S02.E10: Someone's Little Sister

[possibilities]

In a way, the show is making people look bad because it keeps the drama levels high. Robert could have protected his interests when he received the abandonment papers, without being sneaky and cold. He could have said: I had no idea there was a daughter; please get a DNA test and if you really are my daughter, we should decide what is best to do next. After the DNA test, he could have asked to arrange a meeting, so he could meet the alleged daughter and the foster parents, to discuss how they got into this situation and what they should do about it now that they have discovered it. That he wanted her to sign away her rights whether she was his DNA or not, makes him look very bad. That he was sneaking around to meet her, and then used his other daughter first as leverage (with her letter) and then as an excuse (when she tore up the paperwork), again is very immature and disrespectful, and shows he's not taking charge, but is being led around by what? His 12 year old?

 

But if everyone behaved well, there would be no melodrama. The promo people would not know what to feature in their "shocking twist" spots. People wouldn't be freaking out and leaving cliffhanger endings.

 

I personally would find it more interesting, because I think realistic dilemmas and natural complexity are compelling and that people being stupid or unreasonable is just annoying. But TV has decided that operatic heights and agonizing lows are more fun, so we get people going out of their way to be dickish or incompetent when it isn't necessary.

[CPP83]

Did he sit down and have a talk with Sophia about a healthy way for them to have a relationship with Callie after we saw her say she wanted Callie in their family/home? Obviously not

 

 

 

Or he did and Sophia just didn't listen to him.

 

A teenager is an incredibly unstable creature to begin with, and Sophia seems to have issues that her parents perhaps haven't picked up on or she's just good at hiding, at least until now. There was never any scene shot that showed Robert and Sophia having that sort of interaction because they aren't the main cast. We know very little about Sophia's relationship with Robert and Jill or what they've discussed with her, perhaps they did have that talk and it only made her more convinced that if she destroyed the papers everyone would see things her way finally, who knows.

 

I won't say I think everything Robert's done has been kosher, that goes for every parent on this show, but I also think that's because he hasn't really known what to do. There's no rule book given when a sixteen year old is dropped into your lap out of the blue and now you have legal and moral obligations to sort through. As I said I think the way Robert was introduced to Callie set the tone for pretty everything that has happened since. And I think that was the show's intent all along.

 

He got the abandonment papers so his lawyers drew up the papers for Callie to sign away her rights, after taking a DNA test, legally that's just how one protects their assets from strange teenagers that suddenly pop up when their mothers' have kept them away all their lives, and Robert could have stayed in that mindset, signing Callie away, protecting his money and then going back to his cushy life with Jill and mini Callie.

 

I think as soon as Robert learned who Callie was he wanted to get close to her but was never sure how to. She didn't seem to want him, he had two people already staking a claim on her and demanding he give up his rights, he could have fought legally but then wouldn't that just push her away further, he really didn't have many options to do things that would win him any fans.

 

I saw Robert's reaction to what mini Callie did, ripping up the documents, as being fairly tortured. Robert has been a supporting player from the get go, he has been there to hold up the reason why Callie hasn't yet been adopted and to give her more biological ties for added "drama", so I think there's plenty that one could assume happened off screen and also didn't, but as far as what the show has shown, from my pov, he's been painted as a man troubled and trying to make an impossible decision. I've never thought of his actions as being sneaky or deceitful but merely desperate and lost.

 

Personally I think a lot of, most of really, his actions have been for dramatic purposes, more about having Callie react to a certain situation than bothering to follow up on whether or not a man in Robert's position would actually do or say or react in such a way realistically speaking. Then again I feel Callie has been written that way herself since the very first episode but I digress. Despite all of that, there's also been a few moments where I think Robert has been painted as a brokenhearted parent, someone whose struggle and pain I believe and could see as being real and the finale was one of those times.

 

What mini Callie did caused an explosion of feelings, not just for Callie but for Robert as well, they both were on an emotional roller-coaster ride that took a sudden, unexpected plunge and I felt both reacted accordingly.

Edited August 24, 2014 by CPP83

[GildedLily]

At this point, I won't try to argue about what the showrunners think or want us to think, but I will say that I find it infuriating if they do define sexuality between her and her 16 year old foster brother as a big chance at love that might possibly be equal to or greater than the familial love of the entire clan. Callie and Brandon can still love each other, but real love sometimes involves not going for your immediate desires and looking at the bigger picture. I just don't think teens need to think that if they don't get to have sex with every person they're attracted to, that they are having their lives ruined and a great sacrifice is being made.

