bombarding him at the funeral before he was taken back to prison and telling him that Silas likely killed his mother, but without producing any evidence.
And thus, they dropped more information on us and left us spinning around in our desk chairs like bored children over the latest development in this case.
Anyway, bring on the Jallie wedding.
Over to you, Good Trouble Fanatics.
How bored are you with this Silas investigation? Were you delighted to have Stef and Lena back on the scene? Are Alice and Sumi doomed? Sound off below.
Good Trouble airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on Freeform. You can stream the following day on Hulu.
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Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You’ll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.
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