Thomas "Tommy" Sung is a recurring guest character in the Freeform series, Good Trouble.
Tommy is a high school quarterback on trial for the murder of his teammate and best friend, Zack. His need for the best defense team leads him and his family to the Law Office of Kathleen Gale.
Biography[]
Personality[]
Physical Appearance[]
Throughout Series[]
Season 3[]
In Trust, Kathleen signs for a stack of boxes and tells everyone that they have a new case; Tommy Sung, a 17-year-old high school star quarterback who had a pick of college scholarships until he is replaced by the backup quarterback and his best friend. A few days later, the friend is found at the bottom of a ravine, though the prosecutor’s office believes the boy was hit over the head first. They go to trial in a week if she can’t get a continuance.
In Driver's Seat, Kathleen and her junior law associates Callie Adams Foster, Rowan, and Tony Britton met with Tommy and his parents to discuss the case. His father is adamant about not taking a plea deal as he is convinced his son is innocent, that he didn’t hurt Zack. He admits to feeling angry about Zack taking his spot but was angry at himself, not Zack. Callie claims three people saw them arguing, with Tony saying they were “horsing around”. Tommy claims he left the party around 11 for beer as he was with Katie. He wasn’t there when Zack died. After the meeting, Callie takes with Tommy and the boy becomes emotional over the death of Zack being on trial for his murder.
In Knocked Down, Kathleen details that the prosecution is saying that Tommy hit Zack on the back of the head with a rock. Tony calls out that the rock didn’t have prints, with Callie asking if that’s even possible. Rowan counters that they can as there is a new technology that might be able to do it. Kathleen reminds Rowan to only ask questions he knows the answer to. She’s worried that the new tech could link the rock to Tommy.
That night, Kathleen closes her office door to tell the full story to Callie. Tommy is Denise’s niece, so Kathleen asked Ken, Tommy’s father, and Denise’s brother if he knew where Denise was. If she could offer proof of life the FBI case would go away. But he refused unless she took his son’s case. Callie asks why she didn’t tell her, but Kathleen didn’t want it to affect her view of Tommy’s case. She isn’t thrilled about the coercion but Tommy does deserve the best defense. Plus, she doesn’t think he did that.
In Shame, discovery from the prosecution says a beer bottle near the drop point has Tommy’s prints on it.
In "Opening Statements", Tommy's trial officially begins as opening statements are given by both the prosecution and the defense. Rothman paints a picture that the victim, Zack, yanked away Tommy’s hopes and dreams of being a star quarterback. Rothman also describes the horror of the crime. He paints Tommy as an apathetic criminal. He plans to have his witnesses prove his version of events alongside the fingerprinted beer bottle that was found near the crime scene. He tells them to make sure Tommy Sung pays for the death of his friend. He states that while Zack was bleeding to death, Tommy went on a beer run. Tony realizes that Rothman just changed their timeline, and Callie confirms his suspicions. She remembers telling Kathleen about the video store's timestamps being five minutes slow. In the present, Tommy asks Kathleen what their defense is now that the prosecution has changed the timeline. Kathleen assures him that it’s the same as it always was. The judge declares a short recess before the defense delivers their statement. Callie assures Tommy that he’ll be okay, and is watched by Jamie and Nicolette.
Kathleen tells the jury that the entire case is a made-up story that didn’t happen. The prosecution doesn't have any evidence to prove this was a homicide. The evidence points to this being a tragic accident. She presses that the beer bottle doesn’t prove that Tommy was there. The rock doesn’t have any prints or DNA of Tommy’s on it. She presses that the alleged fight was just them horsing around. Their witnesses will prove that. Their case will show a young kid with a promising future who had a lot to drink, fell off a cliff, and hit his head on the way down. It’s heartbreaking but there is no crime. Everyone lost someone they cared about including Tommy, who lost his best friend. She asks them to perform their solemn duty that the evidence will support - a verdict of not guilty. Tommy begins to get choked up so Kathleen tells Callie that he’s doing great at selling things.
