The theme of the hour was along the lines of being vulnerable and being seen.
And for some of the characters, they desperately needed that, and it was commendable that Good Trouble Season 5 Episode 6 opted to touch on some of those things, especially with newcomers Luca and Joaquin.
It was also heartwarming to see Mariana get a win with Evan as everything around them falls apart.
Some of the storylines of the hour meandered a bit and weren’t as interesting as others, and that can be the case in this series when it juggles so many characters they only sometimes know what to do with them.
As incredibly talented as Emma Hunton is, sometimes the musical aspects of this series can be too much or an acquired taste. And this time, it was easy to check out her storyline as a woman navigating the theater community and advocating for herself and her character.
Her friend is an acquired taste, and he clearly overthinks things, but it sucks that everyone was against the notion of changing a vital part of the story but didn’t say anything until Davia did.
She had a point about the audience not being as forgiving of her as a woman if they made her the cheater. And Davia has some history with that, which made things interesting.
But it was also weird when she was on the “once a cheater, always a cheater” bit, given that she was knowingly “the other woman” for so long with her first boyfriend.
Then she had that whole conversation about how Dennis has integrity, and she doesn’t judge him for when he cheated on Jennifer before because the circumstances were different.
The whole thing with that and them was weird. And sometimes, I worry that after all this time it took to get these two together if they’re actually boring now that they’re a couple.
They’re also still primarily interacting with each other, and sometimes you miss the switch-ups in dynamics. Ironically, part of them being vulnerable, especially Dennis, is that he’d get to lean on and interact with his Coterie family more. Still, even now, Davia exclusively gets the heavy lifting with that.
I cheated on Jennifer. Do you think that means I’ll cheat on you?
Dennis
And Jeet gets the heavy lifting when it comes to doing all the dark and illegal stuff for this restaurant so Dennis can stay in the light and keep his integrity intact. But he doesn’t have full plausible deniability with this because he at least knows how Jeet operates.
And that could come back to bite him in the ass later since Jeet is reckless and isn’t inclined to make the best decisions when he’s hopped up on coke.
Dennis is in bed with the devil with Jeet, and he’ll pay the price eventually. The concept of Jeet operating in the dark so Dennis can stay in the light isn’t sustainable.
And Jeet is bound to take the lead and control over many aspects of the restaurant as a partner who put so much capital into everything. Dennis is in a challenging position because no matter his intentions and ideas for running this place, he’s still tied to Jeet.
And Malika has it bad for Angelica, but it doesn’t work in her favor.
No matter what she does, it’s clear that Angelica has put her in the ” friend ” category and doesn’t intend to change that anytime soon no matter what Malika desires or any of her attempts.
Angelica is great in action. She was crucial to Malika landing that vote for the women’s proposal, all because Angelica is a Lakers fan who knew how to appeal to the councilman.
And they got courtside seats for their trouble, which is awesome, and it secures another evening out which can make up for the two of them needing to detour for work in the first place. But it’s still not enough to get Malika in good in a romantic way with Angelica, and you can tell it’s bothering her.
In this case, Malika is making herself vulnerable but coming up short, which is always a blow.
But two of the characters who have a strong case for making themselves vulnerable and accessible to others are Luca and Joaquin, and I loved seeing the two have those conversations with each other.
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that Joaquin was the one who introduced Luca to the Coterie in the first place and that they’ve built a friendship.
And the thing is, we’ve spent so much time thinking about Luca and his path toward finding a family and becoming who he is meant to be that Joaquin slipped under the radar. And that’s likely what he wanted the whole time.
Luca: I never realized how lonely I was until I moved in here. I never had people.
Joaquin: I guess vulnerability, man; it takes a certain type of bravery. Maybe your teacher is asking you to bring back some of those walls that keep it blocked. You don’t have to share all the details of your life; maybe just drop the defenses a bit. Luca: I will, if you will. Thank you.
Luca and Jenna were reading Joaquin for filth, which was necessary. Joaquin is a character who has been so consumed and ingratiated in this cult arc that we haven’t actually gotten to know him well.
He’s also someone who has mostly just been tied to Mariana, so he has not opened up to much of anyone since he’s been at the Coterie.
He was so uncomfortable over the prospect of that therapy session with Jenna shifting toward him, and that’s because everything that Jenna was saying was too real.
They’re two kids who grew up in a restrictive household and have subconsciously sought community and family in different ways. They’ve craved and needed it and found a way to incorporate it into their lives.
Jenna found Silas and the cult, and we know all the ways and reasons that it’s bad that she did it, but she isn’t wrong about Joaquin doing the same thing with the Coterie. Of all the places he could’ve gone to live, he didn’t need to stay in a communal living space.
