Mariana's app gets an accelerated launch timeline that puts stress on her and her team, especially when Gael lands a potential new opportunity that conflicts with a big presentation. Callie finds herself in the middle of a power struggle at the Legal Aid offices.
In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of Freeform's Good Trouble.
"In the Middle" was written by Nicole Paulhus and directed by Jay Chandrasekhar
Right now, it feels like things are escalating solely for dramatic confrontations and revelations to occur in next week's midseason finale. Yes, it remains engaging to see a number of these storylines develop. However, this hour makes it feel as if they all have to escalate at the same time because big things need to happen shortly. And so, it should be rewarding that Davia finally breaks up with Jeff, who then has a big reaction to it. That has been a long time coming. She hasn't even offered a solid explanation for why it took this long. Plus, the show is being very open about a possible future between her and Dennis. That seems very bright and could be leading to a happy connection. It provides a certain amount of levity in this particular hour simply because Alice is amused and curious about their feelings for one another. Plus, it's meaningful to see Dennis interacting as a part of the Coterie crew once more. Of course, Callie seems like she is hitting her breaking point when it comes to communal living. She has struggled to come up with her portion of the rent. She also hasn't formed many great friendships in this space. In fact, it seems like many of the residents live their own independent lives that happen to clash from time to time. It's very exciting when they do come together as a whole like with Malika's birthday celebration. But this hour proves just how alienating it can still be for Callie. Now, that's also a very forced moment where she sees all of the messages being written behind her back. That's pressure that she doesn't need right now. It also makes it feel inevitable that she will move in with Jamie out of spite instead of actually loving him and wanting to put down those roots. She has had concerns about their compatibility. And yet, she hasn't had the time to actually address those issues because she has been too busy putting out other fires or simply ignoring it. She would love to get her footing at the legal aid office. But that is mostly just a competitive atmosphere where she still doesn't quite know who to listen to when it comes to direct orders. That's confusing. It's also just less defined than a lot of the other workplace concerns happening at the moment. Malika's is only just introduced here. But it's informed by her passion for activism and needing to speak truth to power. She loves this company that is very inclusive with its marketing and products. She responds well to the job offer. She just doesn't believe that she can censor herself when it comes to talking about Black Lives Matter. She is a part of the movement and can't be silenced right now. That is a core part of her identity. In fact, she is concerned about a company that aspires to be woke but refuses to put a political label on itself. At least she can speak to these issues and concerns though. Meanwhile, Mariana remains very tentative when it comes to Evan dictating exactly what she must do with her app. He demands that it launches within ten days even though the program has performance and design issues that need to be fixed and implemented. Sure, it's odd that this is the first real time that Gael has truly been seen as a part of the Speckulate team. Instead, the story mostly just exists to create drama when he finally learns that Jamie was the one who bought his art. That reveal was inevitable. The show just makes sure that it stings even more by him seeing it tucked away in some room instead of proudly being on display in the apartment. That too may very well contribute to Callie's frustrations at the Coterie. But it should also be interesting to see if Gael can continue to balance these workplace demands with his art career that is starting to pick up.
