S02.E21: The End Of The Beginning

[methodwriter85]

 

The writing is as absurd as nobody ever looking at Callie's birth certificate and seeing her father's name until she's 16.

 

Or you know, there being this ridiculous custody battle over someone who's less than 2 years away from turning 18.

[Perfect Xero]

I don't think I can deal with Stef celebrating her getting away with her whole blackmail plot. You're a law enforcement officer. You blackmailed someone. That's bad and you should feel bad!

 

I was thinking that Jesus would get injured in the car accident and no longer be able to wrestle, so he'll lose his scholarship to the boarding school and have to stay at home. Except that's probably too similar to the storyline they did with Brandon and his hand injury.

[alexvillage]

Just watched this yesterday.

Nothing to add about Jude and Connor. It is simply the best thing ever!

Hate Lou. Really hate the manipulative play.

Don't care about Lena and Monty. I wish the problems Lena and Stef are having would be resolved in a more original way.

 

I love the idea of Marianna being paralyzed (for the sake of disability story telling) but I think this is just too much for the show to tackle. Still hoping

 

I can't believe nobody said anything about Sophia (unless I missed something in the thread). I really liked that there was a conversation about mental illness that did not appeal to pity or shame or fear. Very realistic words from Sophia, still a little confused, trying to understand what is happening, how to deal with her diagnosis. All in a very short dialogue.

 

I hope they don't kill Jesus. I would love to see the actor go but killing him would add too much drama to the show

[peachmangosteen]

Robert is in the running for the most unselfish parent on the show.

 

He isn't just in the running, he won.

 

I think next season I'll keep DVRing the show but I'll just fast forward anything that isn't Jude/Connor.

[HeatherinThailand]

I *hate* that they ended on a cliff hanger! Not sure who died, but I hope it's not Jesus merely because if you're going to write a character off anyway, why do overkill by killing them in a car accident? (I'm looking at you, The O.C.!) With the break, I'm willing to bet the writers haven't even decided yet who will die, and this gives them a few months to figure it out.

So happy that there was finally a resolution to the Jonner storyline, as implausible as his dad's change of heart might be. Does this mean Callie's finally cleared to be adopted? Please, God let that be the season premiere and end this torturous storyline and give Callie a shred of good news for once. My throat is sore from yelling at the TV about all the ludicrous aspects of this custody battle.

[intensebeige]

Brandon was looking full-on Ross Gellar in that corduroy vest/paisley shirt combo.

[Kristen]

I'm hoping that this car accident thing is an intentional mislead like the ambulance cliffhanger at the end of 2A when they made us all think Sophia tried to kill herself, but it was actually Robert's panic attack. Killing Jesus would just be too impossibly sad, and change the whole tone of the show.

 

Also, goddammit, Monte, this is not The L Word. Keep your lips to yourself!

[stopeslite]

 

I'm hoping that this car accident thing is an intentional mislead like the ambulance cliffhanger at the end of 2A when they made us all think Sophia tried to kill herself, but it was actually Robert's panic attack

And they also just tried to make us think Connor was dead by giving the shooting cliffhanger followed directly by a preview showing Lena saying "It hurts to lose a friend" to a crying Jude, when that was two episodes later and about something else entirely. I don't trust them and their death scares one bit.

[teenj12]

This was a great finale. For once, I'm glad that Callie actually won. Even if the adoption process goes shaky again in S3 (we all know it will *eye roll*), I'm just glad that for once in a finale, Callie is happy and is getting what she has truly wanted this whole time - being a Foster. That night scene with Robert and Callie had me almost tearing. Maia Mitchell is such a fantastic actress. When Callie said 'The Fosters are home, they feel like home.", I was just so done, emotionally speaking. Whenever Callie and Robert have these heartbreaking moments, I swear that they produce literal acting magic that puts half the other cast members to shame. The grandfather was very rude and pushy, but I'm glad he was able to steer Robert into the right decision for Callie's wellbeing. Now, I don't for a second think that the grandfather actually cared a lot about Callie, but was more trying to eradicate a bad situation that has been getting out of hand for some time now. The more time Robert can focus on getting himself and Sophie together, the better. Trying to fight for a sixteen year old whose happy where she is at, just wasn't the best idea in the first place, especially with the issues going on with the daughter you have already.

