S03.E16: EQ

[Tara Ariano]

Brandon's "Romeo and Juliet" production is jeopardized after another student raises concerns over the play's glorification of suicide. Meanwhile, Rita's daughter reaches out to Callie after Rita refuses to take her calls; and Stef teaches a class at a youth-outreach program.

[Reghan]

Considering I had to read Romeo and Juliet in 9th grade....I mean I'm pretty sure most people had to read it.

 

If it's a trigger than don't go see it.....duh. Problem solved.

[Reghan]

I agree with Mariana, schools shouldn't have to put trigger warnings on everything. If a student has an issue with something than they can go to the teacher privately to discuss alternatives. I mean seriously they'd have to put trigger warnings on literally every book we read.

[KaveDweller]

They didn't just want a trigger warning, they banned the whole performance at school. That was kind of over the top, just put a note on the flier or something. Although even that's a bit much....everyone knows Romeo and Juliet ends in a suicide. 

 

At the end I thought Sally was going to come in and say someone she knew had killed themselves, not that Monte kissed her.

Edited March 1, 2016 by KaveDweller

[omgsowicked]

Really enjoyed this episode!

 

I felt some Monte/Sally vibes in the last episode but I didn't think they'd actually go there (still yelled, "called it!" though, hehe). What the hell is wrong with Monte?! Now she's got to go but I wonder if she's twisted enough to actively threaten Lena with revealing how Jesus got back into the school. (To which Lena better say, "I'll let them know myself when I tell them about you.")

 

Every time AJ and Callie are together or being spoken about, I start laughing in anticipation of Brandon popping up with his mopey face. It's annoying and I'm tired of it but also, I am cackling. The only Brandon/Callie look I appreciated in this episode was the one where they made faces at each other during the debate.

 

Speaking of the debate over the play... it's very timely, what with all the trigger warnings and banning everything stuff that's going on. I'm glad they took a reasonable stance on it because calling for bans on triggering material is not the way to go. A similar storyline recently happened on Degrassi and they called for a ban as well. Compromise, anyone? (Shoutout to Rita's "we need to agree to disagree and we'll still be fine" because seriously, I think people have forgotten that that's an option.) I think everyone knows that Romeo and Juliet ends in a suicide but hey, put a note about it on the poster and don't make attendance mandatory. Done. Banning everything that is potentially offensive or triggering is gonna leave us with absolutely nothing.

 

Loved the Stef/Lena/Jesus plot. I'm hoping it's not just a one off, Jesus going to the class, and that perhaps some counseling is in store, because he's clearly reacting poorly to being rejected by Gabe. He did earn a talking to and a grounding for what he did but he also needed someone to talk to, to cry with. At least Mariana seemed to get that.

 

Boo @ Mariana and Nick... I was hoping she'd hold strong for a few episodes at least. I don't see his appeal. (Also, I was wondering if he wasn't American because I noticed some accent slippage... yep, Australian!)

 

I hope they continue to figure out ways to keep Rita in the mix because Rosie and Maia are incredible together.

[possibilities]

I think the better choice would have been to have a conversation about suicide and "romantic love" and all the issues raised by the play, make it a school-wide assembly or something, where they challenge the kids to think about things-- it's not like Romeo and Juliet is the only place kids get those stupid ideas. Because I also think it's very unfair to stop the student project, which could interfere with their graduation and make all their work so far a waste. It's great for kids to think critically and point out bullshit and ask the school not to sponsor it. But again: what is a constructive or appropriate response? Do you ignore it? Do you enable it? do you dialogue and look for better solutions? I thought the Chloe story and Stef/Jesus also highlighted those themes. Good job, show!

 

I was glad that Lena yelled at Stef-- just like Stef needs to soften up sometimes, Lena has a history of holding things in, and that's no good either.

 

Monte is the worst.

 

I usually like the way the show tries to show why people do stupid stuff and that even if you need to be firm, people have their reasons and sometimes deserve a chance at redemption. But I admit I find myself hating Monte and not caring what her deal is, I just want her shut down and I don't want to see her weep about her childhood or whatever made her be the way she is. Like with Dani, I don't care about her "side of the story," I just want her gone.

