Good Trouble Stars React to Losing One of Their Own in Surprise Farewell Episode

[Warning: The following contains spoilers from Season 4, Episode 2 of Good Trouble. Read at your own risk!] 

It was a very teary and emotional night at the Coterie in Wednesday's episode of Good Trouble. After saying that she needed to make "big" changes in her life in the Season 4 premiere, we found out that Callie (Maia Mitchell) wasn't kidding. She took a job with the ACLU in Washington D.C. and gave Mariana (Cierra Ramirez) about 48 hours notice that they would no longer be living together. While Lena (Sherri Saum), Stef (Teri Polo), and Jude (Hayden Byerly) were on hand to help soften the blow, it was still a bittersweet night at the Coterie as they threw one last rager to send Callie off to her new future. 

"For me, the most important thing was that, tonally, she got the goodbye that was earned and that it felt like a really big achievement — that it felt like a really big step forward for her," Mitchell, who is also an executive producer on the series, told TV Guide. "I wanted the fans to be excited for her. Of course, they are going to be devastated. It's a really tough watch. I really wanted it to feel really authentic and honest to her arc from throughout The Fosters and Good Trouble. You see her taking charge of her life and believing in herself. I'm really proud of the episode." 

Mitchell isn't wrong. Fans will be devastated, especially those who have grown up with Callie on The Fosters and continued with her journey into young adulthood on Good Trouble. However, they aren't the only ones who had a hard time getting through the episode. According to the cast, it was a mess of tears for the entire week of shooting. 

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"During my goodbye, I was crying throughout the rehearsal," Mitchell's co-star Emma Hunton revealed. "I had to walk up to her like 'I added you to the Coterie Biatch group text' [while sobbing]. It was a mess." 

The episode was a marathon of goodbyes for Callie (and Mitchell), as she had to say goodbye to each of her roommates before packing her bags for the big move. The actress said that each scene was a new challenge in trying not to cry. 

"It was brutal. There were a lot of tears for that whole week… The scene in the pool, sitting there, and Callie is saying 'What if this it? What if I fail?' — I've had those feelings myself. There were so many parallels between those conversations Callie was having and conversations that I was having with Cierra, as always with us and this show. It was tough," Mitchell said. "I am just trying to get through every single goodbye scene and just keeping it together but everyone is losing it. I'm like, 'Guys!'" 

Of course, it was potentially the most difficult for Mitchell's co-star and co-executive producer Cierra Ramirez to have to film the goodbye scenes between the adopted sisters. 

"I don't think I even had to act. It was all real," Ramirez explained. "Even the scene where [Callie] says goodbye in the car. That was actually our last scene [we filmed] in the episode, and Mariana has to play this role that she's okay but she's indeed not well. I kind of had to hold back the tears and I was like, 'I can't do this. I can't do this!'" 

Ramirez did make it and Callie flew off into the sunset to start her dream job, but the final scene of the episode had one big surprise for fans. As Callie is ready to take off on the flight, Jamie (Beau Mirchoff) arrives and announces that he also just took a new job in D.C. — proving once again that the universe was rooting for the two characters to get together all along. Mitchell was also very excited to see that development in her final script. 

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"I love it so much. I love it because you've seen them dancing around their values and compromising for each other, or not, and you see them in that first episode meeting in the middle. Callie is having more understanding for his side where she's had to compromise some of her values for her work and he's prioritized his values," Mitchell described. "They meet and it's just fate. It's just the universe bringing them together. I love it so much. I am here for it. I think they are a really good match. I love them together and I think it's very cute. So who knows what's happening in D.C. but I am sure they are having their fun time." 

Now the rest of the Coterie must move on without their in-house lawyer and confidant, which will be tough, but not impossible for a crew that has accomplished so much. And this episode will go down as one of Good Trouble's most iconic. "It's been such a beautiful journey and a beautiful send-off for Miss Callie," Ramirez said, and we couldn't agree more. 

Good Trouble Season 4 continues Wednesdays at 10/9c on Freeform. Episodes are available the next day on Hulu.