I don’t think it’s as simple as boiling down it to her being adopted vs them getting the opportunity to have sex. Especially given how delicately the show is handling sex when it comes to Callie. What I get from the writing is that they want us to see Brandon and Callie as having a very deep emotional connection in addition to a pretty strong physical attraction. She has major issues when it comes to trust and men and both emotional and physical intimacy but she trusts him infinitely. And the fact that they’ll never get the chance to know what they possibly could have developed into if she’s adopted is I think what was referring to with the I gave up so much line.

Maybe it’s not a lifelong love, maybe they would break up and move on with other people. But they don't know that right now. And the fact that they weren’t ever going to get to find that out for themselves is I think something that has been lingering beneath the surface for both of them all season. And maybe they should be over it or be able to get over it in time but that’s not exactly easy when you’re still young and forced to live with that person every day right now and facing a lifetime of family holidays etc. together. And I think the last scene was not just her despair over the Quinn situation but both of them finally reacting to the entire difficult situation like teenagers.

He got the abandonment papers so his lawyers drew up the papers for Callie to sign away her rights, after taking a DNA test, legally that's just how one protects their assets from strange teenagers that suddenly pop up when their mothers' have kept them away all their lives, and Robert could have stayed in that mindset, signing Callie away, protecting his money and then going back to his cushy life with Jill and mini Callie.

I think as soon as Robert learned who Callie was he wanted to get close to her but was never sure how to. She didn't seem to want him, he had two people already staking a claim on her and demanding he give up his rights, he could have fought legally but then wouldn't that just push her away further, he really didn't have many options to do things that would win him any fans.

I saw Robert's reaction to what mini Callie did, ripping up the documents, as being fairly tortured. Robert has been a supporting player from the get go, he has been there to hold up the reason why Callie hasn't yet been adopted and to give her more biological ties for added "drama", so I think there's plenty that one could assume happened off screen and also didn't, but as far as what the show has shown, from my pov, he's been painted as a man troubled and trying to make an impossible decision. I've never thought of his actions as being sneaky or deceitful but merely desperate and lost.

I agree with this totally as to Robert’s initial move. It wasn’t like Callie showed up on his doorstep or wrote him a letter or even S&L or a caseworker contacted him. The way it was written was that Stef and Lena had him served with abandonment papers- legal documents. This is was how he was informed about his child. There was apparently no open dialogue about if he wanted to play a role in her life. The sane reaction of someone with significant assets and Sophia to protect immediately would hand those papers off to a lawyer and direct them to take appropriate action. So Stef and Lena serving him with a legal document asking them to relinquish his claim to Callie resulted in legal papers being drawn up asking Callie to relinquish her claim to the Quinn money. One cold sterile legal chess move answered in the same fashion.

But Robert didn't leave it at that like any decent human/father wouldn't. his curiosity and emotions got the best of him and he first just wanted to see her and then get to know her a bit-- independent of the legal moves that were being made on both ends. It wasn’t immature or disrespectful- I saw it as a very human reaction in a complicated situation.

As far as Sophia’s actions re the papers, they’re a non-starter as to the adoption. That was done to give us the big Sophia cliffhanger. Her act had no legal significance. And really IMO no significance as to Robert except that it made it readily apparent that signing away his rights to Callie affected both of his children, not just Callie. But I think he already knew this after Sophia asked to “adopt” her. In any event, Robert’s team of good lawyers would have found a way to try to get those papers withdrawn before filing; set aside etc., if Robert wanted to change course after Callie acknowledged being a Quinn this episode.

Robert was not comforting or reassuring Callie during this week's crisis, he was just asking for her to take care of him and he was whining to her about his feelings, not taking a moment to acknowledge how and why she was upset and what her feelings or needs were

I didn't see it as whining at all. He had all of three seconds with her after he said he didn’t want to sign the papers before she turned and walked out the door. He explained where he was coming from, she gave him no time to try to provide comfort or acknowledgement. I don’t fault her for that but there just wasn’t much opportunity for Robert to parent her here. She asked about new papers, he answered her question honestly, she blew up and left. He wisely didn't chase her down the driveway. End scene.

I disagree that his actions were manufactured drama. To a point of course- it's television. But IMO everything about the last 15 minutes from Rosie telling Callie she couldn't imagine why she wouldn't let Robert into her life, to Sophia's tone when she said "No. we are" in response to Callie saying the Fosters are her family, to Robert waffling on the papers to Brallie finally giving in to pent up feelings like 16 years old inevitably would rang true. Truer than almost anything else/everything else about this Callie adoption saga that we started back in 1A.

He should be demonstrating that he can put his feelings aside and look at her best interests.

Again, I think it’s more gray here. Who is to say he doesn’t really believe it’s in her best interest to get to know the biological family that she’s missed out on years with? I think he does believe that, especially after seeing her acknowledge them publicly. And how can he really judge what’s in her best interest? Based on what a 16 year old who has a boatload of issues and has been through a ton of trauma tells him? Because Stef and Lena who have known her all of six months during which all Robert really knows is that she ran away from their home and ended up in Girls United tell him they are the best option for her? We know these characters and we know why the Fosters have been good for Callie.

