S04.E14: Doors and Windows

[AmandaPanda]

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Stef removes the kids' bedroom doors after being fed up with their secrets; and Mariana begins seeing a therapist again. Meanwhile, Jesus starts physical therapy; and Callie's biological father enlists his high-paid attorneys to take on her case.

[Chewy101]

So, first Mariana starts taking pills when she knows better. Then she begins to hallucinate, causing Callie to be concerned enough about where she is that she takes a ride with a stranger. Then she calls Jesus and freaks him out, causing him to get a severe brain injury in defending her.

THEN, Mariana decides to have unprotected sex in a shack, as a distraction from what a little shit she has become, and rats out to Sophie that Callie is back in juvie, when she had to know that would cause confrontations. 

The clincher is when Steph goes to punish them and she complains that it is unfair. Mariana is in rare form this season. I could give an absolute crap if Callie ever sees the light of day again because she is toxic, and NEVER should have marched into a police station without an attorney or guardian when she has a record. She knows the system better than that. She has been campaigning on behalf of a kid who faced this, in fact. But I am starting to hate all of the kids now. Steph is going to have an anxiety attack. Had these mothers given all of these kids counseling, perhaps some of this could have been warded off in a preventative manner, but that show would be boring. However, I am not entertained when all of the kids are imploding at once.

Looks like Callie is going to listen to Robert instead of her moms. Shocker! Will that kid EVER make the right choice. So now we will get another stupid custody hearing. They should just give her up. I get that juvie sucks for Callie, but she is in for a rude awakening if she loses and goes to prison as an adult, and not for months but for years. All of this was so preventable, ugh. I know Callie should not be accused of these specific crimes, but the judge was right that she seeks out trouble. She self sabotages. And why is she so allergic to asking for help from the right person. She didn't tell her moms, dad, lawyers, anyone about what the guard did.

Jesus' story line is an interesting one, and the actor is doing a bang up job with it. 

Matt was right to dump Callie. She has been so dishonest with him. Even if he loved her, she isn't showing she loves him. She just cannot deal right now.

I love how the moms have decided to lat Jude see Noah, as if he ever stopped.

I think it was irresponsible of the moms to bring Jesus home. I get how hard it would be to leave him in a facility, but they aren't trained in any way for this. And there is no way they can afford 24 hour home care. This is ridiculous.

 

P.S. The DVR cut off right when Jesus was asking about the "round things" on his pizza. Can someone tell me how it ended, and can he even eat yet?

Edited February 17, 2017 by Chewy101

[Dishwasherbum]

2 hours ago, Chewy101 said:

So, first Mariana starts taking pills when she knows better. Then she begins to hallucinate, causing Callie to be concerned enough about where she is that she takes a ride with a stranger. Then she calls Jesus and freaks him out, causing him to get a severe brain injury in defending her.

THEN, Mariana decides to have unprotected sex in a shack, as a distraction from what a little shit she has become, and rats out to Sophie that Callie is back in juvie, when she had to know that would cause confrontations. 

The clincher is when Steph goes to punish them and she complains that it is unfair. Mariana is in rare form this season. I could give an absolute crap if Callie ever sees the light of day again because she is toxic, and NEVER should have marched into a police station without an attorney or guardian when she has a record. She knows the system better than that. She has been campaigning on behalf of a kid who faced this, in fact. But I am starting to hate all of the kids now. Steph is going to have an anxiety attack. Had these mothers given all of these kids counseling, perhaps some of this could have been warded off in a preventative manner, but that show would be boring. However, I am not entertained when all of the kids are imploding at once.

Looks like Callie is going to listen to Robert instead of her moms. Shocker! Will that kid EVER make the right choice. So now we will get another stupid custody hearing. They should just give her up. I get that juvie sucks for Callie, but she is in for a rude awakening if she loses and goes to prison as an adult, and not for months but for years. All of this was so preventable, ugh. I know Callie should not be accused of these specific crimes, but the judge was right that she seeks out trouble. She self sabotages. And why is she so allergic to asking for help from the right person. She didn't tell her moms, dad, lawyers, anyone about what the guard did.