[Glade]

I hated how verbally abusive Stef was towards Hesus, and actually it wasn't the first time that they have yelled/been bigger assholes towards him then they are to the other kids.  He has feelings too, and this is obviously really hard on him so you could tell him how this isn't ok without tearing him down and also listen to what he's going through.  She obviously had no business teaching that class, and I'm kind of sick of Lena always excusing her as if it's inconceivable that she could ever change and grow.  It's really shocking that they have a house full of ex-foster kids, apparently none of whom see therapists.   

 

I found it insulting and patronizing the way they had to bring up the topic of trigger warnings via making it all about censorship and acting like it's "hypersensitive millennials" ruining campus culture as opposed to enriching it by bringing it up as a dialogue.  When actually I remember when I was in junior high some conservative parents complained about us watching Baz Luhrman's R/J when we were studying the play, and thus we were banned from seeing it as part of school.  Past generations had a lot of censors themselves, it's not just "kids today" as the issue is so often framed.

 

For a minute I really thought Chloe had died, but I'm glad that isn't the case as that would have taken the storyline to a much darker place.  Was Rita packing her things so that Chloe could move in with her when she gets out of the hospital?  That would be nice, since homelessness doesn't cure mental illness and CA got rid of their general assistance program years ago.        

 

I guess it isn't too surprising about Monte.  We saw her emotionally draw Lena in and then sexually harass her (a subordinate) at work.   She did the same thing with a student, which is crazy.  But Jude and Callie to quote s01e03 "jumped the wait list" when they initially came to Anchor Beach, so I don't see how that could become an issue now.  Maybe Lena will finally get the job she wanted.

 

I think Brandon is taking Callie/AJ rather well, actually, much better then he did in 3a. 

[rue721]

This episode felt a little clumsy, dry, and simplistic to me.

 

I don't really get why Jesus got in so much trouble for drinking. It's awful that he's getting plastered by himself and wondering to his bio-father's job site, but it's awful because he's hurting and needs a shoulder to cry on, not because of the drinking qua drinking. Also, if he were my son, I would be worried about him going on little proto-benders like that because his mother is an addict, but that didn't seem to be on his moms' radar. Mostly, I'm salty about him getting in so much trouble because when Brandon had to call Lena for help after eating that pot brownie, they didn't take it anywhere near as seriously, which seems unfair.

 

Stef is lucky that Jesus is apparently a very sweet kid, because when she yelled at him that she'd "kick his ass, and don't think I won't," she sounded ridiculous. If I were him, I would have just rolled my eyes and walked out the door. Nick could probably have put him up until the "grounded indefinitely" bullshit blows over.

 

In general, I think that Stef being misguided about giving Jesus "tough love" was meant to mirror Rita being misguided about giving Chloe "tough love." That's fine in theory, I guess, but I didn't really feel like either Stef or Rita were suffering because of deep empathy for their ~troubled~ children, so it just came off like they were being self-absorbed jerks who were oblivious to their kids' needs. Also, neither of them are hardasses in general, so it's difficult for me to buy them as "tough love" types, tbh.

 

Anyway, the actress playing Sally did a great job imo. When she was making the speech about why she wanted R+J banned, it was a lot more persuasive than I was expecting. Also, Brandon's "that's ridiculous!" and "it's a step from banning books!" lines were terrible, so after hearing his speech, I was pretty sure he'd lose the debate. I mean, calling something stupid isn't an argument, and R+J is also a written play, aka a book, so banning it is self-evidently banning books -- and everyone doesn't think censorship should never be an option.

 

The main thing I took away from that storyline was that I was pretty impressed that the school was so respectful of Sally's objection that they convened the honor board for a debate and vote on the topic, and that everyone took the ruling of the honor board so civilly. Although, shouldn't the honor board have actually discussed the ruling and thought about it for at least a few minutes before making it? The vote seemed really sudden and impulsive.

