S05.E02: It Was Not Your Fault But Mine

[BreezieBitch]

Callie returns to the Coterie to support Mariana in a time of crisis; Gael searches for Isabella and his baby; When a member of the Coterie anonymously submits a complaint, Alice tracks down the secret critic; Luca digs into his past.

[BreezieBitch]

Seems like interest in this show is waning. 

Callie’s return was underwhelming. I agreed with Mariana - be supportive or leave.

Alice’s storylines continue to be a snoozefest. 
 

I wanted Denis and Davia together but they need something to do besides bang all over the Coterie. 
 

I miss the theme song. Is the new downer music permanent? 

[KaveDweller]

So we get a flashback that Jamie proposed to Callie, but not how she answered? Then she just leaves to go back to DC with no conclusion? What is even the point of that, unless they are going to be back again later this season.

It must really suck to find out you aren't even a US citizen. But I am glad Luca at least worked out a deal to get free dance lessons.

I am not sure why Marianna feels obligated to play CEO and protect Evan's business. I would think even if the board votes no confidence on her, that wouldn't mean Evan totally loses the company if he ever recovers so it seems like a waste. And I know she feels guilty, but it isn't her fault he got shot. She was dumb to go to the farm, but Evan made the choice to follow her and to not wait in the car where it was safe. Then he's the one who stood still starting at the three people running toward him. But he's not at fault either, it is the fault of the guy who pulled the trigger. 

Also as CEO, couldn't Marianna appoint someone to handle the day to day so she doesn't have to be there all the time?

Glad Isabella didn't fall for her mom's bullshit and realized she needed help before she could be a mother.

 

[possibilities]

I got the feeling Callie was not enthused about the proposal, but this show somehow thinks teasing and misdirects are good storytelling, which I disagree with, but I figure they'll tell us how that turned out later.

I'm still interested in the show, but I haven't had much to say about it lately. These past two episodes have been kind of dull. 

I was very glad Isabella did not take the bait with her parents, though, and I hope she will get help. I wonder if she knows that Gael told her parents off and sparked them to offer to "help".

[KaveDweller]

39 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I got the feeling Callie was not enthused about the proposal, but this show somehow thinks teasing and misdirects are good storytelling, which I disagree with, but I figure they'll tell us how that turned out later.

I also got the feeling she wasn't enthused, but like you said the show like to misdirect. I also agree that is not good storytelling.

[circumvent]

I think the return of Callie and the tease about the proposal was just because Maia was in town for a while, the writers fawn over her - clearly, since The Fosters - so they wanted her in the show. She probably will be back at some point so they leave that in the air for a future appearance. Or maybe she already filmed a few scenes that clarify her romantic life. Then maybe she comes back a third time for the wedding. I never liked the character, and think her story is preposterous. New lawyers working for the ACLU don't make enough money for the life style she seems to be living. 

The story with Isabela was actually good. It was probably the actor's send off so I think they could have spent some extra time on it, on her desire to seek mental health help. Instead we have the silliness of Alice and the note. 

Luka is Canadian, he should try his luck in Canada. Just saying

Also, Callie saying she could file a motion blah blah to help Luka was a stretch. That's not how counseling work, having a beer around the pool.

[possibilities]

I assume Jamie is paying for the lifestyle Callie is living. They probably live together, and he has a big corporate law salary.

[KittenPokerCheater]

I wonder if Isabella's mom is going to try to take custody of the baby from Gael and his sister.

I don't care about Callie or Jamie.  They are FF material for me.

[Glade]

Canada has a more robust social welfare state that Lucas could benefit from, it's not that far away and is English speaking, so I don't see why it would be seen as such a dead-end prospect for him.  Callie's return was a lot of nothing, but maybe she'll 'return' again later in the season to resolve the proposal? 

[circumvent]

7 hours ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

I wonder if Isabella's mom is going to try to take custody of the baby from Gael and his sister.

