Good Trouble Season 3 Episode 7 Review: New Moon
Jasmine Blu
at
.
Kelly is so chaotic, and she brought all that chaos to the Coterie.
It's the full-hearted fun hours like Good Trouble Season 3 Episode 7 that bring levity to the series and make it all pleasure with no guilt.
Because in addition to its timeliness, awareness, and at times preachiness, Good Trouble knows how to have a good time.
It's been a while since the series elicited that much laughter and snorting. Who knew rogue raccoons taking over the Coterie could have you belly-laughing?
It was also an hour that confined everyone to one location, gave us some new interactions, and explored relationships of all kinds.
Malika: So I'm having this New Moon ceremony this weekend, I know it's not your thing.
Isaac: It's your thing, though. I want to support.
Malika: OK. I invited Dyontae too.
Isaac: Cool.
Malika's events at the Coterie bring the drama and revelations, don't they? Her birthday was equally as illuminating for so many of the characters.
Dyontae was the one who encouraged her to host a New Moon ritual ceremony, and the concept of it and what it represents was lovely. The moments where Malika's spiritualism is on display are some of the best for her character.
You couldn't help but feel awful for her when everyone agreed to be a part of it, but they all disappeared along the way thanks to the raccoon shenanigans.
Mariana was the first. She was distracted by Claire and Raj. It seemed as if its been months since she and Raj were together, but he wanted to show up for the obligatory post-breakup exchange of goods.
Callie: Do you have your phone?
Gael: No. Even when her eyes are closed, Malika's third eye is always watching.
Claire's emergency call was to inform Mariana that she and Raj were friends. She also wanted to speak with Mariana before she pursued a romantic relationship with him.
Claire is a good friend, and the situation only served as a reminder of how Mariana keeps her relationship with Evan a secret from all of them. The longer this goes on, the worst it'll be when the truth is out. Claire will feel so betrayed when she considers that she was woman enough to come to Mariana about Raj, but Mariana kept Evan a secret.
The rogue raccoons forced Mariana and Raj to talk to each other and reconnect a bit. Mariana realized that she does still love Raj in her way, and the thought of him being with Claire did make her jealous, but she had to let go.
And Raj misread some situations, and he was about to fall back into Mariana's web. He's still not over her. I don't know how that bodes for Claire, but it would suck if Raj dated her while still hung up on Mariana.
Raj: I'm sorry I tried to kiss you. I guess I thought all those questions about who I was dating you were jealous.
Mariana: It was a little part of me that was. You'll always be ... speaking of, I know that you and Claire are talking.
Raj: Just as friends.
Mariana: Well, just in case you're interested in being more than friends, she's interested too.
Raj: Setting me up. I guess we really are over.
However, after this installment, it does feel as if Mariana and Raj can be friends, and they'll always love each other. It's something comforting in that and the respect shown to their relationship. It feels like a real sense of closure.
Davia may find that with Dennis. It seems she and the audience have to make peace with Dennis' absence. Is it just me, or does it feel like he's fading away from Davia and the viewers alike?
It almost feels like we're supposed to move on with this fond memory of this broken soul until we stop thinking about him as much.
We finally got an idea of what their last conversation went like, and Denvia is on this indefinite hold, halted before it could ever begin. They both love each other, but as we all learn throughout life, love isn't enough.
Davia: Do you want me to wait for you because I will. As long as I know that this is something that you want.
Dennis: I do, and I love you, but I don't know how long it's going to take me to feel whole again. I don't know if I will ever feel whole again, and I just don't think that it's fair for me to ask you to wait.
Dennis has a lot of self-work to do. The nature of their relationship comes from Davia's perspective instead of his. We don't even know if he's doing that work or running away and avoiding it all.
Did Dennis intentionally give Davia an Irish-goodbye? Is this a passive breakup?
He doesn't want to hold her back, and it's something final in that sentiment, so for Davia's sake, it's a good thing that she's taking steps toward moving on. Dennis made his intentions as clear as he could manage, and she needs to release herself from that.
Matt has also made his intentions clear, so it's bizarre, albeit amusing in its cringeworthiness, that Davia attempted to set him up with Gael under the impression that he was queer.
Gael: What's the story with Matt? He seems like a good guy.
Davia: He is.
Gael: And cute.
Davia: You think?
Gael: I'd hit it.
Gael casually mentioning that Matt was a good guy and that he would "totally hit that" was his way of encouraging Davia to go for it and giving his approval. Matt sharing that he knew from experience how difficult it was for LGBTQ youth to come out was in reference to his twin.
He already made his intentions clear that he was into Davia, so it's sad that Davia was selling herself short by thinking she could pivot him to Gael and all would be well. He wants YOU, sis!