And he’s been there since without a second thought about leaving because, whether he realizes it or not, it’s his home and community.
The two of them settling in for family dinner felt like a big step for both of them. Luca embraced the coterie family vibes and put in an effort, even when he didn’t know how to navigate everything or it challenged him.
But we haven’t seen Joaquin do that until recently. It’s an interesting arc for this character that doesn’t relate to the whole cult thing. He needs a deep dive into his own character development and growth to take full advantage of his status as a series regular.
Joaquin brims with potential when they pursue exploring him in ways like this. Luca’s assessment of him being a journalist to ask questions and deflect from himself was so on point that I wanted more about that.
But for now, Joaquin will devote himself to the cult arc even with these steps forward. He’s determined to take down Silas and has a new avenue for helping Madison’s parents. He’s also inspired to do it to make Mariana feel better.
He genuinely cares about Mariana, and we get more layers through their bond too. Joaquin is the sort who puts all his attention and effort into taking care of other people and not himself.
He’s done it with Luca, Jenna, and Mariana. He’s right about Mariana needing therapy to process everything. She hasn’t been looking after herself and keeps throwing herself into handling things with Evan.
She keeps putting off her own self-care, which is disconcerting. But it seems like Joaquin has taken it upon himself to be her therapy, sounding board, and whatever else she needs until she gets the professional help that she deserves.
And it’s such a muddied thing because there are moments when he genuinely harbors romantic feelings for Mariana and other times when it’s just this strong friendship.
It’s always sexual tension in those scenes with them, but the strong friendship always prevails, and they have a great, solid friendship and unique bond. It’s a trauma bond.
Interestingly enough, Joaquin was right there with Mariana and saw and experienced some of the same things, but he keeps excluding himself from this narrative of needing help, and that should catch up with him.
Luca succeeded more with vulnerability and had some breakthroughs during his dance class.
Art and expression are about being seen and making yourself vulnerable, and it’s hard to do that when you have guards up to protect yourself.
One can understand why Luca didn’t want to expose himself in a roomful of other people. It’s hard to be seen and known. It’s so uncomfortable and risky too.
Vulnerability could get him killed in his previous lifestyle, so his reservations made sense.
Luca: What would you say if someone asks you who you were?
Joaquin: I don’t know, why?
Luca: My dance teacher thinks I’m not being vulnerable or showing who I am when I’m dancing.
Luca’s teacher is cool; she genuinely seems to like him and wants what’s best for him. But the girl he’s interested in rubs me the wrong way.
Although, it’s notable that he expressed that he was thinking about someone taking his food and him pushing them back, and then she tested that and his boundaries by taking a sip of his drink, showing how he’s let go.
The others noted how Mariana has been absent, and it’s good that it prompted a family dinner again. And there will be even more when they all celebrate Thanksgiving with their families and each other together.
But Mariana has only had Joaquin to lean on regularly with all of this.
His advice helped, and she found proof of Dylan plotting with the board to get rid of Evan while he was incapacitated. People are dumb enough to use their work emails for all sorts of nefarious things.
I know she’s thinking about Evan’s health, but she should’ve told him about everything anyway. She’s earned his trust even if he doesn’t know who she is because she’s shown how well she knows him.
Dylan was such an asshole. He barged in, riled Evan up, and raised his blood pressure without thought.
And it was upsetting that his visit nearly prompted Evan to remove Mariana as his proxy and replace her with Dylan.
He picked me. Evan’s keeping me as his proxy, and I’m going to save his company if it’s the last thing I do.
Mariana
Thankfully, he didn’t do that. He can move around and walk again with assistance because Mariana made the call he would’ve wanted about the surgery. And she brought his bullets to him, knowing how they calm him down, something that he likely wouldn’t have shared with just anyone.
Evan still doesn’t remember her, but he at least understands why he would’ve put her in charge, and for a man who spent most of his life not actually being seen, he’s getting that Mariana sees him, and that counts for something.
It’s a small win, but Mariana still has the board and Dylan to contend with, and that’s no easy feat. I hope she printed out or copied these emails, at least. It feels like Dylan is onto her, and something terrible will happen.
Again, the Mariana arc with Evan has been some of the most compelling of the season and the strongest arc that’s earned the most investment.
Over to you, Good Trouble Fanatics.
How can Mariana save the company for Evan? And will this selfless act of love be enough to reunite them when he regains his memory? Do you love getting to learn more about Joaquin? Hit the comments.
You can watch Good Trouble online here via TV Fanatic.
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 Twitter.