Nicolette calls Zack’s friends to the stand to testify over having seen the fight. They all saw it and agreed that Tommy started it. Kathleen cross-examines by asking if they had been drunk and high, which they were. She presses that their judgment over a fight or “just goofing around” could have been impaired. They both had seen them fighting before, and it was common for the rest of the guys to do the same. They claim it was just guys blowing off steam. Kathleen asks if this continued after Zack replaced Tommy, though both witnesses state that Tommy handled the situation surprisingly well.
The judge tells the prosecution to call their next witness, Christian Matthews, to the stand. Jamie asks Christian if he was drinking or smoking that night. Christian was sober that night and saw the fight. They weren’t just horsing around. Callie asks Christian how close he was with Tommy and Zack. They weren’t friends and she asks if she’s sure it was a serious fight. Christian chuckles that he’s seen the video a bunch of times and it looks pretty serious to him. This gets the entire courtroom’s attention as the idea of a video was never mentioned previously. Callie asks him what video he’s talking about, and it’s the one Christian took that night of Tommy and Zack.
With the jury cleared and the stands empty, the two councils and the judge watch the video between Tommy and Zack. Tommy shoves Zack and shouts that he trusted Zack. They tussle as Zack tells Tommy to go home. They continue to scuffle on the film while Rothman smiles. The video ends just as Tommy throws a punch at Zack. Kathleen states it is improperly admitted evidence. Rothman counters that it came from witness testimony. The judge will take it under consideration and rule tomorrow. But he’s inclined to let it in. Tommy leaves the courtroom upset. Kathleen will lose all credibility and the case if this video gets in.
In "Anticipation", Kathleen, Callie, Rowan, Tony, and Tommy, watch the video. Kathleen knows they’re screwed if the jury gets to see the video - because he lied to them. Tommy was afraid to tell the truth. Kathleen can work with the truth but not the lies. Tommy admits the fight was about Katie as they were supposed to see a movie that night. When Zack texted about the party, Tommy wanted to go but Katie didn’t. She flirted with Zack to piss off Tommy and it worked. Kathleen tells him to be completely honest with her. He promises there’s nothing else but she doesn’t know if she can keep the video out.
Callie tells Kathleen that she couldn’t find any precedent to dismiss the video since it’s clear Tommy lied. Kathleen tells her that most of the people she represents as a defense lawyer will be guilty of something. Callie asks what happens if Tommy did kill Zack as the parents deserve justice. Kathleen doesn’t think that’s their concern as their job is to make sure the people they defend have due process. She finds it admirable that Callie wants to believe in the people she cares about but everyone will disappoint her at some point. Good people do bad things sometimes, but that doesn’t make them irredeemable. Even if the video does get in they will hopefully make the jury see that just because Tommy lied about the fight he isn’t a murderer.
In "Blindside", Tommy emotionally listens to testimony from his friends and peers. Katie calls the slanderous hashtag about Zack 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.
In "Closing Arguments", Tommy’s family wants the lawyers to put Katie back on the stand to make her admit that she lied. Kathleen asks Tommy if it was a lie or not and his father answers for him. Julia interrupts to tell Ken to stop so that Tommy can answer. Kathleen repeats the question to Tommy who is emotional. Tommy admits that it’s true. Ken tosses a chair backward so Tony stands up to intervene. Tommy emotionally states that he’s tired of lying, breaking down in tears. Callie sits by Tommy and offers him a box of tissues while Julia consoles her son. Tommy apologizes for not telling the truth as he was scared. He didn’t hurt Zack because he loved him. The only thing Katie lied about was Zack breaking up with him that night. Kathleen carefully says that their only option is to put Tommy on the stand so the jury can see what they’re seeing - that Tommy loved Zack. Ken refuses as if there’s even one homophobic juror they could lose the entire case. Kathleen snaps that it isn’t up to Ken but Tommy. He asks Callie what she thinks so she looks to Tony, Rowan, and Kathleen before stating that he should do it. Tommy agrees but Ken asks to speak with Kathleen in private.
