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Good problem
New Moon
Season 3
Episode 7
Editor’s Note
Photo: Eric McCandless / Freeform
Are my eyes fooling me or is our Callie Adams Foster… having fun? And laugh? And engage in light shenanigans instead of life threatening ones? Okay, well, actually two raccoons are roaming free in the Coterie, and in my book it’s very life threatening, but since it’s a work of fiction it’s especially fun and their arrival gives Good problem a chance to breathe after some pretty intoxicating and emotional stories and to focus on relationships. Good problem excels at his thoughtful discussions of important current issues and his ability to seamlessly integrate them into his stories, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I look forward to episodes like this every season – The Episodes in which the whole Coterie gang gets together and antics are made, feelings are revealed, there are beautiful hearts to hearts, and a trio are honestly nine seconds away from performing in the rooftop pool. It’s the fun part of community life, isn’t it?
So, what brings our citizens of the Coterie together this time? Well, Malika wants to get back into her spiritual practices, and after Dyonte buys her a really giant rose quartz and mentions the new moon cycle (while blinking those very alluring eyes; Dyonte, we know what you’re doing, nice sir), she decides to organize a new moon ritual. She invites the usual suspects: Callie, Mariana, Gael, Davia (who invites Nice Teacher Matt – we’ll get there), Alice and, of course, Dyonte and Isaac. Now Dyonte can give him those eyes and tell him how you can love more than one person and know how to charge crystals or whatever, but think of that dear Isaac, who isn’t into this spiritual thing at all but says to Malika that of course. he will come – he wants to support her. Obviously, the series is headed for Malika to take her relationship with Dyonte to the next level, which is understandable, but let’s not forget that Isaac is a steamboat and doesn’t deserve to break his heart.
The new moon ritual begins on the roof, and there are heated looks holding hands and knowing each other between parts, but one by one people start going down for different reasons and never come back. We’re going to get into the raccoon of it all, but what it does mean is that ultimately Malika, Isaac, and Dyonte are left alone on the roof. Both men know how much this ceremony means to Malika, so when she wants to cut it short out of frustration, they encourage her to move on to the next part. They are with her.
The next part of the ceremony happens to be a cleaning ritual in the pool. Just like the Malika-Dyonte capoeira scene from the first episode of the season, this sequence is beautiful… and it’s hot as hell. You know Malika wants to be with these two guys. There is so much sexual tension in this pool that I am surprised that there is no steam rising from the water. And then a raccoon jumps for a swim and the tension is lifted. It has been replaced by screams and the beating of arms. Which could also indicate sexual tension, but not in this case.
How did this complicated triangle end up alone together? It starts with Mariana leaving the ceremony to take a call (no phones allowed once they start!) From her friend Claire, who wants to talk about Raj. Ah, sweet Raj! We haven’t heard from him since the big breakup, and apparently he asked Mariana to box his things and leave them on the Coterie’s kitchen table so he could pick them up without having to. to see her. Mariana has all kinds of feelings about it: she’s happy with Evan, sure, but that doesn’t mean it’s not hard to let Raj go completely. She loves him. She always will. And she’s keeping her NASA shirt on.
Claire just wants to let Mariana know that she and Raj have “chatted” and “visited” Animal crossing islands ”, but that she wouldn’t go any further without first talking to her friend. So when Raj comes to pick up his things, Mariana can’t help but talk to him. Their conversation is interrupted by skids and some sort of animal knocking over furniture until it turns on them and chases them into the bathroom, where they hide in stalls for protection. The ensuing jokes between the two – about what animal is, what to say to animal control and, yes, Mariana asks probing questions about the current state of Raj’s relationship (he says he’s recently started seeing someone Mariana knows, but it’s not ‘t Claire?) – is bittersweet. It’s so much fun (especially Raj pouncing on Mariana for wanting to call out the Ghostbusters to catch a werewolf because “Ghostbusters catch spirits, not mythical humanoids”) and a reminder of their great chemistry, but it becomes clear that this relationship is officially over.
