Good Trouble Season 4 Episode 18 Review: This Is Not

They delivered life’s full circle with this season finale, giving us the start of a life while teasing the end of another!

The cult storyline took an incredible bleak turn, with Good Trouble Season 4 Episode 18 fading to black and leaving us on the edge of our seats wondering who potentially bit the bullet or simply caught one.

Is anyone else going to need some time to process all of this?

We’ll start with the less complicated story arcs out of the bunch. Sumi is the perfect person to kick Alice’s butt into gear.

Alice’s ongoing character arc throughout the series has revolved around her finding her voice and agency, coming into her own, and owning her space. She took another step forward in that.

The most chuckle-worthy moment of her arc during this installment was that play on “all Asians looking alike” and people not being able to tell the difference. When Sumi delivered that line, it was laugh-out-loud funny, and the fact that she was 100% right made it worse.

Alice: How am I ever supposed to get on the lot as you?
Sumi: These people can’t tell the difference between Asian women.

But Alice’s audition wasn’t about tricking her way into the process and securing this movie role. It was about her ability to pitch herself, talk about and own who she is and the space she’s in with some confidence.

Her word vomit during the audition was the type of cringe that we expect from Alice, but it made her realize she didn’t want that part in the movie anyway, and it prompted her to head back home and actually allow Sumi to pleasure her.

Alice got out of her head, allowed herself to be vulnerable, and orgasmed with her girlfriend. We love that for her.

On the topic of girlfriends, I appreciate that there is still something there between Malika and Angelica. Everything around Malika stopped for a moment when Angelica showed up at that protest to support her. Our girl is down bad for Angelica.

What’s interesting is that Malika shot down the handsome councilman’s son because she’s still too in love with Angelica to think about starting anything else.

Their relationship is still in flux, with both clearly loving each other despite their breakup. But it feels like we could be headed towards a situation where Malika actively chooses to be exclusive with Angelica, at least for now, because she doesn’t want anyone else.

Malika making that choice because it’s what she wants as a polyamorous woman versus her giving up a part of herself because it’s what her partner wants would be the distinction and the sweet spot that reunites these women in a way that doesn’t compromise who either of them is.

It felt so good to see Malika wholly lean into her activist roots during the hour. It’s been a rough road for her to navigate politics and how things work when it’s incongruent with how she has operated for many years as this audacious, unapologetic activist.

It was such a gratifying moment when she put her foot down with Lucia and reminded Lucia of why she hired her in the first place. Lucia was intentional with why she wanted to bring Malika into the fold. She knew what she was getting herself into when she hired a passionate Malika.

Although the world doesn’t treat us like it, we are all worthy. We all deserve to have roofs over our heads.

Luca

However, Lucia and her colleague have been hellbent on stifling Malika since she arrived. Malika doesn’t have an interest in playing politics, she wants results, and Lucia needs that reminder sometimes.

Let it never be said that Malika doesn’t fight hard for the people. The unhoused members couldn’t even get upset for too long over the women’s center getting built on their home because they recognized the value in it and that Malika would work hard to ensure that they were okay.

The mayor orchestrated a sweep, which is just one of the most callous and disturbing things.

Fair enough, they want to clean up the city and remove all of these people, but at the very least, the bare minimum of decency to express since they weren’t providing services was to let people have time to collect their belongings and pack up their home before they were forced to disperse.

Luca and Malika’s respective ties to this make the storyline carry the weight and put that face to it that is sadly essential to hitting the message and the situation home.

It was purely a delight that we got to the finale and at least got to spend a little time with Luca, who has inarguably been such a lovely addition.

Lucia came through clutch by joining the protest, bringing the media, and expressing that she didn’t authorize the sweep. One can only wonder what type of blowback she may face from the mayor after all of this.

But Lucia is someone who always says she wants to make all of these changes, but you can tell she’s gotten too wrapped up in playing things safe when it comes to instilling change.

Lucia plays things timidly, but Malika isn’t a timid individual, and she gives Lucia the push she needs, holds her accountable and her feet to the fire, and helps her evolve.

Malika could be why Lucia became a controversial figure and a renegade in her political career. She also can be how Lucia garners the support of the people and actually rises in this political game.

Malika is always at her best when she’s in her element as an activist, and I love that it came to the forefront to this degree in the finale and hope the next season brings more of the same.

Now, can we all collectively take a minute to rejoice over Davia and Dennis FINALLY getting their shit together? It’s been 84 years!

We all could surmise that Ryan and Asher were provisional figures, but out of the two, Asher was the one that felt the most out of place.

Davia: Do you want kids? I never really asked you that.
Davia: It depends on who I would be having them with. Does Ryan want kids?
Dennis: Yeah.
Davia: And are you moving in with her?
Dennis:No, I”m not moving in with Ryan, in fact, I’m just not seeing her anymore.

Yes, he and Davia had nice chemistry, and what was blossoming between them was sweet in its own way. But I’m relieved that Davia directly addressed some genuine concerns about that pairing.

Davia truly was stepping into Laura’s life. Davia was not in the space to throw herself into this picture-perfect suburban world with a single father and his son. It didn’t feel like Davia at all and would have contributed to some of the problems she’s frequently had.