Back in the courtroom, Judge Martinez asks Kathleen if she has any additional witnesses to call. Kathleen states that they don’t have more. She looks to the jury and then back at Tommy before calling Tommy to the stand. Rothman tells his team that is a mistake. Kathleen wants Callie to question him as she will bring out the best in him.
Callie questions Tommy about the nature of his relationship with Zack. He admits they were involved romantically but wasn’t jealous that Zack replaced him as a quarterback because he knew Zack was better than him. They did fight at the party but not over that, but because Katie was flirting with Zack. He wanted Tommy to break up with her and it upset them both. They made up after and Tommy denies any involvement with the death. Rothman tells Jamie to interview Tommy since he can rile Callie up. Jamie refuses and states that if he doesn’t have a choice then Rothman should fire him. Rothman decides to cross-examine Tommy himself. Rothman confronts Tommy for lying but Tommy calmly states that everything he’s said that day is true. Rothman calls him out for lying over the fight, the nature of their lying, and his lie to Katie about him secretly hooking up with Zack. Rothman presses that Zack wanted Tommy to break up with Katie because he was tired of them pretending. He presses that Tommy murdered Zack but Tommy shouts that he loved Zack.
Rothman asks why Tommy wasn’t at his funeral and accuses Tommy of not going because he killed the Smith family’s son. Tommy lashes out at Rothman telling him to shut up. He then breaks down in tears. Rothman asks one final question about his explosive temper. Kathleen objects so Rothman withdraws and takes a seat. Kathleen crosses again and asks Tommy if he needs to take a break. He assures her that he’s okay. Kathleen asks why he didn’t go to Zack’s family. Tommy didn’t go out of respect for the family. They knew the police suspected him and he didn’t want to make things harder for them. Kathleen asks what he did instead and instructs him to tell the jury what he did. Tommy drove around to the places they loved, listened to the playlist Zack made him and kept wishing he was alive. That they were in those places together and they would suddenly be together so it was all a bad dream. He breaks down that Zack is gone now. Kathleen thanks him for taking the stand and being courageous enough to do it. Kathleen emotionally states that the defense rests.
The jurors have a verdict and fill the courtroom once again. The jury has come to a verdict so the Judge reminds everyone to stay calm with the verdict’s reading. The defense rises and faces the jury. The jury states their verdict.
Season 4[]
In Turn and Face the Strange, Tommy is found not guilty, but he later confesses that he really did kill Zach, supposedly by accident.
Relationships[]
Notes and Trivia[]
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
Good Trouble | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
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Season 1 | N/A | |||||||||||||||||||
Season 2 | N/A | |||||||||||||||||||
Season 3 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | N/A | |||||||||||||||
Season 4 | ✔ | N/A | ||||||||||||||||||
Season 5 |
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v - e - d Characters (Good Trouble)
| |
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Main | Callie Adams Foster • Mariana Adams Foster • Malika Williams • Alice Kwan • Gael Martinez • Curtis Wilson • Davia Moss • Dennis Cooper • Jamie Hunter • Isabella Tavez • Joaquin Peréz |
Major | Alex Wood • Andre Johnson • Angela Miller • Benjamin • Bryan • Casey Pierce • Claire Badgley • Dom Williams • Dyonte • Elijah Adrieux • Evan Speck • Yuri Ellwin • Gina Spero • Isaac Hall • Joey Riverton • Joseph Turner • Josh Mandela • Kathleen Gale • Kelly • Kendra Zahir • LB Brady • Marcus • Matt Gordon• Melina Abdullah • Nicolette Baptiste • Patrisse Cullors • Rachel Boyle • Raj Patil • Rebecca • Ruby Chen • Sam Higgins • Sandra Thompson • Sumi Liu • Teresa • Tony Britton |
Minor | Bonnie Moss • Cary Plack • Diana • Gwen Tuckerman • Jazmin Martinez • Jeff Maxwell • Jennifer Cooper • Kate Nguyen • Libby Wilson • Margaret Cho • Meera Mattei • Rafael Martinez • Rowan • Tate Wilson • Tolu Eze • Trea Kwan • Yari Clarke |