 

But yeah, I wasn't really feeling this episode. It was so heavy-handed. I get it, emotions are really intense and people need to use healthy coping mechanisms to deal with them. But if the episode was going to retread ground so thoroughly covered by Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street, they needed to bring the complexity of the storylines (and emotions) up to something beyond a preschool level -- but they didn't really bother to do that imo.

[gesundheit]

I have to admit I laughed out loud when Stef told Jesus refilling the vodka bottle with water is "alcoholic behavior." Oh, Stef. That's teenager behavior! That's "I'm siphoning off my parents' booze because I'm too young to buy my own" behavior! (Now if it had been her mother, that would've been alcoholic behavior. But also really bizarre behavior, since there's no reason she would've had to "borrow" someone else's liquor.)

[Ljohnson1987]

This episode was both intense and very dry. The suicide storyline was real.  Jesus needs to get his shit together. I'm glad that Stef admitted that she was doing everything that she was talking about in her class. So glad to see Rosie again.

[marceline]

Ick. So much drama about the play. Put the show on, explain that it covers intense themes, do an assembly about suicide, then move on.

 

I was kind of glad that Stef laid into Jesus at first. He was putting Gabe and Stef in terrible positions. Mariana bumping into him at the door was kind of heart-wrenching though.

 

I'm wondering if the show is going to tie Gabe's being on the registry with Monte's kissing Sallie. Gabe was just a horny teenager in lurve with his girlfriend while Monte clearly has serious issues.

[Primetimer]

Y'all knew Monte wasn't right. Al Lowe ranks the episode's key moments by emotional intelligence!

Read the story

[lovett1979]

They did mention that Jude was off somewhere (I don't remember specifics), which was why they had a spare bed for AJ.

[rue721]

I have to admit I laughed out loud when Stef told Jesus refilling the vodka bottle with water is "alcoholic behavior." Oh, Stef. That's teenager behavior! That's "I'm siphoning off my parents' booze because I'm too young to buy my own" behavior! (Now if it had been her mother, that would've been alcoholic behavior. But also really bizarre behavior, since there's no reason she would've had to "borrow" someone else's liquor.)

 

My dad "borrows" my liquor, but he doesn't refill the bottles. Why would he refill them? He doesn't care if I know he drank them -- he's my dad, so even if I were to call him on it, what am I actually going to do, ground him? (Well, what I actually do is keep my alcohol "hidden" from him, but there's no punishment involved LOL).

[Darian]

When I was in high school (class of 1979), we not only read Romeo and Juliet; we had a special multi-grade assembly to watch the movie (I went to school in Florida, y'all). We saw the 1968 version and a teacher had to get up and blur the nude scene (and didn't do it especially well, ahem) to much hooting! We also had a special assembly to watch The Great Gatsby (good grief, did we ever just have class?), so we go our share of cinematic violence, too. There were not trigger warnings, of course, but a girl left sobbing as

her father had killed himself the way a character did.

But that's a very intense, violent scene in a movie.(It's an old movie, but laying it safe)  

I'm wondering if the show is going to tie Gabe's being on the registry with Monte's kissing Sallie. Gabe was just a horny teenager in lurve with his girlfriend while Monte clearly has serious issues.

Wow, that would be something to explore. A female authority figure sexually abusing a male student has traditionally been viewed and handled very differently than a male authority figure sexually abusing a female student, but when it's a female authority figure and female student, I bet it would be a completely different kind of double standard. (I may not be expressing what I mean well; already burned out from Super Tuesday and haven't started drinking yet. Glad I don't have to water the gin).       

Edited March 1, 2016 by Darian

[Perfect Xero]

I laughed when Mariana told Jesus that Gabe is "tall like you", just because it's not something that would not have been said before they switched actors.

 

This show really likes to fake us out with death and then take it away. We had the implication that someone had died in the car crash last season, but then everyone was fine and Jesus was just at his new school. Now we have the implication that Rita's daughter had killed herself, but it turned out that she had survived the attempt and they were going to get therapy.

[ShortyMac]

 Ratings continue to suck. I guess the demo is holding steady, though.