 

Regarding the Connor/Jude thing, I do think the dad was a little quick to change his mind, but I think Lena's words struck him pretty hard, and we ALL know that Lena has a way with words. A way of making people understand her. When she told him that he couldn't keep 'all the boys out', I could just see the way Connor's father began to come down to earth a little. His son is gay, and as much as he'd try to stop it, Connor would experiment with boys behind his back. I think Lena's words ingrained that sentiment into him a bit.

I think leaving Jude and Connor alone to talk with the door closed was fine, actually. I mean, Connor's leg is torn up and he's probably physically strained, what the hell could he and Jude do anyways?

 

Finally, I really enjoyed Marianna's dance thing for the first time this season. Perfect use of Marianna's (and Emma's) passion for dance and their stellar smarts at math. To be honest, I feel like Mariana's been the one who's developed the most this season all along. At the beginning, she was still very juvenile as and used dancing to fit in, be one of the cool girls. But flash forward to the finale, she used dancing not only as a way to express herself, but to demonstrate her intellect. Not only with the dancing and math aspects, but I feel that Mariana has really matured as a person too, such as when she did the right thing by calling the cops during that dumb Pharm Party.

 

The thing is, they don't give Mariana the same screen time and front burner status as Callie, which is why her character development and struggles are often subtle and aren't as clearly put in our faces.

 

The car crash scared me to be honest, but I know they wouldn't kill off the twins. Jake T. may be leaving, but I theorized that they'll likely recast Jesus and give the character an injury that prevents him from leaving for that school thing. Thereby, the character stays on the show. As someone said earlier, there's a status quo to keep up. Jesus isn't that great a character at all, and his storylines are extremely worthless,....but it still wouldn't feel quite right with him out of the show and the house. Takes away from the dynamic. I remember back in S1, when Callie was out of the house for the Girls United Arc - her absence was definitely felt imo, the house just doesn't feel right without them all in it. Point.Period.Blank

 

My main worry about the car crash is that it somehow deems Lena and Stef unfit to parent Callie....I just hope to God that this incident doesn't mess up Callie's adoption. I know that seems like a trivial worry when a character could be dead, but God darnit, when Callie isn't happy, I'm not happy. Something about the way Maia Mtchell plays that girl when her dreams get stomped on....just gets me every time. every finale.

[xman4802]

I too loved the Connor/Jude moments even if I found them a bit unrealistic. I have a bit of sympathy for Monte. She seems genuinely lonely and isolated and perhaps found herself being drawn to Lena.  I don't feel she was being deliberately manipulative and I imagine that she is confused about her feelings.  That being said, I do find the character shift in Lena (if you can call it that) to be strange and I hope the writers go for a course correction.  That doesn't mean that the stresses that she and Stef have both undeniably been under cannot be the source of conflict and tension in their marriage, I just think the writers could explore that without involving a third party.

 

The Mariana/Emma dance team/STEM club storyline, which for most of the season I have not cared for really paid dividends  this week. I like how the writers slowly have built up their friendship and that they were able to have an honest disagreement and resolve it without descending into an over-angsty plot.  

 

Brandon with the twins as everyone else has noted was great. And I do agree with others that the chemistry between the actors made me believe that these were siblings who had grown up together.  

 

Mariana exploring the implications of extended family (beyond simply Anna and the baby) is also interesting and something I hope they explore. 

 

Concerning the accident. I have a hard time imagining that they would kill off Jesus (that would make the show way too dark) or the baby (so soon after Frankie's death).  I also would be disappointed if they killed off Ana just at the moment when she has redeemed herself.  I also think Ana raising the baby with help from her parents creates an interesting dynamic for the twins (or at least for Mariana) that could be lost if they kill her off.  

