S04.E09: New York

[Tara Ariano]

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Brandon travels to New York for his Juilliard audition, where he meets a girl who forces him to take a hard look at his relationship with Cortney; Lena and Stef shock the family with an announcement; and Callie's friendship with Aaron leads to trouble with AJ.

[balmz]

wow callie is stupid, i am so done with her, i know people hate brandon the most but really it;'s callie, why can;t we have a callie free episode instead of jude free, then it'd be a real winner

 

mariana is a tool with jesus and him being hurt and not helping when they thought they had to move

nice to see aj and mike have bonded

[ShortyMac]

Callie is stupid. I can't. I've never cared about Aaron or Kyle or her story line with them. More of her and her senior project, please. Such a waste.

So glad Jude got caught with Noah. I cheered. I wanna see him get yelled at. He's been such a douche.

Hm...will Stef make detective?

Loved the flashbacks, minus Brallie.

That Lena/Mariana scene - perfection. So, so good.

Plot device - Jesus' ADHD meds wouldn't come in the mail. And how has he not noticed that any of his are missing?

Obviously, they'd be able to avoid moving.

I liked what Ariel said to Brandon about what it takes to be a student at Julliard.

Finally, a good moms kiss and a tender moment, which the kids interrupted, of course.

[ShadowFacts]

I'm really officially not interested in any more of Callie's sexcapades.  But at least after this one, Mike told it like it is to Stef.  Yay Mike.  He's so right.  

Lots of characters took stupid pills this week, Callie busting in the house is probably the worst.  But Brandon staying up all night before his Julliard audition is right up there. 

Jude is becoming a real little shit.  Smoking pot in the garage, getting ready to have sex while in the 7th grade, and lipping off to Callie every chance he gets--he's become very unlikable.

The resolution of the house sale felt kind of cheap.  All that angst and then a basic financial maneuver at the last minute.  Sucks to be Lena's mother, she's not going to be able to have much of a retirement, thanks to her husband.

Best scene was Lena telling Mariana how she came to love her.  Those two acted the hell out of that. 

[Karen885]

Did Brandon seriously play Moonlight Sonata for his Juliard audition?  Even I know how to play that song and my piano skills are mediocre at best. Kids play that in recitals when they are like 10 years old. No Brandon, you did not"kill it".

[Valny]

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Callie busting in the house is probably the worst. 

  I really thought the guy would catch her inside he'd hold her hostage or something.  So how did the weirdo guy know where Steph lives? Her address is not on the card is it?

 

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Loved the flashbacks, minus Brallie. 

I tuned in a half hour late, what were the flashbacks?

Edited August 23, 2016 by Valny

[ShortyMac]

1 minute ago, Valny said:

 So how did the weirdo guy know where Steph lives? Her address is not on the card is it?

I tuned in a half hour late, what were the flashbacks?

That's what I thought, too. 

Jude was gathering stuff to sell in their garage sale and saw the PSP that Connor gave him and he remembered that moment.

Callie took out trash and saw the spot where she and Brandon kissed at the wedding.

Lena remembered when she asked Stef to buy the house with her, bad wigs and all.

[FrumiusManxome]

I've been over Callie for a very long time, and she's just making it worse. Mike is totally right. Callie definitely shares some of the blame. And what Stef (and Lena) tend to gloss over is that it doesn't matter *why* Callie jerks people around, she still does it. She has definitely toyed with every single boy she's come into contact with. She's had her reasons and she doesn't mean to, but she does. And she needs to be held accountable for that. Once more her Detective Callie storyline does nothing for me. We've known basically all season that she's right so all we're doing is dragging out the inevitable i.e. Kyle getting out of jail. AJ needs to dump her. She's totally lied to him about the Aaron situation. It's one thing to know her 'friend' has got the hots for her, it's another thing entirely to know that Callie has technically encouraged the advances since she's not only already proven that she'll cheat on her BF, but also spent exorbitant amounts of time with him without really laying down the law. 

I love Jude not putting up with Callie or letting her off the hook. I hate how he's been acting in general lately, but I like how he's consistently the only one who calls Callie out on her BS. I'm glad he and Noah got busted though. I'm really sick of this storyline. Also, I really wish Stef and Lena would up their parenting game. He's literally 14 about to go who knows how far with his BF. Literally all of their FIVE kids are about to have had sex before they were even 16. 

Mariana's plot felt really left field and kinda dumb tbh. Like who cares that Lena didn't want to adopt you then? That was like 9 years ago. She obviously got over it and definitely loves you. Jesus didn't care so I didn't really see why she was so upset. I know she's dealing with stuff, but it felt like filler so we didn't have to really follow up on Nick or the pills. 

Lena was annoying me. I know the house has memories and all, but they have tons of crap, 5 kids, and needed to be out within a week. This, unfortunately, is not the time to get bogged down by nostalgia or dream house hunting part 2. I know Stef jumped the gun a bit, but seriously what was she supposed to do when they're about to get tossed on the street and Lena is dragging her feet? I feel bad for Lena's mom though. Her husband really screwed them over.

I'm glad Brandon actually went to his audition. I was crossing my fingers the entire time. I agree that Moonlight Sonata felt really generic. Idk how these types of things go, but I thought he would play something he wrote to show off his composing skills too. I'm glad he didn't call Courtney and just dump her like that. I hate her, however, she does deserve more than that. I also like how she can see the writing on the wall. She's definitely just waiting Brandon out at this point. I really hate how they've involved a child in this though. Mason seemed really into Brandon and without his Dad coming around any more (presumably) I'm sure he got really attached to him. I hope he gets accepted to Julliard next episode. For all the stupid stuff Brandon has done on this show I have always 100% supported his music and I do want him to succeed in this. 