 

[tennisgurl]

I knew Monty was going to pull something sketchy! That woman has got some serious issues, unless of course its Sally who is crying wolf about Monty kissing her. But I am thinking she is telling the truth. This could be really interesting, if they play it well. 

 

I just do not buy students freaking out that much over Romeo and Juliet, the one play that pretty much everyone has to read in Sophomore English. How sheltered are these kids? Do you have a bubble you want to crawl into now? And its funny that an episode where trigger warnings are said to be basically stupid, featured a trigger warning about suicide. Or, since they showed the episode and listed a suicide hotline, were they making a statement about the importance of talking about uncomfortable topics? 

 

Jesus is pretty bad at playing drunk, but I do think new Jesus is an improvement. 

[SparedTurkey]

I think Stef has been shown to change a little, especially since the convo with Lena in the last finale. She has been more responsive to being challenged - about the mastectomy and this episode about her anger. In an earlier season she wouldn't have listened to anyone about much. I don't mind her not listening to the kids' opinions because they tend to be wrong.

 

And even though Jesus looks 23 and is hanging out with a 30-year-old looking friend, he is still only supposed to be 15? So I'd be pissed if I was his parent coming home drunk....of course I hold an unpopular opinion of thinking the show lets Brandon get away with too much, considering the pot episode (which did Stef know about? Because if not that at least shows some continuity with Lena how being too critical). And I would be more pissed he was knowingly going back to Gabe with all those consequences at play.

 

And really, Callie's bill support is going to blow up in her face. And they dont have enough reason for why she is throwing Rita under the bus for the lady from The Practice. Shes not more charismatic that Rita and Rita has proved her knowledge and her metal - which is why Callie I assume organised a fundraiser for her not 2 weeks ago in this timeline?

 

I still love Mariana, dislike her taste in men.

 

Not interested in the whole trigger thing - but to the poster above I assume this episode included a warning about suicide because it directly showed a suicide attempt and they are legally required to put out a warning about that. At least they are in Australia.

[LisaM]

I was pretty meh about most of the episode. I really liked the Gabe/Jesus/Stef storyline - with the added complication that Stef is a cop and has knowledge that a sex offender is in proximity of a minor. Particularly liked Mariana walking in at the end and getting a glimpse of her birth father. I also liked Stef gaining some self awareness of her own anger issues while teaching the class/disciplining Jesus. Cracked up at Stef and Lena figuring out about the watered down vodka.

 

Bored to tears by the Romeo and Juliet storyline and the Anchor Beach controversy. I am decades past high school but I found it contrived that the school would entertain issues with Shakespeare. I was so bored that I FFd through the honor court. I also cannot get into Nick/Mariana because the actor playing Nick looks so much older. Completely blows the storyline for me.

 

The Monte/Sally situation is interesting. Last week, I definitely caught a vibe that something might be going on with them. The actress playing Sally looks a bit like Lena and that cannot have been a coincidence. The bigger question is whether Sally is now telling the truth or is she pissed at Monte for not reciprocating her feelings? Monte is not an idiot where her job is concerned. I don't buy her risking her career by kissing a student. She mentioned earlier in the episode that she was keeping her distance from Sally; I think that Sally is the one interested inappropriately in Monte and is lying.

 

I really like Rita and Callie together. I hope that Callie figures out quickly that Justina is using her and we can move on from that storyline. I like Smart Callie - not Being Taken Advantage of Callie. I also want to see Callie closer to the moms.

[Eeksquire]

I have to say that I'm feeling a little whiplashed by Callie's turnaround here - between telling moms about AJ's whereabouts, and then telling them about dating AJ in this episode and going to Rita - suddenly she's all about adult intervention and help? Even after she felt lied to when Stef went and picked up AJ and put his brother in jail? I mean, I get it that Stef tried to fix that by going to the brother's hearing (cannot come up with his name at the moment), but YEARS of distrusting adults have now vanished without a trace?

 

At the same time, I couldn't help but wish that Mariana had been upfront about the reason that the date was a "disaster" - I know they couldn't, if they're going to keep throwing the two of them together and have him Save the Play - but I feel like they're building to something there, with the reckless driving and Jesus' drinking, etc.