Jesus' story line is an interesting one, and the actor is doing a bang up job with it. 

Matt was right to dump Callie. She has been so dishonest with him. Even if he loved her, she isn't showing she loves him. She just cannot deal right now.

I love how the moms have decided to lat Jude see Noah, as if he ever stopped.

I think it was irresponsible of the moms to bring Jesus home. I get how hard it would be to leave him in a facility, but they aren't trained in any way for this. And there is no way they can afford 24 hour home care. This is ridiculous.

 

P.S. The DVR cut off right when Jesus was asking about the "round things" on his pizza. Can someone tell me how it ended, and can he even eat yet?

Stef and Lena pick all the pepperonis and try to give him the "cheese" pizza despite him telling them that he doesn't want it. When they hand it to him anyway, he through the plate on the ground and yells at them. I think freeform uploaded the clip to their YouTube channel.

This scene just proves what a terrible decision it was to bring home rather than leaving him in a place where he could actually get help. They are clearly not prepared on how to deal with this, and take all of his outbursts personally, when it shouldn't be. This sort of trauma needs an impartial outside hand to guide him, someone who cares enough to encourage recovery, but has no personal involvement that would hinder his chances.

I like Mariana, but maybe that's just because in comparison to Callie, her flaws seem extremely inconsequential. She's not perfect, but at the very least I can understand where she's coming from with her decisions.

Jude's the one I've developed a hatred for. He truly is a brat, and the way he talked down to Jesus in this episode was pretty disgusting.

[AmandaPanda]

This is actually the thread for next week's episode. I think you're talking about this week's episode, which can be discussed here. 

[Chewy101]

Yep, you're right. The description sort of overlapped. Thank you.

[Valny]

I had to leave the room during the scene when Jesus was climbing the stairs and Emma was telling Brandon about the pregnancy.  Let me guess..... did he overhear the conversation and think Brandon got her pregnant?

[Lady Calypso]

24 minutes ago, Valny said:

I had to leave the room during the scene when Jesus was climbing the stairs and Emma was telling Brandon about the pregnancy.  Let me guess..... did he overhear the conversation and think Brandon got her pregnant?

Not quite. Jesus only saw Brandon and Emma come out of Mariana and Callie's room and he seemed to jump to conclusions about a relationship forming. With that, the hand touching, and Jesus' coma dream that he seems to remember to some extent, plus with his frustrations at not being able to express himself and do the things he used to do, I think he's just coming from a vulnerable place and is assuming the worst. It's really just contrived drama that doesn't need to be there since Jesus' physical and mental recovery is more than enough, but there's nothing that can be done about it now.

So, Emma's pregnant and it seems like she's leaning toward getting an abortion. It makes sense, as she doesn't want to be a sixteen year old mom and she knows Jesus can't handle her pregnancy on top of his recovery. I don't quite know why we needed this on top of everything, but Noah is at least getting some great work. He really was fantastic the whole episode. It's easy to see the frustration building up and how it's affecting the whole family. Also, why did Emma and Brandon just leave Jesus on his own? Was Jesus supposed to be taking a nap or something? 

Callie, goddamnit. I am so frustrated with her. But I hope against all odds that this Kyle story is done. I'm just done with the whole Detective Callie story. She is a kid and I'm glad Stef and Lena laid down the law with her that she couldn't just be tried as an adult if she actually had an out to the whole situation. Not that she doesn't deserve to make her own moral choices, but this is a battle that does seem to be against her, no matter how unrealistic it feels that Troy, the driver, wouldn't be at fault in some way. But if she can stay out of prison, then she probably should take it. I mean, I wanted her to face more consequences but it seems that giving in and settling is punishment for her. 

So, yeah, it seems like we're actually moving toward a love triangle with Callie, AJ, and Aaron. I like Aaron and I like AJ, but there doesn't need to be a stupid love triangle in the middle of the mess that she's in. I feel bad for AJ, who is trying to be there for Callie but she continues to choose Aaron because I guess she doesn't think AJ understands? Oh look, there's Aaron who is saying all the right things to comfort Callie. Yeah, sure show. I hope the show isn't trying to make AJ the bad guy here. 

