This episode begins with Jesus following Marianna into her room and calling her a tattletale!
Digression 1: Just yesterday, my son called my daughter “tattletale” but thankfully his crime was accessing Netflix on his iTouch without permission and not about teen sex. This is real life, people!
Jesus calls Marianna out about being awful with the whole Jesus/Lexi thing. If we give them a shipper name, it has to be Jesexi, pronounced “Hey sexy!” Stef has just gotten out of a shower and is shiny and steamy and brushing her hair in the mirror when she hears Jesus and Marianna arguing and she yells, “Oh my god! I can’t even take a shower in peace!”
Serious Mom Face
I’m sorry – that was actually me this morning. Stef is nicer than me and tells them they are family and they are going to have to get along. Jesus says he can’t get along with Marianna because she’s a “monster.” Drama king. He storms out and Stef tells Marianna that she brought all this on herself but what Marianna hears is, “Jesus is right and you are wrong and I love him more and he has better hair!”
Meanwhile, Lena tells Callie that she heard Callie isn’t actively participating in her group therapy sessions which are mandated. Callie asks for another group and Lena says she’ll see what she can do. Callie goes into the kitchen where Brandon is sulking in his cereal. At least, he’s not crying over spilled milk.
Digression 2: He uses milk from a ½ gallon. I find it hard to believe that a family of 7 buys milk by the ½ gallon. What lesbian family would waste that much plastic?
Brandon is pouting and Callie asks if he’s mad at her and he says, “You got my sister drunk blah blah blah” and Callie explains and he apologizes and I am still thinking about the milk.
HALF GALLON OF MILK! The Fosters hate the earth.
Marianna is at the beach with Ana, leaning against some giant boulders as you do. Ana is singing a kids’ song in Spanish and Marianna seems to find it sweet but I think Ana seems drunk or high. Kids’ songs can be fun but not that fun.
Digression 3: Once, my daughter was singing Mr. Golden Sun and instead of singing “please shine down on me”, she sang “please go down on me” and that is the only time I laughed as hard as Ana does in this scene.
Ana tells Marianna that she has been clean for a week and she wants to stay clean but she needs money for rehab. Marianna tells her she doesn’t have any more cash and Ana suggests that she take something the Foster’s aren’t using and give it to Ana to sell. Marianna is hesitant until Ana says, “We’re family and family takes care of family.” I hope Marianna brings her a ½ gallon of milk to sell. White gold. Texas tea. Wait – wrong show.
At Anchor Beach School for Wayward Surfers, Wyatt is telling Callie he had a dirty dream about her and I don’t think he means they were making mud pies. He was so moved by this dirty dream that he wanted to look at all of her Instagram pictures again so he could make more mud pies but found she’d made her account private. He then asks her about the comment from Liam. The Liam Cat is out of the bag!
Jesus runs into Kelsey the Skittle Addict and asks if she’s seen Lexi. Shockingly, she is mean. She needs attitude rehab since the chemical dependency treatment didn’t work.
Jude is in class and the teacher assigns a project that requires working in pairs and as people start choosing partners and I start to worry no one will pick Jude and then I have flashbacks to being picked last in dodge ball and, as I begin to hyperventilate, Connor of the Blue Nail Polish asks to be Jude’s partner and we all relax. Connor asks to go to Jude’s house and says, “My mom doesn’t like it when kids come over, says it gives her migraines.” I file that away as a future excuse because it sounds much better than, “Um…I don’t know honey…let’s plan something sometime…yeah…we’ll figure that out…”
Can you tell me hot to get, how to get to Sesame Street?
Jesus ditches school to go to a cute little row house on Sesame Street. He knocks on a cheerful blue door and I expect Cookie Monster to answer and am disappointed when Lexi answers and they start making out on the front stoop. I yell at Lexi that this is a bad idea given the circumstances with her parents, but she doesn’t care because Jesus just ate a pack of Mentos and she drank a pop and she wants to see if they’ll explode. When they pry themselves apart, Lexi tells Jesus that her parents took her computer and phone and locked her away in Cookie Monster’s tower where she has to spin gold.
Holy Riveras! I’m in trouble.