 

It does look like Jake T. Austin is leaving the show based on his tweets (which seemed awfully final sounding, like there was no possibility of a return or a recurring role). This is not necessarily surprising given how they have slowly but surely been writing him off the show. It also appears that he is leaving of his own accord, but who knows as the timing of his tweets and the attempts by the show's creator to downplay his tweets seem off and a bit suspicious. Certainly the teen girl fanbase was not pleased to hear of his exit, and I do wonder what TPTB will do to fill that void. Yes, Jake was a terrible, terrible actor, but he did bring in a particular demographic that has traditionally been lucrative for ABC Family.  

 

I am going to hope that Jesus (the character)  is leaving for boarding school and not because he has passed  away.  However, I just hope that if he does go to boarding school that the writers at least give us a throw away line every now and then and not disappear him the way that Parenthood did to the Haddie character.  

 

I remember the creators suggesting that if the show lasted enough seasons that Stef and Lena might foster additional children.  Perhaps with Jesus at boarding school (funded by a full scholarship) and Brandon about to go to college (perhaps on some kind of music scholarship), Stef and Lena could foster a new child.  What I don't want is angst-drama over the death of Ana, Jesus, or the baby.

Edited March 26, 2015 by xman4802

[alexvillage]

PSA Re: Mariana's dance team

 

I surely hope that in the back of the writers head there was a sign at the entrance of the auditorium warning about strobe lights.

That is a major seizure trigger and seizures can actually kill.

 

Actually, ABC Family should have put a warning before the episode because the trigger does not have to be "live".

[Lady Calypso]

I'll be honest, at first I was wondering how Jake T Austin could leave the show realistically without getting killed off. Like I said earlier, his parents were already hesitant on sending him to Colorado and after the accident, I would imagine they'd be even less willing. I don't think they'll kill Jesus off either, because losing Frankie was big enough and like I said, I have hopes for the character still. I just think Jake needs to take his break, go for acting lessons and come back. And I did think for a moment after the episode 'they could always coma-fy his ass and wake him up at the end of the season'. That way, he can appear occasionally in coma scenes, he's not dead but he's also not at boarding school if they can't find a good reason to still send him there. I doubt that's where they will go, but I could work with that. They wouldn't even have to show him all that often; just make mentions of the family going to visit him and boom, problem solved. Also, it would be a different way to...you know, demote the actor, have him not show up that often and still bring him back if/when he's ready to. It's not as bad as death, and it may not be as easy as just sending him away either. 

Edited March 26, 2015 by jessied112

[GenevieveS]

Pretty weird that the state didn't find that abundance of family back when the twins were in foster care. And they didn't find Callie's bio dad despite having her original birth certificate on file. The state in this show sure sucks at tracking down relatives for foster kids.

Also, Ana had the twins till they were like six,right? So she hid their existence from her parents AND all her brothers and cousins? The more family members magically pop up, the less believable the backstories that led to foster care are.

Most states depend on the birth parents to point them to nearby "appropriate family" as potential kinship placements. If Ana told the caseworker her parents were dead (for example), they probably wouldn't have verified that. If Ana surrendered her parental rights (as opposed to having them terminated in court by a judge), then the search would have only looked for a birth father, not for maternal family members. If Ana couldn't or wouldn't tell them the birth father's name, they would "advertise" (in the paper) for a set period of time and then just terminate the absent father's rights if no one showed up. (I recently finalized an adoption through foster care, although not in California. The child's birth parents surrendered their rights and we were told that this means there is no legal extended family. The parent's surrender cuts off everybody in the biological tree.) The impression I had from both Ana and her parents was that the break was total and complete and that it was only her recent sobriety that led her to attempt to reach out to them. (Now, a good caseworker will point out to a parent how much better off their child will be with a family member and try to encourage the parent to give the caseworker some people to check out, even "family friends," but we have no idea how good a caseworker the twins had....and even the best ones are often too overburdened to push an uncooperative parent too hard for information like that.)

