S02.E11: Christmas Past

[maraleia]

 

As Callie and Jude spend their first Christmas with the Fosters, Callie feels the sting of still being an official foster kid while Jude’s guilt over having been adopted has him overcompensating. Stef feels that Grandma Sharon’s gift giving is excessive, especially when she learns where the money is coming from. Lena must face her own bias against another family member. Meanwhile, Jesus enters the neighborhood house decorating competition and is accused of cheating by his neighbor Mr. Nesbit.

 

[possibilities]

It's about time we started to meet some neighbors! But how does someone cheat at a decorating contest, I wonder?

[natyxg]

This is supposed to air on Monday? But I watched it already on Hulu.  *Scratches head*

[ShortyMac]

I watched it last night on ABC Family's website. I liked it. I wish we could have seen more of the kids (especially Jude) excited for Christmas morning. 

 

As an Ohioan, it was weird to see December/Christmas with no snow. lol

[marceline]

As an Ohioan, it was weird to see December/Christmas with no snow. lol

 

Hello fellow Buckeye!

 

I watched this on Hulu and honestly I don't get the point. We leave where we were before for an extended Christmas flashback? What was the point? 

[possibilities]

I don't think they need a reason, really. It gives them an extra episode during the hiatus, and they probably thought a xmas episode would be fun. 

 

I think they did a good job circling around to the "don't let each other give up on our dreams" thing-- I hope it means Brandon encourages Callie not to torpedo the adoption further via kissing him. And I'm assuming the ambulance is for Sophia, but I think they did a good job renewing the cliffhanger (which I had almost forgotten about), creating tension to bring viewers back. Stef was behaving horribly all episode, but in a way I kind of like that they didn't make the whole thing sappy from start to finish. The show can be a little too much syrup sometimes, so an irritable mom was an acceptable variation for me. I did expect Jesus to invite the neighbor over to watch movies or whatever they invited Daphne to join them for, but him bowing out of the contest was okay too. And speaking of Daphne, I was glad they haven't dropped the focus on the foster system's less perfect endings.

[Ljohnson1987]

It was an okay episode. I hope that the storylines that they hinted at, actually come up in the new season.  I hope they go more into Lena's half brother. 

[izabella]

I liked the show a lot.  It focused on the growing pains of the family, Christmas-style, instead of some big shoot 'em up.  Even Brandon and Callie were toned down a bit. 

[AmeliaBedelia]

I liked the episode. Stef bugged me a bit with her pettiness, but the dinner scene was funny.

I didn't like the bracelet subplot. It was kind of an ugly bracelet and clearly not worth a hundred dollars. I doubt the store keeper would have been that understanding (yeah, yeah christmas spirit).

The Brandon and Callie scenes were the best part for me. I love their friendship. The promo makes it seem like Callie will be doing some pining in the next batch of episodes. So hopefully Brandon won't be sad all the time.

[Zima]

I love Christmas, and I love this show, so I loved this episode.

 

Steph and Lena drive me insane sometimes with their seemingly random pettiness and stupidity. (Really, Lena? You know Jude and Callie are half brother/sister, but you carelessly talk about it in such a way in the kitchen, of all places? Ugh.) Loved Steph's mom in this episode. The "How do you kids like your first Christmas with the Fosters?" line, and talking about how she wears nothing but thongs, and then giving Steph a box of thongs...hilarious. 

 

Mariana is THE BEST. I teared up when she was in the tent with Jesus, and she was recalling the last Christmas that they spent with Anna. Then, of course, "I don't DO sleeping outdoors." Loved it. 

 

Can't wait for the new season!

Edited December 9, 2014 by Zima

[GildedLily]

The flashback was clunky as hell- why were there random holiday decorations at a late spring garden party? Why was Brandon remembering things he had nothing to do with? But whatever I love Christmas decorations and singing so after ten minutes, I was good with it.

Stef bugged this ep. I wanted Annie Potts to slap her. If Frank wanted to leave money to his ex to whom he was married for many years for whatever reason, that's his decision.

Jesus is really best served by lighthearted B plots and scenes with his sister. Can we just do that and stop with his harem?