Back at the school of Sun and Surf, Lena sees the Riveras leaving the school and she looks nervous. She walks into her office and the boss lady is lurking in there and tells her that the Riveras are pulling Lexi out of school. The boss tells Lena that school officials are not supposed to give aspirin without parental permission so giving Lexi the morning after pill was not good and now they all have headaches but no one can give them aspirins. The unborn chickens are coming home to roost!
Liam drive Jeep. Liam angry. Liam stomp stomp.
Callie is waiting outside school for Wyatt when Liam drives up in his Big Jeep of Anger and jumps out and yells at Callie that he warned her and tells her Wyatt left a comment on Instagram and she tries to walk away but he grabs her arm and she squeaks and none of the surfer bystanders notice. Slackers. Then, Wyatt comes flying out of nowhere and tackles Liam and then Brandon hears the fight and runs over and pulls Wyatt off of Liam and holds him back but in a gentle way and I pretend briefly they are lovers. What a cute couple! Liam storms off. Callie yells at Wyatt that he made things worse. I consider making my Instagram private.
Honey, get control of yourself! Your hair is mussed.
Callie and Brandon walk home together and she explains that Liam was her foster brother. Brandon asks how old Liam is and she says 21 and we know Callie is 15 and we can actually see Brandon’s musical brain straining as he tries to make the math. Eventually, he concludes that Liam’s behavior was “not cool.” That’s right, Brandon. One man’s “not cool” is another man’s “statutory rape.” Turns out that Callie is worried about Sarah.
Don’t let the uniform fool you – I’m a lover not a fighter.
The Great Lesbian Kitchen isn’t so great right now because Lena and Stef are home from work and fighting about Lexi and the pill. Lena explains that she could lose her job and Stef is all, “Pfft. Halibut or chimichangas?” Lena says, “Everything you do comes back on me.” But Stef doesn’t back down and says she did the right thing. Jude interrupts and asks if Connor can come over to work on a project and they say something like “Of course, sweet potato” and then offer him a snack but he doesn’t want one because he’s not a real boy. He’s like a snack-hating Pinocchio.
Is it live or is it Memorex?
Later that night, Lena and Stef are getting ready for bed which means angrily tossing pillows off the bed (Lena) and nonchalantly brushing teeth (Stef). Stef says they shouldn’t go to bed mad but Lena rolls away and seethes.
Angry Lesbian Seether
Digression 4: I’m sure Lena didn’t seethe silently either. When I seethe at bedtime, I do it loudly so that my partner can’t forget that I’m mad. We’ve been together 20 years and this is the key to our success. (Please note: Don’t try this at home. This recapper is a trained seething professional. Results may vary.)
The next morning, the doorbell rings and Stef answers it to find the pizza delivery guy! Pizza for breakfast is always good. I kid. It’s the Riveras and Lexi is missing! She ran away!
Sweetie! Did you order some Christians?
Digression 5: I actually got teary during this scene. I was sad for Lexi and sad for the parents and maybe a little sad for me because I had espresso late yesterday and then stayed up too late watching Orange Is the New Black.
Stef suggests filing a police report but Sonja and Ernie want to look for Lexi first. So, Stef and Ernie head out to look and Sonja and Lena stay home to make calls.
Brandon tells Callie she should call Bill and I think Kill Bill and then my brain fills with images of pretty ladies doing badass things and Brandon bores me. She tells him that she can’t because it would be her word against Liam’s and it would go on her record anyway and she would be labeled “sexually volatile” and I don’t think that is a Mentos and soda thing and she would go to a group home and never be fostered again. Brandon says, “That’s crazy though.” and Callie says, “It’s the system.” After this past week, that seems to be a sad, universal truth.
Stef and Ernie are driving around looking for Lexi and Ernie tells Stef that Sonja is stubborn and that they were not in agreement about pulling Lexi from school. Sonja wanted to send her back to Honduras where they are from and boarding school was a compromise.
Sonja and Lena are talking about sex, baby. Lena says they didn’t condone Jesus and Lexi having sex but says they taught their kids about birth control and safe sex. Sonja says that is the same as condoning it. Lena believes teenagers will have sex and Sonja says she put the idea in their heads. Lena says that they see things differently but they shouldn’t have given Lexi the pill.