[Chrysolophus]

7 hours ago, Karen885 said:

Did Brandon seriously play Moonlight Sonata for his Juliard audition?  Even I know how to play that song and my piano skills are mediocre at best. Kids play that in recitals when they are like 10 years old. No Brandon, you did not"kill it".

Quite; the first thing I thought was that Moonlight is waaaaay too easy for a Juilliard audition. He also played the thing about seventeen times louder than it should be. I am rationalising by assuming that Brandon actually performed the full sonata, including the ferocious third movement (although honestly it's still a bit tame, because the second movement is also fairly straightforward). I'm trying to remember if we heard him practising it in previous episodes.

[omgsowicked]

When I heard Brandon playing that song, I said, "oh no, don't cut this in with Callie doing something stupid," and that's exactly what they did. LOL. Brandon bugs but Callie's working her way up my list. I'm glad someone's in Brandon's (and AJ's) corner. I really hope Mike adopts AJ, it was nice to hear him refer to AJ as one of his sons. I did like Callie and AJ, despite the whole foster brother issue she has, but his face after she told him everything... I want him to break up with her.

Mariana has always been sensitive about being wanted and stuff, so I'm not surprised she was so hurt by the diary. I still remember Lena and Mariana's scene where Lena told her she wished she could have been pregnant with her, so I enjoyed this emotional scene.

Jude's been pretty miserable lately so I'm glad Stef and Lena finally see that he's not the sweetie pie he used to be (that flashback of him and Connor... wow, that feels like forever ago). I'm especially glad they he got caught on his own, no one ratted him out. I had to chuckle at his zingers at Callie, though. He wasn't wrong.

I'm thinking Brandon will forget to snag the letter before Cortney sees it, and then won't get into Julliard, and be 0 for 2. Though it's clear he's not into the relationship, and Cortney knows it, so it won't be that much of a loss there.

So the home crisis has been averted... seems a little sudden and convenient but at least it's not Callie's bio family swooping in and saving the day. I don't like the intimidating detective stuff, or that guy staking out their house... I don't think anyone will be killed off but it definitely seems like they're ramping up to something sinister.

[possibilities]

Who thought Mike would be the voice of reason? Mike!! If that's not a wake up call for Stef, nothing will be-- which is annoying. I liked that he didn't frame it as "Callie is a bad kid" but as she has issues that need to be addressed.

Those flashbacks to younger Jude and Connor-- I had not remembered them being THAT young-looking. Connor, even more than Jude, seemed soooo different. 

I thought Lena was at fault this time, in the Stef-Lena conflict. Stef maybe should have told her she was going to start looking also, since they were running out of time, but this is a situation where Lena really couldn't afford to take her time, and it's not the first time that she has hesitated when there was a real and important deadline (the  morning after pill was another one, in S1), so I don't think it's all Stef's fault they have this problem between them.

Lena also should have said no to letting the buyers invade their space and push for earlier contractor entry while they were still living there.

Brandon's audition was ridiculous. They didn't have to show him actually playing, if they weren't going to make it credible. But maybe this will be why he doesn't get accepted, since I don't see them shipping him off to NYC and no longer being on the show-- though that does sometimes happen, I don't really see it happening here. Also, he had his go-to hangdog look while playing-- no intensity or concentration in his face or posture; he actually looked drowsy and bored.

I wonder if the suspected murderer is actually the real murderer. We've been led to believe he is, but maybe he isn't. If he is, and he's got newspaper clippings on his wall describing the crime, that is really creepy. So maybe there is more to this story. Maybe he's innocent, and is trying to figure out what happened because he knows he is a likely suspect, or he knew the victim (maybe she was kind to him like she was to Kyle). Of course, when he sees the car, he will think it was Stef, not Callie. I figured he got her name from her card, and looked her up to find her address. On TV, cops never have good security. I don't find it impossible to imagine he could figure out where she lives. Maybe he even got the license plate on the car. He saw it there when he arrived home, and clearly was suspicious. He could have written it down then, before even going into the house-- which would also explain why it took so long for him to get inside.

Mariana being hurt about thinking Lena had opposed the adoption didn't seem strange to me. What gets to me is that she's not being up front about her situation with Nick, and that she's still spooked by him having been hiding out in the house.

Jude getting caught was good. I can't believe he was smoking out there while the moms were home. It's like he wanted to be caught. Maybe that's the point.

I had sex at 15 and I don't think it did me any harm. I don't think the moms are paying enough attention to or dealing with a whole range of issues they should be dealing with, but I'm not actually bothered by the kids being sexually active. I like that the show has made a point of showing all the teens being conscious about consent, protection, respect/boundaries. I think that's a more useful set of messages to model for teens than abstinence. These kids are more mature than most of the adults having sex on tv shows, to be honest. Even Mariana's mess with Wyatt was portrayed in the context of her low self-esteem, and a mistake, and that was the most casual we've seen any of them be. I like that the kids can make mistakes and not carry around a scarlet letter and lifetime stigma over it, but they also aren't showing it to be nothing. Most of them are actually discussing things with their partners, not just hooking up randomly. And Jesus, arguably the one who's been the most casual in general, has been shown to regret his casualness and prefer something more serious. I think that's a decent thing for the show to portray, instead of just "teen party culture"-- even when the kids drink, it's taken fairly seriously, and not all of them do it, even when others around them are. In some ways, these kids are actually more restrained than a lot of tv teens.

The "filing for divorce" scheme strikes me as shady. Can they really stop a sale that way? It shows bad faith at best, since they agreed to the sale already. The buyers are going to be really pissed, and probably have a right to be.

