When a spin-off is actually just as great as the original show, it’s definitely a huge deal. While the teen drama The Fosters was a special show about a unique family, Good Trouble deserves a lot of credit for taking Callie and Mariana’s storylines and running with them. The spin-off is funny, dramatic, and has cool vibes thanks to the main characters, minor characters, and the L.A. setting.
Here are five things that Good Trouble does better than The Fosters, and five things that the original teen drama does better than its spin-off.
Good Trouble: It Balances Juicy Drama With Real Issues
The Fosters had drama, that’s for sure, and every character had various friendship and romantic problems at one point or another. But since the show did deal with real social issues (such as immigration and foster care), it would become very heavy at times.
Good Trouble balances juicy drama with real issues much better. It seems like almost every character who lives in the loft is dealing with something big. For example, Callie and Mariana’s roommate Malika is involved with the Jamal Thompson case that Callie is working on, a dramatic moment that is also about political and social justice.
The Fosters: It Talks About Foster Care And Adoption
No show can ever beat The Fosters when it comes to talking about the broken and awful foster care system, adoption, and anything else related to these social issues. Callie and Jude have been through so much and the show often talks about how siblings are split up.
Callie talks a lot about what she has seen and experienced and even creates a school project one year about her past. She is a super strong character who is trying to forge a future while keeping an eye on her past and how it has shaped her, and it’s truly moving to watch.
Good Trouble: It’s A Coming-Of-Age Story
While The Fosters was definitely about growing up and being a kid since it featured characters of different age groups, Good Trouble is a coming-of-age story. Callie and Mariana are young adults who want nothing more than to make it but, of course, that doesn’t always happen overnight. It doesn’t even happen after a few years. Everyone knows that your early 20s are difficult and this show really emphasizes that.
Whether Mariana decides that they should live in a communal loft (that looks a bit sketchy, let’s be honest) or Callie is bringing her feisty and spirited personality to a conservative law office, Good Trouble proves that it’s okay that young people make mistakes… and it’s so fun to watch.
The Fosters: Even The Minor Characters Are Interesting
One flaw of Good Trouble is that while it’s fun to watch Callie and Mariana learn to be adults, sometimes too much screen time is given to the minor characters such as roommates. Sure, they’re cool and they each have their own thing going on, but fans are tuning in for Callie and Mariana. These are the most beloved characters since they’re the star of the spin-off.
The Fosters did something else better than Good Trouble: even the minor characters are interesting. Jude’s boyfriend Noah, for example, is a great character who is funny and pushes Jude to leave his comfort zone (for better and for worse since sometimes it gets Jude into some hot water).
Good Trouble: The Season One Finale Was Great
The season one finale of Good Trouble is great, and fans are looking forward to the second season which will premiere in June 2019. While The Fosters always had fairly decent season enders, it’s tough to beat the cliffhanger of the first season finale of its spin-off.
When season two starts airing, Callie’s love triangle should get worked out (Jamie or Gael) and everyone will discover that something was going on with Dennis. The episode left fans wanting to watch a lot more and that’s all that you can ask for.
The Fosters: The Finale Special Was Especially Good
If TV fans get really lucky, they are content with a series finale and think that the characters got where they should be. A lot of the time, fans shrug and think that the finale was okay enough but if they had their pick of plot points, they would have definitely made some other decisions.
The Fosters gave fans an amazing finale special. Not only was the final episode of the fifth season beautiful (Lena decided to run for political office and everyone took a look at the family home and then drove off in their separate cars) but fans were treated to a three-part finale special. Brandon was getting married (and it was a destination wedding, which makes for even better TV) so everyone went off to celebrate him. The episodes were emotional, moving, and just perfect. It’s safe to say that no episode of the spin-off can come close to these episodes.
Good Trouble: A Love Triangle
Good Trouble has joined the ranks of teen dramas (or young adult dramas since the main characters are now a bit older) that have love triangles. In this case, there’s one between Callie, Gael, and Jamie. Callie has a great connection with both of these guys: she literally lives with Gael since they’re roomies in the hippie loft, and Jamie is also a lawyer so they can talk about work.
This is definitely something that Good Trouble does better than The Fosters. While Callie and Brandon did have some romantic tension a lot of the time and were jealous of each other’s respective partners, there was no real love triangle since it was obvious that they couldn’t actually be together since Callie got adopted by the family.
The Fosters: The Callie/Brandon Storyline
Speaking of Callie and Brandon… This is definitely a storyline that proves how well-crafted The Fosters is. Most shows wouldn’t be able to have a storyline where two siblings date. In this case, Callie and her little brother Jude start living with the Adams Foster family, and sparks fly between Callie and Brandon. They try their best to ignore their feelings but they do sneak around quite a bit. They have a bit of an on-again, off-again romance, but once it’s clear that Callie will be adopted, they definitely stop. This was a unique plotline and it was done really well.
Good Trouble: Examining Sexism In The Working World
Good Trouble does an amazing job examining how sexist people can be in the working world. It sucks that Mariana isn’t taken seriously at all at her engineering job when she is so intelligent and can code like the best of them.
Software engineering is a field where these things do happen, and it’s awesome that the show talks about how girls are treated like they can’t possibly know how to code (or really do anything at all).
The Fosters: Showing The True Meaning Of Family
Sure, it could be argued that Callie and Mariana have found a new family in the communal life where they are living, but nothing can come close to the family on The Fosters.
The original teen drama did something much better than its spin-off: showing the true meaning of family. From the very first episode when Callie and Jude are taken in by the Adams-Foster family, it’s clear that this is where they need to be, and they are going to be loved and cared for. Yup, it’s pretty emotional.