Digression 6: 1) We talk to our kids about sex and always have. If they have questions, they can ask. Is this a queer thing? 2) This conversation felt natural and emotionally true which is what I felt was missing in the religious conversation last week.
The doorbell rings and it’s Connor. Lena invites him in and calls Jude down and Connor says, “Hey Jude” and Lena says, “Ah! The Beatles!” and I say, “YES! YOU FINALLY MADE THE BEATLES JOKE!”
This is not your brother’s Sesame Street
Marianna is not on Sesame Street unless Oscar runs the neighborhood. She looks in the window of an abandoned house and then goes inside and then she yells, “I brought the stuff.” She opens the door to a room and…it’s Lexi! Yes, they fooled me – I really thought she was bringing heirloom lesbian teacups to Ana to sell but she’s bringing candles to Lexi. I like this much better because I was not emotionally prepared for a drug den. Lexi thinks the place is gross which shows that Lexi has excellent taste in hideouts and has eyes and a keen sense of smell. Turns out that Lexi turned to Marianna for help and she sent her to Wyatt’s old house. They sit on a nasty spray painted couch and talk about their feelings and look lovingly at each other and Marianna talks about Ana and says that Ana’s quote about family was “screwed up” so she has some perspective.
Connor and Jude are in Jude’s room and Connor is holding up a football jersey and talks about Tomlinson and Jude’s favorite player and Jude hears, “Blah blah sports blah blah” while he sits on his bed with his big bag from the craft store. He admits the jersey is Jesus’. Then, Connor asks about the skateboard and Jude tells him that almost everything in the room is Jesus’ except for a tiny backpack of things.
Marianna and Lexi are having a teenage trashed house photoshoot at the hideout and – again – I worry about photostream. But maybe I should want them to get caught. I’m so conflicted. Then, Marianna asks Lexi what it was like to have sex and Lexi says that everyone always says it’s awful but “It was sorta great and sorta awful.” Jesus was gentle and that’s a little more than Marianna wants to know. So, she gets up to leave and Lexi thanks her and Marianna says, “We may not have the best accommodations but you’re always welcome at Hotel Marianna.” I hope it’s not like Hotel California because I hear that place is a nightmare.
Runaway tip 1: Photoshoot!
Meanwhile, Brandon and Callie are sitting in an unmarked car playing Fun with Stakeouts but they’re not even doing it right because they don’t have snacks and a thermos full of coffee.
Digression 7: I was an Adult Protection investigator for 15 years and sometimes I had a hard time finding my clients and/or alleged perpetrators so I would have to sit in my car and wait for them to show up. I usually brought coffee but no snacks and I tweeted and talked to Siri while I waited. I give good stakeout.
Sarah appears and Callie runs over to her and tries to warn her about Liam but Sarah is not having it.
Connor and Jude are making a model of DNA or a stepladder for fairies out of pipe cleaners and Jude says, “Can I show you something?” and his delivery is weird so I immediately think it’s something horrible like a horse head or a different kind of head but no – it’s a knife that belonged to his father. Then, he makes up an elaborate story about his dad making millions and running away to an island because he has a better travel agent than Lexi. Connor tells him he doesn’t have to lie and I like that boy Connor.
Downstairs in the kitchen, Stef is telling the Riveras that it’s time to make a police report but they don’t want to because they are undocumented. That certainly does complicate things.
Jesus is sitting on the porch when Marianna gets back from the hideout and he tells her the Riveras are still there. He says, “They’re about to file a police report.” And Marianna says, “Why?” Just when I warm up to her, she makes me regret it. Jesus must explain it to her because she takes him to see Lexi. Jesus tells Lexi she has to go back and Marianna says, “Your parents are undocumented.” Jesus says, “And there’s something else…you have a twin and she is dying and needs a transplant!” Not really. He just says “And there’s something else” dramatically before Marianna tells her that she is undocumented too.