[North]

While I think Lena has some blame, Stef continues to do things without discussion between them.

One little conversation about what she wanted to do would have been nice.

[possibilities]

I agree the communication is a problem, but it cuts both ways. Lena didn't warn Stef (or ask her if it would be OK with her) that the buyers would be walking through with a contractor, either.

I don't understand why this show thinks it needs SO MANY points of conflict and drama ALL THE TIME, though. Is there ever a single person or relationship on this show that's not full of tension? I agree with this Vulture review, which says:

The Fosters has been relying on these gimmicks to amp up the drama all season, when the truth is that the show doesn't need them.

http://www.vulture.com/2016/08/fosters-recap-season-4-episode-9.html

[marceline]

I can't with Callie's stupidity. Breaking and entering to steal evidence that won't be admissible. Great job Detective Codumbo.

I did feel for her and AJ having to sit in that closet and listen to Mike (rightfully) drag her but those things needed to be said. I haven't really had the issue with Callie/AJ that some people have. They met before AJ became Mike's son although I acknowledge the conflict. I guess it's because I think AJ is generally really good for her. He's patient and honest. Even the way he asks about Aaron is in a "Just be straight with me. Is something going on?" fashion. Brandon would be pouting and passive-aggressing all over the place. Speaking of good boyfriends, where's Mat? Mariana is popping pills and building robots and he's nowhere to be found.

The conflict with Lena and Stef to me is a good example of not dealing with the elephant in the room. Stef wasn't resentful that Lena didn't tell her the contractor would be stopping by. She's pissed because they were selling the house to save Lena's parents. That's the kind of resentment that tears marriages apart and even though the house is safe now, I fully expect that this is going to be the thing that gets brought up in every fight for years.

And Brandon...sigh. I just can't with him.

Edited August 23, 2016 by marceline

[ShadowFacts]

2 hours ago, possibilities said:

Brandon's audition was ridiculous. They didn't have to show him actually playing, if they weren't going to make it credible. But maybe this will be why he doesn't get accepted, since I don't see them shipping him off to NYC and no longer being on the show-- though that does sometimes happen, I don't really see it happening here. Also, he had his go-to hangdog look while playing-- no intensity or concentration in his face or posture; he actually looked drowsy and bored.

Brandon's audition is probably going to sink him from getting accepted, but they laid it on a little thick with his musical choice and staying up all night.  His NYC new friend recognized he had to mentally move on from what was holding him back, but didn't think no sleep was a problem? 

About Jude -- he is showing pretty bad judgment, he is self-soothing with drugs I think.  That to me says he is not ready for a sexual relationship.  He's in 7th grade, few that age are equipped for handling that.  He is hesitant, he said something like well, everybody has to have a first time.  Doesn't sound like he really wants to.  I think he's better off following his initial instinct and holding off for awhile.  If he goes forward, that means 100% of the kids in that household have been sexually active, and that's not an accurate reflection of American teen life.  Not that accuracy plays a huge part in tv drama, I realize.  It just might be refreshing to show a kid who does not want to have sex, and doesn't.

[izabella]

6 minutes ago, ShadowFacts said:

It just might be refreshing to show a kid who does not want to have sex, and doesn't.

I agree.  There are just as many, if not more, teens who choose not to have sex simply because they aren't ready as there are those who want to try it as soon as possible.  They are underrepresented on tv!  I was happy to see Jude and his friend content to wait until they are really ready to do it together.

[IntoTheMystic]

I have way too many feels. I'm chock full of feels.

The Lena and Mariana of it all destroyed me. My wife and I adopted two kids. I admit 100% that in the beginning, I was only doing it to appease my wife because she was so invested. It took me a while to realize that I didn't need to carry a child or donate an egg or anything that was biologically ME to have a real connection. My children are my babies and I love them ferociously. But I'd never want either of them to know how much I doubted doing it. So, I sat and cried like a baby watching that and picturing my daughter. Sheri and Cierra acted the ever loving HELL out of that scene and it was so beautiful and genuine. I loved it. 

Callie has truly become some writer's Mary Sue at this point. It's the only thing that can explain her being written the way she is. She's "Super Callie" who is supposedly selfless and brave and wounded, yet strong and able to leap into windows in a single bounce. I think they WANT us to see her as a champion of the little people, but all I see is someone who needs Jesus's focusing meds a lot more than he (or Mariana) needs them because she can't concentrate on any one thing --- she's all over the place all the time. She's impulsive and stupid and I don't buy for one iota of a second that this Kyle kid is so important to her that she'd do *anything* to free him. If he's that important why didn't she visit him before now? He apparently didn't live all that far from the Foster's house.

Jude. His badness makes me hum 'Judas' by Lady Gaga. I still love him, but he's falling apart.

None of the other storylines really affected me one way or the other. It's just that ... my eight year old plays the same piece Brandon auditioned with and that's tragic.

 

Edited August 23, 2016 by IntoTheMystic

[KaveDweller]

Why didn't Lena's mother tell her sooner that she was working on negotiating with the IRS? Or that she had an option to get a loan? 

[possibilities]

Why didn't Lena's mother tell her sooner that she was working on negotiating with the IRS? Or that she had an option to get a loan?

I guess it's not just Stef who doesn't communicate.

[maraleia]

I really think Stef and Lena should lay down the law with Callie and ground her. She also needs to be relationship free for awhile. What happened to her job? Or her Girls United friends? She still isn't a part of Anchor Beach because she hasn't done anything extracurricular at the school which is troubling. They should've had her use her photography skills for the yearbook or something like that instead of these foolhardy missions. Callie doesn't have to be the conduit for the foster kid part of the show because now we have AJ.