 

I have no excuse for the Callie's birth father issue, other than to say that nobody probably looked at it carefully until they were trying to finalize an adoption. Didn't they say that the birth certificate in the casefile had been altered to say Donald was the father, but when they requested a new original was when the new name showed up? Caseworker turnover is awful. (One of my foster kids had 4 caseworkers over the 7 months he lived with me.) Every time the caseworker changes, something can slip through the cracks. The fact that no one saw it til they were all at court for finalization is just ridiculous TV drama; it should have been noticed when they were trying to get all the paperwork in order for the finalization.

 

I only watched the last episode once. Do we know for sure there really is a fatality in the accident that Ana and the twins were in? Stef got called to an accident that she was "close to" (or something like that) with a fatality, but I have this sense that we just saw the image of the wreck of the car Ana was driving while hearing that dispatch comment. Someone else mentioned all the death fakeouts we've had already....I can't help but wonder if the accident with a fatality is a completely different accident!

[evilolive]

I'm glad Callie's storyline with her birth father was resolved so well. It was interesting how it played out. At the start of the season, Sophia wished they could adopt Callie which came from a very immature and entitled place. Sophia's childish wish was mirrored in how Robert's character was revealed over time. Like his dad before him, he repeatedly showed entitlement/insensitivity towards his family even though his heart was in the right place. At the end of the season, he finally grew up and separated from his dad. In the end, he did the right thing for both his daughters. He's not trying to impose himself on Callie but letting her choose for herself and make space for him in her life. Sophia's no longer a miserable show pony, but is now getting the space and understanding she needs to be herself.

 

Loved Jude's storyline - I didn't think Connor's dad's change of heart was far-fetched. It's frustrating not getting to see more of Connor coming out but, at this point, Adam's had a few days to digest the news. His reaction to Lena's words seemed to me like the final realisation that he can't control his son, however hard he tries. From his behaviour, I think Adam may have suspected/guessed Connor's orientation before he even met Jude. We saw him externalise his fears by projecting onto Jude - he thinks Jude's gay/Jude's got to be kept away so as not to corrupt his son etc. But if Connor is, in fact, straight, that makes no sense. The only way it makes sense is if Adam already thinks Connor might be questioning his sexuality. The controlling behaviour we've seen over the course of the show comes out of Adam's wish for Connor to be "normal" and the fear that he's already out of his parental control. The "spanking" and forbidding him to see the kid with the two lesbian moms is his last-ditch attempt to impose his will on his son. Poor Connor. Thank goodness for Lena, who's done a pretty amazing job this season of protecting Connor as well as Jude. 

 

I have not much to say about the other storylines, but predict it will be Ana who dies in the crash and the baby will go to her grandparents. Stef and Lena are in no place for a new baby. Ugh, Monte. Please go away and Lena can finally be school principal, as she deserves. 

Edited April 1, 2015 by maraleia
removed effeminate- word is derisive

[KaveDweller]

Except they showed the other team say something like "they don't have six dancers on stage, so we'll automatically win" but then apparently the virtual dancer counted as the sixth.

 

It sounded like they never set up rules for the dance off.  Because when the girl pointed out they only had 5 dancers it sounded like she was questioning whether that would actually count.  They said it was going to be a school vote, right?

 

I don't think Jesus is dead.  I think they're sending him to boarding school and the actor is using the accident as a way to sound like his leaving is a bigger deal than it would have been otherwise.

[Perfect Xero]

I'm glad Callie's storyline with her birth father was resolved so well. It was interesting how it played out. At the start of the season, Sophia wished they could adopt Callie which came from a very immature and entitled place. Sophia's childish wish was mirrored in how Robert's character was revealed over time. Like his dad before him, he repeatedly showed entitlement/insensitivity towards his family even though his heart was in the right place. At the end of the season, he finally grew up and separated from his dad. In the end, he did the right thing for both his daughters. He's not trying to impose himself on Callie but letting her choose for herself and make space for him in her life. Sophia's no longer a miserable show pony, but is now getting the space and understanding she needs to be herself.

 

Sophia was not miserable because of anything that her parents did or didn't do, or because of needing space to be herself, she was miserable because she had a chemical imbalance in her brain.