I hope not. They gave the character (and the father) only bad qualities, nothing to redeem them, so they are supervillains. Going with that plot would be a cheap shot on bad overdramatic recycled plots. Gael is the father, he has rights, the best solution for the show - that does not really has a place for a baby - is to let Jasmine and her husband adopt her and be done with it. Gael can still be part of her life but it is all in the background, we don't need to see any of that

3 hours ago, Glade said:

Canada has a more robust social welfare state that Lucas could benefit from, it's not that far away and is English speaking, so I don't see why it would be seen as such a dead-end prospect for him

Exactly. Why would he be so adamant abut staying in a country where the closest relationships he has are people he met like, yesterday, and he has no financial support or a chance of stability?

[gesundheit]

On 3/25/2023 at 5:02 AM, circumvent said:

The story with Isabela was actually good. It was probably the actor's send off so I think they could have spent some extra time on it, on her desire to seek mental health help.

Also, Callie saying she could file a motion blah blah to help Luka was a stretch. That's not how counseling work, having a beer around the pool.

Also, wasn't Callie never admitted to the bar in CA anyway? I can't remember the trajectory on that.

Isabella's sendoff was way undercooked, she just handed the baby off, said "no pressure on parenting or adopting either" and left? So there's no plan at all?

6 hours ago, circumvent said:

Gael is the father, he has rights, the best solution for the show - that does not really has a place for a baby - is to let Jasmine and her husband adopt her and be done with it. Gael can still be part of her life but it is all in the background, we don't need to see any of that

I really hope that's what they do, that was so cruel to renege on the adoption plan and of course the story didn't focus on the heartbreak for Jasmine and her husband at all. On the other hand, if he offers to move forward with the adoption plan now, Jasmine and her husband might rightly turn it down for fear of future reversals since Isabella didn't actually approve anything.

[circumvent]

34 minutes ago, gesundheit said:

Also, wasn't Callie never admitted to the bar in CA anyway? I can't remember the trajectory on that.

Isabella's sendoff was way undercooked, she just handed the baby off, said "no pressure on parenting or adopting either" and left? So there's no plan at all?

Callie eventually passed the bar. If she is current with her dues, it is for our minds to make up. It was just to show how amazing she is now, how much she can do (meh)

Probably the actor's contract ended and they never renewed it, so yes, that's all is my guess

I don't think the writers are interested in extending the story to add a baby to the mix. Then again, this show loves to start all kinds of conflicts and dramas, so maybe they will. Hope not

[KaveDweller]

3 hours ago, circumvent said:

Callie eventually passed the bar. If she is current with her dues, it is for our minds to make up. It was just to show how amazing she is now, how much she can do (meh)

Probably the actor's contract ended and they never renewed it, so yes, that's all is my guess

I don't think the writers are interested in extending the story to add a baby to the mix. Then again, this show loves to start all kinds of conflicts and dramas, so maybe they will. Hope not

A more interesting question is, did Callie pass the bar exam in DC? If she originally just took it in CA, isn't she only licensed in California and would need to take the test again to be licensed in any other states (or in DC)? I live in NJ and I know some lawyers will get licensed to practice in NJ and NY since they are so close. But Callie was originally planning to stay in California, so I doubt she'd have done that.

But she's off the show so I guess they didn't feel the need to spend time on that.

[possibilities]

The actress who plays Calle is from Australia, and wanted to be home and close to family during the pandemic. That is why she left. I don't know if they are bringing her back again for an on-going story, but I don't think they would have done this episode's appearance if they weren't going to.

I think any lawyer who gets a legal job and moves to another state for it would take the bar and do whatever else is needed for that state's licensing. I'm sure the ACLU has whatever policies in place to make sure their lawyers are practicing fully qualified. For all we know, Callie is just doing interviews and research and other things under supervision of a senior attorney, not filing anything solo or appearing in court, but whatever she's doing, I'm willing to believe the ACLU is doing it with all the proper rules in place.

Unless Isabella formally terminates her parental rights, no adoption can happen. I don't know if this story is over or not, but I guess we'll find out.

I was also confused about why Lucas was so depressed about the idea of going to Canada. I don't know the details of what he'd be facing there in terms of support, but maybe it would make sense for his friends to help him figure that out, in addition to having him try to apply for DACA, as Callie was suggesting. I do get that he was just starting to feel settled and connected, maybe for the first time in his life-- the Coterie, the dance class, his aunt-- and doesn't want to be starting over from zero right away. But at least all the options should be looked at, including Canada! It would be interesting if the show actually aired something about the social safety net there, and compared it to the USA. I was always confused about how he didn't have a birth certificate or social security number, if he had been in the foster system. Don't they register the kids and find or create documents? Even if he was left at a fire station or something, with no info, they'd still create a paper trail when they placed him, wouldn't they? They expect kids in foster to age out and get jobs, so they'd have to be given soc sec numbers and other proof of their existence in the bureaucracy.