Here's a promo pic that was released ahead of the show with Hayden. Look at how young he was.

http://www.spoilersguide.com/media/images/51/ff/f28ee6420aa0beb2ef5cc589c94a.jpeg

[ShortyMac]

36 minutes ago, maraleia said:

What happened to her job? 

FYI: Not a Burger Stand, a real restaurant in Burbank, CA where they filmed, closed about a year ago. So, there went Callie's job on the show.

http://www.facebook.com/notaburgerstand

[ShadowFacts]

It just occurred to me that it was a bit odd that the real estate agent would shoot herself in the foot and tell Stef and Lena how to try and sink the deal, thereby losing her commission when she was unable to pay her own bills because of frozen assets.  The more likely course of action would be have the sale go through and help them find another house, thereby benefiting from two sales instead of none.

[Aliconehead]

15 minutes ago, ShadowFacts said:

It just occurred to me that it was a bit odd that the real estate agent would shoot herself in the foot and tell Stef and Lena how to try and sink the deal, thereby losing her commission when she was unable to pay her own bills because of frozen assets.  The more likely course of action would be have the sale go through and help them find another house, thereby benefiting from two sales instead of none.

She did not mean to tell her.  She was on the phone with her ex-husband and said something about being unable to pay the bills because their assets were frozen.  Stef and Lena overheard this and that gave them the idea

[izabella]

1 hour ago, maraleia said:

I really think Stef and Lena should lay down the law with Callie and ground her. She also needs to be relationship free for awhile. What happened to her job? Or her Girls United friends?

OMG, this, a million times this!  She constantly needs to be in a relationship - how many guys have there been in this year or two time period of the show?  I know teen girls like boys a lot, but she seemingly is unable to be without a relationship.

And how about an actual girl friend that isn't a foster or needing Callie's "help" (Girls United)?  How about a plain ole friendship with someone from that supposedly awesome school?  Not one single person there is worthy of Callie's friendship? 

[Perfect Xero]

A moment of silence for the poor couple who bought the Foster Adams house at 10% over the asking price being screwed over at the last minute by another Foster Adams manipulation of the system.

I don't even know how to deal with Callie being dumb enough to break into the home of someone she believes is a murderer. Not only that, she knew this guy had a dog and broke in banking that this murderer's dog would be a docile pet who would be friendly to a stranger and wouldn't attack her on sight, she didn't even bring treats to bribe it with or anything!

[marceline]

20 minutes ago, Perfect Xero said:

A moment of silence for the poor couple who bought the Foster Adams house at 10% over the asking price being screwed over at the last minute by another Foster Adams manipulation of the system.

 

A couple with a baby on the way.

[maraleia]

This show really needs to slow down with the drama and do more character moments like the one with Lena and Mariana. Also, we need more Mike and dare I say Ana on this show.

One thing either Bradley or Peter said on twitter last night is they would like a bigger budget so they can do different things with the show.

[Perfect Xero]

28 minutes ago, marceline said:

 

A couple with a baby on the way.

Even better!

[ShadowFacts]

8 minutes ago, Perfect Xero said:

Even better!

The whole thing could have been avoided if a) Lena's mother had moved quicker, or b) Lena and Stef had moved slower.  They shouldn't have put the house up for sale until absolutely forced, thus giving them time to find a new place together, and averting the unsavory business they are now going to go ahead with, filing for divorce and then withdrawing the petition.  And giving more poor ethical examples to their kids.  The whole plot was a dead ender. 

[AmandaPanda]

19 hours ago, ShortyMac said:

Plot device - Jesus' ADHD meds wouldn't come in the mail. And how has he not noticed that any of his are missing?

Actually, they might. If he has been using the same dosage for long enough, the insurance company might say that they won't pay for it to come through a pharmacy, that it needs to be maintained through a mail service because that tends to be cheaper. He would still have to maintain an active prescription through a doctor, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them come through the mail. Also, Jesus isn't terribly observant. I doubt he'd notice a few missing. 

9 hours ago, possibilities said:

Jude getting caught was good. I can't believe he was smoking out there while the moms were home. It's like he wanted to be caught. Maybe that's the point.

I had sex at 15 and I don't think it did me any harm. I don't think the moms are paying enough attention to or dealing with a whole range of issues they should be dealing with, but I'm not actually bothered by the kids being sexually active. I like that the show has made a point of showing all the teens being conscious about consent, protection, respect/boundaries. I think that's a more useful set of messages to model for teens than abstinence. These kids are more mature than most of the adults having sex on tv shows, to be honest. Even Mariana's mess with Wyatt was portrayed in the context of her low self-esteem, and a mistake, and that was the most casual we've seen any of them be. I like that the kids can make mistakes and not carry around a scarlet letter and lifetime stigma over it, but they also aren't showing it to be nothing. Most of them are actually discussing things with their partners, not just hooking up randomly. And Jesus, arguably the one who's been the most casual in general, has been shown to regret his casualness and prefer something more serious. I think that's a decent thing for the show to portray, instead of just "teen party culture"-- even when the kids drink, it's taken fairly seriously, and not all of them do it, even when others around them are. In some ways, these kids are actually more restrained than a lot of tv teens.

The "filing for divorce" scheme strikes me as shady. Can they really stop a sale that way? It shows bad faith at best, since they agreed to the sale already. The buyers are going to be really pissed, and probably have a right to be.

Jude already being sexually active doesn't surprise me at all. Kids in the foster care system are forced to grow up faster than other kids. That doesn't always mean they would become sexually active earlier, but there's no denying Jude is very mature for his age. I don't think he really wants to, but he probably feels like it's just the next logical step. I want to like Noah, but I definitely don't think he's the best influence on Jude. 