You would think the Lena bitterness with her brother might have come up over her parents or Stef suggesting she invite him to the wedding but they probably decided he existed when writing this ep. Curious to see if he shows up. That could be good. Lena yelling about half siblings not be real siblings in a house that involves bio half siblings, adoptive half siblings (Brandon legally isn't hers so he's technically a half sibling to the twins and now Jude), and just one child who is still a foster child was insensitive and totally unLena though. There was realness to what she said and felt but she's too much of a child psych type not to be cognizant of the kids' situations and what they might hear. Stef I could more see slipping up.

The Daphne plot maybe would have done better in another non holiday special ep. It seemed weird that S/L let a Brallie take off on Christmas Eve especially given that it was months back in the timelines somewhere shortly after the winter dance angst and finale. And yes she returned her anonymously but social services would likely have a very good idea of who took her. And no cops/social workers outside the home of a missing foster child? Ok.

I think the show did a really good job treading carefully with the Brallie stuff here so as not to upset any segment of the fan base in the Xmas ep. People who want them as best friends/siblings will take this ep as them moving toward that with a more platonic special bond and a promise to stay true to her dream of having a family. And shippers who see them as soulmates will see this ep as complete confirmation that they love each other and are endgame. Good job writers. You appeased everybody here. Good luck with that in 2B.

Edited December 9, 2014 by GildedLily

[LisaM]

I didn't love it...I wanted to but I didn't. Lena talking about half-siblings in this particular household outside of the privacy of their bedroom was completely out of character for the Lena that we know. Took me completely out of the scene. I did like the unstated reference to Nathan casting a racial slur at either Dana or Lena as Lena's reason behind the estrangement. I also didn't like how Stef acted for most of the episode. It's one thing to be angry at Sharon in private with respect to money issues but another completely to allow it to pour over into the family dinner. I figured that Stef would want to shield her kids from those type of discussions and thus found this whole plot line out of character for Stef.

 

As for the Tasha/Daphne plot, didn't the foster family realize that Tasha was missing? Where was the Amber Alert and the cops? They just waited till a 2 year old baby toddled up to the door and knocked? Beyond ridiculous. I did like the throwaway line about how Daphne helped Callie get the job at the burger joint.

 

I liked Mariana and Jesus much more in this episode than in recent ones - perhaps because there were no love interests serving as their main plots. I liked the easy banter between the family in the opening scene with the Baby's First Christmas ornaments. I also thought that Brandon breaking off the kiss and leading into the flashback was well done - as was the return to the present and the ambulance. I also liked the do gooder lady showing up with a present for the foster kid - a good reminder to everyone that Callie's status is still different from everyone else in the family.

 

My guess is that Lena acquired an estranged brother once the whole Stephen Collins mess occurred and it became clear that he would never appear on the show again.

[alexvillage]

I am lost. It seems I lost track of things here. 

So, Brandon was remembering things that happened during their last Christmas. Was the finale after their Christmas then? When he had his hand broken, was Jude already adopted? Seriously, my brain is having a timeline problem.

I agree that Lena and Steff act like children sometimes but this is something TV shows do with characters often. It is silly and I think it is lazy writing. They could have done a better job at the reason why Lena still does not get along with her brother, or at least at how she realized how petty she was being. And Steff throwing a tantrum over money? Why not go to her mother as an adult and talk to her, instead of yelling at the dinner table?

 

I am partial to Christmas episodes since I dislike Christmas. I hope they follow up with the interesting parts next

[Primetimer]

A flashback holiday episode finds Jesus running afoul of a crabby neighbour who's crazy about Christmas...and also like a fox.

Read the story

[Bobcatkitten]

I had problems with the timeline as well. Where were Callie and Brandon when they kissed? What was the ambulance at the end? 

[GildedLily]

I had problems with the timeline as well. Where were Callie and Brandon when they kissed? What was the ambulance at the end?

Callie and Brandon were at the party at the Quinn's' house kissing. The episode picked up on the August finale where Robert said he wouldn't sign the papers, Callie rushed off upset, B followed her and she said maybe this was supposed to happen and kissed him. The ambulance presumably has something to do with Sophia who locked herself in her bathroom after Callie yelled at her.

The Christmas flashback, according to the showrunners, took place shortly after the S1B finale right after Jude was adopted, Callie was unable to get adopted because of the birth certificate issues and Brandon's hand was seriously injured by Vico and a few months after Stef lost her dad.

Edited December 9, 2014 by GildedLily

[joanne3482]

Stef bugged this ep. I wanted Annie Potts to slap her. If Frank wanted to leave money to his ex to whom he was married for many years for whatever reason, that's his decision.

