Freeform's Good Trouble - Episode 1.10 "Re-Birthday"
It's Davia's birthday and the Coterie group goes out for an epic competitive bar-crawl, causing tensions to run high between the romantic "rectangle" of Callie, Jamie, Gael and Bryan; and a surprising run-in with Callie and Mariana's brother, Brandon. Meanwhile, Alice struggles with Sumi's constant flirtations during the evening, while Mariana and Raj bond.
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.
"Re-Birthday" was written by Claudia Forestieri & Dan Richter and directed by Aprill Winney
The entire main family from The Fosters has now appeared on Good Trouble. David Lambert's Brandon is the last to do so. Sure, there are some other major characters from the original series who could pop up at some point in the spinoff. However, this really should be the last of it. This show once again aspires to catch up with the returning characters and the lives that they are now living. Brandon is now married but his wife has become more successful than him. She is a musician with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He aspires to score films but hasn't gotten a whole lot of work after college. It's meaningful that he interacts more with Dennis than his sisters. They may understand him better. And yet, Dennis is the one with the life experience to help him come to the realization that he needs to at this moment in time. That's special and meaningful. Of course, it's also slightly detached from everything else that is currently going on within the show. Brandon is only the driver for this wild night celebrating Davia's birthday. He's not actually a part of the celebration. He's not playing the games with the rest of the gang from the Coterie. He is basically in his own separate story. It's very contained and proves that he still resides in this world as well. He can just randomly bump into his sisters at any time. Meanwhile, this hour is fundamentally about the characters making choices in their lives in order to actually feel good about themselves. Having casual sex is fun and easy. It ensures that relationships can't go very deep. But there has been a lot of personal drama as well. It's more meaningful to have that kind of personal history with someone so that a stronger connection can form. It's just scary to be vulnerable in that way because of all the baggage that people carry into relationships. Davia designed this entire night in order to be a celebration of her turning 25. She makes the rules up as she goes along because everyone is desperate to be on the winning team. It's just a night that ends with Mariana and Raj stealing a disco ball from a night club. That's so random and rambunctious. However, it doesn't excite Davia as much as it should. Instead, it just hurts that she is being rejected by her married boyfriend. Jeff is making an effort to tease her along. However, she also needs the dignity to push back and expect more from him. And yet, it also seems inevitable that she will fall back into the same pattern of just waiting for him to eventually leave his wife. He promises that here. He just hasn't done it yet. However, everyone needs a little confidence boost here. Malika is hesitant to open up to Isaac about her life. But she ultimately tells him a little bit about her family. That's enough for now. Meanwhile, Jamie wants more of a relationship from Callie. She decides to give that to him after talking things out with Gael about just how quickly things imploded between them. Right now, they may be better off as friends. Of course, Bryan is also incredibly scared that any moment he will be rejected by Gael in favor of Callie. So, he is mostly stirring up trouble without actually having that real conversation with Gael about his insecurities. They do so in the end. But again, it's unclear just how strong these connections will last throughout the conclusion of the season.
