Good Trouble Reveals Who Got Shot at the Farm and Turns Mariana's Life Upside Down

[Warning: The following contains spoilers from the Season 5 premiere of Good Trouble. Read at your own risk!] 

Good Trouble Season 4 ended with the biggest cliffhanger the show has ever done, and luckily Season 5 did not waste any time in revealing who got shot at the farm as Mariana (Cierra Ramirez) and Joaquin (Bryan Allen Craig) tried to save his sister from an abusive cult. It was Evan (T.J. Linnard) who ended up taking the bullet as he left the truck to make sure Mariana was alright. It was a classic case of horrific timing as he stepped into the clearing just in time for a bullet to hit him in the chest. 

The crew got Evan to a hospital in time for him to survive, but he fell into a coma. The end of the episode revealed that he had secretly made Mariana his proxy, and with his incapacitation, she is now interim CEO of Spekulate. That's a hell of a lot to process as Mariana also tries to deal with her guilt over getting Evan shot in the first place. Luckily, Callie (Maia Mitchell) also arrived in the waning seconds of the premiere and we hope she can help see Mariana through this crisis. 

Meanwhile, in other parts of the Coterie, Gael (Tommy Martinez) started going through a crisis of his own after Isabella (Priscilla Quintana) disappeared with their baby. Davia (Emma Hunton) and Dennis (Josh Pence) are living it up after finally confessing their love for each other at the end of last season, and Malika (Zuri Adele) is fighting for a better work-life balance. 

TV Guide talked to showrunner Joanna Johnson about why Evan made the most sense to get shot, what it means for Mariana this season, and what we can expect for The Coterie in the rest of Season 5.

Why did you decide that Evan would be the one who got shot at the farm?
Joanna Johnson: We felt that it would have the greatest impact on Mariana. If Mariana had been the one to get shot, it would be a story about recovery, but if Evan were to get shot it would be a story about guilt, trying to pay a debt to him, and also brings up her feelings about him. It just seemed so much more interesting to have him be the one who was shot, because also when she finds out that he chose her to be his proxy, she ends up having to go back to Spekulate and ironically run the company in his stead. That just opened the door to a lot of possibilities.

Where does this put Mariana emotionally, especially when it comes to her feelings for both Evan and Joaquin as she goes through this?
Johnson: It's also really interesting because it puts another twist of complexity into this triangle. Mariana is still torn about her feelings for Evan, and I think seeing him in a hospital brings up a lot of love. It makes it another obstacle for Joaquin. On the other hand, she and Joaquin can bond over this shared trauma of going through this because no one else was there that can really understand what they went through there together. He can be there for support for her during this while Evan is in a coma and recovering — hopefully recovering. It definitely paints their relationship differently and I really like how it affects their dynamic.

Can you tease what it's going to be like when Mariana has to go back to Spekulate?
Johnson: It's really kind of intimidating to go back there. It's also a way to go back and feel a little bit empowered to help change the culture there. She finds that Evan did change the culture when she was gone. He did do something, which I think is heartwarming for her, and affirms that he has changed. He is trying to be better. I don't think she goes back there feeling traumatized. She goes back there feeling empowered and she's mostly focused on trying to take care of business for him because she feels so guilty he's incapacitated.

There is a beautiful moment at the end of the premiere when Mariana walks back into the loft and there's Callie, but is Callie going to help or hurt things?
Johnson: She's going to make things better. It's always nice to have your sister there. She has other relationships with people, but she's not coming to stir the pot.

On the other side of the Coterie, Isabella leaves Gael and takes the baby. What are his next steps in light of her abandonment?
Johnson: He's going to learn in the next episode that in California if you're not married, the father doesn't have any rights. He'd have to go to court to petition for rights and that's very frustrating. Isabella has every right to take the baby if she wants to. He's going to be incredibly frustrated, nervous, and scared. Where is she? Why did she leave? He's always defended Isabella because he sees the broken girl and the broken child, and he loves that part of her. He has empathy for her and compassion, but this is a big step, maybe a step too far to just take the baby and leave him there in the dark.

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Has having had the baby changed Gael's mind about parenthood at all?
Johnson: He never planned to be a father, but he stepped up because that is who he is. I think they've come to this idea of him co-parenting with his sister and brother-in-law. At first, it wasn't what he really wanted, but on the other hand, it gives him some feeling of not being alone. Of course, then Isabella decided she wanted to keep the baby, but I think that's something that he's definitely struggling with.

Davia and Dennis are having a very nice honeymoon period at the Coterie. Can you talk about letting them finally have some fun?
Johnson: It is really fun. We wanted to do that before we dove into any real stories with them. We wanted to let them have fun, kind of keeping it a secret. What's going to be fun this season is to explore what it's like to be in a new relationship with somebody you already know so well, and how that dynamic changes, how the friendship changes everything. Both of them are going to end up with some big career opportunities and they're also trying to figure out how to nurture this new relationship but also devote time to pursuing their dreams.

How would you describe the overall theme of the season?
Johnson: The theme of the season is "lean on me." The tagline that the network came up with that I love is, "You don't have to do life alone." I think that, more than ever, people need each other in this very challenging world that we live in. It just feels like bad news is coming from all directions. It feels like the world is in crisis. When you're with people, and you look into other people's eyes, and you share with each other, just those moments of life, it really takes a lot of the stress away. It makes you remember what it's like to be human and just to feel love inside of your heart. That's what we love about The Coterie, that these people all live in the same space and they're there for each there.

Good Trouble Season 5 continues Wednesdays at 10/9c on Freeform.