It’s group therapy time! People share and then the counselor looks expectantly at Callie and Callie starts telling her story about Liam and Sarah runs out and Callie runs out after her and I run out of coffee. Outside, Sarah tells Callie that people won’t believe her and it will only go on her record and then darts away. Brandon comes over and tells Callie that she tried and says about Sarah, “It’s her choice.” Callie says, “It wasn’t mine.” She then describes Liam coming into her room and raping her. She says, “I always thought it was my fault. But it wasn’t my choice and it wasn’t my fault.” That’s a great message.
Back in the Great Lesbian Kitchen, the Fosters are serving the Riveras Great Lesbian Hummus as is the custom of our people. The door opens and Lexi, Jesus and Marianna walk in and Lexi is crabby and tells her parents that she will call immigration herself if they try to send her away. That’s such a great idea! Then you can all get sent away together! Jude and Connor come downstairs and Stef offers to walk Connor out but Jude says he’ll walk him out.
Just eat the lesbian hummus and everything will be fine.
Digression 8: Is this stilted acting on Jude’s part or are they going to make him ashamed of other people knowing that his foster moms are lady lovers?
Connor offers Jude his little game console to keep.
Digression 9: Yes, I am 100 years old and don’t recognize that gadget. My kids have iTouches and DS’s so please forgive my ignorance.
Jude says he can’t keep it but Connor insists and then Connor’s mom honks and I can’t believe she didn’t come to the door and meet her son’s friend and parents. Shame on you Connor’s Mom – even if kids do give you migraines!
Jesus goes into Marianna’s room and they have a sweet scene and make peace with each other. After he leaves, Marianna gets a text from Ana asking about the “rehab money” and Marianna ignores it.
Downstairs, Lena and Stef are getting comfortable on the couch with a bottle of wine and Stef puts her feet up on Lena’s lap and they are making peace as well and I would love to find them cute but Stef has really ugly feet! You know I love her but I just wanted to put some socks on those feet so that I could enjoy the cuteness. They are tired and messy (Lena and Stef, not Stef’s feet) and ready to relax which means that something else will happen. Brandon and Callie walk in and Callie tells them that she has to talk to them and she sits down and starts telling her story and, because Stef sits up and her feet are no longer visible, I can truly appreciate what this moment means to all the characters.
Lesbian mom needs socks. Send help.
Overall impression: I thought the issues were handled better than in the last episode.
Favorite line: Not a lot to choose from this week so I’m going with “We may not have the best accommodations but you’re always welcome at Hotel Marianna.”
Really? Did they have to do that?: I’m still not sure they aren’t going to the Brandon Callie place. Also, it felt like the Riveras legal status was another drama for drama’s sake situation. Thoughts?
I feel a little bit more positive that they aren’t going to the Callie and Brandon place. I think Callie has reiterated multiple times that she simply is not allowed to date her foster brother, and she seems very intent on following through with this despite how she feels about him, or how much he sulks over breakfast foods. I’m hoping it’ll just fizzle out and they’ll eventually date other people and he’ll just become like a brother figure to her instead of a potential love interest. Maybe they just put that bit in there so she’d have a reason to explain to him that foster kids don’t date foster siblings and thus seamlessly usher in the Liam sub-plot, and now that it has been done, everyone can move on with their lives. One can hope, right…
I think the Brandon/Callie thing could go either way. We shall see!
The folks who do PR for the show seem to really still be pushing a Wyatt/Callie/Brandon triangle so I remain worried.
Don’t count on it. Have you seen the preview for next week? Triangle city.
Yes, but I have also noticed that the previews are fairly misleading.
I think that they are going to go there, and as long as they take their time, I am okay with that. If they jump right in, like a lot of the younger viewers want, it won’t end up well. However, they are old enough that if they can wait it out, they will be of age soon enough. Plus, they will have a stronger relationship, because that trust is there. Lexi and Jesus, on the other hand, will eventually fizzle.
I really like how they are dealing with the Liam storyline. Brandon is the character I identify myself with the most, and I would have probably dealt with things the exact same way. I do wish, though, that Callie would at least accept what Wyatt was trying to do for her and at least explain a little bit, even if she didn’t go into too much detail.
