Is Evan trustworthy?

Mariana found herself entangled in quite the web on Good Trouble Season 4 Episode 5, and she caved under pressure and told Evan the truth. But can we trust Evan or not? It’s becoming harder to say these days.

The hour also saw Dennis pulling himself from the brink but becoming part of a triangle with Gael and Isabella — and Malika stepped into it without knowing with Lucia and Angelica.

The series loves to put all sorts of spins on a classic love triangle, so it’s not surprising that they found at least two different ways of doing that during this hour, maybe three if you count Mariana’s split loyalties.

Evidently, Malika is still trying to navigate polyamory. She has some of it down, like her ability and willingness to date both Angelica and Dyonte. However, the most crucial component is communication.

I’m falling for you, and I’m afraid you’re going to bail because I’m poly.

Malika

She and her partners know she’s poly in those types of relationships. She took a huge step when she introduced Dyone and Angelica to one another, so they knew of each other’s existence and even inquired about each other.

She didn’t need to lie to Angelica about who she was spending time with to spare the woman her feelings. Angelica is a big girl, and she knew what she signed up for in the first place.

By lying, Malika is subjecting herself to the notion that she’s doing something wrong when she isn’t. It’s interesting but realistic to have Malika struggling with this because she can live her truth and embrace it all she wants, but there are still these deeply ingrained societal messages that will take time to unlearn.

A part of her still has to remind herself that she’s not bad or wrong for an alternative love style. And there is also the Isaac factor that she still can’t get over. Malika still harbors some shame, hurt, and fear over how he bailed after her revelation.

Even though she was upfront with Angelica, she still fears that at any moment, Angelica will resent or disapprove of Malika being poly and break her heart. And she’s developed feelings for Angelica so that it would be devastating.

Nevertheless, lying to someone over things, so minute is a fast track toward heartbreak and a breakup anyway. In Malika’s effort to prevent something, she could’ve fallen into it.

All was well with the two, but the bigger issue was Lucia. It is unprofessional for Lucia to ask Malika about Angelica’s love life. They’re not close and haven’t developed that type of relationship, so the power imbalance was glaring, and so was the awkwardness.

Malika didn’t tell Lucia the truth, but it wasn’t exactly her place, so it’s hard to say if she could’ve avoided this situation. But now, it’s genuinely unfortunate that she got into this campaign job because of her passion.

She’s excited about making changes and improving things, but she gets dragged into some messy love situation between the woman she loves and her cunning boss.

Lucia managed to split the baby, giving herself and Malika what they wanted but with alternative motivations, and it’s not appealing.

She went through with Malika’s proposal, which is reasonable considering that she could’ve dropped it all together after speaking favorably of it. But now, she’s sabotaging Malika by giving her an abundance of work that she knows will strain her romance with Angelica.

It’s diabolical.

Malika’s poly romances with Dyonte and Angelica won’t be the problem; it’s the messiness of Malika, Angelica, and Lucia that will be the issue.

The situation with Gael, Isabella, and Dennis is also unusual because of the lack of conversation.

Dennis and Isabella have become close, and while there is enough speculation about the two of them heading in a romantic direction, it remains more platonic.

That closeness visibly threatens Gael, yet he hasn’t spoken to Isabella or Dennis about it at all. He must keep an open line of communication with Isabella, and they do well figuring this out for the most part.

And Dennis is one of Gael’s best friends, but he hasn’t spoken to him one-on-one about his feelings. What are those feelings exactly? Are we edging toward Gael developing more feelings for Isabella?

Interestingly, he’s the one that keeps pushing for them to be this family in almost every aspect, and often, it feels like they’re already in a romantic, committed relationship without either of them coming outright and saying it.

It makes things muddled and confusing, toeing this line between platonic and romantic. They’re due to have another conversation about their expectations and what they want to be to one another.

But right now, it feels like Gael is the one who is hoping or wanting them to be something more, with a title of some sort, and Isabella is none the wiser and often confused when Gael behaves the way that he does.

Just because we’re not together it doesn’t mean that you don’t have a committed partner, too.

Gael

He didn’t bat an eye when the judgy mommies assumed he was Isabella’s husband, and it almost looked like he enjoyed it. But that note carried over to Isabella pretending to be with Dennis and acting like he was the father of her child when he ran into his ex-wife, former best friend, and their little bundle of joy.

Gael’s reaction to Isabella and Dennis hugging in the kitchen was sheer jealousy, and it hasn’t helped that Yuri got into his head, either. And his first order of business was to suggest that they find an apartment together somewhere else.

It was a purely selfish maneuver. Gael knows how important it is or Isabella to be part of a family, and it took some time, but she found that with the Coterie. She also knows that they’ll need all the support they can get.

He begged her to stay in the city, and part of that was her getting to have this support system around her. The two of them suddenly relocating now would be strictly for his benefit, and he needs to unpack why.

Is it that a part of him loved the idea of being this savior to Isabella and the sole person she could lean on during this, and now he feels misplaced and threatened by her not needing him? Does he feel territorial over his unborn child, especially against a man who was a father?

Or does he have deeper feelings for Isabella, and he fears that whatever is happening between Isabella and Dennis threatens him as a romantic partner and a father and has him feeling displaced?

Isabella and Gael both have to work on keeping each other in the loop and deciding things together. You can understand how Gael felt shafted when they were speaking about an at-home birth with such passion, and then Isabella flippantly stated she changed her mind after she and Dennis talked.

On the Dennis side of things, it’s also hard to say how he feels about Isabella. Is he developing some non-platonic feelings for her?

Is there a part of him that’s enamored with the idea of her as a pregnant woman and him experiencing pregnancy and another child again after losing Jacob?