I loved that she reflected on, acknowledged, and owned that and set the healthiest boundaries for this situation. Laura is back, and Laura and Asher need to work on their co-parenting situation and whatever else.

Elliott is already a confused, anxiety-ridden child who struggles to adapt to things. He’s the priority for everyone, and that’s where all the attention should be without complications of relationships.

Davia is in a stage of her life where she’s trying to figure herself out, so it didn’t suit her to be pigeonholed into this dynamic meant for someone more settled and cognizant of what they want out of life.

It’s an interesting contrast to Dennis, who is always expected to be in the stage, but he isn’t and doesn’t want to be, and that’s okay.

In hindsight, it makes sense that Dennis dates women younger than him because otherwise, he’d face things like what happened with Ryan.

Ryan is a beautiful, smart, secure woman, but she’s in a different stage in her life and wants something that Dennis can’t offer her. She accelerated the hell out of their relationship, but that’s because she’s a woman who knows what she wants.

Ryan: Dennis, are you in love with me?
Dennis: I don’t know what that means, love versus in love.
Ryan : Are you in love with Davia? You’re blushing. That’s what in love means. It’s visceral. Indeniable .Irrepressible. And I don’t want to be anyone’s consolation prize.
Dennis: You are not a consolation prize. You’re brilliant and beautiful.
Ryan: Yes, I am. And you’re a wonderful man. You’re just not my man.

You can understand why she’d react to the Coterie the way she does. That situation would feel too reminiscent of a college dorm to most people.

If you’re someone more prone to the traditional trajectory and outlook on where a person is supposed to be and what certain stages of adulthood should look like, then they wouldn’t understand why a 40-year-old man lives in what amounts to a dormitory.

And that’s fine; different strokes for different folks and all. But Ryan wanted Dennis to be something that he simply is not, with or without Davia, and Dennis’ attempt to “normal” fell through because that’s not what his heart desires, and Ryan wasn’t who his heart wanted.

It’s a shame it took Ryan to put Dennis’ feet to the fire and essentially tell him that he is in love with Davia and not in love with her, but it is what it is. Dennis is my guy, but even I couldn’t defend his inability to articulate his feelings without someone telling them what they were.

I loved every second of a confident and assured Ryan, telling him she knew she was beautiful and amazing. She knew that she wasn’t the problem in the least and Dennis not loving her wasn’t some reflection of her.

Honestly, Ryan is goals, and we should all aspire to be like her.

But in the end, regardless of the steps taken to get us to the finish line, we can all breathe easy knowing that Denvia is finally here. Thank goodness, they were exasperating.

They aired things out between them; Dennis borrowed Ryan’s statements about love, bless his heart, and Davia admitted that she was running away from him and testing him with Matt and Ryan.

But now they’ve exchanged their “I love you,” had their smoldering kiss, and we got a montage of the Best of freaking Denvia, so this is legit, dammit. Let Denvia thrive in their era now!

It was nothing like the two of them bonding over helping to deliver a baby to help kick things into gear.

But alas, we have some concrete shit with Denvia, whereas Gael and Isabella are totally up in the air.

A show of hands; how badly do you feel for Gael right now? Bless her heart; Isabella is exhausting.

It was frustrating to hear Isabella check in with Gael and ask him about his feelings about giving up the baby. She claimed that it was something that had to be both of their decision, but literally, at no point at all were his feelings ever a factor throughout this journey.

Isabella’s parents are the ones who demand she give the baby up for adoption without once considering what Gael wanted as the father of the child.

And Isabella came to the last-minute decision that she wanted to give the child up, brought up all the reasons why it was imperative, told Gael how he felt about it, and shamed and guilted him for even considering wanting to raise the child alone because of how poorly it would look on her in their child’s eyes, and then told him that it had to be his choice too.

It makes sense that Gael doesn’t believe he has a choice in the matter. But even with whiplash from this situation and Gael getting talked into the idea that it was in his best interest to give up his child, he came up with the best possible plan.

Isabella, I would be so grateful if you gave me the opportunity to be a mother.

Jazmine

The about-face Isabella pulled about this baby admittedly angered me. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of a baby storyline, they’ve invested so much into it that it was annoying when it seemed they were backtracking.

However, Jazmine and her handsome hubby entering the equation and sharing that they always intended to have a child and would love to raise and co-parent the baby was the best. It was such a heartwarming moment, and if they had a genuine interest too, instead of it being some forced thing.

Plus, it’s much more comforting to accept that the baby still stays in the family and has a loving environment, and Gael can still be part of his kid’s life because he simply isn’t the type of guy who wouldn’t want that.

But just when we got an acceptable outcome, here Isabella goes! In her defense, it’s not uncommon for women who have just delivered children to reconsider or even change their minds about adoption after the harrowing experience and seeing the child for the first time.

Isabella may still be high off hormones and the situation, and she’ll come to her senses later. But if not, it’s unfortunate that so many people’s hearts are getting toyed with here.

Gael can’t handle all this back and forth. Jazmine and Spencer are already so excited about having a child and not going through the exhausting adoption process. The rest of the Coterie family is simply trying to keep up and be as supportive as possible.