[Bringonthedrama]

. Thank goodness for Lena, who's done a pretty amazing job this season

Lena's one-on-one scenes with Brandon, Mariana and Jude touch me far more than the drama/relationship stuff involving Brandon, Calllie, Mariana, Jesus or Jude and their various significant or insignificant others. She just loves them unconditionally, doesn't do denial (i.e., truth about Mike's predator gf) and wants them to stand tall with their gifts/talents (i.e. Mariana is good at math). I adore how she connects with these kids -such a great example that you don't need blood ties to form a family. 

[evilolive]

 

Sophia was not miserable because of anything that her parents did or didn't do, or because of needing space to be herself, she was miserable because she had a chemical imbalance in her brain.

 

Interesting. I wasn't discounting Sophia's chemical imbalance, I just didn't mention it. I tend to be more interested in the psychosocial factors in storylines like these. That say something about me, I guess. You seem to be saying that environmental factors play no part in the development of personality disorders. I may be reading too much into it, but if that's the case, then I think we're watching a different show!  

 

I want to be clear though, I wasn't trying to assign blame to Robert for Sophia's illness. These things are really complicated and overall I think The Fosters does a pretty good job of showing the nuances. It manages to tread a very fine line between criticising systemic problems of society and showing the need for foster kids (and all kids) to take opportunities to develop the skills necessary for living a good life, despite terrible things that have happened in their pasts.

 

Sophia is a very interesting character to me because we were shown from the moment she was introduced that she was in a lot of pain and no one around her was aware of it. She was hardly aware of it herself. She had no way of articulating her suffering. Contrast that with Jude who was able to say, "I already hurt" when Callie warned him not to get too close to the Fosters. When he was struggling with anxiety and stopped speaking, people close to him (Connor, his teacher at Anchor Beach) picked up on it very quickly. In his family, he got the space and therapeutic help to deal with it before it went too far. I'm not saying the situation with Sophia is the same, they are different people, but it's interesting to contrast the two situations. By the time we met Sophia she was already in a state of crisis - and her parents had never noticed how on the edge she was, or any of her teachers at her expensive private school. She was being hothoused and she was just supposed to be able to deal with the pressure. But kids can only deal with that kind of academic pressure if they have the love and connection at home. Sophia's mom and dad obviously love their daughter and were doing the best for her in line with their inherited world view and their own limitations as people. But they are very disconnected from each other. Fortunately, Sophia survived her suicide attempt and her parents are in a social and financial position to get her the best help available. But actually, to really help her in the long run, they also need to work on getting closer as family, and not just on getting her medication right. So that's why it's step in the right direction for Robert to realise that he can't just "fix" his own unhappiness by throwing money at Callie and forcing her to come and live with him. 

 

Yeah, so, it's complicated. People are individuals, and the show does a good job of showing how things operate on different levels. I would have been interested to have seen more development of Jesus and the complexities of his ADHD, but I guess that got dropped for some reason and now the actor is leaving the show. 

[karas]

Re: the nature vs. nurture origins of personality disorders:

I didn't hear if Sophia specified what personality disorder she has so I'm not referring to her situation in particular.

 

But I did take a class on Borderline Personality Disorder..... it is caused by a combination of nature & nurture -- a chemical imbalance AND an invalidating environment.  The outdated stereotype is that the individual is an abuse survivor but that isn't necessary.  They could have had any long term invalidating experience, like a mismatch of parent-child personality types where their interests are devalued. 

Edited March 27, 2015 by karas

[alexvillage]

Sophia did say it was borderline personality disorder.

[possibilities]

My main worry about the car crash is that it somehow deems Lena and Stef unfit to parent Callie.

How would the accident do that?

