Blindside

Season 3, Episode 18

Episode Information

First Aired

September 1, 2021

Viewers (millions)

115,000^[1]

Writer(s)

Megan Lynn & Wade Solomon

Director(s)

Michael Medico

Episode Guide
Previous	Next
Anticipation	Closing Arguments

"Nice try. Asian Guilt doesn't work in this country."

—Margaret Cho

Blindside is the eighteenth episode of Season 3 of Good Trouble. The episode aired on September 1, 2021.

Synopsis[]

Callie and Gael struggle to make time for each other. Mariana tries to redeem herself with the Fight Club Girls. Malika realizes there are other ways to help people facing incarceration injustices.

Plot[]

The Coterie residents prepare for another day as they care for the children that stayed the night. Davia helps the eldest with homework, Mariana braids the youngest girl’s hair, Alice makes pancakes, while Kelly remarks that it does take a village even if they’ve reached their crazy limit. Callie tells Malika she’s going to the courthouse to get Yvonne’s community service hours fixed since she was arrested due to a clerical error. Isabella teaches the youngest boy to tie his shoes while Gael helps. Callie watches and remembers meeting Gael’s mom. She is polite to Mrs. Martinez and smiles. When Isabella arrives Mrs. Martinez is ecstatic and tells Isabella to call her Adriana. This is an offer she doesn’t extend to Callie. Isabella offers to come back but Adriana came to see her as she had a gift for the baby. Now, Mariana asks Callie if she’s okay but Callie brushes her off and leaves. Alice asks who is cleaning up after this and everyone scatters for their daily errands. Kelly just refuses to help.

Alice is doing the dishes when Sumi enters, wondering what happened. Alice explains it was a big breakfast and everyone else was busy. Sumi helps gather the dishes as they talk about the showcase. Alice and the group were asked to come in tomorrow but Ruby is sure they’re going to cancel everything. Sumi asks how Ruby is doing as she saw Ruby leaving Alice’s room that morning, and had an awkward exchange. Now, Alice states that everything is fine with Ruby even though she had to resign from the program after their relationship was outed. Alice wants to talk about the kiss but Sumi tries to brush it off as they have just gotten caught up in the moment. Alice nervously agrees with Sumi, who quickly changes the subject back to the showcase. Alice doesn’t think they can do anything as they don’t have a director, so Sumi recommends asking Margaret Cho. Alice can’t just ask someone like Margaret Cho as she’s a star who probably wouldn’t be interested in directing a showcase. She’s also pretty sure Margaret didn’t appreciate Alice calling her out over not speaking up for the diversity programs sooner. Alice knows because she DMed Margaret to apologize and was blocked. Sumi doesn’t want her to give up but Alice doesn’t see any other way. Sumi reminds her that when there’s a will there’s always a way. Alice can see the wheels spinning in her diabolical brain and calls her a minion.

Gael stops by his loft to grab a few things and sees Isabella pasting the first ultrasound photo in the pregnancy journal Adriana gave her. He assures her it isn’t cheesy so she apologizes for Adriana showing up but makes sure Adriana will call next time. Gael tells her it isn’t her fault but appreciates it. Isabella reveals that she has a friend in Santa Barbara who she used to work for and he said she would come back and work at his restaurant and live in his guest house. She’s thinking of taking the offer so she’ll be out of his loft with her income. He reminds her that she isn’t in the way but she knows she is a little bit. She plans to move back to LA when her due date gets closer since there’s no reason they need to live in the same city while she’s pregnant.

Gina, Rachel, and Claire discuss their success in landing another brand partnership with Like Nature. Gina knows it’s because of Mariana’s hard work, flashing back to when they give their pitch to Like Natural. The sales rep likes the pitch but doesn’t see why they need Bulk Beauty as they have their own distribution and sales. Claire states they would augment Like Nature’s sales and diversify their revenue streams. Their algorithm reminds the customer when they need refills. Gina and Rachel look to Mariana for support as Claire is losing the attention of the representative. Mariana interrupts that they aren’t just here to sell amazing products - they’re promoting them because they actually use them. She praises Like Nature’s products as it’s not just about algorithms and promotions but because of their promotion. The rep smiles and Claire forces one too.

Now, Mariana brushes her part off as being the icing on the cake. Claire agrees as their pitch deck is the actual cake since without it they would just be frosting with no substance. Claire turns to face Mariana for the first time as she presses that the algorithm is important and they need the variables by the end of the day. Mariana ensures she’ll get them while Rachel and Gina exchange a look.

Rowan, Tony, and Callie gather as Kathleen announces that Rothman is calling Katie to the stand. They think the prosecution will add a jealous boyfriend to the motive since Katie and Zack flirted that night. They wonder which one of their witnesses talked and land on Izzie. Callie is instructed to call her in as they can’t be blindsided again and have to know everything the prosecution knows.