I think the therapy session with Mariana, Stef, and Lena was somewhat needed. It was interesting to see how that played out and how the therapist actually turned the focus on Mariana and how Stef/Lena are parenting. 

No Jude either this episode. Good. I don't think I could handle his pot drama. 

[KaveDweller]

I can't believe the first thing Callie does after getting out of juvie is go visit Kyle and talk about his case.  I know she wants to help, but take care of yourself for once Callie. Although, I am kind of curious who killed whoever it is Kyle's in prison for killing. 

I still don't get how Callie is in so much trouble when she's a passenger, even with her record. But I'm glad it looks like the storyline is over. I get why she feels guilty letting Robert buy her out of prison, but it's about time she caught a break somewhere.

Edited February 22, 2017 by KaveDweller

[balmz]

well this reaffirmed my belief that jesus should have stayed at the inpatient place because stef and lena are terrible caregivers and parents, feel terrible for jesus, frankly time away from the family and their crap would do him some good, loved how he can treat lena like that though, made me laugh at her,  brandon was surprisingly  bearable, don't care about callie, also it appears callie and mamas learned nothing from jesus's accident since she tried building something like that alone and could have gotten hurt, sadly she didn't, feel terrible for kyle, hope he is freed some how, emma plot is pointless and unneeded, they should focus on the tbi only, mariana plot was ok, glad to see no jude

[alexvillage]

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Although, I am kind of curious who killed whoever it is Kyle's in prison for killing. 

I recently finished the last episode of 4A and when Callie is in the car with that guy looking for Mariana, she gets the phone call and apparently the murderer was related to the victim. So I guess the driver, who said he was the victims grandson is the killer. and just to add to the absurd plots of this show, a DNA test does not come back in a few days. And not everyone has access to that, or can keep revealing to results to anyone.

[LisaM]

I liked this episode more than this season's previous ones. Particularly liked the therapy session with the moms and Mariana because the therapist addressed how they are parenting each child. More of this, please. Also liked how Mariana's issues stem from her childhood with Ana and continue to this day. Realistic.

I also really liked the Jesus TMI storyline: I could do without Pregnant Emma but I think the show is doing a good job showing the patient's frustrations and the limitations of untrained caretakers. Lena is so well-meaning regarding Jesus but has no rehab training and 4 other children to care for. Being a caretaker for someone with brain issues is a 24/7 job and is incredibly wearing on the caretaker. It's only a matter of time before she snaps. At least we saw Jesus getting some real therapy at the rehab center. I wonder whether they will decide to move Jesus in-patient at some point; probably not great for the show's storytelling but much more realistic. Speaking of Lena, she mentioned that Monte had already hired a replacement. Curious if the show is going to eventually move Lena from Anchor Beach to another job?

Glad that Robert mentioned Sophia being stalked by the guy whose house Callie broke into. I so hope that this storyline is at an end. Very pleased that the moms made the decision for Callie that they were taking the deal. Hopefully the deal doesn't fall apart for some reason. Glad that Lena mentioned Callie's senior project and college applications. I want to see more of Callie trying to move forward with her life as opposed to Detective Callie. I do hope, however, that Stef is able to uncover evidence which frees Kyle. Really do not want to see a Callie/AJ/Aaron triangle. I like AJ a lot and think that Callie treats him badly.

I remember Captain Roberts as being more supportive. Interesting that she didn't want to know what Stef suspected was going on in her department. I wonder if the Callie storyline is going to culminate in Detective Stef engineering a clean-up of the Police Department?

So...Brandon and the Music Girl? I did like Brandon a lot more this episode: working on music rehab with Jesus, giving Lena a break from watching Jesus. I hope that this Brandon sticks around.

Did not miss Jude at all.

