Ship Wars: Good Trouble’s Callie/Gael vs. Callie/Jamie

Fans might have thought Callie Adams Foster dated some great guys on The Fosters, but Callie’s adult relationships on Good Trouble are more mature, sexier, and overall more satisfying as a viewer.

First, there’s Jamie, the older brother of Brandon’s wife, Eliza. When we originally met Jamie back in the three-part series finale of The Fosters, I immediately thought it’d be fun to see him and Callie together. Jamie’s a corporate lawyer and, at first, represented everything Callie couldn’t stand about that world. It led to some great banter and even a few moments of sexual tension here and there.

Then we learned he lived in LA, and considering it had already been announced that the spinoff was taking place in LA, I figured there was no way he wasn’t going to be a part of it. He’s not considered to be main cast, which surprised me initially, but he’s around on a recurring basis which is more than enough for me.

On occasion, I do find myself shipping Jamie and Callie. Everything I loved about Jamie has carried over to Good Trouble. And he’s made it clear that he’s very into Callie, and only Callie. Hell, he couldn’t even remember Rebecca’s name after meeting her minutes earlier once Callie walked over and interrupted their conversation.

But then there is Gael, who we meet right off the bat in the Good Trouble pilot. Gael is a graphic designer at Speckulate who lives in The Coterie with Mariana and Callie. Callie and Gael start hooking up from the moment she moves in; literally, they hook up twice in the first two nights she’s living there.

From that initial meeting on, I was like, “Jamie who?” Maia Mitchell and Tommy Martinez have this insane, electric chemistry that penetrates the screen every time they share a scene together. But one of the things I love the most is that their hookups, and there have been plenty, have always shown that their connection goes much deeper than merely sexual. They’ve poured their hearts out to each other in more than one post-coital cuddling session. From art to family life, nothing has been left off the table. While you do tend to confide in someone you’re involved with, it’s important to keep in mind that Callie and Gael have only known each other for a few weeks at this point, maybe a month or two max. I’m surprised Callie has been so honest and vulnerable with someone so soon after meeting them, especially when considering trust issues from her past.

However, not everything is perfect between them — in fact, far from it. Callie and Gael have been keeping things non-exclusive since the beginning, which is what has allowed them to keep seeing other people (ie Jamie and Bryan) without feeling guilty. This has definitely complicated things for them as it is clear their feelings for each other have only gotten deeper and stronger as the season has gone on; Gael even admits this in episode 5, saying “I don’t think we have to be exclusive to admit that this thing isn’t just casual.” 

But exclusivity isn’t even their biggest hurdle. Even after Callie calls off their hookups because she thinks Gael is distracting her from focusing on other areas of her life, she continues to go up to his loft for meaningless conversation. Gael calls her out, saying she’s using him for sex and that everything revolves around Callie; the latter is definitely not the first time Callie has heard that, especially from a guy she’s seeing. Callie’s selfishness was my biggest problem with her in The Fosters, so I hope she takes a step back and reassesses how it affects her relationships with the people around her.

I’ve made it pretty obvious who I think Callie should be with, but I want to hear from you: do you prefer Callie with Jamie or Gael? Vote in the poll and let me know why in the comment section below!

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