 

Having worked in HR for many years, you'd be amazed at how often people don't update beneficiaries for things like life insurance. Given that, it isn't surprising she thinks her dad didn't update his will. He might not have. He wasn't sick. He may not have even thought of it or remembered he had it. 

 

My guess is that Lena acquired an estranged brother once the whole Stephen Collins mess occurred and it became clear that he would never appear on the show again.

 

I did not remember that Stephen Collins was her sibling. He seems awfully old to be.  They had the same dad? 

 

As for the Tasha/Daphne plot, didn't the foster family realize that Tasha was missing? Where was the Amber Alert and the cops? They just waited till a 2 year old baby toddled up to the door and knocked? Beyond ridiculous.

 

I know that foster parents (especially foster to adopt which is what it seemed like was going to happen here) have HUGE rules that they have to follow, but I like to think the foster mom had seen Daphne hanging around and put it together. I like to think that she knew Daphne would have a change of heart and do the right thing and didn't want to get Daphne in more trouble so she waited a little while before calling the authorities. (I know I'm fanwanking and if Daphne hadn't done the right thing the foster family would be in huge trouble themselves. But it is a Christmas episode which means everyone does the 'right' thing.)

[Tara Ariano]

Stephen Collins had played Lena's father, not her brother.

[gesundheit]

I did not remember that Stephen Collins was her sibling. He seems awfully old to be.  They had the same dad? 

 

Wasn't he her father? I'm having terrible memory lapses with this show. I remember he presided over (?) the wedding, but I thought he was her father.

 

The framing device really confused me. At first I was really excited and thought that they cut off Brandon/Callie's potential-whatever super-quickly. But then realized this was a flashback to when that was blissfully off the table.

 

But pretty much any episode of this show makes me happy. It can be the worst episode and still the theme song and spending any time in that house makes me feel warm and cozy.

[LeGrandElephant]

I wasn't paying that much attention, watching while cleaning up, and I kept thinking it was the next Christmas after the end of last season. I was thinking Brandon's arm in a thing was because he had the surgery... Guess not. Apparently it was a flashback.

[GildedLily]

Having worked in HR for many years, you'd be amazed at how often people don't update beneficiaries for things like life insurance. Given that, it isn't surprising she thinks her dad didn't update his will. He might not have. He wasn't sick. He may not have even thought of it or remembered he had it. 

You're totally right. I'm a lawyer so I get that estate planning is frequently not planned at all. At the same time, even if he had just forgotten to change the beneficiary name, that doesn't mean that he meant to change it to her especially given that their relationship was often strained. It could have been to  a charity, a good friend, another relative, Brandon exclusively as his only bio grandkid, Brandon/Jesus/Mariana in their own names or any combination and Stef would have had no claim if she didn't like it. People do all kinds of things to the great surprise of the family members  who think that they are the obvious inheritees. So the money hadn't been clearly earmarked for her; he hadn't promised it to her; she didn't even know about it. 

 

Anyway it wasn't so much that but her attitude with her mother that bothered me. Instead of being happy/relieved that her mother now had money to comfortably enjoy her retirement/long term care in the future if needed and hopeful that some might eventually trickle back to her, she pouted and acted like her mother  ruined her holiday by stealing from her kids' college funds. I get that she was thinking of her kids. But at the same time, her father wasn't obligated to help put the 5 kids she chose to have through college. He didn't even know Callie and Jude. Neither is her mother though I liked what she did for them. But after the way Stef acted, I wouldn't have blamed her for taking a Europe trip, redoing her kitchen and buying herself a car. I usually like Stef...just not this ep. 

Edited December 9, 2014 by GildedLily

[Lorelei]

WHY WHY WHY???

 

I wanted to love this Christmas episode so much! I'm a fan. But this episode was sooooooo botched and messed up.
1) Why did they feel compelled to do a flash back for the whole episode? It was confusing and frustrating and made no sense. All of the sudden Brandon has a cast and then I'm taken out of the story flow trying to rack my brain to remember what was up with the cast. The last thing we knew about him, he was playing in the rock band because he couldn't play classical anymore. This step back in time was MEGA awkward and confusing and broke the story flow! Also, it was super hokey to fade into the past ala Wayne's World.  The whole series has been somewhat realistic, so to have an entire episode set in a flashback in Brandon's mind seemed like lazy and inept storytelling.