Anjelica opens the Douro when Malika enters for an early shift since she can’t work late since she still has the kids. She remembers tucking the kids in before going with Dyonte to relax as they talk about the kids. She asks if he wants kids someday and he does. She thinks she does too but doesn’t know how poly people have kids. He thinks it’s the same as anyone else. In a stable polyamorous home, there are more loving parents to care for the kid in a positive way. Malika wonders if he and Tanya talk about having kids or if everyone involved will have a say in having children. Dyonte admits that he and Tanya do talk about it and they will cross that bridge when they come to it. Malika brings up other partners and asks the rules on being interested in other people. She wonders when she should tell him about seeing someone but he leaves that up to her. He then asks her but she doesn’t know yet so they kiss.

Now, Malika tells Anjelica that they’re all managing. She vents about Yvonne being held and the risks it takes on her personal and professional career each day. Anjelica offers to ask her friend in the city council for help, which Malika welcomes. Anjelica then helps her set up the bar.

At school, Davia overhears a conversation between Jessie and Nyah where they are discussing what Jessie should wear for tryouts. They land on a tie-dyed sweat suit and Nyah tells her that she’s brave to try out as she’s going to disrupt the norm since no one on the team looks like her. Matt brings Davia coffee creamers which she loves. Andre starts the Students Deserve meeting which is focused on getting cops out of schools around LA. Until then, they need to protect their school. He tells them not to sign anything for the diversion program and for those who are already in he wants to start an early warning system for when probation officers are on campus. He also wants to start a petition to opt out so the admins will remember they are students. Principal Solomon watches the meeting from afar.

Sumi thanks Margaret Cho for the late interview. Margaret remarks she was happy to do it after Ruby reached out. Sumi lies that she’s part of Heysian Gaysian an online quarterly that talks about queer Asian representation in Hollywood. She wants to start with something controversial. Alice talks to Sumi through a Bluetooth earpiece about her interview with Hollywood Reporter about the CBTV, stating that Margaret was honest about the program. Sumi blunders at first but Alice recovers in time. Margaret didn’t know this year’s showcase was in danger of being canceled as the last she heard that Scott was returning as director. She finds it a bummer they won’t be able to perform since there were some great comedians. Alice begins to ramble with Sumi struggling to keep up properly and hear Margaret over Alice’s interjections. Margaret asks who Sumi is talking to, so Sumi hands the earpiece over to Margaret who wants to know what’s going on.

Rachel finds Mariana getting coffee and wants to apologize for Claire’s actions. Mariana doesn’t expect to be forgiven overnight or be made partner again. She wants to make amends as she misses them. Rachel thinks it’s harder for Claire because of Raj but Mariana doesn’t understand since Raj set this whole thing up. Rachel admits that Claire thinks Mariana cheated on Raj with Evan so forgiving her would betray Raj.

Alice wants Margaret to direct the showcase to avoid it being canceled. Margaret states that Alice should have called so Alice explains the DM. Margaret thinks her assistant probably mistook Alice for a stalker. She’s busy with her one-woman show so she can’t swing it. Alice understands and thinks it would be okay to blow it up and their career. Margaret refuses to be guilt-tripped.

Callie is in the DA’s office when she bumps into Jamie who asks why she’s there. She notes that she has other clients but did hear he’s planning to call Katie tomorrow. She asks for a preview but he doesn’t want to give up any more spoilers. Callie thinks Tommy deserves a fair trial while his boss doesn’t want that, which Jamie agrees. He admits that he’s wondering if criminal law is the best fit for him. He doesn't miss the corporate crusades either and doesn’t know where he fits in. She knows the feeling as she doesn’t remember when she wanted to do this. He does and reminds her she wanted to challenge the systems that oppress people and work for the ACLU. She realizes she’s lost sight of her dreams and he thinks they both have. She has to get to the office to prepare for her team’s tricks.

Mariana and Raj make small talk about his new job doing gaming IT, which he finds painfully boring. She wants to apologize for how things unraveled with them but he knows they were both confused. She admits that she cheated on him with Raj when she thought he and Isabella had slept together. She didn’t ask him about Isabella because she wanted an excuse to justify what she wanted. She’s ashamed of how selfish she was at that moment. He wonders why she’s telling him this now. She thinks Claire knows and doesn’t want her to keep the secret. Mariana also hopes they can both start forgiving her.

