Fans of The Fosters are ecstatic that Good Trouble has finally started to air. The show follows Mariana Adams Foster and her sister, Callie, a few years after the ending of the earlier series. We find the two girls on a search for independence in their new home in Los Angeles. Although Good Trouble keeps the heart that we love from the Fosters, it’s definitely much more than a spinoff. It introduces us to new characters and problems. It’s filled with its own relationships to flesh out and lessons to learn. In fact, five life lessons we’ve learned in the show’s short tenure include:
1. You don’t have to lose your essence when you change
As mentioned previously, Good Trouble is not an extended version of The Fosters. It’s a new story filled with old characters we love. This point is driven hard in the first half of the pilot episode. The Callie and Mariana we watched grow up on The Fosters are adults now. They hang out in bars, work, and have lots of sex. For die-hard fans of The Fosters, this can be a little troubling. But, it shouldn’t be. No matter what changes Good Trouble has in store for the girls, Callie and Mariana are Adams Fosters. Nothing will change that. They don’t forget it and neither does the show. The connection to its ancestor is in the DNA of the new show.
2. Never lose focus
Being an adult brings more freedom than before, but it also means more responsibility. When Callie shirks her work duties to go to a giant party, it isn’t long until things start going south. She loses her phone in the bathroom in a drunken bout of amnesia. Luckily, her sister finds it and pockets it. But, not before Callie misses a very important call from her boss who wants her to come to work immediately. The case that she is working on has interesting new developments and Callie is nowhere to be found. Understandably, this doesn’t bode well for her career or case.
3. Never be afraid to ask for help
Callie is having a hard time at work. Between her lapse in judgment and catty coworkers, she is barely holding things together. How in the world is she going to write the memo for Judge Wilson?
Thankfully, she knows a hot young lawyer (remember Jamie from the Fosters?) who can provide her with the legal advice she needs. Yes, their past is filled with near misses but, their chemistry is undeniable.
4. Don’t judge a book by its cover
Even with Jamie’s help, Callie’s memo still gets rejected by Judge Wilson. He wasn’t nice about it either – he basically laughed in her face. As an experienced federal judge, he’s well-versed in liberal arguments. But, he likes to debate with lawyers who share different beliefs. He also likes to teach young lawyers how to prepare sound arguments. In short, he’s the good guy. He furthers proves this point when he surprises everyone in court. Sure he dismissed the motion that Callie put forth, but Callie gets a minor win when he announces she will get her day in court.
5. The truth isn’t always pretty
Mariana is having a hard time at work as well. In the male-dominated tech world, she keeps bumping against a misogynistic patriarchy that is making work hard to bear. These feelings are further exacerbated when she’s picked to do a pictorial for the company. She soon realizes that her bosses chose certain employees to promote a false idea of diversity in the workplace. Mariana feels like this is the perfect time to tell the world the truth about the company. But Casey, the only other woman at work, doesn’t agree with this idea. She’s been at the company longer than Mariana. She’s seen another Latina engineer mysteriously lose her job after speaking out about hypocrisy. She urges her not to go through with it and Mariana chickens out.
The Bottom Line
Although it’s only been on this on the air for a little while, Good Trouble is already dropping gems that old and new fans alike will love. It has found a way to be entertaining and enlightening, guaranteeing that it will be on the air for years to come. We know we will be watching, what about you?
Follow Us
