What a thing to see: The Martinez family has so much to celebrate! Sure, sure, we’ve got weddings and babies on the horizon, but first and foremost and for sure the most heartwarming is simply the fact that they are all getting along! Like Gael’s abuelo, the sweetest man to walk this very Earth, I too am overjoyed.
If you’ve been watching Good Trouble from the beginning, you know how momentous this all is: At one point, it would’ve been unfathomable even to consider the Martinezes sitting down to share a meal. Mr. Martinez refused to accept Jazmin as his daughter, and when Gael came out to his parents as bisexual, he was on the brink of being cut off, too. It was only after their abuelo’s health scare (what hasn’t this man done for this family!!) that they began to take baby steps toward healing. Clearly, it is because of this tenuous relationship that Gael is so stressed about dropping the baby bomb on his parents.
He’s not wrong to worry a little bit. Of course the first thing Mr. Martinez does after Gael explains the whole Isabella situation to them (Gael sticks to the plan of not mentioning he also has a girlfriend who is definitely not Isabella) is to demand they get married and roll his eyes at Gael’s explanation of not gendering their child. So, you know, the conversation is a little rocky at first. But after some discussion and Gael remaining steadfast in his plans, they all land on a compromise: Isabella will join them for dinner.
No one mentions that until recently, Isabella was mostly known as the Breaker of Mirrors and Stealer of Boyfriends, so the Martinezes end up loving her almost immediately. It puts Gael in an interesting spot: He knows how intrusive and overbearing his parents can be, but he also knows that since Isabella’s parents cut her off, she’s craving some parental affection. He doesn’t want to stop her from having a relationship with them if that’s what she needs. It’s Jazmin who warns him to be careful when it comes to their parents. And she might be onto something: As soon as they learn about Isabella’s current living situation, they’re appalled, and Gael’s mother is already scheduling night visits once the baby is born. Of course Isabella and Gael are going to need all the help they can get, but in the (extremely recent) past, Gael’s parents have hurt him and made ridiculous demands of him. It’s hard to fully let people like that back into his or his child’s life. The angst is real for dear Gael.
Bless the heavens, Jazmin is able to end this increasingly awkward conversation with her own big reveal. Jazmin also brought a guest to this family dinner: her very nice boyfriend, Spencer. He owns a boring engineering company, and we love him immediately. And surprisingly, so does Jazmin’s father. This is great news because, surprise, Jazmin and Spencer are engaged, and Jazmin seems so happy, and her abuelo is over the moon, and wow, the Martinez family has really come back from the brink.
And then the next day, Mrs. Martinez pops by Gael’s loft to give Isabella a gift and walks in on her son and a woman who is not Isabella making out on his bed. And that’s how she meets Callie for the first time. It’s not great. You can’t win them all, I guess.
But honestly, I have zero time for whatever Gael and Callie are up to because they knew keeping their relationship a secret was never going to work out and being so “cool†about “co-parenting†as if it’s not a huge fucking deal was always going to blow up in their faces. I only see this headed for Breakup City, and frankly those two have visited that town too many times, and WE HAVE BIGGER PROBLEMS ON OUR HANDS, PEOPLE.
Davia is in trouble!! Up to this point, we’ve only known about her being in remission from her eating disorder from her opening up to Dennis about it after one night of being completely decimated by her mother’s projected self-esteem issues. You remember Davia’s mother, right? She is, how do you say, fucking terrible. That scene in which Davia tells Dennis everything is a major beat in their story, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I think about it way more than any adult human woman should. I’m sorry, but it was intense and meaningful!! ANYWAY, it’s here in “Anticipation†where we actually see some of Davia’s old behaviors and get a glimpse at how fast Davia could relapse — very much tied to the way Davia has described her journey with body acceptance, dealing with her eating disorder is an on-going process, with good days and bad ones.