[ShadowFacts]

I like that Mariana is being heard by the therapist, but I thought he came across a little more preachy toward Stef and Lena than therapists are supposed to, in my limited experience with that.

I am pretty sure that the ironclad alibi that the grandson has is going to be revealed to have been manufactured in some way.  There was just too much time spent on all of that to have it be the end.  I just saw a very old Columbo episode where a time/date stamped video was altered and non-techie Columbo figured out how it was done, so that's probably influencing me on this. 

I agree that Brandon is becoming quite a bit more mature and likeable.  And that I don't miss Jude, he was becoming too insufferable for me. 

[JaggedLilPill]

I'm also pleasantly surprised that I'm liking Brandon more these episodes. It'll probably pass, but for now, it's good. I'm hoping it's not meant only to give him another love interest, but to help him realize that there's multiple avenues his music can take him.

I can't with Callie anymore. The girl's got this ridiculous tunnel vision that makes her oblivious to how her choices can affect her future. It's getting to the point where I don't even feel sorry for her because she continues to dig herself into huge holes. I'm glad Mariana is in therapy, but quite frankly, the whole family should be, Callie especially. I do think Callie means well and is noble, but she's also hugely detrimental to herself and people that love her as an extension.

I don't know if it's partially guilt because she ended up with Stef and Lena on top of having a wealthy biological father, but damn, girl. AJ is right. His brother didn't have a choice. I get that her integrity is being called into question and of course nobody wants to be accused of something they didn't do, but with her record, I don't know why she'd want to risk going to trial.

Poor Jesus and Emma :(  

While I'm glad Emma is not alone in this, I'd rather Mariana be inserted as Emma's friend than Brandon, simply because of the drama that is inevitably coming from this with Jesus believing Emma and Brandon are involved. This show may be a minefield of contrived drama at times, but I don't think they'd hook up Emma and Brandon for real. So it's just more crap for Jesus to deal with and Emma on top of her being pregnant.

Good grief.

I'm also sure the kid killed his grandmother and someone messed with the video. Sigh. I hope Stef knows what she's getting into with detective asshat over there.

[omgsowicked]

I really appreciated that they discussed Stef and Lena's parenting approach in Mariana's therapy session. It's clear that they care and that they've probably read many parenting books but it's time for some adjustments. I didn't like how smug Mariana was about getting the doors back and seeing the parents get schooled, though. It wasn't out of character or even that bad, I just thought it was bratty. I did like that they traced her insecurity all the way back to infancy, it certainly makes sense. Based on Jesus's coma dreams, he probably has the same issue... all the kids need therapy. Also, I have a feeling someone will put two and two together re: her Twitter account and something she says will get her into trouble.

I hope Brandon finding that music therapy class is about him discovering a new avenue for his interest in music, not finding a new love interest. Hopefully her having a boyfriend and him wanting to have coffee only to discuss her work means that's not the goal because I think it would be good for him, now that Julliard is off the table. I'm not sure what his cheating means for attending other colleges but he could go to a local university (stay on the show) and learn music therapy and teaching there. I really enjoyed Brandon in this episode, stepping up to help Lena with Jesus, finding something Jesus would enjoy that would help him, being there for Emma, and I even enjoyed the ribbing with Callie. Keep Brallie there, writers! Speaking of Jesus, I'm happy to see him in rehab and I hope Stef and Lena realize that he needs to be there full-time, even though it would be difficult to be separated. It's way too much for Lena to handle on her own and his outbursts upset everyone, whereas the people at rehab take it in stride. He would get better faster there.

I groaned when I saw Callie visiting Kyle (multiple times). Send Aaron to tell him about the case, stop risking your ass! Ugh. She has tunnel-vision and guilt about getting such a good hand. And she's changing her project yet again but at least people made fun of it a bit. "What's your senior project now?" LOL. I feel like Callie finally reciprocates AJ's feelings so I'm annoyed that Aaron's still trying to make moves. AJ isn't wrong to be suspicious; not of her but of him. I wish Callie would see what AJ sees and start to put up boundaries (stick to Kyle's case, or rather, cut ties because she needs to be done with that) but I'm sure this is leading to an actual love triangle, which I'm so not interested in. Surprised to hear about that guy and Sophie, wasn't sure if that would be acknowledged again. However, I'm worried that it might be another plot, him continuing to stalk Sophia.