Alice meets with the CBTV group to talk about her relationship with Ruby, as that wasn’t why she got into the program. Derek confronts her for that being the reason her unicorn skit got in. Alice knows it wasn’t all because of Ruby but Stacey doesn’t think Alice has to stand up for herself. She knows Alice was the only one who stood up for them against Scott. Lindsay adds that everyone knows Alice is talented. Derek still blames Alice for them not having a director as he wanted his career to start. He doesn’t think Alice is the hero everyone thinks she is. Alice realizes that Derek told Scott about her and Ruby, which he lies about not having done. Sanjana realizes this is all his fault but Magda doesn’t blame him. Shaun thinks that’s why Derek’s sketch was back in but Derek argues that it was a good sketch. A woman interrupts to tell them that without a director they can’t have a showcase. Margaret Cho enters as she’s saving the day as the director. Margaret knows they have a lot of work to do if they want this to happen. Alice is excited and asks what changed her mind.

Sumi and Alice are leaving the diner when Sumi lies that she left her phone on the table. She returns to confront Margaret. She knows Margaret’s one article in The Hollywood Reporter that blew the whistle on a program Margaret participated in and profited from doesn’t make her a hero. But she knows Margaret is a hero because she showed every Asian girl they can be strong, funny, and in charge. They need her to not let them down now. Now, Margaret tells Alice the stunt she and Sumi pulled is worth being rewarded. She then states that Sumi is a keeper which Alice knows.

Nicolette asks Katie about the party in Griffith Park when Zack was murdered. Kathleen objects as she’s assuming facts that aren’t in evidence. Judge Martinez sustains it and Nicolette rewards the question. She asks if Katie flirted with Zack that night and reminds Katie she’s under oath. Katie admits that she did flirt with Zack to make Tommy jealous as they were in a fight. Nicolette states that Tommy was jealous, flew into a jealous rage, and caused the fight that night which led to Zack’s death. Kathleen objects as Nicolette is testifying. Nicolette replies to ask if the fight was over Katie flirting with Zack. Katie admits that it was and says she’s sorry to Zack.

Mariana is working when Claire enters the office. She knows about her talk with Raj yesterday but the friction isn’t over him or her not giving Mariana a chance. She snips that she gave her a chance many, many chances ago when Mariana chose Raj over her to be a team leader. She presses that Mariana then used Raj as a mole to undercut her when she was the team leader. Or when she lied about her relationship with Evan and how they got their VC meeting at the Hallis Group. Or when she lied about her birthday because Mariana isn’t a Pisces. She knows the list goes on and this is about trust because Claire doesn’t trust her and probably won’t again.

Davia wishes Jessie good luck but Jessie isn’t going as she doesn’t want to be a statement or a brave thing. She just wants to be normal. Davia tells her she’s exceptional and no one gets to judge what she can do with her body. Davia shows Jessie her body positivity Instagram which is a dance video of a woman and points out that she sees the woman’s skill, strength, and beauty not her body. She tells Jessie to just dance and to have fun. Principal Solomon asks for a word with Davia so the girls depart. Solomon needs Davia to stop Students Deserve from targeting the Diversion Program. Davia thinks it should be the other way around. Solomon notes that a lot of people aren’t happy about the Students Deserve program. Solomon notes that if he knew the trouble Davia would cause he wouldn’t have hired her for the third year.

In court, Kathleen talks to Katie about the night of the party.

Kathleen and Callie talk to Izzie about what happened between Katie and Tommy.

Kathleen asks Katie if she hated Zack and asks if the Instagram account is hers. She asks what the hashtag 2LDRZAS stands for.

Callie asks Izzie the same question and learns that it stands for “too long didn’t read, Zack actually sucks”.

Katie calls it a joke so Kathleen asks if a picture of Tommy, Zack, and Katie with Zack’s face crossed out with the hashtag “Wish He Was Dead” is a a joke. Kathleen asks if Katie sent that to Izzie shortly before she sent Tommy on a beer run and Zack wandered over to the drop-off. Rothman objects as he needs to authenticate the image. Kathleen retorts that Katie already confirmed it came from her Instagram account. The judge allows it for that reason. Katie says she was joking because she was upset. Kathleen presses Katie and means and opportunity that night. The judge sustains but Katie blurts out that Tommy and Zack were hooking up but Zack broke up with him at the party and that’s what they were fighting about. Zack’s father has an outburst of anger that what Katie said is a lie as his son was killed by Tommy Sung because Zack replaced him on the football team. He shouts that his son wasn’t gay. The judge calls for order as Callie looks at Tommy.

Davia tells Gael that Solomon is gunning for him but she can’t go running to Matt over every problem. He asks her why not but she doesn’t want to get further from Dennis by getting closer to Matt. Gael asks if it would be clearer for her if she knew for sure that Dennis was ready to be with her. She thinks it might be but isn’t sure. He states that clarity comes when she makes a choice and if she waits too long she won't have a choice. He’s heading on a date with Callie. Davia’s phone blows up as her students like her private Instagram account photos as she showed the handle to Jessie who then shared it. This could be very bad.