The filing for divorce scheme is so shady. At the very least, they could be sued for fraud. I know a couple that got divorced so the wife could get Medicaid. When they were married, their income was too high for her to qualify. We were all super worried for them because if the government found out that they were doing that, then they could both be arrested. 

1 hour ago, Perfect Xero said:

A moment of silence for the poor couple who bought the Foster Adams house at 10% over the asking price being screwed over at the last minute by another Foster Adams manipulation of the system.

I don't even know how to deal with Callie being dumb enough to break into the home of someone she believes is a murderer. Not only that, she knew this guy had a dog and broke in banking that this murderer's dog would be a docile pet who would be friendly to a stranger and wouldn't attack her on sight, she didn't even bring treats to bribe it with or anything!

Seriously, the sheer abuse of power and sense of entitlement they have pisses me off so much. Stef constantly abuses her power as a police officer. Now, they're screwing over a couple with a new baby on the way. No wonder the kids act so selfishly. 

As for Callie, of all the things she could have stolen that would have the guy's DNA, she goes with his toothbrush. That's basically the #1 thing that someone would definitely realize is missing. So stupid.

[IntoTheMystic]

My wife and I have fostered 18 children so far. 17 and 18 are still here. One thing I've definitely noticed with foster kids, and God I hate to make such a sweeping generalization, is that they start having sex very, very young, are boy/girl crazy before they're tall enough to ride the big kid rides, and little ones know more about sex than *I* know at 40.   I think Callie, having suffered a rape at such a young age and immediately losing that foster family after she thought it was a good place, has a need to feel protected and sheltered by men because her father failed to protect her mother so her mother died. She wants to be saved, but she's expecting the opposite sex to do that for her instead of saving herself. She glommed onto Brandon because he helped her with rescuing Jude. She glommed onto Wyatt because she needed a Brandon-free distraction (and Wyatt is just so pretty with that commercial hair and smile) and she knew Wyatt loved her. She glommed onto A.J. because, again . . . a pretty distraction from Brandon and she liked how much he loved and wanted to find his brother. She saw herself in AJ and figured he's a solid guy.

I am eternally grateful to have a mainstream series like this that positively and (sort of) accurately portrays the foster system. It's not a happy place for a child and despite all the good that we try to do, these kids are in a constant spin cycle they have no control over. It's so easy to do more harm than good and with Callie, there's a darkness there that hasn't been dealt with. She firmly believes that she will NEVER be happy or get a happy ending. She self-sabotages at every fork in the road. It's hard to watch. It's very hard to watch and I don't love how she's been written for a while now, but massively damaged people make massively massive mistakes. Hers are nothing if not impressive.

[Scarlett45]

5 hours ago, IntoTheMystic said:

My wife and I have fostered 18 children so far. 17 and 18 are still here. One thing I've definitely noticed with foster kids, and God I hate to make such a sweeping generalization, is that they start having sex very, very young, are boy/girl crazy before they're tall enough to ride the big kid rides, and little ones know more about sex than *I* know at 40.   I think Callie, having suffered a rape at such a young age and immediately losing that foster family after she thought it was a good place, has a need to feel protected and sheltered by men because her father failed to protect her mother so her mother died. She wants to be saved, but she's expecting the opposite sex to do that for her instead of saving herself. She glommed onto Brandon because he helped her with rescuing Jude. She glommed onto Wyatt because she needed a Brandon-free distraction (and Wyatt is just so pretty with that commercial hair and smile) and she knew Wyatt loved her. She glommed onto A.J. because, again . . . a pretty distraction from Brandon and she liked how much he loved and wanted to find his brother. She saw herself in AJ and figured he's a solid guy.

I am eternally grateful to have a mainstream series like this that positively and (sort of) accurately portrays the foster system. It's not a happy place for a child and despite all the good that we try to do, these kids are in a constant spin cycle they have no control over. It's so easy to do more harm than good and with Callie, there's a darkness there that hasn't been dealt with. She firmly believes that she will NEVER be happy or get a happy ending. She self-sabotages at every fork in the road. It's hard to watch. It's very hard to watch and I don't love how she's been written for a while now, but massively damaged people make massively massive mistakes. Hers are nothing if not impressive.

I'm not surprised foster children tend to become sexually active earlier. They are EXTREMLY vulnerable to exploitation by adults and sex is currency. When you have little to no stability in your life, no one there for you because you are YOU, people do what they have to do to survive (emotionally as well as physically)- if that means using sexuality for protection and resources you will do it. 

I am glad Mike said something, and I'm also MORE glad that it wasn't a "Callie is a Jezebel ruining my poor boys with her whorish ways."  I think Mike cares for Callie as well, and I agree, she latches on to these relationships with foster brothers in part to re-enact what happened with Liam. 

Although AJ is hot as hell so I'm not mad at her about that one (Get it girl!??)

I like how the show has really kept track of Mariana and Lena's relationship. They are both two sensitive souls, and you can really see their connection. 

Edited August 24, 2016 by Scarlett45

[evilolive]

Quote

About Jude -- he is showing pretty bad judgment, he is self-soothing with drugs I think.  That to me says he is not ready for a sexual relationship.  He's in 7th grade, few that age are equipped for handling that.  He is hesitant, he said something like well, everybody has to have a first time.  Doesn't sound like he really wants to.  I think he's better off following his initial instinct and holding off for awhile.  If he goes forward, that means 100% of the kids in that household have been sexually active, and that's not an accurate reflection of American teen life.  Not that accuracy plays a huge part in tv drama, I realize.  It just might be refreshing to show a kid who does not want to have sex, and doesn't.