Both men caught on to what Davia was doing. They gave her the grace of not embarrassing her over it, and Davia and Matt's moments in her room, jumping on the bed together, were sweet.
Matt is cute, and even if Davia isn't ready for anything serious, he's a great friend to spend time with, and she deserves that companionship.
Davia: I'm actually not really sure what our deal is or how long he'll be on this retreat.
Matt: You know, it's funny the word retreat actually has such opposite meanings. As a noun, it means refuge or haven, but as a verb, it means to run away.
Gael and Davia's friendship has been a highlight of the season thus far, but the hour couldn't resist teasing Gael and Callie yet again.
Credit to Gael for saying what many of has thought for years. He and Callie never developed the friendship before jumping into bed together, and their relationship has more often than not revolve around sex.
Callie was fantasizing about him and revisiting that during the intention ritual. But Gael has since matured and recognizes the flaws in him and Callie jumping into bed together whenever they're available.
If they're going to revisit Gael and Callie, and honestly, it's preferable if they don't, but to each their own, they have to build up to it and give them a solid foundation to work on beyond attraction and lust.
Davia: Callie is single again. Just send her a "You up?" text and you're in.
Gael: Yeah, I doubt that. I just wonder if we had been friends first and sex wasn't our only connection and that's why she chose Jamie, I don't know. I just want someone nice and chill and knows who they are and what they want.
It was growth displayed by both of them that Gael went to bed, and Callie didn't follow him, despite the heat between the two of them at the pool. Now, it could be a premature conclusion to draw, but we'll have to see.
Their time together as friends, layering up and staving off the raccoons, was hilarious. They can have fun together as friends, and it was refreshing to see.
They were both so silly, creeping around the Coterie dressed up in everyone's clothes and attempting to capture the raccoons. It's so great when Callie gets to loosen up, have fun, and not be serious.
While Callie was fantasizing about Gael, Alice was doing the same about her.
Davia: Why are you staring at Callie like that?
Alice: Can you keep a secret?
Davia: Well, it depends. How juicy? Yeah, fine, go ahead.
Alice: I think I'm in love with Callie.
It's such a quintessential Alice thing to have a sex dream about Callie after ten seconds of conversation where Callie was nice to her. I think that's more of what her subconscious was telling her too.
Alice is in this extended one-night stand with Ruby, where the woman uses her for sex and doesn't want any commitment, and Alice isn't the type of girl who can deal with something like that.
She needs to take control of her life, and her ongoing battle on this series is learning how to own her space, take control, and speak out. If this dream about Callie helps Alice move forward with this, then so be it.
It was one of the sillier aspects of the hour, but I appreciated that Alice and Callie had screentime together. Callie and the rest of the Coterie are often disconnected, and she doesn't exactly have friends there.
Where are you, you little trash bandit?
Callie
We have glossed over the whole situation with the girls excluding her and talking behind her back, but there were no steps to build a friendship or make amends.
The one friend Callie made at the Coterie to a degree is Malika, and her love life is about as complicated as Callie's right now. They often parallel each other in unusual ways when you think about it.
Isaac is such a cool, laidback guy, and even though he's had some reason to wonder about Dyontae and how close Malika is to him, he didn't let that affect how he treated Dyontae.
They seemed to get along well when they arrived at the Coterie at the same time, and it was Malika flipping out over the idea of these two men in her life taking up space at the same time.
Her feelings for Dyontae are evident, and you can tell it freaks her out. Dyontae senses them, and by the end of the hour, Isaac addressed them too.
Dyontae opened up about his polyamorous relationship and even made a distinction between that and an open relationship. It didn't seem as if that was something Isaac would be into himself, but he's such a difficult read.
He loves Malika, and he knows her. He didn't come across as accusatory when he brought up Dyontae's polyamory and the fact that she knew and didn't share it with him.
Malika: So, raccoons aside, how did you feel about the new moon ceremony?
Isaac: I found it all illuminating.
Malika: In what way?
Isaac: You didn't seem too surprised when Dyontae said he was in a poly relationship. You knew?
Malika: Yeah, it's not a big deal.
Isaac: Why didn't you say anything to me then?
Malika: I didn't know that there was anything to say.
Isaac: So in the spirit of being open and honest, you interested in being in a relationship with Dyontae?
He knows that Malika is having some feelings about it and maybe curious. One thing Malika and Isaac could always do was talk to each other, so now it's out there in the open.
The time is now for Malika to be honest with him. It's a heck of a cliffhanger; we don't know how he's going to react.
Over to you, Good Trouble Fanatics. Will Isaac be game for a poly relationship? Do you like Matt and Davia? Did you miss Raj? 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 X.