 

And speaking of Jesus... I thought it was a little much for Lena to criticize Stef for telling Jesus that Gabe didn't want a relationship with him.  It's the truth.  Even if he DID want a relationship with him, doing so would put Gabe in legal jeopardy (and put Stef in the position of having to do something about it - again, kinda sorta, because the show plays fast and loose with her cop obligations when it comes to her kids).  I don't think it's unfair to say that Gabe doesn't want a relationship with Jesus and Mariana even if the "BECAUSE HE WILL GO TO JAIL" bit is unspoken.  

[Gulftastic]

Isn't there some way for Gabe to be allowed to see his children, maybe supervised or something? Speaking from my own experience as a male rejected by his Father, Jesus' meltdown makes sense to me. It's a heck of a thing to get to grips with. 

[possibilities]

RE the difference in how Brandon was treated when he called Lena after the pot brownie, vs how Jesus was treated this week, I think there is a real issue there, but I also think there is a genuine difference between a kid calling for help when he knows he messed up, vs a kid hiding his problem, denying what he's doing, and developing a pattern of reckless, sneaky, and dangeorus behavior. Objectively, I think Jesus's behavior was much worse than Brandon's, in that Brandon did something one time, realized it was a mistake, confessed and asked vfor help, whereas Jesus did something repeatedly, hid it, put other people and himself at risk multiple times, and never came clean. I know I always got in worse trouble if I was caught before I confessed, and if something was a chronic problem vs a one time goof.

 

I do think there is also something to the idea, though, that Lena and Stef just "get" Brandon more than they "get" Jesus. Brandon is a mild-mannered nerdy co-dependent. Jesus is a rambunctious jock. I think the moms identify with Brandon's way of fucking up more than they do with Jesus's way. That doesn't make it right, and I was surprised at least Lena didn't sit down with Jesus and try to talk with him about what was happening, but I also think Jesus scares them -- because he's less like them, they don't know as instinctively how to protect him, and so over-correct.

 

Though actually I don't really know if I think they over-correct with Jesus or if they under-correct with Brandon.

 

Details of the R&J conflict aside, I think letting the students vote on whether to stop or allow each others' projects is a dangerous policy, especially when the "honor board" is so few people. This time, there were only 3, since 2 recused themselves. But even 5 is a small group, and the whole process is ripe for abuse and personal vendettas.They're practically inviting chaos. Also, there should have been an option to negotiate a compromise, so that something the adults had already approved and the kids had already worked on, would not have the rug ripped out from under them. The all or nothing approach is not only unfair but it's less educational as well. Creative problems-solving and win-win conflict resolution should be part of what they kids are learning.

 

I totally believe Monte kissed a student. She kissed a subordinate (a married one no less). And people do stuff all the time that jeopardizes their career if caught. Just look at all the sex scandals in real life. The student seemed pretty innocent to me, not scheming or manipulative, in other scenes, and also: what motive would she have to harm Monte, after Monte was so supportive of her, if it wasn't true?

[LisaM]

 

The student seemed pretty innocent to me, not scheming or manipulative, in other scenes, and also: what motive would she have to harm Monte, after Monte was so supportive of her, if it wasn't true?

 

What if Sally tried to kiss Monte and was rebuffed? She then made up the accusation to get back at Monte for shutting her down.

[Perfect Xero]

I don't think there's much to how Jesus got punished in this episode other than Stef being in a bad mood because of the surgery and taking it out on those around her. At least this time the writing was actually trying to highlight that Stef's behavior wasn't right.

[teenj12]

Suicide is a really huge problem, so I'm glad that the show decided to cover it again after everything with Sophia. However, the whole thing with the play was just a bit much. For the most part, I was on Brandon's side, however I think his speech to the Honor Council was terrible. Sally's speech was really well stated and actually made me think twice about my own position. The truth is, I totally get her problems with the teen suicide R&J, although I think that putting a trigger warning on the Play should be compromise enough.