Stef bends the rules when it suits her so her hands aren't totally clean but I'm glad she's choosing to work from the inside to clean up the station. Maybe she'll become captain one day. I bet that detective doctored the date on the footage. I can't remember why he's doing any of this, though.

[tennisgurl]

This whole show could just be re-named "The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Callie Adams-Foster". She is just SUCH a huge pain at this point, I cant root for her anymore. I've always liked Callie and felt bad for her, but lately her attitude and actions are just so ridiculous and stupid, I just don't care about her issues anymore. I get that she feels bad that some kids aren't as lucky as she is, and that she wants to help people, but there are ways to give back without breaking and entering and getting your ass sent to jail again! Its not bad that she has a chance when other kids cant, what would she rather have happen? Does she want her and Jude to be back with their abusive foster dad? Its not fair that other kids don't get those second chances, but that doesn't mean she should throw her second chance away. She cant help anyone if she's a mess or in prison. And she seriously needs to set some boundaries with Aaron, and treat AJ better. AJ is such a nice guy, and Callie still seems to be prioritizing Aaron over him. Why? Because he's more of an activist? Its not like Aaron doesn't support her, he just thinks she needs to back off some things and take care of herself, which is all true. And Aaron seriously needs to stop hitting on Callie. He knows she has a boyfriend, so moving in on her is not ok. If Callie cheats on AJ, or dumps him for Aaron, that's really going to suck. And, if Callie wants to help people, why not spend more time supporting her siblings, who are all having major issues, instead of this other guy.

Poor Jesus. His storyline is just so sad, and Noah is killing it. But, really show? Emma is pregnant now? And Jesus suspects her and Brandon of having an affair? Come on show, isn't there enough freaking drama with Jesus already? He already has brain damage! We don't need more teen drama! Speaking of, I actually did like Brandon here, being supportive and using his music to help Jesus. Of course it also means a new Brandon love interest, so I'm not totally thrilled, but at least she looks age appropriate and like she has things in common with Brandon. Just make sure she doesn't have a kid or a crazy ex Brandon!

I liked Lena and Stef getting called out on their parenting flaws, even if Mariana was way too smug about it. They mean well and they clearly love and are devoted to their kids, but they need to start paying more attention to them, and reading between the lines of their behavior. Like I've said before, I hope all this is a HUGE wake up call.

[JaggedLilPill]

5 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

This whole show could just be re-named "The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Callie Adams-Foster".

Bwahaha.

Maybe she should start a blog.

Which brings me to...while I'm super happy that Mariana is purging herself of secrets, I'm a little concerned that she's, you know, publicizing shit that could get her (and possibly Stef and Lena) into trouble. It's probably not the wisest move to admit to stealing your brother's pills. I know Mariana is a computer whiz, but I'm sure if they really wanted to find out who is behind that twitter account, they could. 

Oy vey. Even when they don't mean to, the Adams-Foster brood make dumb decisions.

[maraleia]

Brandon has two options for music schools in San Diego and they are state schools so they might overlook the SAT situation if Brandon waited a semester and took the test again.

I did some research and both the University of San Diego and San Diego State University have comprehensive music departments so they could have Brandon attend either one of those schools. They don't do music therapy as a focus but that could be saved for graduate school.

I want Callie to do something totally school focused for the rest of her senior year. She needs to be a kid for awhile and stop with the crusading until she can fix herself. Let people like her moms, Robert, Mike and even Aaron crusade on her behalf because they are adults with different kinds of resources. They could've done a whole sub-plot with her being the photographer for the yearbook and newspaper and maybe starting a club to advocate for foster kids because I bet the Anchor Beach kids would be all for this kind of thing.

Hopefully with them mostly wrapping up Callie's legal troubles and getting rid of the Brandon moves out sub-plot these characters will get better. They need to keep their relationship at a snarky non-romantic level and never bring up Braille again.

