Good Trouble: Season 5 Pushes Mariana Like Never Before

Mariana Adams-Foster spends the entire first half of Good Trouble’s fifth season struggling to put herself first. For the most part, she does not bother to try, constantly worrying about Evan’s state in the hospital, if his memory will return, how to run Spekulate, and more business with Silas and the cult.

Considering Evan had gone to the farm to help Mariana, she feels guilty for how he was shot and lost two years of memory. But things go from bad to worse when Mariana finds out she must decide about Evan’s medical state and temporarily take over his company.

Although Stef and Lena plead with Mariana to seek therapy for what occurred, she never finds the time. With everything going on, she never finds a way to put herself first and instead jumps headfirst into every other problem.

The Fosters and Good Trouble have certainly put Mariana in complicated situations, but this is the first time she has been pushed so far. Mariana spends weeks on the brink of a breaking point, and it appears that she has finally hit it in the midseason finale.

Good Trouble has been exploring Mariana’s mental health in how Evan’s injuries have affected her and how helping Joaquin take down Silas and his cult has been a critical priority. Mariana has barely had a second to breathe with how many things she has taken on.

Good Trouble can take this opportunity to continue showing Mariana’s storyline in a way that has never been presented before. Portraying Mariana’s exhaustion and inability to pause and accept help is a storyline that helps understand how Mariana deals with a crisis. In this case, rather than take a few breaths and figure things out, she is running full speed ahead, as if taking time to stop will only result in more problems.

The back half of season five has numerous paths ahead of it. Mariana could continue the self-destructive behavior that has caused her to spiral. Or, she can take steps to accept the help she needs.

Above all, Mariana is surrounded by family and friends who all want the best for her and would be willing to step up if she needed an extra hand. Portraying a safe space to handle mental health and depicting it as a positive thing is not just helpful to the character; it can also be beneficial to the audience as a reminder of the importance of mental health and that accepting help is always okay.