I agree he's self-soothing and also with the person who said they want to like Noah but he's not the best influence on Jude. Jude is still feeling hurt about the break up with Connor and is vulnerable given his unsettled background and having been abused by his foster father. At the same time, he's a very smart kid and Callie's experiences have made him hypervigilant. He wouldn't have taken the drugs in the first place except it was an accident, then he found out he enjoyed it and rationalised that they helped him do well in his test. Recipe for disaster. Hopefully being caught by Stef and Lena means he'll be on the receiving end of some top-class parenting and he'll get what he needs. But I hope Jude won't have sex with his boyfriend for a while. He's been shown to be interested in sex and he does turn to his parents and his siblings for advice, which is good, so maybe when he's 15.

A couple of people have said Jude's in 7th grade. Not to be picky, but he's in 8th grade. Babyfaced Connor gave tiny Judicorn the PSP in season 1 when Jude was 12, then Jude had his 13th birthday around November, also in season 1. Callie gave him the witch figurine for his birthday that he sold at the garage sale. The show is making an effort to show that Jude is growing up and season 4 seems to be moving a bit quicker. It's summertime in the show now, yes? So Jude will be 15 in a few months.

[Lady Calypso]

I also agree that Jude is finally going through some trouble (I always thought that he was too well adjusted, even with his incidents over the series) so seeing him lose control now is kind of refreshing. Noah is such a bad influence on Jude and they have no idea. Jude's definitely hurting after his break-up with Connor so maybe we'll get some insight on his feelings soon. But he's still being a brat and Stef and Lena need to deal with it.

Ok, so Mike did a good job in explaining to Stef that Callie needs to be held accountable for her actions. I love how protective he is over not only Brandon, but AJ (and he called him his son!) It sucks that Callie and AJ had to overhear this, but it needed to be said. I've never loved Callie and she's always been the cause of her own problems. She needs help and nobody's been helping her. I'd love a Callie free or Callie light episode. I'm sick of her drama, I really am. She's really being portrayed as some sort of perfect character who gets away with all the crap that she does. I mean, Brandon does too to a certain extent, but he gets punished more than Callie. I know Callie's been through a lot, but she's adopted now and she knows that she's wanted by the family. Now it's time to be a parent and ground her, punish her, whatever. And if she runs away like she often does, you throw her into jail for a night and then ground her again. She needs to learn that she's part of the family now, which means she has to be punished when she doesn't listen to her moms or when she does something illegal or dangerous. 

If Callie's in her senior year along with Brandon, shouldn't she be looking at colleges? 

I feel for the family having to sell their house because of Lena's father's mistakes (and especially in such a short time) but that poor couple with their growing family losing that house because the Adams-Foster family found a way to save their house. That being said, I'd be surprised if this divorce plan actually works. I'll be willing to bet something else happens. Maybe Callie's bio father finally makes a reappearance and gives them money to save the house. Because if they actually get a divorce, one of them have to move out to keep up appearances. 

I skipped anything New York Brandon, I'll be honest. 

I felt for the Mariana/Lena scene. I was adopted myself and although I fall under Jesus' reaction of being surprised and maybe a little disappointed but ultimately moving on from it, I can see Mariana's point of view. Plus, she's still dealing with the Nick situation. 

It would be nice to see Jesus getting some one on one scenes with his moms, though. It's usually Callie, Brandon, and Mariana (and to a lesser extent, Jude). Jesus needs his own moments like this. Plus, show, you have a better actor now that can handle it! 

The flashbacks were nice. I forgot that Hayden and Gavin were so, so young in season 1. They literally look so different and that was only three years ago.

[ShadowFacts]

5 hours ago, evilolive said:

A couple of people have said Jude's in 7th grade. Not to be picky, but he's in 8th grade. Babyfaced Connor gave tiny Judicorn the PSP in season 1 when Jude was 12, then Jude had his 13th birthday around November, also in season 1. Callie gave him the witch figurine for his birthday that he sold at the garage sale. The show is making an effort to show that Jude is growing up and season 4 seems to be moving a bit quicker. It's summertime in the show now, yes? So Jude will be 15 in a few months.

I'm not sure of Jude's age or grade, but I thought I heard somewhat recently in-show a mention of 7th grade.  I could be wrong and just read it somewhere.  I don't know if it's summer, either, but unless they have year-round school, which I don't think they do, they are somewhere in the middle of the school year.  My viewpoint as to Jude is that he's just too young/immature to get sexually involved for essentially the reason that everyone has to have a first time.  Taking it further, I think all the kids, maybe excepting Mariana, have too much time on their hands for getting into thorny sex/drugs/danger situations.  They should be busier with extracurriculars and jobs and volunteering, as many have posted in the past.  Plus those sorts of activities open up dramatic possibilities outside of relationship angst and Callie's investigative abilities.

[tennisgurl]

Callie Callie Callie...I really like and care about Callie (not my favorite character, but I am rooting for her) but she makes just terrible choices, all of the time. I mean, breaking into a creepy guys house to steal his stuff? When you know for sure he has a possibly dangerous dog? I get that you really want to help your foster brother, but COME ON! This goes beyond just Kid Detective, and into legit mental problems focusing around her obsessive need to save people.  

This leads me to the constant "lena and Steff need to keep an eye on their kids" plot. I mean, I get that they are struggling with the house, and they are going through stuff, but all five of your kids are having serious issues, and you hardly seem to notice or react? Honestly, all the kids need to be in therapy, or at least they need to be more aware of their kids issues, beyond the surface, and should be trying to get them some help of some kind. 

Oh what a sucker I am for Lena talking about her feelings for the kids! So many feels. 