But Robert doesn’t. In his mind, he knows he cares about her, he knows he has the means to support her wonderfully and he knows Stef and Lena have not been parental figures to her for more than a few months. I can see how from that, he comes to the conclusion that signing the papers might have been what she wanted but not necessarily what is long-term best for her. ***Side point- he has not at this point said anything about physical custody and where he believes she should live. He has simply refused to sign a document that terminates his legal relationship to her.

Edited August 26, 2014 by GildedLily

[CPP83]

I didn't see it as whining at all. He had all of three seconds with her after he said he didn’t want to sign the papers before she turned and walked out the door. He explained where he was coming from, she gave him no time to try to provide comfort or acknowledgement. I don’t fault her for that but  there just wasn’t much opportunity for Robert to parent her here. She asked about new papers, he answered her question honestly, she blew up and left. He wisely didn't chase her down the driveway. End scene.

 

 

I completely agree with you. I saw both of them coming across as being emotionally raw, Callie feeling that she'd been denied, yet again, her "home" and Robert was trying to explain how he felt, finally, to no avail.

 

I don't think either was right or wrong in that scene and the blowup, I think they were finally being human with each either. So often I feel like these characters stay on paper, they don't resonate the way they could/should as real people in real life, even though they're so often dealing with real problems. Everything can be so cookie cutter at times, I see it as after school special like.

 

Callie's situation is messy and complicated, there's no two ways about it, and that finale scene was just as messy and complicated as things probably should have been from the beginning.

[Bringonthedrama]

Or he did and Sophia just didn't listen to him.

 

 We know very little about Sophia's relationship with Robert and Jill or what they've discussed with her, perhaps they did have that talk and it only made her more convinced that if she destroyed the papers everyone would see things her way finally, who knows.

 

I think as soon as Robert learned who Callie was he wanted to get close to her but was never sure how to. She didn't seem to want him, he had two people already staking a claim on her and demanding he give up his rights, he could have fought legally but then wouldn't that just push her away further, he really didn't have many options to do things that would win him any fans.

 

I saw Robert's reaction to what mini Callie did, ripping up the documents, as being fairly tortured. Robert has been a supporting player from the get go, he has been there to hold up the reason why Callie hasn't yet been adopted and to give her more biological ties for added "drama",

 

he's been painted as a man troubled and trying to make an impossible decision. I've never thought of his actions as being sneaky or deceitful but merely desperate and lost.

 

Personally I think a lot of, most of really, his actions have been for dramatic purposes, more about having Callie react to a certain situation than bothering to follow up on whether or not a man in Robert's position would actually do or say or react in such a way realistically speaking. Then again I feel Callie has been written that way herself since the very first episode but I digress. Despite all of that, there's also been a few moments where I think Robert has been painted as a brokenhearted parent, someone whose struggle and pain I believe and could see as being real and the finale was one of those times.

 

What mini Callie did caused an explosion of feelings, not just for Callie but for Robert as well, they both were on an emotional roller-coaster ride that took a sudden, unexpected plunge and I felt both reacted accordingly.

I understand but IMO there are examples of Robert just does not have a spine when it comes to parenting, or making decisions as a mature adult. He walked away from Colleen because daddy told him to. Stef and Lena/Callie got a DNA sample and "sign away rights to money" request because that's what Robert's attorneys decided he should do. Stef calls Callie's former foster father "unfit" and Robert gets a guilty look, but - once the girls have gone into the house - he doesn't express concern for Callie's past and ask if she's getting counseling, or gently ask Callie about that when Sophia's out of earshot. He just asks if he can take care of college funding.To anyone with common sense, that is the least of Callie's problems at the moment.

 

What I found disturbing was the way Sophia spoke to Callie, esp. when she told her she tore up the papers - appearing excited that she did something underhanded for her family. Like "Hey sis, you can still make the right choice, isn't that great?!" Callie is angry and hurt. Robert finds out his younger daughter went behind his back and destroyed his legal documents - yet not even a stern look and "We're going to discuss consequences after I talk to Callie."  He's essentially condoning what she did instead of teaching her this is the WRONG way to handle your feelings about your sister/family. Also, he's either choosing to turn a blind eye to Sophia's issues so as to avoid the hard work of parenting, or just isn't close enough to his daughter to pick up on clues ... one of those "Her grades are good, she's doing the tests she's supposed to, she's competing, everything's great" type of parents. 