[LisaM]

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Hopefully with them mostly wrapping up Callie's legal troubles

Given Callie's luck, someone in the deal process will refuse to go along and she will still be in legal jeopardy. 

I'm a bit surprised that we have yet to see Jesus's birth father - the one whose nail gun started this whole thing - visit Jesus. Perhaps that is still to come? 

I still think that Jesus will end up at the rehab center full time. 

[Zima]

Hmmm. Could it be that Kyle actually did commit the crime? Maybe he's a relative of the grandma in some way, but was resentful because he was put into foster care?  I'm probably wrong, but I would laugh because Callie got herself into all of this trouble for him.

I kind of wanted to slap the smugness off of Mariyana's face when she was at the therapy session with her moms. 

I sure hope Emma has an abortion. This drama is so unneeded right now, but a mainstream show dealing with a teen choosing to have an abortion and not regretting it would be great! 

[KaveDweller]

12 hours ago, alexvillage said:

I recently finished the last episode of 4A and when Callie is in the car with that guy looking for Mariana, she gets the phone call and apparently the murderer was related to the victim. So I guess the driver, who said he was the victims grandson is the killer. and just to add to the absurd plots of this show, a DNA test does not come back in a few days. And not everyone has access to that, or can keep revealing to results to anyone.

That's what I thought, but they said in this episode he has a super strong alibi. It could certainly be faked though, that wouldn't be the most unrealistic thing on a TV show.

[Scarlett45]

3 hours ago, maraleia said:

Brandon has two options for music schools in San Diego and they are state schools so they might overlook the SAT situation if Brandon waited a semester and took the test again.

I did some research and both the University of San Diego and San Diego State University have comprehensive music departments so they could have Brandon attend either one of those schools. They don't do music therapy as a focus but that could be saved for graduate school.

 

Hopefully with them mostly wrapping up Callie's legal troubles and getting rid of the Brandon moves out sub-plot these characters will get better. They need to keep their relationship at a snarky non-romantic level and never bring up Braille again.

(Edited by me)

Brandon doesn't need to take the SAT test again, when he took it originally he got a perfectly adequate score, the issue is that he committed academic fraud by taking the SATs for someone else (and was caught), most schools wouldn't accept him with such fraud on his record. Taking the test again won't undo the fraud issue. 

Braille- 100% agree with you on that front. No more Braille EVER! The show could go in so many directions but that one would leave a foul taste in my mouth. 

[Zima]

2 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

Braille- 100% agree with you on that front. No more Braille EVER! The show could go in so many directions but that one would leave a foul taste in my mouth. 

I have a feeling that Braille is endgame. Callie's bio dad will probably play a part in this; he'll probably get custody of her somehow. Then, she and Brandon will be free to fulfill their destinies! (barf)

Edited February 23, 2017 by Zima

[JaggedLilPill]

Brandon and Callie work best for me when they're acting like siblings like they were in this episode. Snarking on one another for the crap each other has pulled.

I never bought their "love" and it's less believable when you try and figure out the timeline of this show since their period of being "together/in love" was all of a few months.

[possibilities]

My worry is that Kyle, in an attempt to get the case re-opened, or maybe just out of anger, will tell someone what about how they got the DNA tested without a court order, thus getting Callie into more trouble.

I think the music therapist is not age appropriate for Brandon. He's still in high school, and she's already working as a music therapist in a rehab facility. I do like the idea of him pursuing music therapy as a career, though.

I don't want more Robert vs the moms custody battles. I also don't want him to become the financial deus ex machina every time there's a crisis. I hope they can do something more interesting with him.

I agree that Stef and Lena need to reassess how things are going in the parenting department, but I also thought that Mariana was way too bratty and smug, and that the therapist was not really doing them a service by so extremely taking sides instead of facilitating growth and reconciliation on both sides.

