Warning: the following contains spoilers for Thursday good problem first. Proceed at your own risk!
The shot that rang out good problem hit someone very important to Mariana, it was revealed in the Season 5 premiere.
While fleeing the compound, Evan was hit by a bullet, which left him in a coma in hospital. The devastating turn of events left Mariana shaken, her hands shaking as she washed Evan’s blood off them. While watching by his bedside, Evan’s attorney informed Mariana that the tech giant had made Mariana its proxy, meaning she was now the interim CEO of Speckulate. Between the pressure and her guilt, Mariana practically collapsed in her sister’s arms when she found out that Callie (former series regular Maia Mitchell) had returned when needed.
Below, showrunner Joanna Johnson shares the fate of Evan, Mariana’s new role as Speckulate and Callie return.
TVLINE | This premiere felt like the most emotional Mariana story we’ve ever seen on the show. Tell me about what she’s going through and how she’s going to handle it this season.
Guilt is such a very, very strong emotion, and for her, she feels completely responsible for Evan getting shot, and until you can somehow forgive yourself, you can’t really give up guilt. For her, this season is going to be that gnawing process, and will she let the guilt consume her or will she find a way to forgive herself and let that part go? In addition, she also has very strong feelings for him, which the thought of having almost lost him arouses even more. So she’ll take care of that too.
TVLINE | You leave Evan in this happy medium of, will he live or will he die? So what can you share about his fate and how long he will ride that line of whether or not he survives?
We ride it for a little while before coming to a conclusion. There are complications with his injury, and Mariana also has to take care of her business while he recovers and doesn’t know what decisions to make since he’s in a coma and she can’t ask him. We’re going to spend some time on this interesting dynamic of, what do you do in a situation like that? How do you kind of try to figure out what Evan would want, especially when there are forces at work that don’t support you or necessarily support Evan’s vision for the company?
TVLINE | Mariana being the interim CEO of Speckulate, what does this mean for her and Bulk Beauty? Does that have an impact on this scenario?
She has to take some time off while she runs Speckulate. So it’s hard for her to be away from the girls, and hard for the girls to lose her again, basically, to Evan, which they felt like they had before. So that causes some problems.
TVLINE | This whole situation that Mariana finds herself in now has a lot to do with her feelings for Evan and Joaquin, and her desire to help Joaquin. So how is this experience going to affect her relationship with Joaquin, especially given what it’s meant for Evan? Does she feel like she has to keep her distance from Joaquin, or is it something that brings them closer together?
It’s a good question because I think both things happen. In some ways, she feels she has to keep her distance from Joaquin because of her guilt over Evan and her desire to take care of Evan. So all the feelings she left behind for Joaquin as well, she’s falling apart because her love for Evan is growing stronger right now. But also, he understands what she went through, he was there, and they live together at the Coterie, and they tend to rely on each other. So she’s a little torn about how much to rely on him, how much to lean on him. So it’s complicated. It’s an interesting draw. It creates a lot of dimensions [to] the triangle that makes it one of my favorite stories this season simply because it’s so complex.
TVLINE | Given everything she’s been through, Mariana needs her sister, and now we know why Callie is coming back. Can you talk about the story between the sisters in Episode 2 and what fans can expect?
We are delighted to have Maia back. It’s been hard for Mariana since Callie left because Callie was her gravestone, the person who grounded her and her best friend, as well as her sister. So Mariana struggled a bit without it and tried to find her own center [while] not having Callie there to say, “Don’t do that impulsive thing”, or [be] his shoulder to cry. I love that moment from the first episode when she comes home and Callie is in the loft. It’s such a big, emotional moment that she’s come to be there for her sister, and she’s trying to support her. Their dynamic will be just as it always is: they really are best friends. We hope to see more of Callie.
good problem fans, what did you think of the season opener? Rate it below, then hit the comments!
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