 

I too think Robert was feeling tortured, but he didn't say "let's discuss this." He said he couldn't abandon her/sign the papers again esp. after being called her father in public, he wants her to be happy, they've all gotten attached to her. To a girl Callie's age, that screams 'I'm choosing Sophia/my feelings over yours, sorry." It also hints that he may now be considering a fight for custody. I'm sure it felt like a slap in the face to her - like perhaps he'll try to take her away from The Fosters and Jude. 

 

With that context, Callie kissing Brandon makes perfect sense. She believes she gave up her shot at a relationship with Brandon for the 'greater good,' a stable family for Jude and for her. Now she's freaking out because the signed papers no longer exist, Robert isn't going to give up his rights to her, so f'it, I still love him and want a kiss. Jude's place in the Foster Family is secure now anyway. 

[CPP83]

To me all of those things Robert might have done/could have been doing didn't happen because the show didn't write for him that way. He is a supporting character as are the rest of the Quinn family so I never expected to see Robert's interactions with Sophie being highlighted often if at all, she isn't a focal point of the show, at least yet, beyond being Callie's sister and being the one who put a stop to the adoption for the moment.

 

There's no way to know what the show wants us to assume has happened off screen or not, and I think there's plenty that one could come up with. Just how many meetings with the Fosters has Robert had, how many conversations has he had with Callie, what do they talk about, does Robert go and see a therapist himself, he probably should, just how close are he and Jill to Sophie, maybe they have tried to help her but think things are working when they aren't, who knows Sohpie's daily life or habits or really what's wrong with her, how her brain functions, these are all things the show hasn't begun to try and touch upon or showcase during scenes.

 

Overall, as I've said, this show plays up the dramatic more than the realistic, even the Fosters' parenting could be easily questioned and judged about how they've handled their teenagers, including Callie, in moments of crisis or their own inability to tell when their kids are in real turmoil and yet seem to have no clue about it.

 

Plenty of teenagers hide pain and problems from their parents for all sorts of reasons, maybe it's to do with the parents turning a blind eye, assuming all is well, maybe the kids are good enough actors, there can be a whole slew of reasons "why", but it doesn't always point to a flaw or fault on the parent/s's side of not doing enough or not trying to help at all.

 

During that final finale scene I don't think it mattered what Robert said to Callie after Sophie admitted to destroying the paperwork, if he had said "let's discuss this" what would have changed on Callie's end? She didn't want to talk about it, she hasn't wanted to discuss him or his feelings for her in any capacity, according to the show, even Rita got shut down by her when she brought up how Robert surely feels about her being his daughter. 

 

From my perspective, unless Robert had told Callie he was going to re-sign immediately she wasn't going to accept any other answer/reason from him, all she was hearing was "the universe hates you, you'll never be happy", and yes a girl her age is highly emotional, and often irrational, but there was nothing Robert could d at that point to make her feel better, she wanted something from him he felt he couldn't do a second time over, neither were going to get what they wanted in the aftermath of mini Callie's actions.

 

And also this show's flare for the dramatic and troubled pretty much guaranteed there was going to be plenty of angst heading into the next season. Robert is the vehicle they're using to keep Callie's life "up in the air" as it were, I actually think the character could be worth exploring and expanding more, but clearly I'm not in charge, heh so I guess for now they'll keep using him as they have been.

Edited August 29, 2014 by CPP83

[GildedLily]

I agree with what's stated above- the show hasn't fully developed Robert's possible conflict re Callie because the Quinn's are the side show, not main characters. At the same time, I think this may change in 2B since they seem very invested in Bailee as Sophia.

One of the reasons I found myself sympathizing with Robert early on was that we never get Stef and Lena having so much as one conversation acknowledging the fact that he's Callie father and has every right to want to develop a relationship and may not want to just sign her over to people he barely knows. This would have juxtaposed nicely with the Timothy stuff but the show was flying through so many beats at that point. Especially once they knew Robert didn't knowingly abandon her. It just struck me as extraordinarily entitled (which Stef and Lena are not) that they just expected this man to sign on the dotted line and hand them his child especially with this timeline the show keeps pushing. I know there will be opportunity to explore this in 2B but I expected more empathy from S&L even if they ultimately remained resolved to keep Callie.

[chey]

I would've gained so much respect for Brandon if he had pulled away. It would've shown growth. Am I really supposed to believe that these two idiots are in love when Brandon sleeps with Dani AND hooks up with Lou while Callie's been with Wyatt & in love with him? Brandon & Callie are so destructive to everything including themselves. I would've been ok with the adoption hold up, but the kiss really ruined all the progress that's happened over the course of the season.

i have NO words for how freaking PISSED i am about brallie. Its wrong, stupid and just needs to stop. It really irritates me

[mayweirdo]

Callie and Brandom por Callie and Wyatt?