As I recall, the twins were at the police station, waiting to be sent somewhere after they were taken from Ana's custody, and Stef saw them there. That's how she and Lena got started with the adoption. I think it was implied that Stef basically fell for them right there at first sight, and I can imagine that a stable home with a cop and a school admin as parents looked like a good enough solution to the average overburdened social worker, and maybe they didn't bother to look for any family alternatives after that. It's pretty clear that Ana was strung out and not a reliable source of info and maybe the system just said: Fine! Great! Take them! What a lucky break! I can imagine Stef in Stef-mode, not really encouraging anyone to look very hard or ask any questions.

It's true the show likes to generate shocking moments and cliffhangers that are total misdirects. They did have Stef get shot, but she recovered really fast. All the other ones have been basically total red herrings.

I hadn't thought about the possibility of them recasting Jesus. I guess Roseanne did that with one of their kid characters. I do think the show benefits from having the full roster of siblings, but I don't know how I feel about inserting a new actor vs sending Jesus to boarding school/acting class. And if they want more siblings, they can always write new ones, if the Jesus character is more easily disposed of via wrestling scholarship than reformed and renewed. Most of his stories have been pretty dull, so we might not miss him as much as we think we would.

[Bringonthedrama]

Yes, Sophia said BPD, that she has a chemical imbalance and felt better finding that out. Then the grandfather and his wife show up and the grandfather implies that the reason Sophia tried to kill herself and was making some changes in her life (that grandpa didn't like) was because Robert had become so focused on being a father to Callie, it messed with his beloved granddaughter's psyche. I thought it was interesting (not in a good way) that he didn't seem to feel any emotion at meeting his nearly grown granddaughter for the first time, and talked about her while she was sitting right there like her existence and introduction into the family (as handled by Robert) was responsible for the princess being a mess. The grandfather must have really, seriously disapproved of young Colleen to treat his new granddaughter this way. 

 

Also, wanted to ask about something in case I missed scenes. Callie said she was mad at her mom for lying to her and lying to him - assumed she was referring to Colleen never telling her about her Robert, and never telling Robert about the pregnancy. But with all the shenanigans Stef pulled, was she actually referring to a recent incident involving herself and Robert?

[possibilities]

Callie specifically said she was mad at her mom because if Robert had known she existed, he would have taken care of her and Jude. I don't think that could refer to Stef or Lena.

 

ETA: RE Jake bringing in a certain demographic, I think they could easily cast another teen boy with abs who can actually act. It would probably bring in even more of the same fanbase, because the emoting would be more effective. I'm sure there are hunky boys in the foster system who could be brought into the family, or dudes at school who one of the other kids could date. For that matter, they could have Connor take his shirt off (Hayden says in interviews that Gavin is muscular), or one of Mariana's biological cousins-- or Callie's/Sophia's-- could become a recurring character.

Edited March 28, 2015 by possibilities

[Perfect Xero]

Interesting. I wasn't discounting Sophia's chemical imbalance, I just didn't mention it. I tend to be more interested in the psychosocial factors in storylines like these. That say something about me, I guess. You seem to be saying that environmental factors play no part in the development of personality disorders. I may be reading too much into it, but if that's the case, then I think we're watching a different show!  

 

I want to be clear though, I wasn't trying to assign blame to Robert for Sophia's illness. These things are really complicated and overall I think The Fosters does a pretty good job of showing the nuances. It manages to tread a very fine line between criticising systemic problems of society and showing the need for foster kids (and all kids) to take opportunities to develop the skills necessary for living a good life, despite terrible things that have happened in their pasts.

 

Sophia is a very interesting character to me because we were shown from the moment she was introduced that she was in a lot of pain and no one around her was aware of it. She was hardly aware of it herself. She had no way of articulating her suffering. Contrast that with Jude who was able to say, "I already hurt" when Callie warned him not to get too close to the Fosters. When he was struggling with anxiety and stopped speaking, people close to him (Connor, his teacher at Anchor Beach) picked up on it very quickly. In his family, he got the space and therapeutic help to deal with it before it went too far. I'm not saying the situation with Sophia is the same, they are different people, but it's interesting to contrast the two situations. By the time we met Sophia she was already in a state of crisis - and her parents had never noticed how on the edge she was, or any of her teachers at her expensive private school. She was being hothoused and she was just supposed to be able to deal with the pressure. But kids can only deal with that kind of academic pressure if they have the love and connection at home. Sophia's mom and dad obviously love their daughter and were doing the best for her in line with their inherited world view and their own limitations as people. But they are very disconnected from each other. Fortunately, Sophia survived her suicide attempt and her parents are in a social and financial position to get her the best help available. But actually, to really help her in the long run, they also need to work on getting closer as family, and not just on getting her medication right. So that's why it's step in the right direction for Robert to realise that he can't just "fix" his own unhappiness by throwing money at Callie and forcing her to come and live with him.