Does he like the fact that, unlike Davia, he feels like he’s the savior in their relationship more often than not?

Dennis has a certain comfort level with Isabella that feels distinctly different from his bonds with other characters, probably because she wasn’t there for his darkest moments.

She did support him through the jolt of seeing his ex and her new family. Talk about a colossal blow that would pull a person up short. A sledgehammer to the gut would’ve been less painful.

Dennis: Jen was the only one who could truly understand how hard it was and what we went through when we lost Jacob, and now she’s moved on.
Isabella: Just because she has a new baby doesn’t mean she isn’t still grieving Jacob.

Dennis needed his moment, and it was a reminder of how no matter how much he works through his grief and tries to move on, it’s always there. It’ll always sneak up on him and trip him up.

But it’s a mark of his growth that he allowed himself to have that moment, freak out on that rooftop, but he recognized his pattern of pushing people away when things get tough, and instead, he gathered himself together and returned to pass out food.

It was a big step for him to do on his own. And it’s crucial that he managed to take it on his own.

Dennis is learning to save himself while also leaning into his bonds with others. Once upon a time, he would’ve sought refuge in Davia after he disappeared or something.

Of course, this situation and others have solidified an intimacy between him and Isabella, and who knows where that goes? They work together, confide in each other, and spend a lot of personal time together.

We’re in this limbo, waiting for some romantic moment from either Gael or Dennis with Isabella.

Meanwhile, Davia is still pursuing her burlesque show and all the liberation and self-discovery that comes with it.

It’s good that she wants to explore different sides of herself. She’s freed herself from all the ties she had, which places her in unknown territory now.

She’s no longer the teacher, the girl Matt loves, Dennis’s solace and savior, or the “fierce fat girl.” Now that all of these things have been stripped from her, there’s this big question mark with Davia and what’s in store for her.

Yes, something is empowering about that level of unknown, but there’s also something uncomfortable about Davia’s metamorphosis because of its unpredictability.

Perhaps that’s the point. Davia’s opening montage of everyone giving her adjectives, food, flowers, and animals to describe her was amusing.

Everyone gave their perception of her, but none of them felt right because she’s trying to put forth a version of herself that others haven’t seen.

I’m happy that she stood by her Cotton Candy persona and confidently declared why that’s who she wants to be on stage.

And Luca was instrumental in that with some of his advice. They were two characters I had never anticipated interacting with one another; that was a great scene between them.

It’s too bad he bailed before she could thank him or spend any time with him. He needs a good friend as much as Davia probably needs someone who is getting to know her now without preconceived notions and experiences.

Joaquin meant well by having Luca crash at his place, but he probably would’ve done better if he had introduced Luca to the group and let them know he’d be staying there while he was away.

Why do I always have to be the fat bitch? Why can’t I explore other parts of me?

Davia

Luca could’ve avoided the pressure of staying out of sight or something going wrong if someone got the wrong idea and called the authorities or something.

Luca’s story is intriguing, and I look forward to seeing where exactly it goes once all these tidbits come together.

Mariana is so terrible at playing a double spy that it’s painful to witness. But maybe that’s the point.

At the top of the hour, it was frustrating that she kept texting the Bulk Beauty girls in front of Revitalize. Obviously, it was what was going on, and there was no need for all of that. All it did was put more suspicion on her.

But by the end of the hour, when she tearfully broke down to Evan, it was apparent that everything was too much for her, and she was emotional, tired, and unhappy.

She’s been trying to “make things right” with the Bulk Beauty girls, but it feels like we’re beyond that, and it’s unnecessary.

She’s blowing up her professional life, all of this is emotionally destroying her and tearing her apart, and she feels stuck. And all for what?

The Bulk Beauty girls expect her to dull her natural shine and flub pitches so they could get them instead. It’s not true or fair to Mariana, and some inherent layers are already grating. Mariana shouldn’t have to make herself small to uplift other people. She shouldn’t have to be anything less than extraordinary to uplift mediocrity.

Clare: Well, don’t forget what side you’re really on.
Mariana: You’re right.

It’s no wonder Mariana all but broke down when Evan came to her. He’s right; she’s not OK and hasn’t been for some time. Without Callie, she’s missing this grounding force in her life, and no one else is there for her.

And because there’s no one else, all roads appear to lead back to Evan again, one of the only people she knows who has apparently recognized that she’s not OK.

But if this is how they bring the two of them back together again, do you think it’s a healthy approach?

The ambiguity between Evan and Jackie is still making it hard to root for and even trust Evan these days. Yes, he loves Mariana, and that’s always apparent, but that can only go so far.

And what’s really going on with the Bulk Beauty girls and Revitalize? It sounds like the new girls came up with the exact same idea as Bulk Beauty again.

Evan: I didn’t agree. I backed you up.
Mariana: Why?
Evan: I didn’t become your mentor just because Jackie asked me to. You were right, I did it to be close to you, not because I’m hoping to get back together because I know something is not right. You’re not okay. And I was concerned that you wouldn’t be safe with another mentor. You can trust me.
Mariana:You’re right. I’m not okay.

No way that’s a coincidence, right?

We’ll have to find out how trustworthy Evan is now that he knows everything Mariana does. He claims that he knows something is up and wants to look into things further, but who knows if that’s true?

Mariana is in such a pickle, and at the moment, Evan may be her only ally. But how does she get herself out of all of this?

Over to you, Good Trouble Fanatics.

Are you worried about Mariana and how she’s coping since Callie’s departure? What do you think of this Gael/Isabella/Dennis situation? Sound off below.

You can watch Good Trouble online here via TV Fanatic.

Edit Delete