At some point, and I think high school is not too early for it, you have to stop making excuses and admit your behavior is horrible and you can't just get a pass because you have issues. I thought the therapist was too hard on Stef and Lena, and didn't really teach Mariana anything about taking responsibility for herself, or acting more responsibly in the family, either. He kind of enabled her, really. I liked that he was helping her to identify her underlying issues, but he made it out to be an excuse for her, and shifted the blame to her parents, who I really think are not that bad.

I feel like the kids are given too much slack and too little responsibility, that the moms trust them too much and the kids are under-supervised, not over-controlled. They may be dismissed sometimes when they are whiny or petty, but when they approach their moms in a serious way, they are always heard and taken care of. So even if taking off the doors wasn't the most effective thing Stef could have done, I thought it way too harsh to imply that Mariana feels powerless because of how her moms treat her, and that the remedy is for the moms to listen to every stupid bratty thing and never say ENOUGH. Mariana trying to get out of going to school because of her break up, for example-- was Stef supposed to say "okay, Love, stay home?" I think it's ok for her to be impatient sometimes. Sometimes kids need to be given some perspective: break ups are hard, but you still have to go to school and mom isn't going to be able to discuss it with you in the middle of a chaotic morning routine getting everyone out of the house on time. Go to school and talk to her later if you want some mom support.

And of course 1 minute after they all agree to not keep secrets anymore, Brandon is stuck with Emma's secret. I have mixed feelings about it. Maybe he shouldn't have agreed to keep things from his moms, but then again, I can't really blame him for agreeing to it, since it's not his secret to tell and that's how these things happen a lot of the time. I'd like to see him go to Emma and tell her why he needs to tell his parents, and she will understand and they can do it without a lot of "you backstabbed me!" drama. I'm sure it will all come out soon, anyway, because Jesus will blow up and one of them will tell him the truth because it's better than the accusations he'll be throwing. And then the moms will know anyway. Better to get ahead of it and tell them first.

[Lady Calypso]

7 hours ago, possibilities said:

I think the music therapist is not age appropriate for Brandon. He's still in high school, and she's already working as a music therapist in a rehab facility. I do like the idea of him pursuing music therapy as a career, though.

Well, she seems to either also be in high school or she's possibly in college. She mentioned having to go and do homework, so I'm leaning toward her being in high school (I don't think college kids use the word "homework") and this is some volunteer work or just a part time job. I think they're opening up the idea of Brandon and this new girl without it being another Cortney situation. I'd rather Brandon just stayed single and fixed his own life before getting yet another girlfriend, but teen shows like this can't seem to have a character stay single for long. 

[dmmetler]

If she's a RMT, she has a Bachelor's plus at least a 6 month internship. Even if she's in her first job, unless she's a music therapy student doing a practicum, she's another girl who is too old for Brandon. Having said that, music therapy students usually do start doing practicums by about sophomore year, and she could be a teen volunteer who is interested in the field. It really is a fascinating area of study.

[Eeksquire]

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I thought the therapist was too hard on Stef and Lena, and didn't really teach Mariana anything about taking responsibility for herself, or acting more responsibly in the family, either. He kind of enabled her, really.

I think this was badly written - the literature on (psychological) trauma and its effects on the brain do indicate that early traumatic experiences do impact brain development.  I think what they were trying to do was not blame the moms for Mariana's issues, but try and get them to see that it's not just typical teenage rebellion, there's also serious underlying issues and they cannot parent her the way that they would, say, Brandon.  (Assuming for the moment that Brandon himself didn't have any early traumatic issues stemming from his parents' divorce or father's alcoholism.)  It's kind of inexcusable the way this show presents these issues - or rather, ignores them entirely - when Lena is not only an educator, but portrayed as kind of a hot shot with the prestigious vice principal-ship at the fancy magnet/charter school.  Certainly she'd not only be in a position to realize that ALL of the kids (AND her and Stef) needed therapeutic support right from the get go, but also specifically with these issues.  Of course, that would be a whole different kind of show.

I used to love this show, but honestly, unless this episode is the beginning of a hard reset back to more realistic issues (Jesus' brain trauma, Mariana's PTSD, Brandon's floundering about his future) I might have to give up on it.  The best part of the new episodes this season has been the theme song.