There are a couple of things going on that set her off down a path of some very bad days. Obviously, she’s overwhelmed and stressed with the whole Dennis situation. His abrupt exit after they finally had sex was painful, and his sudden reappearance just as she was moving forward with her life wasn’t any better. Trying to process her feelings for both Dennis and Matt certainly hasn’t been easy. So, yes, she has lost some weight and hasn’t wanted to eat as much. She realizes this after a stylist subscription service sends her a box of clothes to try on for her Instagram. It’s in smaller sizes than she’d normally wear, but they all end up fitting. Well, everything except for one skirt that she can’t quite zip. We watch her fixate on the positive comments she’s getting about her body on Insta — including one from her Fucking Terrible Mom telling her to “keep going!†— as she scrolls through before and after photos, repeatedly skips meals, and lies to both Dennis and Matt about why she isn’t hungry or missed a lunch date.
Dennis can tell something is wrong. At first, he tries to “help†by liking old posts in an effort to remind her that she was beautiful then, too. It blows up in his face, by which I mean Davia blows up in his face. She tells him to stop commenting on her body, which is valid, but then she also tells him to mind his own business, that this isn’t a relapse, and that she’s totally fine. That’s when Dennis really starts to worry.
When that skirt finally does zip up, Davia breaks down into tears. Somehow, magically, Matt calls her at that exact moment, and she tells him she’s not okay. He comes over and tells him about her eating disorder and how she thought she was past it all, but old behaviors and feelings have been brewing, and for a moment she even “missed that old body.†But then she remembered what her life was like back then, how isolated and lonely and unhappy she was, and she doesn’t want to go back there. It may not seem like this to Davia within the moment, but it is such a lovely moment of growth to see her fighting for herself.
Aside from this moment being an emotional turning point in Davia’s story with her body, it also brings Matt and Davia much closer together. She’s opening up to Matt for accountability because she trusts him. It’s a telling thing to admit since it is also the thing holding her back from Dennis.
Here’s the thing: It turns out that Matt calling Davia when she needed him most wasn’t magic at all — it was Dennis. We learn that after she yelled at him, he immediately texted Matt and told him he should check up on Davia and not to mention Dennis had anything to do with it. When he sees Davia’s video to her followers in which she opens up about what she’s been going through and that she’s getting back into a healthier, happier mind-set because real body positivity is about “loving yours unconditionally,†he says, smiling. He’s proud of her. You guyssss, when he kept trying to push Davia away, she never gave up on trying to help him, and he just did the same thing for her, and he loves her so, so much. Someone is really going to get their heart broken in this love triangle, aren’t they?
Family Dinner
• Trial Update: Someone from the DA’s office anonymously sends Callie a document that implies the DA cut a deal with Christian Matthews — the witness with the incriminating Tommy-Zack fight video — to expunge his record if he kept the video a secret until taking the stand. Callie assumes it was Jamie because the heart wants what the heart wants, but when Kathleen presents this new information to the judge, it’s Jamie who gives a big ol’ speech about how this accusation is slanderous and the video should be admitted into court immediately. Thankfully, Kathleen does some top-notch lawyering that eventually gets Marc to drop the video all together. That’s a huge win for the defense.
• A serious line of questioning: So is Jamie just playing both sides at the moment? If it wasn’t him who sent Christian’s expunged record, it would have to be Nicolette, right? Should Kathleen and Marc hook up? They definitely should, right? I won’t apologize for this tangent because it should be a law that all fictional lawyers are horny for each other. The world needs that right now.
• Oooh, is Malika about to add another partner to her love life? She’s unsure if Angelica’s invitation to go hiking is a date or not, but with all those knowing glances and smiles, if this isn’t a date, what is? No, seriously, I’m asking.
• Before Malika can figure out what the chemistry between herself and Angelica means, she has a new crisis to deal with: Yvonne Byers has been arrested again and her three kids show up at the Coterie with nowhere else to go. Malika has a lot on her plate right now.
• I’m sorry to say it, but it seems like time for Mariana to move on from the Fight Club Girls and BB. She single-handedly gets them an intro with Zelda the beauty influencer, who hooks the girls up with their first brand, and they barely choke out a thanks. Zelda tells Mariana about an opportunity with another beauty-app start-up, and it seems like Mariana should be considering it. You can do better, girl.