Good Trouble is still in its second season but it’s already proven itself to be a complete powerhouse.
In just a little time, the series has already tackled so many issues including gender bias in the workplace and police brutality.
But one thing that’s truly stood out this season has been the storyline of Alice’s coming out and her introduction into the queer comedy community.
After finally coming out to her conservative Chinese parents, Alice is ready to truly put herself out there. She starts dating her partner Joey and experiments with standup.
But her relationship with Joey is complicated from the start. The two are in very different places in their lives. Alice is still figuring out what it means for her to be “out,” while Joey, who has been out for a while, is now questioning their gender identity.
Joey decides they want to start using the pronoun “they,” which throws Alice for a loop. She went from having a girlfriend to all of a sudden having a partner and her whole vocabulary around the relationship has to change.
While many shows are increasingly including LGBTQ stories, they rarely show a gender non-binary person’s journey, let alone what it means to be in a relationship with someone who’s non-conforming. And just the fact that these characters are having entire conversations where they have to use the pronoun “they” is awesome. It helps to normalize something that still feels incredible foreign to many people.
On top of that, Good Trouble is giving queer women the voices and the stories they deserve. So often shows, particularly teen shows, feature gay male characters. And even when they do portray a lesbian relationship, it’s often heavily sexualized and shown through the male gaze (e.g. Riverdale‘s Cheryl and Toni).
Alice and her new queer comedy friends are given depth and full lives. They’re not only there to be the token LGBTQ characters, but they also have personalities and background stories. And Alice and her partner can share intimate moments without it feeling like porn.
Watching Alice as she figures out who she is as a queer woman and a comic has been refreshing and heartwarming. And luckily, Good Trouble is increasingly giving her story more airtime. I personally can’t wait to see what the writers have in store for Alice.
You can watch Good Trouble on Freeform on Tuesdays.
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