 

Also, I've been wanting to say this for weeks, but can they stop already with this storyline that has 16-year old-looking Mariana dating 30-year old-looking Gabe? Seriously, this isn't the 90s or 00s anymore. I'm sure they could have found a suitable teen actor or young adult to play the role. Like, he's hot and all, but he looks old as hell compared compared to the "kids" that he's sharing the screen with. It's really not doing any favors for this storyline, which seems like it'll end in disaster, per usual for The Fosters.

 

I like Rita and Callie's relationship, but I would like to see more of Callie with her moms. Callie and Lena don't have much of a relationship, but Callie and Stef do, so it's weird that they've been more distant than ever since the adoption.

 

I feel for Jesus on the dad storyline. It's funny, because it's the exact opposite of how Callie felt with Robert last season. I also liked the scene when the kids banded together to get Drunk!Jesus into bed before Stef and Lena found out. 

[rue721]

I feel for Jesus on the dad storyline. It's funny, because it's the exact opposite of how Callie felt with Robert last season.

 

Even though Callie has been estranged from her (step) father, she did have someone who she thought of as her dad. They had their own complicated history and relationship. I think it's different for Jesus because he doesn't have a father-figure at all.

 

Well, and it's also going to be different because Callie and Jesus are very different as characters.

 

I don't think there's much to how Jesus got punished in this episode other than Stef being in a bad mood because of the surgery and taking it out on those around her. At least this time the writing was actually trying to highlight that Stef's behavior wasn't right.

 

That's probably true, but I did feel like they were being pretty callous toward Jesus. It's not a mother's greatest hope that her fifteen year old will come home toasted (multiple times), but it was obvious what he was upset about and why he was doing it. And how could he not be upset about finally finding his birth father and then being really, really bluntly rejected by him? Who wouldn't be upset about that?

 

I also find it pretty messed up that they aren't even bothering to look into something like supervised visitation to see if there's some way that Jesus could see Gabe legally (if Gabe were willing, anyway). Gabe could also be in contact with Jesus in some way other than face-to-face, like by writing him emails or letters. Maybe Gabe doesn't want *anything* to do with Jesus, but Lena and Stef could at least have a private sit-down with Gabe to make sure that's the case or whether they just need to find a workaround for the legal constraint of Gabe being on the registry.

 

But anyway, even aside from Stef punishing Jesus so harshly because she was in a bad mood, Lena and Stef also seem to see Jesus as immature and irresponsible, and are relatively strict and controlling toward him (in comparison with the other kids) in response to that. I think they assume the other kids don't need that level of oversight -- especially Brandon, who they seem to think of as very mature and responsible (imo, they tend to overestimate how mature and responsible he is).

 

It seems to me that Lena especially tends to be pretty hands-off. That makes sense for someone who's used to acting in loco parentis, since she's an asst principal/foster mother/stepmother/etc....but I wonder if she would act differently toward a child she'd birthed herself. Not that I think she would love a blood-related child more, but I wonder if part of why she's so hands-off is because she's used to staying cautious of overstepping? I guess what made me think of it was how Lena let Stef take over dealing with Jesus in this episode, in pretty much the same way she lets Stef take over dealing with Brandon -- even though she's Jesus's mother whereas she's Brandon's stepmother, and I would have thought that she'd be a lot more involved in parenting Jesus than in parenting Brandon because of that?

[Perfect Xero]

Even though Callie has been estranged from her (step) father, she did have someone who she thought of as her dad. They had their own complicated history and relationship. I think it's different for Jesus because he doesn't have a father-figure at all.

 

Well, and it's also going to be different because Callie and Jesus are very different as characters.

 

But anyway, even aside from Stef punishing Jesus so harshly because she was in a bad mood, Lena and Stef also seem to see Jesus as immature and irresponsible, and are relatively strict and controlling toward him (in comparison with the other kids) in response to that. I think they assume the other kids don't need that level of oversight -- especially Brandon, who they seem to think of as very mature and responsible (imo, they tend to overestimate how mature and responsible he is).