I am glad that Mike called Steff out on only blaming Brandon from the Callie/Brandon debacle. He does clearly care about Callie, and clearly knows that she isn't doing any of this out of maliciousness, but she does have issues with relationships, and, as much as I like Callie and AJ as a couple, I do get his point. Its certainly not as creepy as Brandon/Callie ever was, but AJ and Callie were foster siblings for awhile, and they are still part of the same big extended family. It might end badly, especially if Callie does end up with new guy of goes back to Brandon (both of which are perfectly plausible), and then what would happen?

So, committing a bit of fraud now? And the couple buying the house seemed like nice enough people, and they have a little kid, and another one on the way. Great lesson for the kids. 

[Bobcatkitten]

I just can't get over how out of control ALL of their kids are:

One is playing amateur detective and breaking into people's homes while also having sex anywhere she can

One is doing marijuana every day and almost having sex

One is stealing meds and taking them

One is off in New York for a major life event without any of his three parents around

One is recovering from nailing himself in his head and presumably still having casual sex with his maybe-girlfriend

[Scarlett45]

58 minutes ago, scribe95 said:

I just can't get over how out of control ALL of their kids are:

One is playing amateur detective and breaking into people's homes while also having sex anywhere she can

One is doing marijuana every day and almost having sex

One is stealing meds and taking them

One is off in New York for a major life event without any of his three parents around

One is recovering from nailing himself in his head and presumably still having casual sex with his maybe-girlfriend

I agree with all of those except Brandon. Flying to NYC for his audition alone is totally age appropriate in my book, he's 18 not 8. Especially with all the stuff going on with the house. He needs to be able to handle his own affairs at college so I don't think expecting him to handle us Audition was dropping the ball on his parents behalf. If you want to be an adult then "adult"....so they are letting him. 

[Lady Calypso]

20 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

I agree with all of those except Brandon. Flying to NYC for his audition alone is totally age appropriate in my book, he's 18 not 8. Especially with all the stuff going on with the house. He needs to be able to handle his own affairs at college so I don't think expecting him to handle us Audition was dropping the ball on his parents behalf. If you want to be an adult then "adult"....so they are letting him. 

I agree with this. If anything, I'd change his issue to living with his girlfriend and her toddler while also paying for almost all of her bills. As an 18 year old, he may technically be an adult, but he's still mentally a teenager/child. He hasn't even graduated from high school yet, so the pressures of being both a student and a boyfriend/surrogate father is not an easy thing to do. And I know Stef/Lena can't force him to move back home, but they haven't dealt with the situation well. 

[ShadowFacts]

I think Brandon flying alone to NYC is age appropriate, but it isn't so much a matter of supervision as one of support.  Having a person who believes in you can be helpful.  And turns out he could have used a little supervision, because no one at any age does their best while sleep deprived.  It wasn't a fun sightseeing jaunt, it was a serious audition to an extremely competitive school he'd been working towards for years and he didn't really treat it accordingly.

[PhysNerd]

I would normally agree that an 18 year old should be able to fly to another state on their own, but Brandon is notorious for making poor decisions.  Honestly, I'm not even sure he's mature enough to attend a school in a different state.  He's way too immature and makes amazingly poor decisions even for an 18-year-old.  It seems like he falls for every pretty girl who needs rescuing instead of minding his own business.  Juilliard is an extremely demanding school that requires intense focus, drive and determination.  Brandon is passionate about music, but he is very scatterbrained and can easily throw away his future for a pretty girl and her sob story. 

[IntoTheMystic]

I think it's fine that Brandon went to the Julliard audition alone. It put the pressure on him and let him see exactly what it would be like living and going to school there. It let him see what freedom really is and that he has none with a girlfriend and her baby. Having a parent tag along would have been as bad as Cortney and Mason tagging along. Brandon has to experience life through the eyes of an adult now and you can't do that with Mama and Papa shielding you all the way. 

Why isn't Callie looking at colleges? I can't remember . . . is she a decent student? Wasn't she is summer school? Maybe she'll have to do summer school after graduation to technically earn a scholarship. Maybe she'll take a year off to volunteer for the Juvenile Justice League or something.

[FrumiusManxome]

3 hours ago, IntoTheMystic said:

I think it's fine that Brandon went to the Julliard audition alone. It put the pressure on him and let him see exactly what it would be like living and going to school there. It let him see what freedom really is and that he has none with a girlfriend and her baby. Having a parent tag along would have been as bad as Cortney and Mason tagging along. Brandon has to experience life through the eyes of an adult now and you can't do that with Mama and Papa shielding you all the way. 

Why isn't Callie looking at colleges? I can't remember . . . is she a decent student? Wasn't she is summer school? Maybe she'll have to do summer school after graduation to technically earn a scholarship. Maybe she'll take a year off to volunteer for the Juvenile Justice League or something.

I just finished a rewatch which is the only reason I remember. Callie can be assumed to be a decent studen because they never specifically address her grades. But, the summer school was only because her grades for certain classes from her previous school were lost. That's also why she had to do an additional independent study type project i.e. volunteering at that one center for foster kids. They ended up blending all of the projects together though. She was originally volunteering and then doing the App to look good in order to complete summer school. Now they ALL were just independent study projects. Though, it doesn't make it any better that she still hasn't finished any of these and still isn't looking into colleges (since we've been led to believe that's something she actually is interested in).

I also wish we had more insight into what is required for the senior projects because it seems to be an unnecessary tall order. Like how Brandon and Mat *had* to perform their play or else they'd fail. So all of that work that went into it including composing all original music, writing lyrics, hours long rehearsals, building sets, etc was meaningless just because the board (or whoever judges these things) couldn't see the end product? I know they said that Mat and Brandon did a lot more than usual, but with such strict parameters I don't see how Callie's photo collage could possibly measure up. 