Dyonte, Tanya, and Malika feed the kids dinner just as Yvonne arrives. The kids flock to Yvonne who has been let out. Her phone wasn’t charged or she would have called. Malika happily realizes her friend’s contact panned out.

Mariana texts Zelda about the other company as she wants to know if they’re still interested.

Margaret and Sumi toast about Margaret being there and Ruby is back as assistant director.

Alice woke up one morning with Ruby who wants to stay for breakfast sometime. She’s in for the relationship now. Alice admits that she messed up and felt awful that Ruby lost her job and didn’t want to reject her on top of it. But she doesn’t think her heart is in the relationship anymore. She apologizes but Ruby says it’s fine as she’s kicking herself for being afraid when Alice’s heart was in it. Alice wants to still be friends and Ruby agrees.

Alice tells Sumi that Ruby can date whoever she wants now. They toast to Sumi’s diabolical plan.

Malika and Anjelica talk at work about Yvonne having come back. Anjelica's contact was Lucia Morales, a councilwoman, as she’s Anjelica's ex. Malika asks if the hike was a date and Anjelica asks if she wanted it to be. She did want it to turn into a date but didn’t want to make any assumptions. Malika admits that she’s never dated a woman before but is open to it. She wants to go on a date with her but wants to ask her properly so there’s no doubt. The women smile at one another before they kiss.

Gael is drinking wine when Callie arrives a little late due to the hell at the trial. She can’t go into it without her head exploding. She doesn’t want to reschedule and wants to focus on them. She asks how his day was and he tells her about Isabella’s friend. He doesn’t know how to feel about her being away while she’s pregnant. Callie asks if this is a co-pregnancy but there are parenting classes and doctor appointments. She’s surprised he’s going to do six months of parenting classes when there’s a friend who is offering her support so it doesn’t have to all be on him unless he wants it that way. He asks if that’s what she wants but she states it isn’t about her or what she wants as it doesn’t involve her. He retorts that it affects her and was wondering when her real feelings would come out. She snaps that her real feelings are that this is none of her business. She’s had a stressful day and wants five minutes where they don’t talk about Isabella, the baby, or his mother. He agrees but is visibly upset.

Isabella sobs as she runs down the stairs pulling on a sweater. Dennis asks what’s going on and she tearfully states that she’s cramping and spotting. She’s not sure what’s wrong so she’s going to the ER. He calmly but firmly tells her to slow down and asks where Gael is. She states that he’s with Callie but she doesn’t want to interrupt. She’s going to drive herself but Dennis refuses and states that he’s taking her. He repeats that it’s okay as he walks her out of The Coterie.

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

Guest Starring[]

Margaret Cho as Herself
Priscilla Quintana as Isabella Tavez
Kara Wang as Sumi Liu
Marcus Emanuel Mitchell as Dyonte Davis
Jayson Blair as Tony Britton
Erik Stocklin as Matt
River Butcher as Lindsay Brady
Dhruv Uday Singh as Raj Patil
Ruth Zalduondo as Adriana Martinez
Anastasia Leddick as Kelly (Good Trouble)
Catherine Haena Kim as Nicolette Baptiste
Tim Martin Gleason as Dan Solomon
Odelya Halevi as Anjelica
Shannon Chan-Kent as Ruby Chen
Terrell Ransom Jr. as Andre Johnson
Liisi LaFontaine as Tanya
Akira Akbar as Kiara
Rachel Rosenbloom as Gina Spero
Seri DeYoung as Claire Badgley
Maisie Klompus as Rachel Boyle
Emmett Preciado as Rowan
Chris L. McKenna as DA Marc Rothman
Mark Adair-Rios as Judge Martin Gutierrez
Stephen O’Young as Ken Sung
Jennifer Jalene as Julia Sung
Kevin David Lin as Tommy Sung
Zainne Saleh as Sanjana
Nabeel Muscatwalla as Derek
Nicole Dele as Stacey
Marissa Rivera Magdalena ‘Magda’
Kye Tamm as Shaun
Peyton Woolf Katie Parker
Constance Zimmer as Kathleen Gale

Co-Starring[]

Dallas Oliver as Jessie
Jaidyn-Bleau as Nyah
Giovanni Goree as Jeptha
Shondalia White as Yvonne
Tia Valentine as Izzie
Jacy King as Elise
Jordan Preston as Harris Everson / Juror #1
Melany Smith as Shelly Smith
Blaine Gray as Trent Smith
Lisa Carswell as Jeanne Smith
Alessa M. Harris as Nisa
Innocent Ekakitie as Shine
Danielle Shipp as Dara
Delpaneau Willis as Bailiff

Notes and Trivia[]

Blindside is the least-watched episode of the season, with 115,000 viewers. It narrowly beat Picks and Strikes, which had 116,000 viewers and a 0.3 demographic.