 

It seems to me that Lena especially tends to be pretty hands-off. That makes sense for someone who's used to acting in loco parentis, since she's an asst principal/foster mother/stepmother/etc....but I wonder if she would act differently toward a child she'd birthed herself. Not that I think she would love a blood-related child more, but I wonder if part of why she's so hands-off is because she's used to staying cautious of overstepping? I guess what made me think of it was how Lena let Stef take over dealing with Jesus in this episode, in pretty much the same way she lets Stef take over dealing with Brandon -- even though she's Jesus's mother whereas she's Brandon's stepmother, and I would have thought that she'd be a lot more involved in parenting Jesus than in parenting Brandon because of that?

 

Oh, I agree, they do come down much harder on Jesus than they do Brandon (or Mariana or Callie for that matter). And I do think that it's because, prior to the start of the series, Brandon had established himself as the "mature" responsible one they're prone to seeing his incredibly stupid actions as being one time mistakes and not something that will be repeated if they don't come down hard on him. Jesus, by comparison, is generally a normal teenage boy who makes normal teenage boy mistakes, so they come down on him hard because they're trying to prevent normal teenage boy stupid outcomes, like getting a girl pregnant or driving drunk.

 

Of course Stef and Lena also pretty clearly think that Brandon has had an easy life compared to the others, even though he has an alcoholic father, has been violently assaulted, and was raped by someone he trusted. They just don't know how to deal with Brandon stepping outside of the role they've decided he fits in, so they don't try.

 

As for Lena, I think that Stef is the sort of personality that takes over and Lena is more passive and compromising and defers to Stef when she disagrees rather than dealing with a confrontation, which has been the root of a lot of the relationship/marital issues between Stef and Lena in the series. That extends in to how they take care of the kids (and we saw the one time that Lena sided with Mike on a Brandon issue, Stef went behind their backs anyway).

[izabella]

I don't think it's unfair to say that Gabe doesn't want a relationship with Jesus and Mariana even if the "BECAUSE HE WILL GO TO JAIL" bit is unspoken.

 

I wish Stef had said "Gabe can't have a relationship with Jesus" rather than "doesn't want to have a relationship" if she intended the unspoken "because he will go to jail." 

 

I think she phrased it that way without thinking of how it would sound out loud to Jesus, even if he understood the unspoken.  It just sounds harsh to say it that way, and in his emotional state, it was probably hurtful in the moment.

[LisaM]

Going back to Callie and the moms, I recall how loving and tearful all three were at the adoption ceremony once the judge proclaimed Callie to be officially a family member. We haven't seen that kind of relationship at all this season. I would like to see more closeness between Callie and the moms - some display that she is happy to be the daughter of these two women as opposed to just being happy to having landed safely in a family.

[ShortyMac]

Going back to Callie and the moms, I recall how loving and tearful all three were at the adoption ceremony once the judge proclaimed Callie to be officially a family member. We haven't seen that kind of relationship at all this season. I would like to see more closeness between Callie and the moms - some display that she is happy to be the daughter of these two women as opposed to just being happy to having landed safely in a family.

It's been six episodes in to 3B; I agree. But, maybe it's because of her and Brandon having sex that she's holding off, which if that's the case, she shouldn't have let the adoption be granted.

Maybe it's better this way as that secret is probably going to come out by the end of 3B. I feel like the writers wouldn't let Brallie have sex if they weren't endgame. Callie's and Brandon's attempts to move on are likely done in vain. I'm just trying to face reality.

[Glade]

Stef/Lena's (mis)treatment of Hesus seems to be some wrongheaded response to his having ADHD.  As if they had read somewhere that his condition would only respond to harshness and aggression.  But in two years he will be an adult, and screaming in his face isn't going to help him learn to regulate his emotions/energy.  Nor does his diagnostic label mean he doesn't have valid feelings which can be empathized with, worked through, and understood.  As I recall, Stef made that comment to Mike about how "when you have two kids, you can't play favorites," yet they she treats Hesus wildly different then Brandon and Mariana in similar situations.  Hesus was really into playing basketball with Mike back in S1, I'm sure he'd love to be able to do that with his father. 

[jaytee1812]

Why do the kids call Monte by her first name? Don't they call Lena Ms Adams-Foster?

 

I think Sally was telling the truth, the way she was distracted walking passed Brandon, it felt real. 