Was I the only one that wanted to know what Brandon and Callie were doing for so long? It was bright daylight after group, but pitch dark by the time they came home.
Also, am I alone in hoping Connor is just a friend for Jude? I have no problem with him getting a boyfriend (if that is where they really do go with his character) but I feel like he needs a friend even more than that. I’d like to see some of Jesus and Brandon’s friends too, but they at least have each other. Poor Jude is the odd duck out.
Hmmm . . . No way to edit these posts that I can see. In my first paragraph, I was talking about Brandon and Callie. :)
I like Lexi and Jesus. I would let my daughter or son date Jesus in a heartbeat. He’s a good kid. He’s honest and direct and I like that.
I like them too. I just think that, like most high school relationships, it won’t last. I think Brandon and Callie have that possibility if they build up their friendship and let themselves grow older before moving on to anything else.
I feel less worried about the Callie/Brandon thing than I did before. This week seemed to put some brakes on it a little bit, so I’m hoping that’s a good sign.
Also, I didn’t feel like Jude was embarrassed of his lesbian foster moms. It just seemed like something he wanted to do on his own for some reason? It did feel weird whatever it was though.
It feels like he is crushing on his friend and doesn’t want anybody to notice. I do think they are going there with his character. I just hope they don’t hook him up with Connor. As I said before, he needs a friend more than he needs to be in a relationship. Plus, as a middle school teacher, most of those relationships are not healthy — although two of my colleagues have been together since middle school, so it does happen.
It was a little weird, but I think it was just the awkwardness of life at that character’s age. I think he just want more time alone with Connor.
I also thought RE: Digression #8, I didn’t get the impression that they were going to make Jude ashamed of his foster moms being lesbians, I thought he wanted to walk him to the door because he has a crush on Connor.
Callie and Wyatt are the least interesting couple on the show to me.
FUCK I love this show, it’s so dramatic.
I think the actor who plays Jude is a little weak. That’s why I’m always so confused. His non-verbals feel off or something. I don’t know – maybe it’s just me.
I agree. I chalk it up to his age. Wyatt’s the other character that I’m not liking too much. The acting just seems to be hit or miss to me.
Mariana is still the worst
Shipping Jude and Connor really hard
Glad that they seem to not go there with Brandon but I Feel really bad for Callie.
And, as always: Less kids, More Moms!
Marianna is pretty bad but at least they are making her character more complicated which makes her more tolerable. Connor is a cutie.
I think Jude’s awkwardness might be a result of feelings he has for Connor…maybe he just wanted to walk him out because he wanted to spend more time with him? I’m just pulling from the fact that he always seems very excited to see Connor, and he dressed up and gelled his hair before Connor came over. I sense a crush.
I’m probably alone in this, but I found this episode truly awful. Stilted acting, weird storylines for drama’s sake (and they’re illegal. Really?).
And FYI – the game console was a Playstation Portable. And Connor’s Mum is so not going to be happy about him giving it away.
I agree about the acting though Stef and Lena were pretty good. The illegal thing seemed over the top to me. Sometimes, they really do seem to be just laying on the drama for the halibut.
I was thinking the same thing: his mom is not going to be happy. It is possible, though, that it is something he bought himself instead of something that was given to him by his parents. That would make a difference in how she would react.
I enjoyed the episode but agreed that there was some pretty bad acting this week (especially from the kids playing Brandon, Jude, and Connor). I hope it’s just inexperience and that they’ll improve.
See, I thought Brandon’s character was perfect. Jude, Connor, and Wyatt, though, I’m not so sure.
I have an awful feeling that Brandon & Callie kissing is being saved for the season finale.
I wonder how they will play out the statutory rape plot. Obviously the social worker will be brought in & there will be some kind of formal process. I’m curious to see how this will effect Callie’s character — I think they’re using it as her big opening-up moment. Also Jude knew about it (remember when she showed him the diary he said “you wrote about Liam?” in an emotional-shorthand way) so he will also be part of this process.
Jude’s been presented as the queer kid character (there has to be one!) from the beginning…remember the previous foster dad beat him up for wearing a dress? He totally is crushing on Connor but I think it’ll end up being a sweet-ally-moment not a bf moment.