2) Why would Steph all of the sudden become so petty and worry who got the dad's money. That was totally out of character. It made me hate her and think she was a jerk (again, out of character).

3) Why was so much time spent with some unknown neighbor guy with the Xmas lights? This was a dumb plot and it was at the expense of being with our regular characters.

4) Why did all the kids sit at the dinner table like an audience during the phony fight about the earrings? Lena and Steph could have had that fight somewhere else. It was lame how the fight took place at the table and all the kids had to sit there like idiots not saying anything. Wouldn't they interject or try to de-escalate the tension. It was really silly to seeing all the kids sitting there like a bunch of dopes without any reaction or involvement. To see this type of scene done correctly, just watch an episode of Parenthood.  This scene made Steph look like a loser and a jerk.  The whole scene was so heavy-handed and ridiculous that I didn't buy any of it.

5) Why was Daphne's plot so forced? She kidnapped her daugther, then nothing happened. It was a non-starter. There was no point to that. It would have made more sense to focus on Rosie O'Donnel or something. Instead, you have this kidnapping and returning with no point. Perhaps she should have engaged with the adopting mom some how to give it more purpose and raise the emotional stakes.  It really felt forced
6) Where the heck was Mike? I mean, we get a lot of time with the "wise" neighbor lighting guy but no mention of Mike. That's silly.

7) Why would Jesus even care about xmas decorations? It seems TOTALLY out of character and completely forced.

8) Just like Daphne, the Jude plot whet nowhere.  He steals a bracelet and then returns it but gets rewarded with a discount.  This seemed oddly out of character for him and it never played into the family dynamic at all. It was a bogus plot beat that, just like Daphne and the Lights Guy, took away from valuable time exploring real family issues.
9) Why did the reveal of Jesus's xmas display feel so phony and dumb? It seemed like they were going for this "wow" realization of what an amazing display he made, but it just seemed annoying and manipulative. By the way, why did the writers force him to sleep in a tent in the yard instead of keeping him in the house where the story could have explored more of his character in the context of the family.

 

Bottom line: I actually changed my cable plan in order to subscribe to ABC Family so I could watch The Fosters Xmas. But it wasn’t worth it because it made me hate the show all of the sudden.  Especially, when the ambulance shows up for Callie’s sister who tried to kill herself! The ambulance had NO SETUP in the xmas episode so it felt empty and manipulative. 

WHY WHY WHY?

[peachmangosteen]

Where the heck was Mike? I mean, we get a lot of time with the "wise" neighbor lighting guy but no mention of Mike. That's silly.

 

That annoyed me so much. Probably mostly because Mike is one of the very few characters on this shows I still actually like. But really it was such a glaring omission. If they couldn't have him in the ep, they could've at least mentioned what he was up to.

[Perfect Xero]

4) Why did all the kids sit at the dinner table like an audience during the phony fight about the earrings? Lena and Steph could have had that fight somewhere else. It was lame how the fight took place at the table and all the kids had to sit there like idiots not saying anything. Wouldn't they interject or try to de-escalate the tension. It was really silly to seeing all the kids sitting there like a bunch of dopes without any reaction or involvement. To see this type of scene done correctly, just watch an episode of Parenthood.  This scene made Steph look like a loser and a jerk.  The whole scene was so heavy-handed and ridiculous that I didn't buy any of it.

Given that three of the kids are the children of addicts and the other two have spent a significant portion of their lives in foster care, I'm not surprised at all that they'd put their heads down and be quiet when Mom and Mama and Grandma started fighting.

[SparedTurkey]

I don't think Jesus cared about the Christmas lights, he cared about winning so he could get the money (like $250?) He did the same thing when he sold Stef and Lena's bed. And even though he was in a tent, him and Mariana had a really sweet scene together, I thought anyway. And I think, with his lights, was the fact Mariana helped him, and I guess looked better than the neighbours? So that him taking his hat out of the ring had some kind of sweetness to it.

 

Also, I think, for an episode that was purely about christmas (network interference maybe? Pretty Little Liars is doing the same thing) I figured it was pretty well bookended into where it will eventually kick off next year.