[MaryHedwig]

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I did some research and both the University of San Diego and San Diego State University have comprehensive music departments so they could have Brandon attend either one of those schools. They don't do music therapy as a focus but that could be saved for graduate school.

I was about to post that the University of San Diego is a Catholic private school, not a state school as mentioned up thread. Then I was going to add that the University of California, San Diego is an additional state school in San Diego. I was even going to check to see if UCSD had a music therapy program before posting. Then I remembered that this show is fiction! The writers can make up whatever colleges and majors they want for parallel-universe San Diego. For a moment this all felt real to me...the show must be doing something right. 

[maraleia]

55 minutes ago, MaryHedwig said:

I was about to post that the University of San Diego is a Catholic private school, not a state school as mentioned up thread. Then I was going to add that the University of California, San Diego is an additional state school in San Diego. I was even going to check to see if UCSD had a music therapy program before posting. Then I remembered that this show is fiction! The writers can make up whatever colleges and majors they want for parallel-universe San Diego. For a moment this all felt real to me...the show must be doing something right. 

My bad. Thanks for the clarification. I didn't even see that.

[auntiemel]

20 hours ago, possibilities said:

I agree that Stef and Lena need to reassess how things are going in the parenting department, but I also thought that Mariana was way too bratty and smug, and that the therapist was not really doing them a service by so extremely taking sides instead of facilitating growth and reconciliation on both sides.

At some point, and I think high school is not too early for it, you have to stop making excuses and admit your behavior is horrible and you can't just get a pass because you have issues. I thought the therapist was too hard on Stef and Lena, and didn't really teach Mariana anything about taking responsibility for herself, or acting more responsibly in the family, either. He kind of enabled her, really. I liked that he was helping her to identify her underlying issues, but he made it out to be an excuse for her, and shifted the blame to her parents, who I really think are not that bad.

I feel like the kids are given too much slack and too little responsibility, that the moms trust them too much and the kids are under-supervised, not over-controlled. They may be dismissed sometimes when they are whiny or petty, but when they approach their moms in a serious way, they are always heard and taken care of. So even if taking off the doors wasn't the most effective thing Stef could have done, I thought it way too harsh to imply that Mariana feels powerless because of how her moms treat her, and that the remedy is for the moms to listen to every stupid bratty thing and never say ENOUGH. Mariana trying to get out of going to school because of her break up, for example-- was Stef supposed to say "okay, Love, stay home?" I think it's ok for her to be impatient sometimes. Sometimes kids need to be given some perspective: break ups are hard, but you still have to go to school and mom isn't going to be able to discuss it with you in the middle of a chaotic morning routine getting everyone out of the house on time. Go to school and talk to her later if you want some mom support.

One HUNDRED percent agree!

After so many annoying things have happened on this show, I don't know why Mariana's bratty, self-entitled expression when she went behind the Moms' backs to put the curtain up and then said, "It's fine. My therapist gave me permission," put me over the edge, but oh wow, did it! :D

First of all, it was the way she had clearly started hammering to bait that conversation, and then how she just pulled that line out of her back pocket with such ease. You know she'd been rehearsing it!

I so wanted Stef or Lena to tell her, "Look, I'm glad you're in therapy, and I'm sure we'll all make some changes in the way we approach conflict in the future. But let's get one thing straight. There are two people in this world that can give you permission to do things in this house, and your therapist is not on that list."

And, I would have loved them to address that with the therapist as well. He is there to help Mariana develop coping skills, and to help all of them develop healthier ways of interacting. What he is NOT there to do is undermine the Moms' authority in his one on one sessions with Mariana, and give her "permission" the break the Moms' rules--however misguided he might feel those rules are.

Boundaries!

[izabella]

I also would have ripped Marianna a new one for hammering nails into the woodwork.  No, little girl, you don't get to damage the woodwork in the house your moms pay for.  My parents would have not been ok with that, nuh-uh.