I also wish they'd shown us why the aunt didn't take him. I would like to know more about what happened.

I don't know why people think sneaking around is fun. I also don't know why people would think their housemates don't know they are doing it. But at least Davia and Dennis weren't crying and angsty for a change.

Sumi and Alice were supposed to be comic relief, I think? I was more annoyed than amused, because rather than trying to trick people, Alice could have just said she saw the feedback and would like to know more about what people were unhappy about. Also, if the note was left while Alice was on tour, it's been a long damn time since anybody checked the suggestion box!!

[gesundheit]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

 

I think any lawyer who gets a legal job and moves to another state for it would take the bar and do whatever else is needed for that state's licensing. I'm sure the ACLU has whatever policies in place to make sure their lawyers are practicing fully qualified. For all we know, Callie is just doing interviews and research and other things under supervision of a senior attorney, not filing anything solo or appearing in court, but whatever she's doing, I'm willing to believe the ACLU is doing it with all the proper rules in place.

 

Indeed, but they sure tried to make it sound like Callie's doing high-level work independently all of a sudden (including in California, and apparently has no agreement with ACLU that she can't just represent whomever she wants independently, which feels absurdly unlikely!), just a few short months into her time with the ACLU, which makes no sense. But the passage of time on this show is always incredibly uneven. At least she didn't get back together with Brandon offscreen? Little blessings.

[sara416]

AS far as why Lucas didn't go to Canada, maybe I'm stating the obvious here but moving is expensive. He has no ID so he can't get a passport and therefore can't get into that country either. They never specified where the aunt was, but I don't think he went to meet her, so maybe she lives in the LA area as well. Without an ID he can't do anything and he probably has to get a birth certificate in person so he can't even get into Canada to get it. 

[possibilities]

I think he can show up at an immigration office with info that he's not a US citizen, and they'll send him over the border whether he wants to go or not.

[circumvent]

Lucas could go to a Canadian consulate and tell his story, where he was born, why he just found out now. Canada is better than the US but it there is still bureaucracy to be overcome, so it would be a whole big story. The writers like these things, so it is strange that they chose to go the "easy"way with him. Maybe he also has a short contract and his story needs to wrap up 

[possibilities]

I don't know if they are going to wrap it up, though. They talked about how the Coterie people were going to help him figure out if he could stay in the USA.

I like that they try to showcase issues facing unhoused people, undocumented people, people in the foster system, and other less well-represented people. I just hope they will do a good job with this. We'll see....

[KaveDweller]

18 hours ago, possibilities said:

I think he can show up at an immigration office with info that he's not a US citizen, and they'll send him over the border whether he wants to go or not.

Sounds like a great budget travel plan! 

[Scarlett45]

Callie & Jaime, why does he want her ass again? Isabella- her parents are crap people, but that doesn’t explain all of her issues.
 

I’m glad she has her former nanny support while she works on herself. Maybe she can be a guiding force for her now, and Isabella can be in Lyric’s life even if she is never her primary caregiver. If Gael doesn’t want to be a single parent, letting his sister and her husband adopt would probably be best. 
 

The progression of Davia & Dennis’ relationship is actually the sweetest. 
 

@possibilities Lucas has been counted and has documents/a record because he was in the foster care system. This storyline is wonky. I can’t remember the exact law but any child under x age found in the USA whose identity can’t be verified is assumed to be a USC. Lucas was born in the 1990s not 1920s, there’s a file on him in the state he was in foster care. He could use that to get an ID. 

On 3/26/2023 at 4:00 PM, possibilities said:

I also wish they'd shown us why the aunt didn't take him. I would like to know more about what happened.

 

She may not have known about him. Seems like her sister was living off the grid, and it may have been a while before they were able to find next of kin/contact them. Also who knows where she was, her employment situation, family situation when that happened to Lucas.