 

I think that the root of Sophia's problem is the chemical imbalance she was suffering. Yes, there were things in her environment that probably exacerbated the situation for her, but she wouldn't have been happy without competitive horse riding and a tough school.

 

As to the comparison to Jude, of course people notice when a teenager does something drastic like stop talking. People are much less likely to notice when a teenage is sometimes moody or complains about school. That the insidious thing, the coping mechanism of people developing depression is often try to hide their depression (especially from those they care about) until they get to a point where they just don't have the energy to put up the mask any more at which point things are looking very bleak and  they may be seriously contemplating suicide.

 

The Quinns didn't fail to notice Sophia's issues because they weren't close enough as a family, they failed to notice because depression is a bastard. Now that Sophia is being medicated (and likely in therapy), she's better able to articulate her issues to her parents, and that's going to be good for all of them.

[karas]

Thanks for confirming Sophia has Borderline PD.  It's a messy condition that's linked to eating disorders, suicide, self-harm (cutting or burning like Sophia had), drug use, and crime.  Unfortunately, there isn't a single medication that works specifically for it.  Dialectic Behavioral Therapy is the ONLY known effective treatment for Borderline.  Fortunately, its co-morbidities, like depression, ADHD, ODD (Oppositional Defiance Disorder), and anxiety, can be treated with medications.  fMRIs have proven that people with Borderline are not neurotypical but home environment plays a major role.  The way Grandpa Quinn behaved was very invalidating, for example.  If family and friends learn how to interact with the person in a validating manner, it goes a long way to shifting some of the unhealthy behaviors.  It would be great if the show would explore it more.  People with BPD are highly stigmatized to the point that many counselors refuse to work with them.  

 

If anyone is wondering to be diagnosed with BDP, you must have 5 of the criteria below:

1. Fear of abandonment
2. Difficult interpersonal relationships
3. Uncertainty about self-image or identity
4. Impulsive behavior
5. Self-injurious behavior
6. Emotional changeability or hyperactivity
7. Feelings of emptiness
8. Difficulty controlling intense anger
9. Transient suspiciousness or “disconnectedness”

 

Also, in the past, clinicians diagnosed more females with BPD.  However, in recent years, clinicians realized that men being diagnosed with Anti-Social Disorder actually qualify for BPD too.  As a result, many, many men who are in prison likely could be diagnosed as Borderline.

Edited March 28, 2015 by karas

[evilolive]

Thanks for the information, karas, very interesting. I also read that the factors involved in developing BPD are 'heterogeneous and multivariate', which seems to me what we've been shown with Sophia. 

 

The Quinns didn't fail to notice Sophia's issues because they weren't close enough as a family

 

I didn't say "because" and to me it's not that simple. I love it when shows deal with serious topics in a sensitive way. The main theme of The Fosters is to show different models of relationships in families, and the effects that different experiences of parenting have on children. We see it with all the characters, with the adults as well as the young people. Sophia's storyline is interesting to me because it was handled very well. 

 

of course people notice when a teenager does something drastic like stop talking. People are much less likely to notice when a teenage is sometimes moody or complains about school

 

When I think about a show, I like to relate storylines to each other when it seems to me that the show runners are developing particular themes. I could have made a comparison to a lot of different situations we've seen on the show and it would have been valid. Jude not speaking was on my mind because I'd recently re-watched those episodes.

