‘Good Trouble’: Callie Stands Up for Herself and a Few People Let Go of Their Shame

Good Trouble's Callie must fight back against bullies at work. Some of the housemates are a on a journey where they realize it's time to release shame.

by Sheiresa Ngo

Published on July 22, 2021

2 min read

Callie stands up to her co-workers on ‘Good Trouble’

Maia Mitchell and Constance Zimmer stand next to each other with boxes in the background on 'Good Trouble'

Maia Mitchell and Constance Zimmer on ‘Good Trouble’ | Tiffany Roohani via Getty Images

During Good Trouble Season 3 Episode 12 (titled “Shame”), we see that Callie (Maia Mitchell) is having a tough day at work. Her colleagues are angry with her because their boss, Kathleen Gayle (Constance Zimmer), seems to favor her. Kathleen chose Callie to be her lawyer, and now her co-workers are treating her poorly by engaging in passive-aggressive behavior and making rude comments.

No one told Callie their meeting with the accident specialist was going to be at the crime scene. Unfortunately, she came to the meeting with high heels, and the crime scene was in a wooded area. She ends up breaking one of her heels. “We thought Kathleen would have told you, seeing how you’re besties,” teased her co-worker, Tony.

Callie finally had enough and called out her co-workers on their behavior. When she returns to the office, she gives them a piece of her mind. “I’m sick of all the passive-aggressive remarks,” says Callie. She then tells Rowan and Tony that Kathleen probably didn’t ask either of them to be her lawyer because they were more concerned with kissing up to her than getting work done.

A few characters shed their shame

As the title of episode 12 suggests (“Shame”), a few of the characters deal with the issue of shame. One character who deals with her shame is Malika. She came out to her boyfriend, Isaac, as polyamorous. She told him that she wanted to be with him as well as her co-worker Dyonte. However, Isaac didn’t react well to her request. Isaac decided he needed space, so he told her he was moving to London for six months.

During a session with her therapist, Malika realized she was feeling shame after telling Isaac about her desire to be with more than one person. When he rejected her and left the country, this brought back old feelings of shame she had as a child after she called children’s services on her mother. After Malika had a conversation with her father, he told her she had nothing to be ashamed of.

Isabella and Gael also faced their feelings of shame. Gael is about to become a father, but he doesn’t have a stable job and he’s not married to Isabella. Viewers were transported to flashbacks of Gael’s Catholic upbringing. We see him as a little boy in a confession booth, asking a priest for forgiveness.

After Gael shares the real reason Isabella is back at the Coterie, he seems to breathe of sigh of relief. He initially didn’t share the real reason Isabella returned because he was afraid everyone would judge him. At first, he said she was staying with him while she looked for a job. However, Gael held a second meeting and told everyone the truth about the pregnancy. Instead of being judgmental, his housemates welcomed Isabella with open arms and said they both had their support.