 

Seriously Mariana has worst taste in men than Rory Gilmore (I'm marathoning Gilmore Girls just now). The 30 year old teenager she's dating is creepy. He reminds me of Mark Salling from Glee. 

 

I think Stef was right to be harsh with Jesus but wrong in the way she went about it. It wasn't just one incident like Brandon taking pot, there was a pattern of behaviour. 

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

The kids at Anchor Beach call the staff by their first names. I can't recall them doing so with Lena, but they did with Timothy and a one-off math teacher named Jeremy.

[Lady Calypso]

So, I fell behind because I wasn't interested in watching this half season, but am finally catching up.

 

First, the Jesus thing. I am so surprised Mariana hasn't told Stef and Lena the whole story about Jesus' activities. It's not just the drinking, but the car racing with Nick. I think that if Stef and Lena knew about that, they might have actually taken a different approach (but honestly she might have just gotten angrier). It's kind of good to see a different side to Jesus, one not obsessed with girls. His story with his dad, and seeing repercussions from the accident through Nick's car racing makes it more interesting. But then again, I always love when shows take storylines not to do with romantic love or cancer. I mean, Stef's cancer wasn't even about cancer (yet?) so that's why I like it. 

 

Stef was harsh in yelling at Jesus like that. I do know it's about her mastectomy and everything she's going through, especially with her classes, and yes Jesus did something wrong by drinking and not telling anyone, but she absolutely needs to apologize. Jesus just really needs a hug, someone to talk to, and it's too bad not even Lena really offered that. She told Stef, yes, but not Jesus himself. Sure, Stef got to apologize through the class, but I hope Stef works toward communicating with Jesus more. I think Jesus is the middle child now (there's Brandon, Callie, him, Mariana and then Jude) so I can see if he feels maybe left out and alone. Stef and Lena do treat the others differently so he might feel afraid to speak up and talk to someone. And honestly, after this, I could see Jesus not wanting to open up still, which sucks. He's a kid who's made mistakes. He's a kid who has had a lot to deal with over the last few months, starting with the accident. We know all the other kids have their issues, even Jude has. This time, it's Jesus' turn to deal with someone, and something not about a girl this time. Stef and Lena can handle girl problems. This is a different situation and one they have to take another approach on.

 

It seemed like this episode dealt not necessarily with just suicide, but self destruction, which suicide definitely falls under. Stef was self destructing through her anger, Jesus was self destructing through alcohol, then there was Rita's daughter's suicide attempt and emotionally manipulating Callie beforehand, and of course Sally's fight for Brandon's play to be cancelled because of the glorification of suicide. 

 

I enjoyed Callie and Rita's storyline. I think it was good that they're mending the bridge from last episode.

 

Also, Sally and Monte? Now, I wouldn't be surprised if Sally was lying, but I also think she's probably telling the truth. Monte's creepy anyway, and has done pretty bad things so it's a bit more believable she could have done this. Now, if Sally is lying, then I hope Monte gets justice. I like Sally, though, so I'll be so disappointed if this is the case. But she seemed really genuine and I'm not quite sure what lying would do. Plus, Monte was getting way too close to Sally anyway. Super creepy. 

 

Old Nick is creepy, and a pretty bad influence. I don't like him. 

[Mirmommy]

On 2/29/2016 at 9:08 PM, KaveDweller said:

 

At the end I thought Sally was going to come in and say someone she knew had killed themselves, not that Monte kissed her.

Me too! And it's crazy cause when Monte was gushing over Sallys ideas it kind of crossed my mind but I dismissed it of course, I mean she doesn't really give off Pervy vibes...but wow! I really wasn't expecting that. 

People these days are too freaking sensitive, I totally agree with Brandon's argument over R&j. It's not a trigger for anything it's just a play. 

I love AJ and I love him with Callie. 

Tbh I think Jesus needed that tough love from Stef but he also needed Lenas kindness. I think that's why they're such great parents. Maybe she shouldn't have been that harsh,  but at that age you need to start realizing that life is very unfair and you rarely get what you want.