Good Trouble: Season 2, Episode 3 “Doble Quince” – Recap, Review (with Spoilers)

[Unless Said Otherwise] Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.

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Jazmin decides to have a Doble Quince, and despite it being her party, nearly everyone else’s minds are on other things.

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Network
FreeForm
Director(s)	Bradley Bredeweg
Writer(s)	Joanna Johnson, Ashly Perez
Air Date	7/2/2019

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Recap

A Lady Is Allowed Her Secrets: Malika, Dom, Isaac, Joseph

As seen in the last episode, Malika decided to have a chat with Joseph, and due to that, she learns a lot about her father. She learns he was in the Black Panthers, allegedly went to prison, for 10 years, after drugs were planted on him, and that Keisha didn’t support his activism. Something that Malika relates to for when it comes to Isaac, he isn’t fond of her getting in deeper with BLM. Yet, this is what she is called to. But he isn’t alone in not feeling Malika strongly. When Joseph comes to the Coterie to reveal he got evicted, he meets Dom who wants no piece of him.

You Can’t Have A Relationship Without Honest Conversations: Joey, Alice, Raj, Mariana, Evan

With Alice growing slowly, but surely, comes her speaking on her discomfort about not only coming out but Joey being non-binary. Which, as you can imagine, with Joey recently bringing this up, might be an uncomfortable topic for them too. So Alice joking about it at Jazmin’s party? Maybe not the best time to test material. Yet, this is the girl Joey fell for – an awkward comedian. Which is why they have an honest conversation about boundaries and expectations so that, with them both falling in love, they can lessen the chances of being hurt.

Something which might need to be done by Mariana soon. For right now, I don’t think many are aware of how many secrets she is holding, what are boundaries for her, and they seem to be conversations she needs to have. Take with Evan. Even with him catching Matiana and Raj about to have sex, there is the need to ask if he is now willing to be friends or if he doesn’t get he doesn’t really stand a chance right now? Which likely will become a problem for Mariana since she doesn’t always realize the vibe she puts out there and with how socially maladjusted most of the men at work are, the issue she had with Raj may pop up with Evan. That is alongside the ladies who are waiting to hear who is on Mariana’s team learning she is dating Raj.

Sometimes Progress Doesn’t Come Soon Enough: Gael, Elijah, Jazmin, Jamie, Callie

Thanks to their Abuelo, who seemingly tainted their father’s mind, Gael and Jazmin’s father still refuses to accept Jazmin and maintains deadnaming her. That is, using the name he and his wife chose over calling Jazmin by the name she chose for herself. But, if that isn’t bad enough, on top of disowning Jazmin their father, and mother in extension, refuse to hand over Jazmin’s dog tags.

You see, Jazmin is a veteran and likely her participating in the Iraq/ Afghanistan war was to honor her father and grandfather who are also veterans. Yet, with the father feeling rejected in a way, betrayed that his daughter decided to transition, he refuses to give them over. But, luckily for Jazmin, her grandfather is a bit more living in the grey than her father.

How so? Well, he can accept Jazmin as a trans woman, but after Gael comes out as Bi, he isn’t supportive of that. For being bi is considered a choice to the Abuelo while Jazmin being trans is not. So, needless to say, despite Elijah and Gael hooking up, he likely won’t meet anyone outside of Jazmin in his family.

Speaking of family, Jamie and Callie, who still are connected by their siblings, might be on for real this time. At least, if you believe Callie is telling Gael the truth. Much less that she has firmly chosen Jamie. Though, with Callie, her mind changes based on how good or bad she is feeling at any moment. So she could very well claim Jamie today and see Elijah get too close to Gael and mark her territory. Even if she doesn’t take baths with him anymore.

Collected Quote(s) & .Gifs

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.”
— Malika

Highlights

Relationship Conversations

Unlike The Bold Type, Good Trouble loves relationship drama and love triangles. However, it seems there might be a shift coming. For whether you bring up Mariana apologizing to Raj, Callie trying to have mature conversations, and then Joey and Alice, it seems people are speaking up. Now, in the case of Callie, who knows if she will stick to what she says since she isn’t the most consistent person on the show. However, Mariana seems to be learning how to handle criticism so there is progress there.

But, the real stars of this topic are Alica and Joey. Primarily since they aren’t necessarily breaking new ground, for I’m sure in queer media you can find tons of conversation like theirs, yet so comes the issue of visibility. Yes, they may not be saying anything new, but to this level, on a platform which has them featured and supported? Much less backed by a major corporation (Disney owns FreeForm), that is something major.

So imagine others seeing someone like Joey who isn’t binary and is dealing with having a partner who jokes about it or doesn’t get it. Though it seems specific, it also is a real thing. No different than Jazmin repping Trans veterans who may not be a huge part of the US’ active forces or veterans, but they exist and deserve to be seen outside of just niche markets. For even if there isn’t a large number of them, in comparison to others, that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to be seen and represented outside of networks which exclusively cater to them.

I mean, the idea here is that niche will eventually be no more for everyone’s story will be considered mainstream and accessible. Which, episode by episode, is what many of the programs on FreeForm are trying to do. Good Trouble especially.

Getting To Know Joseph

While Joseph popping in and saying he is getting evicted raises a red flag, before that he was made to seem as someone to whom more meets the eye. A former Panther wrongly imprisoned and kept from his children due to his activism, that was quite interesting. However, now we’re brought into the idea that maybe this cat is lying and the drugs he was found with were not only his, but he is still an addict. After all, let’s not pretend Keisha wasn’t an addict and there isn’t a chance Joseph is the one who got her hooked. Which would help explain, aside from the activism, why she talked about Joseph like a dog. Even to the point Dom, who is oh so forgiving when it comes to Keisha, looks at Joseph like he is waiting on a reason to punch him.

Gael & Jazmin’s Family

Though we get a slight taste of what the Martinez children go through on Vida, similar is not the same. For with Jazmin being a trans veteran, that is very specific. Then with Gael being bi, often leaning towards men, also very specific. Plus, in this scenario, the parents, including a grandparent, are alive and can be engaged. On top of that, we have this weird conflict of the grandfather accepting of Jazmin but not Gael and a reminder of how complex gender and sexuality can be. And while often it is assumed they intersect, it can be far more complicated than that.

On The Fence

Poor Jamie

It doesn’t just suck that Jamie is wrapped around Callie’s finger but also that Jamie doesn’t receive much, if any, development. Unlike Gael, we don’t see him with alternatives, hobbies, and while his sister is a long-established character, he barely even mentions her. So, unfortunately, it is hard to be invested in this idea of Jamie and Callie for it seems more about the writers not wanting to overload the show than make Jamie more than a love interest. One who, over and over, seems to be waiting on Callie to choose him and bring his life validation. Otherwise, like an old toy, he is just on a shelf watching life go by.

Mariana’s Pending Drama

With Mariana still keeping who is on her team rather hush-hush, dating Raj, and the Evan thing all on the verge of colliding, so comes the question if it’ll be just plain ole drama or lead to something compelling? Honestly, it is hard to say. Mostly because Mariana, while she did have Byte Club in season 1, it feels like she sort of took a step back. But, that often seems to be the issue when a lead character gets into a relationship. So much effort is put into establishing that relationship, its complications, and the back and forth, it makes everything else which gives that person fulfillment secondary. Hence why we still don’t know the ladies vying for a position on Mariana’s team that well.

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