Good Trouble's Cierra Ramirez Teases Mariana's Return to Spekulate 'With a Bit of Power'

[Warning: The following contains spoilers from Season 5, Episode 2 of Good Trouble. Read at your own risk!] 

Mariana (Cierra Ramirez) is still going through it on Good Trouble. She may have survived getting shot at the farm, but after Evan (T.J. Linnard) fell into a coma, it was revealed that he had appointed Mariana as his proxy. As such, she is now the interim CEO of Spekulate, the company she almost burned to the ground when she revealed the gender pay gap between male and female coders. Evan has been doing a lot of work to fix the atmosphere at Spekulate since Mariana and her fight club girls, but now she's in charge and had only 30 days to prove she's up to the job or risk Evan losing his company entirely. 

It only gets more stressful when Mariana has to deal with her own trauma from the farm and sort out all of the feelings that Evan showing up to save her has stirred up – especially because Joaquin (Bryan Allen Craig) came to get her. Luckily, Callie (Maia Mitchell) was there in the second episode to help Mariana get her s--t together (minor one particularly tense scene). The sisters are closer than ever, but ultimately Mariana is going to have to deal with this latest drama herself. 

TV Guide caught up with Cierra Ramirez to talk about Mariana's journey this season, returning to Spekulate, and how that love triangle is anything but figured out. 

Good Trouble Reveals Who Got Shot at the Farm

What is Callie able to do for Mariana in this episode that the other members of the Coterie weren't able to do?
Cierra Ramirez: They know each other like the back of their hands. That is her ride-or-die and no one quite understands Mariana the way that [Callie] does, or can really comfort her in the way that she can. In that time of need, when she reaches out and Callie doesn't answer, you see Mariana really break down. She's trying to keep it together in front of the Coterie members. Callie is her outlet to really just be herself in that moment. It's sad when she doesn't get an answer, then you finally see her in the apartment. I screamed when I read that script. It's a beautiful moment. Their relationship is so special and it was so nice that Callie came back at a time when Mariana needed her.

They do have a tense moment in the episode — and I'm glad Mariana called her out for being mean — but do you think that Callie had a point about Mariana making decisions based on boys?
Ramirez: I think it all boils down to resentment and being away from each other. They are not as close. The Coterie members know more about Mariana's life than Callie does at that moment. That's kind of what blows her up at Mariana, finding out from Kelly that Mariana has been hooking up with Joaquin. That's where Callie is coming from. I mean, go back to Episode 1 of Good Trouble and she moves into the Coterie because of Gael. I think one of the things you'll see this season is Mariana putting herself first for the first time ever.

She's plagued by guilt. Can you talk about how these visions of Evan are going to shape her journey this season?
Ramirez: Mariana has a lot of survivor's guilt. She's so confused as to why he was even at the farm in the first place. I'm sure the audience will be questioning that as well. Having been given the responsibility as his proxy is shocking. I don't think they've ever had a conversation about that. She never knew that was a possibility or that Evan trusted her that much. She's never been in a situation like this. She's never run a company. She now has to go back to a place that she resents and is uncomfortable in. Not only is she dealing with the guilt of surviving, of not being the one in the hospital bed hooked up to a machine, but now she has to make decisions of this company and hope that they are the ones he would make, and that she could make him proud. A lot of that builds and she will continue to have those through the season in different ways.

Let's dig into the Spekulate situation because she did not leave there on good terms. What is it going to be like with her going back?
Ramirez: Evan has done a lot of work since she and the fight club girls moved on. It's a lot more inclusive. A lot more women work there and the culture has definitely changed. Stepping in, it's definitely a different space and without giving too much away, it's going to be really fun to see Mariana in this world again with a bit of power.

Do we get to see the Bulk Beauty team's reaction to this development?
Ramirez: Yeah, it's a tough thing. Mariana is always feeling like she's letting them down. She's done it with the Revitalize girls. Now she's stuck in this situation. Hopefully, people will understand and just be supportive.

You said Mariana is focusing on herself more this season, but has Evan getting shot given her more clarity on the Mariana-Joaquin-Evan love triangle?
Ramirez: Oh my goodness, I think it's only confused her even more! She's always had a soft spot for Evan. There hasn't been a lot of closure in their relationship. And they work so closely together! He's very special to her. Obviously, her realizing him making her his proxy, she's really special to him too. But then there's the Joaquin of it all. She really, really hates him for putting Evan in this situation. That's stemming from her being upset at herself for going to the farm in the first place, but [Joaquin] is an easy person to blame.

I worry about Mariana because one choice is a guy she works with and the other choice is a guy she lives with. I need her to date outside of her immediate bubble.
Ramirez: Exactly. I'm with you. It's complicated either way.

With Callie heading back to DC, who is Mariana leaning on in the immediate future?
Ramirez: I am going to be honest. It will really be Joaquin. He's the only person who knows exactly what she went through. That's something that's really going to bond them. Especially now with running a company, she really has to keep it together and put on this facade that everything is okay. I'm really excited for people to see this season because it very clearly isn't okay.

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