The labor and delivery scene was genuinely sweet because of the support, and Kelly added her humor to the situation by catching everything on camera.

I knew the moment the doctor told them to hang out until the contractions got closer, Isabella would be delivering that child right there at the Coterie. Isn’t L.A. traffic like ungodly awful?

Gael, I think I changed my mind. I want to keep her.

Isabella

By the time she went to the hospital, she would’ve been shooting the kid out. Dennis being there for the thing felt right, considering how close he is to Isabella and Gael. At least they didn’t make things more awkward by letting him deliver the child, given his previous experience as a father and all.

The notion of a Coterie baby is sweet, and most of the girls hanging out with Isabella and squealing over the little girl was cute and a nice moment of sisterhood.

But this is nowhere near settled now that Isabella may renege on her decision again.

And that’s not even the most stressful thing to happen in the installment because Mariana at the freaking sex bee cult is madness!

Did ANYONE have someone getting shot and potentially killed on a cult farm on their Bingo card? NOT ME!

Mariana is too smart to be this dumb. My only wish was that she, at the very least, shot someone a text message while they were headed out of town. But nope, she went full-bodied into a dangerous cult with a scary dude on a compound with guns and didn’t give anyone a head’s up

.

And the disturbing thing about it was that she was missing for at least a day and a half before Joaquin and Evan could piece things together. Has NO ONE watched a Lifetime movie?

Silas is a creepy man, but from his first interaction with Mariana alone, you could understand how he could be effective and lure in lost and lonely souls.

Silas: Horses are very intuitive, they can sense a person’s energy, their true intentions. I have that gift.
Mariana: Oh, what do you sense about me?
Silas: That you’re searching for something, or for someone.
Mariana: What makes you think that?
Silas: You strike me as lonely deep inside like you were abandoned at a young age or maybe more recently. Like someone close left you.
Mariana: I am searching, for a place to call home.
Silas: Well, maybe you found that place and your people.

He called her right out for being lonely and feeling abandoned. On the one hand, it’s one of those things that you can say to anyone and likely trigger them in some capacity because both are simply part of being human, and people can seemingly apply things like that to their life.

But on the other, Mariana was abandoned as a child and recently because of Callie, and we know how untethered she’s been since. However, she didn’t let that lure her in.

Mariana stayed focused on finding Jenna, and he was too obvious about it in many ways. But she didn’t waste any time breaking things down when she did see Jenna.

Jenna’s account of what she experienced with Silas was disturbing, and you could already tell that there was more to the story that she was leaving out. It only gets more horrific from there.

But maybe the two women should’ve brainstormed a better plan to get out of there. Jenna already raised suspicions and was getting watched because of her previous attempts at escaping.

Meanwhile, Mariana’s disappearance prompted the two current men in her life to join forces unexpectedly to track her down.

When Joaquin realized she wasn’t at work or with Evan, he knew she had done something reckless and went to the farm to find Jenna.

Evan was right along for the ride. And as much as he wanted to fault Joaquin for getting Mariana involved in this situation, he knew deep down that everything Mariana did was on brand for her character.

They set things up nicely for Mariana and Evan to have another chat and maybe work something out this time. Joaquin even did the selfless thing, displaying how much he genuinely cares about Mariana, and set his feelings aside and told Evan how much Mariana still loves him and that there is nothing between him and her.

But that’s why I think things could take an expected turn regarding who got shot.

As it stands, we have Jenna, Mariana, and Joaquin trying to outrun a bullet, and somebody is going to fall. Silas’ henchman is a damn fool for shooting at them when their whole shtick has been only bringing in women who don’t have anyone out there who would be looking for them.

Jenna: I want to leave. I actually ran away or tried to but Adam picked me up and brought me back here.
Mariana: So Silas won’t let you leave.
Jenna: Not since Joaquin showed up. Silas is constantly watching me and he’s been abusive. He locks me in at night.

By now, it’s apparent that Joaquin, a reporter, and Mariana would have people searching for them. The henchman going rogue to shoot at and possibly kill someone will bring too much attention to what Silas is doing.

But, no one would bring attention like Evan.

Joaquin told him to stay in the car for when it was time to escape, and he said it would be too risky if both of them lurked around the compound. Evan was not thrilled about getting benched, especially when the woman he loved was out there in danger.

Evan likely did not stay in the car and came looking for them too. What if, amid all the commotion, Evan is the one who got shot when he came to look for them?

We’re in some shockingly dark territory for Good Trouble, and anything is possible here.

Before it faded to black, we heard someone hit the ground, and it sounded like it could’ve been Mariana. Whether she got hit by the bullet or someone pushed her down to protect her is a whole other question.

Of course, it’s possible that after all of this, Jenna is the one who gets shot. Can you imagine how awful that would be for Joaquin?

My head is spinning with this one. How about you?

Over to you, Good Trouble Fanatics.

What do you think happened at the compound? Who got shot? Will Isabella change her mind yet again about the baby? Are you relieved that Denvia is officially official? Sound off below!

If you want to relive the season, you can watch Good Trouble online here via TV Fanatic.

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Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.

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