I feel bad for the moms. They are always harried and fielding kids. I guess that’s what it’s like to be a parent (sometimes/a lot of the time) but they seem to not genuinely have fun, ever. Therefore I skim their conversations as filler. The real stories are with the kids.
It really bothers me how M&J’s mom is being depicted as a cliched addict. That feels boilerplate and cliche-mongering to me. Obvs cop mom is gonna ride in on her white horse. Just too dichotomous. There are good adults and bad adults!!
Wyatt sulks. Also his name is Wyatt.
As for the moms and being harried and not having fun – I am the worst person to respond to this today. Ha. Summer vacation is kicking this mom’s ass because “vacation” for the kids means “no time” for me at all and the kids are driving us crazy.
Deep breath.
I wish we saw more of the mom’s relationship though the arguments have been pretty realistic.
I agree about Ana and Wyatt is a dolt.
i think the writers are doing a good job just showing how much of your energy as a parent goes into parenting and how difficult it is to have the intimacy as a couple raising kids and working – especially with 5 kids and half-gallons of milk. how do stef and lena have ANY time to do anything other than go to the grocery store to stock up the Great Lesbian Kitchen?
Wait, is the Liam/Callie story about rape or statutory rape?
At first it seemed like it was about statutory rape, but it ended up being about real rape. She said no and he forced her anyway.
both and more.
I completeley forgot about the Jude wearing a dress thing…
Dear The Fosters television show,
First you have Lena/Stef use the lines “other stuff” when referring to intimacy between them…now you had the song “Freight Train” playing when there was tension between them…PLEASE..PLEASE..for the love of Simon and Garfunkel..PLEASE..don’t run..I mean please STOP..you’re reopening wounds that have taken two months to heal..Thank you..that is all
I was absolutely livid at the revelation that Lexi’s parents are undocumented. Way to reinforce the idea that anyone with brown skin and/or a Spanish last name is definitely an immigrant and probably an undocumented one. I was born here. My parents were born here. My grandparents were born here. Not that that makes me superior to an immigrant, documented or otherwise, but please, Hollywood, acknowledge that Latinas like me exist!!! And stop giving credence to the lawmakers and voters who think it’s totally fair that I have to constantly prove my status as an American citizen while my white neighbor doesn’t.
I just hate Mariana. The only significant plot she has is with her bio mom, which is painful to watch because you know it’s going to end badly/predictably. Also, what happened to that obviously gay guy she was crushing on? I know she’s annoying, but again, it’s cringe-worthy as a viewer to have an entire subplot set up for one childish, vindictive moment of “LOL YOU HAVE NO GAYDAR!”
I actually don’t hate the plot with her bio mom because Marianna seems to be realizing what’s happening and doesn’t want any part in it. In the beginning of this episode I knew it would end in total heartbreak but now I’m not so sure. However, I can’t see someone doing a show about foster children and not dealing with birth parents in some way. I think that’s important.
I did really hate her though for helping Lexi run away. A little less when she convinced her to come back.
I think it the poetry boy was honestly a way for Marianna to try to get back at Lexi/Jesus. But now they’ve all reconciled and I’m happy again.
I didn’t think Garrett was gay at all. He seemed to be pretty into the other poetry chick. In either case, though, we haven’t seen him, because he is a poet that just had a guest appearance on the show.
I too was very focused on the milk I thought it was weird they had so little but also that they had so little dairy milk. I was trying to convince myself it was soy milk for the vegans/lactose intolerant but I just couldn’t do it. Or that the rest of them were vegans and then I remembered the halibut.
I loved every second of this recap and less of the actual show. I really wasn’t a fan of the Riveras being undocumented. Also, Lexi threatening to call immigration if they sent her away was the silliest thing ever. In my opinion anyways. I was hoping for an actual conversation. We’ll see next week. Still crossing my fingers they won’t go there with Callie and Brandon. I’m actually beginning to love their brother/sister relationship.
At least this week felt a little more sincere than last week. And I love Jude’s friend. I’d like him to take all of Wyatt’s screen time. Seriously.