Tbh I sometimes forget Jude was in foster care. Like Callie's plots and issues are all related to being in foster care. But, it doesn't really come up with Jude. He slid in so seamlessly that it feels weird when he starts displaying issues. I wish the show would frame the early sexual activity as part of being in foster care though. Instead, it feels like gratuitous teen sex for no reason. 

[SparedTurkey]

Can I just say - and I want to frame this as having grown up in the 90's where the best possible representation of LGBT rights on a family channel were gay men on Dawson's Creek and Will & Grace (where the main actors were dedicated to making sure everyone knew they weren't gay) - I really love that this show and the actors never shy away from the whole lesbian side of it. Sherri Saum and Teri Polo are always dedicated to making sure the bones of it seem real (and even if their relationship has problems and they are sure as hell flawed) and outside of the show are never interested in proving they aren't gay. Like the kissing scene in this episode. They weren't shying away, made it look like a couple who have been together for 10+ years and haven't done interviews about it. It's only been 15 years or so I know, but it shows how much things have changed in this area.

To join the actual convo - I think it is fine Brandon went alone (gotta grow up sometime and considering they were selling the house for a lack of money how would they have justified it?). Presumably he did well enough even though the plot dictates he won't get in (which, it is about time this boy faced some disappointment outside of his and Callie's relationship because he gets everything handed to him) but I guess it also was a way to make Courtney and Mason dunzo.

I did feel sorry for Callie when she was listening to Mike and Stef talk about her. That would have been harsh to listen to (and that isn't a dig at Mike) and it clearly got to her. I think she was an idiot for going for Brandon time and time again (and obviously consented to *the Sex*) but she clearly has issues. Stef doesn't get to put it all on Brandon (and has said she was wrong). But it is worth noting that Callie hasn't done the same thing with AJ. I think she was up front when she kissed him. And he isn't Stef + Lena's son or in the immediate family. I guess you could liken it to a cousin relationship if anything - but those are legal after all. And I don't see her attraction to Aaron. She didn't kiss him back. And at least was up front with AJ about it. Progress

I don't have major issues with pot and don't think Jude smoking it is that bad.

I like that Mariana does have issues with being wanted, especially by her parents. I think that shows more than anything she has been affected by her previous foster situation. Even being adopted by Stef and Lena when she was young didn't erase it. That's a good story and is worth telling. And may be a by-product of the system. That said, I hope Lena and/or Stef notices her using Jesus' pills first.

[North]

My two favorite moments in this ep:

1) The Lena and Mariana scene.  Both of them were fantastic.  Lena has always understood Mariana because she's been in her shoes and their relationship is one of my favorites.

2) The Stef and Lena scene in the kitchen.  After their fight you could see Stef was worried.  The way she says she loves Lena, you can tell she was concerned that she wasn't going to hear it back.  Then she hears it and she's happy but she gets concerned again.  She needs to know that Lena doesn't want out for real.  And Lena gives her the reassurance she needs.

These two may argue but above all they love each other and are willing to work through their problems because they don't want to be without each other.

[Bobcatkitten]

Of course an 18-year-old can fly by himself. But I still think it's very normal to have a parent along for these types of trips. I didn't go by myself to my college orientation - my mom came along. 

[ShadowFacts]

4 hours ago, SparedTurkey said:

I did feel sorry for Callie when she was listening to Mike and Stef talk about her. That would have been harsh to listen to (and that isn't a dig at Mike) and it clearly got to her. I think she was an idiot for going for Brandon time and time again (and obviously consented to *the Sex*) but she clearly has issues. Stef doesn't get to put it all on Brandon (and has said she was wrong). But it is worth noting that Callie hasn't done the same thing with AJ. I think she was up front when she kissed him. And he isn't Stef + Lena's son or in the immediate family. I guess you could liken it to a cousin relationship if anything - but those are legal after all. And I don't see her attraction to Aaron. She didn't kiss him back. And at least was up front with AJ about it. Progress

I don't have major issues with pot and don't think Jude smoking it is that bad.

I think they've shown Callie recently having a bit of self-awareness of her problems, but she still keeps doing self-destructive or un-helpful things because she isn't getting any guidance.  At least Rita at Girls United was a good force in that way.  In my state, people who adopt kids out of foster care get stipends until they're 18.  If something like that were in place in the fictional world of The Fosters, there would be some money for counseling for the adopted kids.  Which would be money well-spent.

I also don't have major issues with pot, in fact think it should be legalized in every state, but not for kids who are just a few years out from playing with Legos.  Not because it is a "gateway" drug, but because their brains are still developing, etc.  Health and safety issues.

[Unapologetic]

9 hours ago, scribe95 said:

Of course an 18-year-old can fly by himself. But I still think it's very normal to have a parent along for these types of trips. I didn't go by myself to my college orientation - my mom came along. 

College orientation would probably be different as that would be actually moving to and starting college.  This was more like college interview and college visitation.

I can say that my parents did not go with me to mine, though we were poor so I was lucky I even get to go visit.  I didn't see any other parents around with the other over-nighters, though maybe one or two was staying in a hotel nearby.  

[ShortyMac]

Deleted scenes from this episode:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WgsLNrS2TQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0_J-jwyo-E

That scene with Brandon was sweet. :)

[Perfect Xero]

4 hours ago, ShortyMac said:

Deleted scenes from this episode:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WgsLNrS2TQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0_J-jwyo-E

That scene with Brandon was sweet. :)

Aaron was a total asshole in the other scene, they probably should have left it in if the storyline is going where it looks like it's going.