When Mariana doesn’t return to the roof, Callie comes downstairs to investigate (remember, no one has her phone). She sees the mess that’s been made, can’t find her sister, then follows suspicious noises into her attic, where she peers under Mariana’s bed, only to find two shining eyes. It’s terrifying, and hasn’t anyone at La Coterie heard of turning on a light ?! She ends up hiding in her closet.
Gael is the next to go down. Callie drags him into the closet with her, explains the situation, and the two dress in as many layers of clothing as possible. Armed with hangers, they go in search of Mariana. They meet Davia and Matt, who have found an excuse to leave the ceremony, and then the four of them come face to face with a raccoon standing on the kitchen table. There is an appropriate amount of screaming and running for the current situation.
Eventually, it’s Callie, Gael and Alice who end up trapping one of the two raccoons in a trash can but quickly learn that they are not wild animals at all: Kelly watches out for the raccoons – Lucy and Ethel! – who are part of a troop of performing animals, and she accidentally let them out without realizing it. There is no need for animal control at the end. It’s a silly twist, but sometimes the Coterie needs a little silliness. Plus, it’s definitely an inventive way to bring pairs (or trios) of late characters together for meaningful conversations.
At the end of the night, Mariana and Raj (who misinterprets Mariana’s jealousy over her love life and walks in for a kiss that is immediately stopped) put a firm spell on the end of their relationship. She even gives him back his NASA shirt. Callie and Gael sip wine and giggle (yes, Callie laughs) on the fact that “it’s fun to have fun with [each other]. “
And what about our complicated triangle? Well, after their horrible swim with a raccoon, Malika, Isaac, and Dyonte chill out with a few drinks, and Isaac learns about Dyonte’s poly relationship… and that Malika already knew and didn’t tell him. Have two people ever drunk as much wine as Malika and Isaac in this situation?
Back in Malika’s room, Isaac confronts his girlfriend to find out why she would hide this detail from him. She insists it’s okay, but Isaac isn’t convinced. He asks her bluntly: is she interested in having a relationship with Dyonte? Um, Malika, it looks like you have some explaining to do.
• Davia misinterprets what Professor Nice Matt said at a fairness committee meeting about the personal reason he feels so passionate about forming an LGBTQ affinity group, and she uses the New Moon ritual as a way to set it up with Gael. Finally, Matt explains that although he’s flattered, he’s straight – his twin brother is weird, and that’s why he wanted to start the band. Davia and Matt end up having a great evening together, Matt says some very thoughtful things about Davia’s current situation with Dennis, and at the end, she asks if she can accept his offer to have a drink someday. They are both so smiley about it. It is adorable.
• Oh, hello, it’s me, your recapitator, here tearing my hair apart because we see more of that Davia-Dennis phone call from the last episode, and when Davia asks if Dennis wants her to. wait, he tells her that he’s in love with her but that he doesn’t know how long it will be before he starts to feel cured again, if ever, and that he can’t ask her to wait. This is outright bullshit, because we all know that as soon as Davia moves in with Nice Teacher Matt, Dennis is going to come back for a walk in the Coterie. And now what, Good problem?! So what?
• Kelly stands out as dusk and Edward Cullen superfan (she thought it was a New Moon watch party) was totally unexpected and very, very welcome.
• In general, I am against fakes Good problem uses to disturb viewers every now and then, as it’s a gimmick the show doesn’t need, but the one in this episode, though wired a mile away, was a hoot. In the open show, we bump into Alice and Callie flirting and kissing in Alice’s bedroom. Alice later confesses to Davia that she is in love with Callie now. We watch her sweating sitting next to her and wanting to protect her from the raccoons. Of course, this initial appearance was just a dream Alice had, and that dream was more about her feelings about her unrelated relationship with Ruby. Still, Alice in her softball catcher gear trying to defend Callie from the trash monsters was awesome.
• Did you see how excited Gael was to run into Raj in the bathroom? So cute.
• Wait, wait, wait, do we really think the show is going back there with Gael and Callie? He told Davia he wanted to be with someone who was cool and fun and who knew what he wanted. It’s the exact opposite of Callie when she’s not hunting raccoons.
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