 

As for Stef, I think they were driving at a number of things. 5 kids is heaps to look after, and she has been shown to be worrying about it before (Mariana's party, having the new baby etc), so I don't know that that was terribly OCC. But also, she said her mum was a massive spender, and while she was worried about not having the money, she was also worried that her mum wouldn't save the money to live off, given that she had it (and somewhat valid, considering Sharon bought the kids hovercrafts and stuff). She didn't know her mum was a saver, and I think going off evidence, it is hard to begrudge her assumptions. I don't think it was about 'my dad hates me' just a number of different stressful thigns - and at the time, Lena was just newly pregnant (I think?) so that was probably also driving her irritability. Not that she was right, but something to consider. Should they have had the fight on christmas eve dinner? No, probably not. But I don't think she was being a shrew just to be a shrew (consider how embarrassed she was that she hadn't got Lena a present too).

 

Jude - eh. It was nice what he did for Callie. And clearly he got the shopkeeper on a christmassy day. Same with Daphne (though if that was a flashback, you'd think there would have been some references to it before...which in this case was after....)

 

I don't know, I liked the episode as a whole, even if Lena's brother is a bit of a shoe-in to give her another family member after the stephen collins gross-ness. Which, considering what happened, I'm willing to roll with.

[RachelKM]

As for Stef, I think they were driving at a number of things. 5 kids is heaps to look after, and she has been shown to be worrying about it before (Mariana's party, having the new baby etc), so I don't know that that was terribly OCC. But also, she said her mum was a massive spender, and while she was worried about not having the money, she was also worried that her mum wouldn't save the money to live off, given that she had it (and somewhat valid, considering Sharon bought the kids hovercrafts and stuff). She didn't know her mum was a saver, and I think going off evidence, it is hard to begrudge her assumptions. I don't think it was about 'my dad hates me' just a number of different stressful thigns - and at the time, Lena was just newly pregnant (I think?) so that was probably also driving her irritability. Not that she was right, but something to consider. Should they have had the fight on christmas eve dinner? No, probably not. But I don't think she was being a shrew just to be a shrew (consider how embarrassed she was that she hadn't got Lena a present too).

I think it also worth noting that Stef was still grieving.  When someone you love dies, especially when you had a somewhat strained relationship, there are a lot of mixed emotions and you tend to be all over the place.  So, I'm willing to cut her some slack on the volatility. 

 

 

I don't know, I liked the episode as a whole, even if Lena's brother is a bit of a shoe-in to give her another family member after the stephen collins gross-ness. Which, considering what happened, I'm willing to roll with.

Agreed. 

Edited December 10, 2014 by RachelKM

[LisaM]

FYI - the ratings were great for the episode: 1.927 million and 0.7 - one of their highest ratings ever. It will be interesting to see if they do better in the 8 pm time slot than in the 9 pm one.

[Lorelei]

You guys really make some great points. I mean, intellectually all your comments make sense for my issues with the story. But emotionally, it just didn't carry me like the normal shows in the season. I dunno. I felt like they just phoned it in or had a room full of executives giving script notes who weren't clear on the show's spirit.

[HeatherinThailand]

For a Christmas episode just for the sake of having a Christmas episode, it wasn't terrible. While I was confused with the timeline, I eventually just decided to take it as a one-off and not think too hard about what happened when. My favorite line: Jesus saying "They broke my *baby* Jesus."

[Eeksquire]

I finally had a chance to watch the episode this morning.  I get why they had to do a flashback (otherwise, they would have had to jump WAY ahead of where we left off with the party and the Quinns), but as so often with this show, they get so many things right and SO MANY things terribly wrong.  The whole "Daphne kidnaps her child" subplot made me CRAZY.  For one thing, the reveal that she had a kid was a bit of a throwaway line and they really haven't mentioned it since, not at the burger joint, not during the "did you steal our Product Placement Amazon Kindles?" Daphne subplot, not at any point since the moment in the hallway at Girls United.  Then they have her go looking for the child, which: OK, but then: SHE KIDNAPS HER?

 

And... then the foster parents just kind of ... do NOTHING? About their missing TWO YEAR OLD? The two year old they want to adopt? And are the legal guardian of? So much no.  It took me right out of the rest of the storyline in the episode (which... was not great, but it's ok for a shoehorned-in Christmas episode).

[peachmangosteen]

. . . but as so often with this show, they get so many things right and SO MANY things terribly wrong.

 

This. It drives me batty. I wish they didn't do anything right because then it'd be easier for me to walk away from it.

Edited December 15, 2014 by peachmangosteen