 

I don't think the nature of Jude's symptoms were necessarily likely to be noticed and attract the right kind of help. The point of The Fosters, to me, is to show how it's often only thanks to a flukey set of circumstances that people get the help they need, when they need it. That storyline showed how lucky Jude was to be in a safe place. Had it happened in his previous foster home/school, with Callie in juvie, he could have gone for weeks without speaking and been overlooked. 

 

depression is a bastard

 

 

Yes, it is.

 

I can relate to a lot of the situations in The Fosters because they resonate with experiences I've had and because it's amazingly well-written when it comes to showing that everyone is flawed and complex and muddling through. 

[possibilities]

I don't want to debate the merits of the DSM, but with or without the diagnosis in hand, I think the show played it very bluntly that Sophia's unhappiness was not subtle or well-hidden. She was from her very first appearance acting like a desperate semi-robot. Callie saw how unhappy she was. They gave Sophia scenes where she said things like maybe it would have been for the best if she hadn't been born-- not in a fit of pique, but in a quiet moment. Bailey Madison is a skilled actress, and I don't think it was an accident that she played Sophia like she was miserable in ways that could be seen. For her parents to have no inkling whatsoever, even after witnessing things that had every viewer of the show + Callie note her despair, to me says at least something about the state of the family. It doesn't mean there's nothing else going on (like a chemical imbalance), but I don't think we were meant to see the family as being nurturing or tuned in either. I think it's forgivable that Robert and Jill didn't know how seriously Sophia was suffering, but I also think it's saying something that they had no clue at all that she had problems.

 

I think Grandpa was just being a dick when he blamed the discovery of Callie for the difficulties in Sophia's life, but at the same time,  whatever the illness, it's harder to cope when your life is stressful than when it's conflict-free and roses all the time. So, in my view, chemical imbalance or not, having shit blowing up around you and being in a situation where you have no friends and your parents think that's fine because "school comes first" and you are being kept busy with academics and "activities" --while they don't really notice your misery-- can certainly help put you over the edge and past the coping point when you're a teen, whether you have a chemical imbalance or not, but especially if you do it would be all that much harder to deal with it under those conditions.

[Perfect Xero]

I don't want to debate the merits of the DSM, but with or without the diagnosis in hand, I think the show played it very bluntly that Sophia's unhappiness was not subtle or well-hidden. She was from her very first appearance acting like a desperate semi-robot. Callie saw how unhappy she was. They gave Sophia scenes where she said things like maybe it would have been for the best if she hadn't been born-- not in a fit of pique, but in a quiet moment. Bailey Madison is a skilled actress, and I don't think it was an accident that she played Sophia like she was miserable in ways that could be seen. For her parents to have no inkling whatsoever, even after witnessing things that had every viewer of the show + Callie note her despair, to me says at least something about the state of the family.

 

Her parents didn't witness things that viewers of the show did though. She said that line about not being born to Callie when the two of them were alone. A scene later Robert tells her to show Jude how to tie a knot because she needs to work on it and she sticks her tongue out at him and they both laugh. She didn't act like a robot around her parents.

 

 

Thanks for confirming Sophia has Borderline PD.  It's a messy condition that's linked to eating disorders, suicide, self-harm (cutting or burning like Sophia had), drug use, and crime. 

 

 

I'm not sure where people are getting the idea that Sophia specifically has BPD? All she says in the episode is that she has a personality disorder, which she then refers to as a chemical imbalance.

[LisaM]

I could easily see the show recasting Jesus; I've watched enough soaps -- and Bewitched, Roseanne, etc... - to see how it could be done. Alternatively, they could do a significant time jump and comment how the boarding school was willing to take him even though he was unable to wrestle for awhile. I don't think that they will kill off the character. Assuming that the character is not immediately recast with a hunky teenaged boy, I think that the show will introduce some other characters to grab that part of the viewing demographic who are up in arms over JTA's departure. From the artwork, we know that the twins have male cousins who could fit the bill.

 

Agree with Bringonthedrama above regarding Robert Sr's blatant disregard of Callie while she was sitting right there. What an asshat!